Critical Response
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | (65/100) |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | |
| Blabbermouth.net | |
| Blender | |
| Entertainment Weekly | B− |
| Mojo | |
| PopMatters | |
| Rolling Stone | |
| Stylus Magazine | D+ |
| Ultimate Guitar Archive | (8.7/10) |
| Yahoo! Music | |
Metacritic.com has given Contraband an average score of 65 based on 14 reviews, indicating that the critical response has been "generally favorable".
Mojo rated the album as "a perpetually guilty pleasure." Q magazine said it was "astonishingly good" rating it as four stars.
Rolling Stone rated it as 4 stars out of 5 and said, "it is a rare, fine thing: the sound of the perfect A&R sales pitch turning into a real band. Now we can find out if these guys can stay together, and go somewhere new."
ShakingThrough.net rated it as 3.5 stars although it said, "Contraband, the debut result of said pairing, never does transmute its elements into something new and exciting. Mostly, it sounds like no more and a little less than one might hope for from such a union."
Entertainment Weekly gave it a B−, saying, "ven at its sharpest, Contraband feels secondhand, and much of it is also hobbled by a disconnect between singer and band."
Allmusic rated it as 3 stars out of 5 saying, "With Contraband, Velvet Revolver has pulled off something tidy, fashioning music that manages both hedonism and maturity. It upholds legacies while grading a new route." Best tracks: "Big Machine", "Fall to Pieces" "Slither"
Blender said it was "A showcase for Weiland's vocals". Playlouder rated it as three candles out of five saying it sounded more like Stone Temple Pilots and "anyone who'd hoped for Guns N' Roses mark II (or III) will be very seriously disappointed." Best track "Fall to Pieces"
Read more about this topic: Contraband (Velvet Revolver album)
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