Why is Libertad so underrated?

[sonofnazareth]

A much better album than Contraband (which was very immediate, but commercial and boring). Velvet Revolver's and Slash's best songwriting work (apart from Ain't Life Grand) since he left GNR in my opinion.

Edited January 23, 2016 by sonofnazareth

[Len Cnut]

Cuz Guns ride that unfortunate borderline between metal and rock which means that every time the gang make something that leans a bit more towards polished songwriting and catchiness all the fuckin' greasers get their dirty metallers knickers in a twist because they think being hard has got something to do with shit sounding guitars and sad metaller wanker cliche lyrics.

[ludurigan]

A much better album than Contraband (which was very immediate, but commercial and boring). Velvet Revolver's and Slash's best songwriting work since he left GNR in my opinion.

yeah, its like 18 times better than contraband

problem #1 is that it has 3 or 4 great songs and the rest is not great. some pf the stuff is awful (let it roll,

problem #2 is that they left the best VR song ever out of it (Comer on Come in)

problem #3 is that they pushed the wrong songs (Get Out The Door should have been first single, then She Mine and Just 16. She Builds Quick Machines is not a single)

problem #4 is that some of the better songwriting comes probably from Dave Kushner (who wrote Get out The Door).

problem #5 is that Scott was too much hit or miss. He can be really good on some songs and then veryyawful and boring on the very next one

biggest problem, of course, is they dont have Izzy. In GNR Izzy was the guy that knew how to write great songs AND knew how to turn Slash terrific riffs, licks and ideas into proper songs. Slash still hasnt found anyone other than Izzy capable of doing that for him.

[LikeADog93]

I do agree that Libertad is underrated and a good album, but I have to draw the line at saying it's better than Contraband. Contraband is better from top to bottom and the best songs on Libertad don't quite stand up to the best songs on Contraband. You Got No Right, Fall to Pieces, Sucker Train Blues, Big Machine, Set Me Free, etc are much better than She Builds Quick Machines, She Mine, Get Out the Door, Let It Roll, Last Fight etc. Although my favorite Libertad song, For a Brother, just might be my fav VR song. Either that or You Got No Right.

[sonofnazareth]

A much better album than Contraband (which was very immediate, but commercial and boring). Velvet Revolver's and Slash's best songwriting work since he left GNR in my opinion.

yeah, its like 18 times better than contraband

problem #1 is that it has 3 or 4 great songs and the rest is not great. some pf the stuff is awful (let it roll,

problem #2 is that they left the best VR song ever out of it (Comer on Come in)

problem #3 is that they pushed the wrong songs (Get Out The Door should have been first single, then She Mine and Just 16. She Builds Quick Machines is not a single)

problem #4 is that some of the better songwriting comes probably from Dave Kushner (who wrote Get out The Door).

problem #5 is that Scott was too much hit or miss. He can be really good on some songs and then veryyawful and boring on the very next one

biggest problem, of course, is they dont have Izzy. In GNR Izzy was the guy that knew how to write great songs AND knew how to turn Slash terrific riffs, licks and ideas into proper songs. Slash still hasnt found anyone other than Izzy capable of doing that for him.

I do agree that Libertad is underrated and a good album, but I have to draw the line at saying it's better than Contraband. Contraband is better from top to bottom and the best songs on Libertad don't quite stand up to the best songs on Contraband. You Got No Right, Fall to Pieces, Sucker Train Blues, Big Machine, Set Me Free, etc are much better than She Builds Quick Machines, She Mine, Get Out the Door, Let It Roll, Last Fight etc. Although my favorite Libertad song, For a Brother, just might be my fav VR song. Either that or You Got No Right.

There are enough posts which bash this album. This thread is about how underrated and great this album is in comparison to Contraband and all of Slash's solo work. If you don't like it, why post negative comments?

Edited January 22, 2016 by sonofnazareth

[LikeADog93]

A much better album than Contraband (which was very immediate, but commercial and boring). Velvet Revolver's and Slash's best songwriting work since he left GNR in my opinion.

yeah, its like 18 times better than contraband

problem #1 is that it has 3 or 4 great songs and the rest is not great. some pf the stuff is awful (let it roll,

problem #2 is that they left the best VR song ever out of it (Comer on Come in)

problem #3 is that they pushed the wrong songs (Get Out The Door should have been first single, then She Mine and Just 16. She Builds Quick Machines is not a single)

problem #4 is that some of the better songwriting comes probably from Dave Kushner (who wrote Get out The Door).

problem #5 is that Scott was too much hit or miss. He can be really good on some songs and then veryyawful and boring on the very next one

biggest problem, of course, is they dont have Izzy. In GNR Izzy was the guy that knew how to write great songs AND knew how to turn Slash terrific riffs, licks and ideas into proper songs. Slash still hasnt found anyone other than Izzy capable of doing that for him.

I do agree that Libertad is underrated and a good album, but I have to draw the line at saying it's better than Contraband. Contraband is better from top to bottom and the best songs on Libertad don't quite stand up to the best songs on Contraband. You Got No Right, Fall to Pieces, Sucker Train Blues, Big Machine, Set Me Free, etc are much better than She Builds Quick Machines, She Mine, Get Out the Door, Let It Roll, Last Fight etc. Although my favorite Libertad song, For a Brother, just might be my fav VR song. Either that or You Got No Right.

