| Contraband | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 8, 2004 | |||
| Recorded | June–December 2003 | |||
| Studio | NRG and Pulse Recording | |||
| Genre | Hard rock | |||
| Length | 56:47 | |||
| Label | RCA | |||
| Producer |
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| Velvet Revolver chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Contraband | ||||
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Contraband is the debut studio album by American hard rock band Velvet Revolver, released on June 8, 2004, by RCA Records. A commercial success, Contraband debuted at number one on the American Billboard 200 chart and was certified double platinum by the RIAA. [1] [2]
 | This section needs additional citations for verification .(May 2013) |
Velvet Revolver formed when Guns N' Roses musicians Slash (guitar), Duff McKagan (bass), and Matt Sorum (drums) combined to play at a benefit concert for fellow musician Randy Castillo in 2002. They decided to form a band and recruited guitarist Dave Kushner who had previously played with Suicidal Tendencies, Wasted Youth, and Dave Navarro. The quartet then set about recruiting a lead singer with the recruitment process filmed by VH1. Several lead singers auditioned including Josh Todd of Buckcherry, Kelly Shaefer of Neurotica and Travis Meeks of Days of the New. Scott Weiland had become friends with McKagan and had played on the same bill as Kushner when Stone Temple Pilots were known as Mighty Joe Young and Kushner was in the Electric Love Hogs. Weiland heard the material and offered his services as the lead singer and the band clicked. Slash suggested the name Revolver for the project while Weiland suggested Dead Velvet Revolver which was shortened to Velvet Revolver. [3]
Velvet Revolver recorded its first track "Set Me Free" for The Hulk soundtrack in 2003, later incorporated into the album's track listing, along with a cover of Pink Floyd's "Money" for The Italian Job , which was later released as a B-side.
The band played their first live gig at the El Rey in Los Angeles in July 2003. They recorded Contraband in the latter part of 2003 with recording complicated by Weiland's court appearances for drug charges and his subsequent sentencing to undertake rehabilitation. Slash recorded "Sucker Train Blues" with a Fender Telecaster 1956 and a Fender Stratocaster 1965. [4]
The United States release of the disc uses the MediaMax CD-3 system for copy protection, while Macrovision CDS-200 is used for the European release. The album cover features a silhouette of American actress Rena Riffel. [5]
In February 2005, RCA Records released a "Tour Edition" of the album in Europe, which included a bonus disc containing three tracks: B-sides "Surrender" (originally by Cheap Trick) and an acoustic "Fall to Pieces", along with the exclusive "No More, No More" (originally by Aerosmith).
Scott Borchetta named his record label Big Machine Records after the Contraband song of the same name. [6]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | (65/100) [7] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [8] |
| Blabbermouth.net |   [9] |
| Blender | [10] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B− [11] |
| Mojo | [7] |
| PopMatters | [12] |
| Rolling Stone | [13] |
| Stylus Magazine | D+ [14] |
| Ultimate Guitar Archive | (8.7/10) [15] |
| Yahoo! Music | [16] |
Metacritic.com has given Contraband an average score of 65 based on 14 reviews, indicating that the critical response has been "generally favorable". [7]
Mojo rated the album as "a perpetually guilty pleasure." [7] [17] Q magazine said it was "astonishingly good" rating it as four stars. [18]
Rolling Stone rated it as four stars out of five and said, "it is a rare, fine thing: the sound of the perfect A&R sales pitch turning into a real band. Now we can find out if these guys can stay together, and go somewhere new." [13]
ShakingThrough.net rated it as three and a half stars, although it said, "Contraband, the debut result of said pairing, never does transmute its elements into something new and exciting. Mostly, it sounds like no more and a little less than one might hope for from such a union." [19]
Entertainment Weekly gave it a B−, saying, "[E]ven at its sharpest, Contraband feels secondhand, and much of it is also hobbled by a disconnect between singer and band." [11]
Allmusic rated it as three stars out of five, saying, "With Contraband, Velvet Revolver has pulled off something tidy, fashioning music that manages both hedonism and maturity. It upholds legacies while grading a new route." Best tracks: "Big Machine", "Fall to Pieces" "Slither" [8]
Blender said it was "A showcase for Weiland's vocals". [10] Playlouder rated it as three candles out of five saying it sounded more like Stone Temple Pilots and "anyone who'd hoped for Guns N' Roses mark II (or III) will be very seriously disappointed." Best track "Fall to Pieces" [20]
In 2005, Contraband was ranked number 317 in Rock Hard magazine's book The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time. [21]
Contraband debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, selling 256,000 copies in its first week of release. [1] Notably, this marked the best-ever debut for a new rock artist in the SoundScan era. The album would eventually sell over 2.9 million copies in the United States, and 4 million worldwide.
