VELVET REVOLVER -

VELVET REVOLVER - CONTRABAND - BMG
We know where Scott Weiland, Slash, Duff, Matt Sorum and Dave Kushner come from, but where did Velvet Revolver come from all of a sudden to top the charts?
Whatever the answer no one is about to be disappointed. The band is everything one would expect from the members, although (perhaps by sheer force of numbers) the band certainly has more guns in it than stones. Several of these songs, Sucker Train Blues or Dirty Little Thing, could have appeared on a Guns N' Roses album. Hardly a moment passes without the listener wondering whether this is what a more matured, ten-year-down-the-line GNR would have sounded like. The slow songs harbour a lot of feeling, the fast songs are all about the rock attitude and Slash still wails like it's 1987.
The good news is that Contraband is legitimate, the songs work and the fans have already embraced the 'project.' Velvet Revolver is not just an equation that works in a laboratory. This band works in the real world - as much as rock 'n roll can be considered the real world. It's good stuff which clicks because this is a band and not a breakout session for any particular ego. - Ali "The Metallian"