As one of the most anticipated Rock albums of the year, Libertad by Velvet Revolver was supposed to climb the charts and claim a victory for ugly men with mullets across the country.  Instead, they debuted at number 5 on the Billboard charts and sold about a third of the records that they debuted with in 2004 with Contraband.  Is this reason for concern for the world of rock?  Bon Jovi was number 4 last week....but it was with a country album.  Miley Cyrus, T.I. and Kelly Clarkson all placed higher with exponentially higher sales last week.  What does it take to sell a rock album these days?

Velvet Revolver can fill an arena full of fans much easier than any of the abovementioned acts (with the obvious exception of former "John Carpenter's Vampires" star, Jon Bon Jovi).  They've been hailed as the past, present and future of rock music.  So, the question is posed again; what does it take to sell a rock album?

Let's examine this latest effort by VR.  The first five songs are excellent, but from 6-13 you are treated to mediocre efforts at best.  Maybe if Craig didn't touch himself and they made every song with the same level of production and Pro Tools, we wouldn't have to regard Libertad as the best EP released in the last ten years with 8 bonus tracks.