There are enough posts which bash this album. This thread is about how underrated and great this album is in comparison to Contraband and all of Slash's solo work. If you don't like it, why post negative comments?

You obviously didn't comprehend my post, because the very first line of it is me agreeing that it is an underrated and good album. Saying that I think Contraband is better doesn't mean I'm bashing Libertad.

[sonofnazareth]

A much better album than Contraband (which was very immediate, but commercial and boring). Velvet Revolver's and Slash's best songwriting work since he left GNR in my opinion.

yeah, its like 18 times better than contraband

problem #1 is that it has 3 or 4 great songs and the rest is not great. some pf the stuff is awful (let it roll,

problem #2 is that they left the best VR song ever out of it (Comer on Come in)

problem #3 is that they pushed the wrong songs (Get Out The Door should have been first single, then She Mine and Just 16. She Builds Quick Machines is not a single)

problem #4 is that some of the better songwriting comes probably from Dave Kushner (who wrote Get out The Door).

problem #5 is that Scott was too much hit or miss. He can be really good on some songs and then veryyawful and boring on the very next one

biggest problem, of course, is they dont have Izzy. In GNR Izzy was the guy that knew how to write great songs AND knew how to turn Slash terrific riffs, licks and ideas into proper songs. Slash still hasnt found anyone other than Izzy capable of doing that for him.

I do agree that Libertad is underrated and a good album, but I have to draw the line at saying it's better than Contraband. Contraband is better from top to bottom and the best songs on Libertad don't quite stand up to the best songs on Contraband. You Got No Right, Fall to Pieces, Sucker Train Blues, Big Machine, Set Me Free, etc are much better than She Builds Quick Machines, She Mine, Get Out the Door, Let It Roll, Last Fight etc. Although my favorite Libertad song, For a Brother, just might be my fav VR song. Either that or You Got No Right.

There are enough posts which bash this album. This thread is about how underrated and great this album is in comparison to Contraband and all of Slash's solo work. If you don't like it, why post negative comments?

You obviously didn't comprehend my post, because the very first line of it is me agreeing that it is an underrated and good album. Saying that I think Contraband is better doesn't mean I'm bashing Libertad.

I'm sorry, I meant to only include ludurigan's quote in my response and not yours.

Edited January 22, 2016 by sonofnazareth

[Towelie]

The best song on Libertad wasn't on Libertad (Messages).

Replace the juvenile Just Sixteen and the decidedly average She Mine with Messages and Psycho Killer and it'd be a much better album imo.

Edited January 22, 2016 by Towelie

[LikeADog93]

The best song on Libertad wasn't on Libertad (Messages).

Replace the juvenile Just Sixteen and the decidedly average She Mine with Messages and Psycho Killer and it'd be a much better album imo.

Totally agree!! Those are my two least favorite songs on the album as well. Two that I love and think don't get enough credit are Pills, Demons, Etc and Spay.

[AxlisOld]

Because Libertad gargled balls.

[sonofnazareth]

Because Libertad gargled balls.

that's what makes it underrated? ok..

[jekylhyde]

In my opinion, it just wasn't that good. Some of the songs sounded uninspired, to me anyway. It isn't all that bad. But I was hoping it would be Contraband 2.0.

And I like that bands branch out and hone their songwriting skills. But those approaches didn't work on Libertad, IMO.

Put Messages, Psycho Killer and Come On, Come In in there and it's a much better album. I still can't understand why they left Messages out. That is one of their best songs.

[moreblack]

I remember the shows from the Libertad tour being incredible. Caught them on that tour and they were untouchable live.

[maynard]

I prefer Contraband but 'Messages' alone shows great of a band they were. Perfect mix of styles, influences, etc. Great and underrated band.

[DieselDaisy]

In my opinion, Contraband is garbage whereas Libertad rather splendid

[appetite4illusions]

It all depends on what you like. Many folks on this forum did like Libertad, I just get the feeling that everybody, from general music fans to Slash and the band itself, struggled to swallow the pill, because it was awkward to say the least.

Scott couldn't get behind the Libertad material. Wherever his head was at- he saw "hard rock" as a boring genre and wanted to test the limits of the music and get a bit more experimental (sounds familiar, right?).

The result was Libertad, what I would call an all around "compromise" for all parties involved. The songs that the band had written probably had a lot of balls to it, but once Scott said he didn't want balls, they had to find something that was candy and poppy in the way that STP could do so well.

Guess what? VR could not do candy and poppy songs the way STP could. Slash and Duff do many things well, but this is not one of them.

The only good rock song on that album was Spay. Like Contraband or dislike it, the album set up a particular type of sound and the fans gravitated towards it for that sound. Because Libertad was a step away from that sound, they lost a bit of the fanbase and the album itself wasn't conducive to getting them any new fans.

