Overly compromised

Rock

Velvet Revolver

A rock album shouldn't begin with an apology, especially not one from veterans of Guns N' Roses and Stone Temple Pilots. But put Velvet Revolver's sophomore CD into your computer and up pops a video of former GNR members Duff McKagen, Matt Sorum, and Slash, along with STP's Scott Weiland, awkwardly explaining why they didn't quite click on their 2004 debut, "Contraband." Points for honesty aside, Velvet Revolver still sounds more like a great idea than a great band. Weiland's got a formidable wail, McKagen and Sorum are solid, and Slash, being Slash, still easily outguns most guitarists while blindfolded by his own hair. But even when they hit their stride, as on opener "Let It Roll," "Just Sixteen," and "Spay," they don't click so much as they compromise. Slash restrains the reckless, sprawling style that once interrupted or just drowned out Axl Rose, giving Weiland too much of the spotlight and the whole album a bland, Buckcherry kind of sound. That lack of tension makes his shredding solo during Weiland's weak rendition of Electric Light Orchestra's "Can't Get It out of My Head" really satisfying, but it also makes "Libertad" lukewarm. [David Kieley]