Reviews discussion

Mr Barney, if you know you're not going to like an album where Neal Morse is a principal songwriter why do you spend the amount of time needed to absorb the music and then the time to write a review? Personally I wouldn't waste the time on listening to it in the first place more than the amount needed to get a feel for it.

For the record I'm in the same place and simply avoid his albums.

Like I said, the review speaks more about the author than it does about the actual album. Whether one agrees with the content or not, I leave entirely up to you. This is also why he is "judged" the way he is in this thread, and quite rightfully so. Freedom of speech is a bitch, especially when others don't like what you have to say.

Please don't import yet another religious squabble into this thread Ivan. We have enough in here as it is.

I was expecting a little bit of criticism, but was not expecting such a whirlwind in a teacup
My review is the only one stating a disappointment in the release. Like that or not it's a fact. I am never going to be a "fan-boy" - I may have periods of completionist urges when I suddenly find a band that impresses me with a release, but these are then tempered with a period of cooling off, this is when I am best placed to personally judge.
I think that anybody who gets upset because I called God - Morse's "imaginary" friend needs to get some balance into their life! Like I said, the god of Abraham is currently proven to be a creation of man - until that thesis is refuted with definite facts (like gods telephone No or website) he remains - "imaginary" Prove me wrong!!!

Guldbamsen wrote: Please don't import yet another religious squabble into this thread Ivan. We have enough in here as it is.

M27Barney wrote: I think that anybody who gets upset because I called God - Morse's "imaginary" friend needs to get some balance into their life! Like I said, the god of Abraham is currently proven to be a creation of man - until that thesis is refuted with definite facts (like gods telephone No or website) he remains - "imaginary" Prove me wrong!!!

It's ironic how those who write simply can't read. Please, humor me, and read what I actually wrote, I'll repeat it here for your convenience:

I'm an atheist, and I live in a country that has one of the ruling parties being a Christan Democratic one, and the other one is playing the religious card one too often. Believe me, I know how to despise organized religion wanting to control everybody's lives, for more power and more money.

But I'll never mock an individual for having faith in something I don't have. I'm an atheist, and I'm a liberal, I won't tell you how to live while it's by the written law, and the unwritten law of peaceful coexistence. So I won't tell Barney to be a believer, more so, since I'm not one either. But I won't belittle and mock Neal Morse for being religious. And if he preaches too much, I won't listen to his music.

IMHO, it's not tongue-in-cheek to laugh at "Neal Morse's imaginary friend", it's belittling and mocking, and IMHO a review is not a place for that.

M27Barney wrote: I was expecting a little bit of criticism, but was not expecting such a whirlwind in a teacup My review is the only one stating a disappointment in the release. Like that or not it's a fact. I am never going to be a "fan-boy" - I may have periods of completionist urges when I suddenly find a band that impresses me with a release, but these are then tempered with a period of cooling off, this is when I am best placed to personally judge. I think that anybody who gets upset because I called God - Morse's "imaginary" friend needs to get some balance into their life! Like I said, the god of Abraham is currently proven to be a creation of man - until that thesis is refuted with definite facts (like gods telephone No or website) he remains - "imaginary" Prove me wrong!!!

M27Barney wrote: I was expecting a little bit of criticism, but was not expecting such a whirlwind in a teacup My review is the only one stating a disappointment in the release. Like that or not it's a fact. I am never going to be a "fan-boy" - I may have periods of completionist urges when I suddenly find a band that impresses me with a release, but these are then tempered with a period of cooling off, this is when I am best placed to personally judge. I think that anybody who gets upset because I called God - Morse's "imaginary" friend needs to get some balance into their life! Like I said, the god of Abraham is currently proven to be a creation of man - until that thesis is refuted with definite facts (like gods telephone No or website) he remains - "imaginary" Prove me wrong!!!

You know what! I can do the same and say that God is real and you have to prove me wrong.

Unless God plays an instrument, I think this discussion should be, at least, moved to another section. It has nothing more to do with music.

Well, there's got to be somebody to flag the album as Christian rock?  The high ratings and all round rave reviews make it look very tempting but, say, an atheist who does not want to be assaulted by Christian rock should at least be able to learn that from the reviews.  I should hope that what does and does not constitute a poor review is not determined only by its propensity to offend certain sections of people but also by how informative it is or isn't.  I didn't read all the reviews since I am not a fan of this band (and am neither atheist nor Christian, by the way) but Alan B's review was the only other that flagged this aspect.  Though it was not mentioned as a drawback.  That's a shame. Surely, if indeed Christianity is that central to Morse's lyrics, it should be mentioned in the reviews as fair warning because it can provoke strong reactions either way.