That, and Scott finally dropped the ball for the first time as a songwriter. This was the first time he bored me with his music. His hooks failed to live up and I started to wonder if giving up dope had killed his creative muse (Scott never got his A-game back, either.).

[jekylhyde]

^ This.

[EvH]

Gravedancer is a great song.

[CheapJon]

Well, to me it isn't underrated. Here's how I rate the Libertad songs.

Let it roll - Kinda sweet

She mine - bad

GOTD - average

SBQM - not particulary good

the last fight - pretty good

PDe - bad

american man - Hm, nice bass intro I guess

MaryX2 - Just no

16 - I liked it at the time as one of the better songs, guess it still is.

ELO Cover - no thanks

4 a bro - I had honestly forgotten about this song.

Spay - at least there's some energy to it

Gravedancer - bland meh

Don't drop that dime - fun song, not too bad

messages - Among VRs best songs

gas and a $ laugh - can't believe this one didn't make the record, would be one of the few highlights

psycho killer - nice cover

It's possible I missed some liberturd session songs but if I did, it probably wasn't good anyway. Come on, come in isn't from Libertad as it was released in 2005. If it was on L it would probably be the best song.

Libertad to me is a weak and generic effort. Among the absolute worst music Slash and Duff has been involved with since GNR. To me, it would be a better record if several songs were left out and the ones that didn't make it should definitely be on the album.

[moreblack]

There was an energy, and intensity to Contraband, but by comparisson, Libertad sounded kinda limp/bland/harmless.

[RichardNixon]

I agree that it's sorely underrated. The DVD of that tour, from Germany, is worth getting. Great show.

[ludurigan]

A much better album than Contraband (which was very immediate, but commercial and boring). Velvet Revolver's and Slash's best songwriting work since he left GNR in my opinion.

yeah, its like 18 times better than contraband

problem #1 is that it has 3 or 4 great songs and the rest is not great. some pf the stuff is awful (let it roll,

problem #2 is that they left the best VR song ever out of it (Comer on Come in)

problem #3 is that they pushed the wrong songs (Get Out The Door should have been first single, then She Mine and Just 16. She Builds Quick Machines is not a single)

problem #4 is that some of the better songwriting comes probably from Dave Kushner (who wrote Get out The Door).

problem #5 is that Scott was too much hit or miss. He can be really good on some songs and then veryyawful and boring on the very next one

biggest problem, of course, is they dont have Izzy. In GNR Izzy was the guy that knew how to write great songs AND knew how to turn Slash terrific riffs, licks and ideas into proper songs. Slash still hasnt found anyone other than Izzy capable of doing that for him.

I do agree that Libertad is underrated and a good album, but I have to draw the line at saying it's better than Contraband. Contraband is better from top to bottom and the best songs on Libertad don't quite stand up to the best songs on Contraband. You Got No Right, Fall to Pieces, Sucker Train Blues, Big Machine, Set Me Free, etc are much better than She Builds Quick Machines, She Mine, Get Out the Door, Let It Roll, Last Fight etc. Although my favorite Libertad song, For a Brother, just might be my fav VR song. Either that or You Got No Right.

There are enough posts which bash this album. This thread is about how underrated and great this album is in comparison to Contraband and all of Slash's solo work. If you don't like it, why post negative comments?

you asked why it is underrated

my answer was

I kinda like it (as I wrote it is at least 18 times better than Contraboring and has 3 great songs on it)

and then I wrote a list of problems that, in my opinion, fucked the album

and because of thos problems, in my opinion, people dont like it very much

(and because of that it is underrated)

so basically i answered your question

got it?

[ludurigan]

It all depends on what you like. Many folks on this forum did like Libertad, I just get the feeling that everybody, from general music fans to Slash and the band itself, struggled to swallow the pill, because it was awkward to say the least.

Scott couldn't get behind the Libertad material. Wherever his head was at- he saw "hard rock" as a boring genre and wanted to test the limits of the music and get a bit more experimental (sounds familiar, right?).

The result was Libertad, what I would call an all around "compromise" for all parties involved. The songs that the band had written probably had a lot of balls to it, but once Scott said he didn't want balls, they had to find something that was candy and poppy in the way that STP could do so well.

Guess what? VR could not do candy and poppy songs the way STP could. Slash and Duff do many things well, but this is not one of them.

The only good rock song on that album was Spay. Like Contraband or dislike it, the album set up a particular type of sound and the fans gravitated towards it for that sound. Because Libertad was a step away from that sound, they lost a bit of the fanbase and the album itself wasn't conducive to getting them any new fans.

That, and Scott finally dropped the ball for the first time as a songwriter. This was the first time he bored me with his music. His hooks failed to live up and I started to wonder if giving up dope had killed his creative muse (Scott never got his A-game back, either.).

great insight on this

[DieselDaisy]

Libertad is infinitely superior to Contraband.

[J Dog]

Contraband just had that big rock n roll feel. Slither, Fall to Pieces, those are fucking singles all the way. Big rock songs. Libertad is more, I guess mellow is a good word. I always liked it just as much as Contraband. Two albums with two different vibes. Psycho Killer should have been on the reg. version. And Don't Drop That Dime is boss.