Music Reviews

Well spoken, Slash. So let's consider Libertad on its own merits, track by track, straight from the notes I took during my listening sessions.

1. "Let It Roll": Well, this type of straight-ahead rock & roll is already starting to sound rather standard for Velvet Revolver. And I gotta say, I'm reminded of another "Let It Roll" that led off another second (American) album, namely U.F.O.'s Force It. 2. "She Mine": Ah, this is an immediate improvement: chunky chords, eccentric accents, sweeping chorus. 3. "Get Out the Door": Dirty and grimy. Down the alley-wise. 4. "She Builds Quick Machines": Back to square one - Track 1, that is. They sure can build quick machine-gun riffage, seemingly automatically. 5. "The Last Fight": Solid ballad. Extra points for these lyrics: "Left home with a pack of clothes, without a family tree." 6. "Pills, Demons & Etc.": Less character by now. 7. "American Man": Now we're talkin'! Totally infectious chorus, drawing from the band's (not always shown but nonetheless) formidable pop smarts. And the lyrics sharply sum up the current American, uh, "manliness." Why wasn't this the first single instead of "She Builds Quick Machines"? 8. "Mary Mary": In an excellent touch, the closing drumroll for "American Man" leads straight into this. Another winner: sly dodgeball pop/rock in the best, hardest sense. 9. "Just Sixteen": More of the usual, alas, re: teacher/student sex. Ho-hum. 10. "Can't Get It Out of My Head": Yes, a cover of the gorgeous ELO track, and not as bad as most everyone else seems to think. A bit out of place, though. What happened to the other cover they recorded during these sessions, Talking Heads' "Psycho Killer"? Oh, hell, that's an iTunes-only bonus track. 11. "For a Brother": Good, crunchy chords in the verses. This "brother," by the way, is Weiland's, who died of a drug overdose during the making of Libertad. And here, the sentiments are much more affecting than those in the similar "Pills, Demons & Etc." 12. "Spay": As in "Why won't you spay yourself?!" Ho-hum, even more of the usual. 13. "Gravedancer": Nice guitar figure in this coming-down ballad, even if it comes across as yet another in Weiland's long line of Jim Morrisongs. 14. Hidden bonus track: "Don't Drop That Dime": Acoustic shitkicker from the bar. Swing those saloon doors, boys!