VR Experiments

I was a bit caught off guard when I learned that hip hop producer Pharrell was going to team up with Velvet Revolver. Rap-rock collaborations have been commonplace ever since Run DMC broke new ground with Aerosmith. Somehow I get the feeling that Pharrell may do more harm than good. Is it fair for me to say that? I mean, after all, people probably thought the same thing when "Walk this Way" was mashed up. I'm sticking to my opinion..(FMQB)

Earlier this month, it was revealed that Velvet Revolver is working with Hip-Hop super-producer Pharrell Williams on material for their next album. Now the band says that they hope to stretch out and expand their sound on their sophomore effort, tentatively titled Libertide. Drummer Matt Sorum tells Rolling Stone, "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 added that he and Duff McKagan have been "writing a lot of riffs on the road, messing around with all kinds of different grooves, listening to Prince, tripping on stuff." Frontman Scott Weiland says that, "We have about 50 songs. We have to whittle it down, record 20 and then pick about 16." Velvet Revolver hope to have a new single on the airwaves by the end of the summer.