Velvet Revolver's 2nd Album: Libertad

This is a collection of information and quotes about VR's upcoming second album. It serves as a timeline with changing information and updates, with the most recent information on top. Scroll down this page for older news and article links.

News Articles:

2007/04/11: Rock Sound Magazine
2007/04/11: Metal Hammer Magazine
2007/04/11: Kerrang! Magazine
2007/04/10: RockAndPop (Chile)
2007/03/31: Q Magazine: In The Studio
2007/03/12: Rolling Stone Magazine: Velvet Gold Mine
2007/03/02: MTV News: Weiland, Slash To Honor Van Halen At Rock Hall; Revolver LP #2 Done
2007/02/28: Artisan News Service: Interview with Dave Kushner
2007/01/31: Revolver Magazine: Scott Weiland and Friends Prep "Real Mean Rock'N'Roll Record"
2006/12/12: AOL Music: Velvet Revolver Lock and Load on New Album
2006/12/12: MTV News: Scott Weiland Pumped For Velvet Revolver LP, Solo Collabo With Pharrell
2006/12/03: VR's Official MySpace Blog
2006/12/01: Billboard: Velvet Revolver Rediscovers Inspiration on New Album
2006/11/17: Matt Sorum's blog
2006/08/11: Matt Sorum's blog
2006/08/01: Blender: Interview with Pharrell Williams
2006/07/03: Billboard: Pharrell finds time for N.E.R.D., Jay-Z
2006/06/19: Matt Sorum's blog
2006/06/23: MTV News: No GN'R Reunion, No Reply To Christmas Cards, So Onward With Velvet Revolver
2006/05/08: Rolling Stone: Up In It
2006/04/19: Rolling Stone: Velvet Revolver Dive Deeper
2006/04/14: MTV News: Velvet Revolver Bassist Promises 'Stinky' Pharrell Collabo
2006/03/10: Blabbermouth: VR to start recording on April 10
2006/03/02: MTV News - For The Record: New record is going to be killer
2006/02/16: Blabbermouth: VR hope to make new album 'a little more dancable'
2005/12/21: ABC News: Velvet Revolver pursuing 'Freedom' on new cd
2005/12/14: Billboard - Velvet Revolver Feeling Conceptual
2005/12/13: MTV News - Move Over, Green Day — Velvet Revolver Plan Concept Album
2005/02/24: MTV News - Velvet Revolver Return To The Road In March, Write New LP In Transit

Quotes:

Duff, when asked by the News Tribune what song titles they had in December 2006: We’re about to go in and track this song, it’s called “Get Out the Door.” … It’s kind of a straight-up rocker. We just did a song, that Beatlesesque song. It’s called “The Last Fight.” (Thinks) “Gas and a Dollar Laugh.”

Duff: "We have this other song (that is) like a straight-up punk-rock song, and it’s just so classic. (Singer) Scott (Weiland) did a great job with the vocals. It’s called “Spay,” like spay and neuter. I think it’s pretty much talkin’ about young Hollywood at this point and maybe what they should go do to themselves. "

Q Magazine: "Get Out The Door has a feel-good dance groove. Spay is a vitriolic punk number that attacks the Paris Hiltons of the world and Messages is a lush ballad sung from the perspective of a passenger on one of the hijacked 9/11 planes."

"The album is head and shoulders above Contraband," says Weiland. "It has more texture. And it still rocks like a motherfucker."

"We wanted to make a record that stands up against the greats, such as Exile On Main St.," says frontman Scott Weiland, relaxing at Hollywood's Henson Studios. "And I absolutely think we've done it."

"Mary Mary" is a sexy love song inspired by "Little T & A" by the Stones. "Pills, Demons, Etc." - whose lyrics Weiland wrote after his brother’s death - erupts with furious beats as Weiland warns, "You got your demons and your wasted life/You could pull the trigger and you'd end the strife."

"If you’re shooting dope, it fucks up your voice completely. You have no range," says Weiland, whose vocal chops sound stronger and looser than ever. He also notes a deeper emotional connection within his work: "Without drugs, I have a direct link to my emotions. I can feel them."

Scott: "We had this joke in the studio that it's all A-sides, no B-sides," singer Scott Weiland said recently. "So it's really kind of hard to pick. There are just a lot of great songs."

Scott: (about Brendan O'Brien): "He has really helped the guys challenge themselves on a musical level," Weiland said. "[Libertad] definitely still rocks, but it's incredibly more musical. There's a lot more textures, and Slash and Duff have really sort of risen the bar. It just goes places that the first album didn't go."

Dave: (about Brendan O'Brien): "He is the best musician in the room. I talked to Tom Morello because he has done records with Brendan, and he said the same thing. And to have a producer who is so musical, you can't just skate by. He'll say, 'Why don't you try this chord?' And I'm like, 'I've never heard of that chord!' "

Dave: "You know it's totally different. It's totally different yet there's similar elements obviously, like the five of us but as far as songs I think they're a little more thought out, they're trying to stretch in different directions but then it's still us, so."

