by TheFracturedCritic Reviewed on January 21st, 2005
In today's mainstream it's hard to find any type of music that isn't somewhat redundant. Not saying that I don't enjoy the occasional good 'rock' song on loud speakers, but eventually it all just kind of blends together. Be it the recycled power chords, the shallow not to deep lyrics or the singer's voice being moderatel sub par, today's music just gets old. However, be that as it may, it seems as though we finally have room to breathe again.
Velvet Revolver, the five man powerhouse of a rock band, finally brings something new and needed to the scene. As frontman, Scott Weiland definitely succeeds. His vocal ability ranges from deep('Sucker Train Blues'), powerful ('Slither', 'Fall To Peices') and then tp soft and serene('You Got No Right', 'Loving The Alien'). Weiland more than carries the position of singer. While some of the lyrics aren't really the best, they're well suited for this type of music and the performance is amazing. As lead guitar and soloist, Slash more than throws down. Yeah he hits the power chords ('Headstrong', 'Do It For The Kids') but man do they leave a mark. The solos are jaw dropping ('Sucker Train Blues', 'Slither') and believe me you just don't here guitar playing like that anymore. Duff McKagen shows his talent on the bass and Matt Sorum takes his turns on the drums as equally as good. Dave Kushner is also outstanding as well. He backs up Slash quite well and never lets the momentum down.
This CD is good, though I can't say all of the songs are to die for. 'Sucker Train Blue', 'Slither', and 'Headstrong' were the rockers that immediatly caught my attention. 'Do It For The Kids' wasn't long after and the chorus for 'Illegal i Song' is amazing (though the verses came at an acquired taste). 'Spectacle' is just as good as well. One thing I've noticed is that people seem to automatically catch onto 'Big Machine'. Honestly, I didn't care much for this one at first but it's grown on me and now I love it. 'Dirty Little Thing' has also grown on me and I love it. While 'Set Me Free' is by no means a bad song, I shut it immediately the first time I listened to it because it sounded so identical to 'Sucker Train Blues'. Now I listen to and love it.
Despite the rockers, there are the softer points on the CD as well ('Fall To Pieces', 'You Got No Right', and 'Loving The Alien'). On 'Fall To Pieces' Scott's vocals are simply amazing. The lyrics, the music and one of the best guitar solos make this one of the better tracks on the CD. The video is also good and made me enjoy the song even more. 'You Got No Right' starts out soft with the acoustic and slowly works its way up. Once again, Scott hits all over the walls with his vocals and the music is good. My favorite of the ballads, and possibly one of the favorites of the entire CD, is 'Loving The Alien'. Maybe the softest song on the CD, this is a good way to pull it to an end. The lyrics are good and Scotts vocals stand out more on this track than most others. The musicianship behind the song is amazing and it comes out beautifully. Slash once again stands out with his guitar solo and makes it an amazing triumph.
As good as this CD is, its not without its flaws. Some of the songs, while good, do sounds somewhat alike but thats not enough to penalize it and it still is an amazing CD. Where the problems mainly come in are its publicity. This band feels like more of a stand out for Weiland and Slash (the inside book showing their two pictures and then a seperator from the rest of the band). I realize that my review probably didn't help this, though. Another thing is that no matter how good this band ever is at any point in time, they'll always be compared to the older works (Stone Temple Pilots and Guns N' Roses). I tried to fray from mentioning the older bands until now because I feel that if the members still wanted their names to be tied to those bands then they would still be with them. It's such a shame they might never get a fair shot for trying something different. Not saying I don't love STP or Guns N' Roses, because believe me I do, I just enjoy this band on its own merit.
Whether you just want some rock or you're an old traditionalist, this CD will more than likely spark interest. It's an amazing feat and it definitely shines as a light amongst the other CDs coming out today. While it's not perfect, it still stands tall and I give it an 8 out of 10 (or 4.5 stars).
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