(3.5 stars)
Okay, I must admit, I wasn't really anticipating this thing that much. I loved/still love STP, and would much rather be reviewing their sixth album, but hey..this is better than nothing. As for Guns n Roses, I was never a huge fan (I did enjoy most of their radio singles, if nothing else), but Slash, Duff, and the rest of the gang are all great respective musicians.
1. Sucker Train Blues
Fast paced, heavy opener built around a heavy bass line. The chorus has a good hook, and I love the guitar solo towards the end. Overall, a good song, no complaints.
2. Do It For the Kids

A heavy arena rocker. Again, nice guitar work, and a pretty catchy chorus due to Scott's vocal delivery.
3. Big Machine
Starts off a hypnotic drum/bass combo..then the guitars really kick in for the chorus as Scott sings, "It's a big machine, it's a big machine, we're all slaves to the big machine". There's a nice little bridge too. Sleazy and fun. A standout.
4. Illegal I Song
Another heavy song. The verses are loud and angry, but again, the chorus has a good hook ("Just look and you'll see me..lyyyyyyin there...lyyyyyyin there..). Scott has become a pro with his vocal delivery. The bridge is an instrumental/spoken word-ish thing, then back into the chorus. Scott screams "Just look at you!" repeatedly as the song comes to a halt.
5. Spectacle
Yet another really heavy song. The main guitar riff is pretty killer, nice drum work, really cool guitar solo, decent chorus. Pretty much like all the previous songs. But at this point, you're kinda aching for them to slow things down a bit.
6. Fall To Pieces
Sure enough, here comes the power ballad. And it's *excellent*..a total standout, and my favorite song on the album. There's a definite GnR feel to it. Very memorable vocal performance from Scott, and I love Slash's guitar arpeggios in the chorus. It'll probably be a single.
7. Headspace
Another "good but not particularily" memorable hard rocker. Not much else to say!
8. Superhuman
A Flaming Lips cover? Oh wait, that was "Superhumans". Starts off with a cool little electronic sounding guitar riff. The verses are bass heavy, pre-chorus has a neat vocal melody, chorus is kinda generic. Decent, nothing special.
9. Set Me Free
This was on the Hulk soundtrack last year. I only heard it a couple times last summer, but I was never crazy about it. Now that I hear it again, it's actually pretty decent. The main guitar riff is cool, and that so is the "My Freedom" part at the end.
10. You Got No Right
Doesn't that sound like a GnR song title? Accoustic guitar at the beginning..it's another ballad, which is fine, because it's nice to hear Scott actually sing (the guy does have a great voice) once and awhile. It gets heavier towards the end, with an anthematic bridge, and Slash guitar solo. A really good song with an STP feel to it.
11. Slither
The first single, I'm sure everyone has heard it. I gotta say, I like how they put it towards the end of the album..I hate how some bands put all the singles right at the beginning (sometimes right in a row). It's annoying..like, "Here's our singles, and a bunch of crappy songs after it". Anyway, I didn't like it the first couple times I heard it on the radio/MTV, but it grew on me in a major way. Great song, very catchy chorus. It also has an STP feel to it, but that guitar solo at the end is pure Slash.
12. Dirty Little Thing
Another GnR sounding title. Musically, it's heavy, raucous..doesn't cover any new ground, but it's not bad. The guitar solo towards the end rules.
13. Loving the Alien
Loving the Alien? Um, kay. Primarily an accoustic ballad. Has a nice, laid back, bluesey feel to it. Scott sings falsetto during the [excellent] bridge, and Slash gives another great guitar solo. Really good closer.
Okay..so I like this album. Do I love it? No, not yet at least (I've only listened to it a couple times, so it may grow on me). But it's pretty much what I expected. Most "supergroups", unfortunately, never really cover a whole lot of new ground, and make you long for the respective bands that they formed from. I must say though, this is much better than another supergroup's recent debut album - that being Audioslave. The two albums are pretty similar too, in the sense that they're comprised primarily of hard rockers with a few ballads thrown in. But whereas Audioslave's ballads were either boring ("I Am the Highway"), plodding ("I Am the Highway"), or a god awful combination of both ("Like a Stone"), the ones on "Contraband" really shine, especially "Fall to Pieces". As for the hard rockers, "Sucker Train Blues", "Big Machine", and "Slither" stand out the most after the first listen. The others are also good, balls out songs to crank up and play air guitar to, but nothing that really makes you go "WOW".
So in conclusion, I paid $9.99 for this album, and I definetly feel like I got my money's worth. By no means a terrific album, but it's a solid, above average one. Now excuse me while I listen to "Liars" by Todd Rundgren again.
Best Songs: Fall To Pieces, Big Machine, Loving the Alien, You Got No Right, Slither.