Dave: "Hey everyone, well.... Its finally here. The last day in the studio was yesterday ....sniff.... sniff.... and now all that's left to do is finish mixing. I can't even express to u people how f%@$n awesome it sounds !!!!! All the tracking is done. Just some last min vox and finish mixing. Its gonna be a good one!"

Duff: "The fist record kind of hit you over the head with a hammer. This record is more organic."

Rolling Stone Magazine: "Among the standout tracks on the Brendan O'Brien-produced disc is "Messages," about 9/11 victims leaving phone messages for their loved ones." "It's not your typical love ballad," says McKagan. "It's more cerebral."

Matt: "Hopefully, we will have a lot of the tracks done before Christmas and then come back in January and finish up," "We've got a song called 'Queen For A Day' that's awesome. We had a lot of songs that kind of went away, and now we've really homed in on, like, 20 great songs. Now it's more a cohesive rock 'n' roll album. It's probably going to be more stripped-down than the last album. We have a great ballad called 'The Last Fight,'" which he describes as having a 'Beatlesque vibe'."

Scott: "All of our hopes have even been elevated over the past three weeks. We were really excited about six months ago, when we first began writing. Then we really kind of flat-lined for a while. We didn't know which way we were going. There was a definite loss of inspiration for a bit there. It has a lot to do with chemistry. Once Brendan came on board, I guess it was kind of like a shot in the arm. It was a new energy."

Matt: "Very good news to report. Have offically started preproduction with Producer Brendan O'Brien who has produced many hit records ala Incubus, STP , Pearl Jam and The Boss Bruce Springsteen. Things are moving quick now. And we are all very excited.  Rome was not built in a day so I believe everyone will be very happy when its finished."

Matt: "We had been working in my studio but are now In a live rehearsal space. Coming up with some great jams. I am sorry we didn't play any new material on the 5 dates that we did play. The band wants the new stuff to be the best it can be before we let it out. Anyway plan on writing all of Sept and part of October then in the studio. That is the plan, so if it takes a little longer trust me it will be worth the wait. This album is going to Rock."

Matt: "Have been hard at work on the new VR stuff. We have been working 5 days a week for the last month. And have about 10 songs worked up. Going to work in my studio for another couple of weeks."

Slash: "We're in preproduction and it sounds amazing. I'm just really excited 'cause hopefully we'll get this thing out before the year's over. The material is amazing and ... we've grown so much as a band. I don't want to say [anything specific about] the songs, but the name for the album is Libertad, which is Spanish for 'liberty,' It's something that we feel strongly about: liberty, freedom, you know ..."

Duff: As for his favorite track thus far: "A song called 'Wasted Heart' is great. Kind of a back-to-Exile on Main Street-type of song."

Scott: "It's going great. We have about fifty songs. We have to whittle it down, record twenty and then pick about sixteen."

Matt: "The first one was definitely a rocking, punky, bashing record. We really want to make a deeper album this time. The other record was more of a collaboration -- now we want to see what everyone brings to the table on their own. It's cool when people come in with an idea without the usual collaborators, 'cause it can totally spark." Sorum adds that he and McKagan have been going off on their own, "writing a lot of riffs on the road, messing around with all kinds of different grooves, listening to Prince, tripping on stuff." Adding to the funk is hip-hop super-producer Pharrell Williams, recently signed on to work on the release.

Duff: "I think a lot's been said, but when it comes down to it we have to make the best record all of us collectively, and separately, ever made. Now we know who each other are and who we are as a band. The first record was really just us coming together and being straight in the studio, but now it's gonna be deeper and bigger and all that. Concept record? I don't know, but it's gonna be killer. "

Scott: "the title that I'm sort of kicking around is … 'Libertad,'" before adding "that can mean a lot of things." "The great rock and roll records were albums. It wasn't about 10 to 12 songs just thrown together so it can support three singles, which is sort of what records are about today." The singer said that he's hoping to emulate "the great records of yesteryear" like The Rolling Stones' "Exile On Main Street" and Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon." "This band and the bands that we come from, we've had a lot of hits, and we can prove that we can write hits," Weiland explained. "So on this album, I've set the bar really high. I have an idea in mind."

Duff: "We've got 10 or 12 ideas maybe. We had a lot of stuff from tour, from soundchecks or backstage. Matt has a studio in his house and we're just hashing out ideas there. This album really has to make a statement. We've toured for 18 months. Now we have a brand name. Now we know each other as a band. The first album was just us together at home, a spontaneous product. Now it's time to make that record."

Scott: "With the first record, it was kind of a feeling out process on a technical level. We were sort of bonded by blood in a sense, because we'd gone through very similar circumstances. On this record, I have a real concept in mind. Because of that, it will be a very album-oriented record instead of a singles-driven record." [..] "It's something I've been wanting to do since the last STP album, since the Shangri-La Dee Da album, and it never was completely realized. You never know until you really completely get there, but it's going in that direction right now."