Album · Velvet Revolver
Contraband by Velvet Revolver
Contraband is an album by Velvet Revolver, released in 2004. 6 songs from it have charted on rock radio countdowns, with 71 countdown appearances in total. The biggest is “Slither”, on 32 lists and voted number one once.
Contraband, Velvet Revolver's debut, rolled out on RCA on June 8, 2004, and it went straight in at number one on the Billboard 200 before going double platinum. The lineup: Slash on electric guitar, Duff McKagan on bass and Matt Sorum on drums, with Scott Weiland out front on lead vocals. Josh Abraham produced.
The sound is pure hard rock with the chrome polished up for a new decade. "Slither" is the calling card, a coiling, grinding riff with Weiland sneering over the top, while "Sucker Train Blues" and "Dirty Little Thing" barrel along with a leering, sleazy strut. Then "Fall to Pieces" slows everything down into a big, bruised power ballad, all aching guitar and Weiland at his most wounded, and "Set Me Free" crackles with the restless energy of a band still figuring out how much noise it can make together.
It's loud, cocky and a little bit dangerous, and it doesn't waste a minute pretending to be anything else.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs from Contraband on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Slither | 32 | #1 | 1 | 2004–2025 | |
| 2 | Fall to Pieces | 24 | #6 | – | 2004–2019 | |
| 3 | Dirty Little Thing | 5 | #26 | – | 2004–2005 | |
| 4 | Set Me Free | 7 | #45 | – | 2003 | |
| 5 | Sucker Train Blues | 2 | #90 | – | 2004–2005 | |
| 6 | Big Machine | 1 | #93 | – | 2004 |
Only songs that appear on at least one countdown are listed. Release data from MusicBrainz.