(3. 5 stars)
Okay, I must admit, I wasn't really anticipating this thing that much. I loved/still love STP, and would much rather be reviewing their sixth album, but hey.. this is better than nothing. As for Guns n Roses, I was never a huge fan (I did enjoy most of their radio singles, if nothing else), but Slash, Duff, and the rest of the gang are all great respective musicians. 1. Sucker Train Blues
Fast paced, heavy opener built around a heavy bass line. The chorus has a good hook, and I love the guitar solo towards the end. Overall, a good song, no complaints. 2. Do It For the Kids

A heavy arena rocker. Again, nice guitar work, and a pretty catchy chorus due to Scott's vocal delivery. 3. Big Machine
Starts off a hypnotic drum/bass combo.. then the guitars really kick in for the chorus as Scott sings, "It's a big machine, it's a big machine, we're all slaves to the big machine". There's a nice little bridge too. Sleazy and fun. A standout. 4. Illegal I Song
Another heavy song. The verses are loud and angry, but again, the chorus has a good hook ("Just look and you'll see me.. lyyyyyyin there... lyyyyyyin there.. ). Scott has become a pro with his vocal delivery. The bridge is an instrumental/spoken word-ish thing, then back into the chorus. Scott screams "Just look at you! " repeatedly as the song comes to a halt. 5. Spectacle
Yet another really heavy song. The main guitar riff is pretty killer, nice drum work, really cool guitar solo, decent chorus. Pretty much like all the previous songs. But at this point, you're kinda aching for them to slow things down a bit. 6. Fall To Pieces
Sure enough, here comes the power ballad. And it's *excellent*.. a total standout, and my favorite song on the album. There's a definite GnR feel to it. Very memorable vocal performance from Scott, and I love Slash's guitar arpeggios in the chorus. It'll probably be a single. 7. Headspace
Another "good but not particularily" memorable hard rocker. Not much else to say! 8. Superhuman
A Flaming Lips cover? Oh wait, that was "Superhumans". Starts off with a cool little electronic sounding guitar riff. The verses are bass heavy, pre-chorus has a neat vocal melody, chorus is kinda generic. Decent, nothing special. 9. Set Me Free
This was on the Hulk soundtrack last year. I only heard it a couple times last summer, but I was never crazy about it. Now that I hear it again, it's actually pretty decent. The main guitar riff is cool, and that so is the "My Freedom" part at the end. 10. You Got No Right
Doesn't that sound like a GnR song title? Accoustic guitar at the beginning.. it's another ballad, which is fine, because it's nice to hear Scott actually sing (the guy does have a great voice) once and awhile. It gets heavier towards the end, with an anthematic bridge, and Slash guitar solo. A really good song with an STP feel to it. 11. Slither
The first single, I'm sure everyone has heard it. I gotta say, I like how they put it towards the end of the album.. I hate how some bands put all the singles right at the beginning (sometimes right in a row). It's annoying.. like, "Here's our singles, and a bunch of crappy songs after it". Anyway, I didn't like it the first couple times I heard it on the radio/MTV, but it grew on me in a major way. Great song, very catchy chorus. It also has an STP feel to it, but that guitar solo at the end is pure Slash. 12. Dirty Little Thing
Another GnR sounding title. Musically, it's heavy, raucous.. doesn't cover any new ground, but it's not bad. The guitar solo towards the end rules. 13. Loving the Alien
Loving the Alien? Um, kay. Primarily an accoustic ballad. Has a nice, laid back, bluesey feel to it. Scott sings falsetto during the [excellent] bridge, and Slash gives another great guitar solo. Really good closer. Okay.. so I like this album. Do I love it? No, not yet at least (I've only listened to it a couple times, so it may grow on me). But it's pretty much what I expected. Most "supergroups", unfortunately, never really cover a whole lot of new ground, and make you long for the respective bands that they formed from. I must say though, this is much better than another supergroup's recent debut album - that being Audioslave. The two albums are pretty similar too, in the sense that they're comprised primarily of hard rockers with a few ballads thrown in. But whereas Audioslave's ballads were either boring ("I Am the Highway"), plodding ("I Am the Highway"), or a god awful combination of both ("Like a Stone"), the ones on "Contraband" really shine, especially "Fall to Pieces". As for the hard rockers, "Sucker Train Blues", "Big Machine", and "Slither" stand out the most after the first listen. The others are also good, balls out songs to crank up and play air guitar to, but nothing that really makes you go "WOW". So in conclusion, I paid $9. 99 for this album, and I definetly feel like I got my money's worth. By no means a terrific album, but it's a solid, above average one. Now excuse me while I listen to "Liars" by Todd Rundgren again. Best Songs: Fall To Pieces, Big Machine, Loving the Alien, You Got No Right, Slither.