Again, I’m surprised this did not make to anyone’s
Best of 2004 list. Stone Temple
Pilots, one of the most popular bands of the early 90s, meets Guns
and Roses, one of the most popular bands of the late ’80s/early
’90s, and we just let this slide?
Fact is, everybody was so consumed with the personalities behind
this album they forgot to listen to it. Scott Weiland has drug
problems, yada yada. Slash and Duff are making music again without
Axl Rose, sob. STP is all but broken up and Chinese Democracy is
never happening. Let’s move on.
It’s funny how nobody thought of this pairing before, because it
works so well. Unlike Audioslave (remember them?), singer Weiland
fits in well with these guys. He does not try to be Axl, which
works to his advantage, because Weiland has the
tortured/angry/psychedelic rock star persona down by now (the only
other successful person to do this was David Bowie).
Lyrically, Velvet Revolver talks about rock, love, partying and
drugs. The songs are built between G’n’R rhythms and STP-like
flourishes (usually in the choruses), and this pairing works better
than anyone would expect, because it gives a human, emotional touch
to Slash’s hard riffs, which he can still peel off without
abandon.
I’d mention the highlights, but there are too many. “Sucker
Train Blues” and “Do it for the Kids” are both amazing, as is “Set
Me Free” and the bass-driven “Big Machine.” The single “Slither” is
also a highlight, but the entire album plays like a marriage of
Appetite For Destruction and
Tiny Music…Songs From The Vatican Gift Shop, and to
that I say ’til death do they part. This is one of 2004’s best
albums.
