Prog Reviewers or Special Collaborators

hahahha.. the guile skill is overrated... if he has a level 20 intimidation skill he  can make up for a deficient guile skill.  

And I guess that is end of that.

I was just getting interested with this. In all seriousness, can someone here tell me what constitutes a bloody  " expert " ? And why can`t we change the word " expert " to enthusiast. I don`t have a problem with collaborator ( did I spell that correctly ? ) But expert nahh.

I like to think of it as discussing it in the terms of the average fan. I am not a musical scholar in the classic sense, but I have devoted quite a bit of my free time to it. Through my work here, I have come to understand quite a bit more about prog, especially the areas I specialize in. That may not make me an expert per-se, but hopefully that makes me someone who can be a useful resource.

Edited by bhikkhu - February 25 2008 at 20:23

Vibrationbaby wrote: Wow ! One thing I sort of uncomfortable  is the "experts" title. I certainly don`t consider myself an expert by any stretch in anything. I`ve listened to a lot of music, sure. But so has the next guy. I`ll read any guy`s review. I also find the worst reviewers in general are the guys who write for NME, Rolling Stone, The WIre ( got to be the worst ). So for me I don`t think it really matters whether there`s that title underneath the Avatar. I think it`s important to give the most honest and entertaining evaluation as possible. My two cents.

Thank you VB for the comment on the "assumed" difference in quality in PA reviews based on the title. While many collabs & reviewers here tend to be worth the while re : recommendations; there are an equal amount of "honest & entertaining evaluations" done by other plebes here at PA that have lead me to great music.
Example - Night Sun's Mournin' ... great reviews (including mine) but none from the "experts". And I have seen some threads where a collab or reviewer states that reviews done by the hoi polloi are of no interest to him. Not because of a lack of a track record for comparison's sake, but because they are not or have not been deemed "entitled to a title"....
As an aside, more than once,  a newbie's review of one of the many classic albums in the prog pantheon has gotten me back to listening to an album or giving it a second chance.  To re-quote your comment - honest & entertaining evaluation ... a fan's enthusiasm may just well light the fire.

p.s. Erik's many threads & reviews always exhibit a fan's enthusiasm for exploring & sharing the wealth of great music out there. If anyone can find even a hint of elitism or an air of superiority, I would be very surprised.


Edited by debrewguy - February 27 2008 at 19:22