The most important outcome of the Velvet Revolver project is that it has returned Slash, one of rock's all-time greatest guitarists, to public awareness. The world has been deprived of Slash's brilliance for far too long, and this album gives us an ecstatic helping of his maximalist riffs and blazing solos. Meanwhile, Duff has become a much more forceful and funky bassist, and Matt Sorum is swinging to a surprising degree. I'm not too familiar with Dave Kushner's background, but he has a strong underground pedigree and here he strongly holds down the fort whenever Slash goes off on a rampage, which is quite often. Velvet Revolver offers a slamming mix of classic trashy hard rock and current rhythms, bringing out all the strengths of the four musicians, for winning sounds that are both familiar and fresh.