Reviews discussion

You can always award an album a 1 star and talk about its negative points in an intelligent way.
Also, better being a 'tight arse' than a loose one......

Friday13th wrote: http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=1127951 Seems like Transatlantic is in the eye of the storm here...no pun intended. Very belittling of Neal Morse and Christianity.

When will these numbskulls realize a well-written and succinct bad review is so much more effective.   The writer probably thinks he knocked it out of the park; "Oh the clever cutting remarks; Oh the delicious vitriol...I nailed it, baby!"

Good grief.

I'm not religious, it's just a poor review.  Up to Admin if it stays or not.

octopus-4 wrote: Atavachron wrote: I'm not religious, it's just a poor review.  Up to Admin if it stays or not. I don't think it's so poor. There's a track by track analisys and the fact that Neal Morse is used to recycle bits of Spock's Beard is true. I don't care too much about lyrics when they are not interesting, otherwise how could I be a YES fan? About Morse I'm convinced about his honesty and even if I don't share his religious sentiments, I think he writes about his feelings, and it's a good thing. Said so, I think the reviewer has done the same with his own feelings about Christianity.

Well, I totally don't know what he thinks about the music, because he rants about the lyrics, and only because he looks down on religious people.

Personally, I'm not religious, and I have tons of beef with organized religion and the way they want to control people's lives, but I'll never confuse it with making fun of other people's beliefs, they are sacred. 

As for Neal's lyrics, they can be preaching, and when they are, I just cant listen to them, and I have to skip whole solo albums of his because of that. I simply can't listen to Testimony or One, or Lifeline, because the lyrics take the fun away for me, because the lyrics distract me from listening to the music. But then again, I 'd never review those albums,  since I can't listen to them.

To me Kaleidoscope is not distracting lyrics-wise,  but it can be to some people. You can state it in your review, you can even state that the lyrics are too distracting to be able to enjoy the music, but never forget that you should be reviewing the music and the lyrics, and not the artists beliefs. A review can't be about Neal Morse being wrong for being a Christian.

(A line must be drawn though, if the artist was antisemitic or racists or a rapist or a pedophile it can be stated in the review, and that it prevents you to review it, but then who would make a track by track analysis of something like that.)

Also may I just add that I find it a little perplexing that some folks on here only make the effort to go beyond the front page, when they feel the urge to fight for Transatlantic, in this case. It could be any other band actually.

I'm no Transatlantic fan.  In fact, I've never heard a single note of their music.  Just commenting on a review.   

Guldbamsen wrote: Also may I just add that I find it a little perplexing that some folks on here only make the effort to go beyond the front page, when they feel the urge to fight for Transatlantic, in this case. It could be any other band actually.

Ouch! I so hope this is not about me, because that would be kinda personal. And if I so far commented only on Transatlantic reviews, does it make my opinion inferior?

But if it's about me, then I've only commented two reviews for being too hostile: one was calling Roine Stolt a "talentless hack", and i have only commented on this one for making fun of Neal Morse for being religious. If you actually read my comment, I hope I made it obvious that I too believe that overzealous preaching in the lyrics can be distracting even stopping me to listen to an album. So if the reviewer says it's an "unbearable religious crap, zero stars", then I don't care. Different people, different opinions, different tastes, we don't have to agree on everything. I love albums that get one stars here, and I don't care, and you won't find me complaining.

I think some people really have to learn to differentiate between criticising the artist, and making fun, looking down on the person. You can say, Neal is tired, he's rehashing all of his old ideas, and that his religion gets in the way in writing good lyrics these days, then it's something I can even agree on. But you don't do that making fun of "Morse's imaginary sky-fairy friend and his equally legendary son".


Edited by pjt - February 07 2014 at 03:26

I understand what everyone else is saying, but I, too, did find some of it personally spiteful and nasty, had a real aggression to some of it.

pjt wrote: octopus-4 wrote: Atavachron wrote: I'm not religious, it's just a poor review.  Up to Admin if it stays or not. I don't think it's so poor. There's a track by track analisys and the fact that Neal Morse is used to recycle bits of Spock's Beard is true. I don't care too much about lyrics when they are not interesting, otherwise how could I be a YES fan? About Morse I'm convinced about his honesty and even if I don't share his religious sentiments, I think he writes about his feelings, and it's a good thing. Said so, I think the reviewer has done the same with his own feelings about Christianity. Well, I totally don't know what he thinks about the music, because he rants about the lyrics, and only because he looks down on religious people.

pjt wrote: octopus-4 wrote: pjt wrote: Well, I totally don't know what he thinks about the music, because he rants about the lyrics, and only because he looks down on religious people. You may have missed this passage: Track Five - (Kaleidoscope) - The longest and second best track on this CD! - I like this track, despite it being sort of whirlwind-lite and it has several riffs that are very like those found in Snow by Spock's Beard... This starts well and has a lovely keyboard solo as well, and some nice guitar work, the reprise and fade out at the end spoil it somewhat but I'd give it four stars I did not. But as being the exception to the rule, it counts that much less. It would have mattered if the reviews of the other four tracks were in fact about the music and the lyrics, and not the person who wrote it.