The old is new again with Velvet Revolver

Who would have thought that there would come a time when Guns N’ Roses (GNR) and Stone Temple Pilots (STP) would get together to do an album? No way! Aside from being controversial rock stars whose careers were plagued by infighting, substance abuse and run-ins with the law, there was not anything in the stars that said, one day there will be music that combines GNR and STP. But just to show that nothing is truly impossible in this world, the unthinkable has indeed happened. GNR plus STP is now Velvet Revolver.

Well, I admit that was quite a stretch. It was not really GNR but three founding members, Slash on guitar, Duff McKagan on bass and drummer Matt Sorum. Doing the vocals is the charismatic STP soloist Scott Weiland. Then to add spice to the explosive combination, there is guitarist Dave Kushner, formerly of Wasted Youth and Electric Love Hogs. How things have changed! Getting these guys together in one stage a decade ago could have precipitated a riot and there was or I should say, still is no chance of getting new albums from GNR or STP. Amazingly,Velvet Revolver has recorded and released in record time its first album titled Contraband.

There is nothing velvety about the music of Velvet Revolver. The velvet here is probably confined to these guys’ wardrobe. It is actually all Revolver. It is aggressive, ferocious, irreverent and you will discover, also dirty if you can make out what they are being so indecent about. The music in Contraband is just what you can expect from the union of Guns N’ Roses and Stone Temple Pilots. See this as a warning if you want peace and quiet, or an invitation if you relate to all the anger, frustrations and other emotions the songs convey.

What is remarkable though is that while these guys are obviously out to show the world that they can still rock and in the process make a quick buck, bits of genius do flash through. Like, take that solo by Slash in Sucker Train Blues or Weiland’s simmering melancholia in Loving the Alien. Check out the poetry in Headspace, Me/I’m a man/who is trudging/ best I can/through a minefield/built to blast/can I make it/will I last.. or the subtle turns in the melody of Superhuman and Slither.

I admit that there is something so old and maybe even dated in Contraband but I guess that just depends on where you are coming from. The kids who never had a chance to like GNR or STP might find Velvet Revolver earthshaking and the beginning of big rocking things to come.

If you want more of Weiland and Slash, McKagan and Sorum or if you just want to find out the sounds that later led to Velvet Revolver and Contraband, greatest hits packages from Stone Temple Pilots and Guns N’Roses are available and doing quite well in the stores.

Titled Thank You, the STP 15-track album has Weiland performing the California group’s big sellers with Dean DeLeo, Robert DeLeo and Eric Kretz. Included are Plush, Sex Type Thing, Vasoline, Interstate Love Song, Lady Picture Show, Big Bang Baby, Down, Sour Girl, Days of the Week and others. You will find Slash, McKagan and Sorum with Axel Rose in the GNR compilation which has sounds like Welcome to the Jungle, Sweet Child o’ Mine, Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door, November Rain, You Could Be Mine and a cover of the Rolling Stones’ Sympathy for the Devil.

Billboard’s Top 10

Meanwhile, from out there in the US of A, Usher remains the man to beat in the hit charts. The top 10 from Billboard Magazine’s Hot 100 chart are: Confessions Part II by Usher; Slow Motion by Juvenile featuring Soulja Slim; Burn also by Usher; Lean Back by Terror Squad; If I Ain’t Got You by Alicia Keys; Move Ya Body by Nina Sky featuring Jabba; The Reason by Hoobastank; Turn Me On by Kevin Lyttle featuring Spragga Benz; On Fire by Lloyd Banks and Dip It Low by Christina Milian.

Country music star Jimmy Buffet has taken over the No.1 spot in the albums hit list but Usher is hanging on to No.2 two. Here are the top 10 albums: License to Chill by Jimmy Buffett; Confessions by Usher; The Hunger for More by Lloyd Banks; The Tipping Point by The Roots; Here for the Party by Gretchen Wilson; Under My Skin by Avril Lavigne; Horse of a Different Color by Big & Rich; Musicology by Prince; A Cinderella Story the motion picture soundtrack by various artists; and Los Lonely Boys by the Los Lonely Boys.