The first single, "Slither", topped a composite world modern rock chart in June, and later hit No. 1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart for 8 weeks. The follow-up, "Fall to Pieces", was a major crossover hit that reached No. 1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart for 11 weeks.
In 2005, Velvet Revolver won the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance, an award Weiland had previously won for the Stone Temple Pilots song "Plush" in 1994. At the ceremony, they were asked to play the music for a cover of The Beatles' "Across the Universe". The live recording was a hit on iTunes, with all proceeds going to charity. In January 2005, Velvet Revolver were also asked to play the music for a cover of Eric Clapton's "Tears in Heaven". The single was to aid victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, with all proceeds going to Save the Children Foundation.
All lyrics are written by Scott Weiland, except where noted; all music is composed by Velvet Revolver, except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Sucker Train Blues" | 4:27 | |
| 2. | "Do It for the Kids" | 3:55 | |
| 3. | "Big Machine" | 4:25 | |
| 4. | "Illegal I Song" | 4:17 | |
| 5. | "Spectacle" | 3:41 | |
| 6. | "Fall to Pieces" | 4:30 | |
| 7. | "Headspace" | 3:42 | |
| 8. | "Superhuman" | 4:15 | |
| 9. | "Set Me Free" | 4:07 | |
| 10. | "You Got No Right" | 5:35 | |
| 11. | "Slither" | 4:08 | |
| 12. | "Dirty Little Thing" | Velvet Revolver, Keith Nelson [22] | 3:57 |
| 13. | "Loving the Alien" | 5:48 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14. | "Bodies" (live Sex Pistols cover) | Johnny Rotten, Steve Jones, Sid Vicious, Paul Cook |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Surrender" (Cheap Trick cover) | Rick Nielsen | 4:25 |
| 2. | "No More No More" (Aerosmith cover) | Steven Tyler, Joe Perry | 5:39 |
| 3. | "Fall to Pieces" (Acoustic Version) | Weiland | 4:09 |
| 4. | "Slither" (music video) | Weiland, Slash, Duff McKagan, Matt Sorum, Dave Kushner | 4:11 |
| 5. | "Fall to Pieces" (music video) | Weiland | 4:34 |
| 6. | "Dirty Little Thing" (music video) | Slash, McKagan, Sorum, Nelson | 3:58 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Surrender" (Cheap Trick cover) | Nielsen | 4:25 |
| 2. | "No More No More" (Aerosmith cover) | Tyler, Perry | 5:39 |
| 3. | "Negative Creep" (Nirvana cover) | Kurt Cobain | 6:49 |
| 4. | "Slither" (music video) | Weiland, Slash, McKagan, Sorum, Kushner | 4:11 |
| 5. | "Fall to Pieces" (music video) | Weiland | 4:34 |
Note
Adapted from the album's booklet. [22]
Velvet Revolver
Design
| Production
|
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Singles - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | "Slither" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 1 |
| Modern Rock Tracks | 1 | ||
| The Billboard Hot 100 | 56 | ||
| "Fall to Pieces" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 1 | |
| Modern Rock Tracks | 2 | ||
| The Billboard Hot 100 | 67 | ||
| "Dirty Little Thing" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 8 | |
| 2005 | Modern Rock Tracks | 18 | |
| "Fall to Pieces" | Adult Top 40 | 25 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA) [49] | Gold | 35,000^ |
| Canada (Music Canada) [50] | 2× Platinum | 200,000^ |
| Japan (RIAJ) [51] | Gold | 100,000^ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ) [52] | Platinum | 15,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI) [53] | Gold | 100,000^ |
| United States (RIAA) [54] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
Slash's Snakepit was an American rock supergroup from Los Angeles, California, formed by Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash in 1994. Though often described as a solo or side project, Slash stated that Snakepit was a band with equal contributions by all members. The first lineup of the band consisted of Slash, two of his Guns N' Roses bandmates—drummer Matt Sorum and guitarist Gilby Clarke—as well as Alice in Chains bassist Mike Inez and former Jellyfish guitarist Eric Dover on lead vocals.
Scott Richard Weiland was an American singer and songwriter. He was best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Stone Temple Pilots from 1989 to 2003 and again from 2008 to 2013, recording six albums with them. Weiland is also known for being the lead vocalist of the rock supergroup Velvet Revolver from 2003 to 2008. He also released one album with rock supergroup Art of Anarchy in 2015, as well as four solo studio albums and several collaborations with other musicians throughout his career.
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