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.