Libertad (album)

Infobox Album
Name = Libertad
Type = studio
Artist = Velvet Revolver


Released = July 3, 2007
Recorded = December 11, 2006 - February 22, 2007
Genre = Hard rock
Length = 51:56
Label = RCA Records
Producer = Brendan O'Brien
Reviews =
*Allmusic rating|3.5|5 [http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:jcfwxz85ldje~T1 link]
*Billboard (Positive) [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/content_display/reviews/albums/e3i89c2284e7501ca124805438372fef2ed link]
*Blabbermouth rating|6|10 [http://www.roadrun.com/blabbermouth.net/showreview.aspx?reviewID=1173 link]
*"Entertainment Weekly" (A-) [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20043357,00.html link]
*New York Post rating|4|4 [http://www.nypost.com/seven/07012007/entertainment/music/velvet_revolver__libertad_music_dan_aquilante.htm link]
*"Rolling Stone" rating|3.5|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/velvetrevolver/albums/album/15258013/review/15605572/libertad link]
*San Francisco Chronicle (Positive) [http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/07/01/PKGT1P40MN1.DTL&type=music link]
*Ultimate Guitar rating|9|10 [http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/reviews/compact_discs/velvet_revolver/libertad/index.html link]
*USA Today rating|3|4 [http://blogs.usatoday.com/listenup/2007/07/this-weeks-revi.html link]
*Yahoo (Positive) [http://tv.yahoo.com/news/article/urn:newsml:cp.org:20070703:TV-53625025__ER:1 link]
Last album = "Melody and the Tyranny" (2007)
This album = "Libertad" (2007)
Next album =
Misc = Singles
Name = nowrap|Libertad
Type = studio
Single 1 = She Builds Quick Machines
Single 1 date = May 21, 2007
Single 2 = The Last Fight
Single 2 date = August 20, 2007
Single 3 = Get Out the Door
Single 3 date = 2007

"Libertad" is the second studio album released by American supergroup Velvet Revolver. The album was released in the US on July 3, 2007. The name is Catalan and translates to "liberty" or "freedom" in English. According to a 2007 interview with "Rolling Stone", along with the Stone Temple Pilots album "Core", "Libertad" is the only album lead singer Scott Weiland has written sober.

"Libertad" was the last album to feature Weiland on vocals.

Release and promotion

Velvet Revolver originally announced their plans for a second album in late 2005, when lead singer Scott Weiland said that the band was planning on recording a concept album. Although it is not certain how concrete the concept album plans were [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac1jn8ZIqQc YouTube - Pt2. Metal Hammer in conversation with Duff McKagan ] ] , they were eventually scrapped and the band began to work with famed producer Rick Rubin. However, the bandmembers felt that Rubin was not a good fit for the band and thus parted ways with him. In December 2006, Velvet Revolver began working with producer Brendan O'Brien, who had previously produced albums for Stone Temple Pilots, Weiland's former band. As Scott Weiland commented in Kerrang! magazine, "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. Once Brendan (O'Brien) came on board, it was kind of like a shot in the arm. It was a new energy." Recording began on December 11 and continued through December, January, and February. The process was documented by a series of video blogs, or "Vlogs", available on the band's website.

On June 26, 2007, Velvet Revolver released a sneak peek of "Libertad" in its entirety.

The album debuted at number five on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling 92,000 copies in its first week; as of October 12, 2007, it has sold 222,000 copies and has fallen off the charts. [Katie Hasty, [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003609787 T.I. Is Top Dog Again On The Billboard 200] , Billboard.com, July 11, 2007.] The album is certified Gold in New Zealand. Upon its release, "Libertad" has received good reviews and was said to possibly be "THE rock record of the summer" according to the Associated Press.

Libertad is an Enhanced-CD which includes a 10-minute video documentary called "Re-Evolution: The Making of Libertad" (Directed by Rocco Guarino). A deluxe "BestBuy" edition was also released which includes a DVD containing a 30-minute documentary called "Tierra Roja, Sangre Roja" (Directed by Rocco Guarino), that documented the band's journey across South America.

To promote the album, Velvet Revolver embarked on a South American tour with Aerosmith. The final performance saw 70,000 fans in attendance. Shortly thereafter, VR embarked on a North American club tour, revealing several new songs. The band also played major music festivals such as the Download Festival. On August 2007, they began a North American arena tour with Alice in Chains, and later tour Europe and Asia.

Songs from the album were featured at X Games XIII as being the official background music to the event. The track "Let It Roll" is also used as the official theme song for the 2007 WWE Diva Search. The song "American Man" has also been used in promotional ads for the popular drama "Prison Break" .

In an interview with Classic Rock magazine, just days before he was kicked out of the band, Weiland called Libertad a "dead album" due to it failing to top the success of its predecessor.

Cover

The album's cover features a stylized 10 pesos coin from Chile produced from 1976 to 1991. The coin is an allegory to the Coup d'etat in Chile in 1973. [cite web
url = http://www.gnrdaily.com/news_detail.asp?id=671
title = VR Reveals Artwork but Pushes Back Release
accessdate = 2007-05-10
date = 2007-05-10
publisher = gnrdaily.com
language = English]

It was actually later stated by Slash in an interview in September 2007 by 102.1 The Edge in Dallas that the image came from a friend's necklace. Slash reported that he had no idea what the significance of the image was until a concert in Brazil. However it also resembles a Led Zeppelin logo, a band Slash is very fond of.

Track listing

All songs written by Scott Weiland, Slash, Dave Kushner, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum except where noted.
# "Let It Roll" - 2:32
# "She Mine" - 3:24
# "Get Out the Door" - 3:14
# "She Builds Quick Machines" - 4:01
# "The Last Fight" - 4:03
# "Pills, Demons & Etc." - 2:54
# "American Man" - 3:56
# "Mary Mary" - 4:34
# "Just Sixteen" - 3:59
# "Can't Get It Out of My Head" (Jeff Lynne) - 3:58
#*ELO cover
# "For a Brother" - 3:26
# "Spay" - 3:06
# "Gravedancer" - 4:32 (actual track time 8:42)
#*Contains a hidden track named "Don't Drop That Dime" (3:59) starting at 04:43.
# "Gas and a Dollar Laugh" (Japanese Bonus Track)
# "Messages" (iTunes Bonus Track)
# "Psycho Killer" (iTunes Bonus Track)
#*Talking Heads cover

Personnel

* Scott Weiland-Lead Vocals, Keyboards
* Slash - Lead Guitar
* Dave Kushner - Rhythm Guitar
* Duff McKagan - Bass, Backing Vocals
* Matt Sorum - Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals
*Produced by Brendan O'Brien & Velvet Revolver
* Documentaries Produced and Directed by [http://www.roccosongs.com Rocco Guarino]

ingles

B-Sides

*"Psycho Killer" (Talking Heads cover on "Melody and the Tyranny" and iTunes bonustrack)
*"Messages" (iTunes bonustrack, and also released in the video game as a downloadable song)
*"Gas and a Dollar Laugh" (Japan Bonus Track)

The following tracks are known to have been either talked from the band members or shows on the vlogs, but were actually never released.

*"Boogie in 'E'"
*"Motherfucka"
*"Please Don't Go"
*"Queen for a Day"
*"Remedy"
*"Swiss Miss"
*"Wasted Heart"

ources