Your one and two star album ratings?

These are examples of albums I liked at first, but just didn't stand the test of time with me. I will say that there are some decent moments on all three, but also that my BJH collection is a lot smaller than it used to be. I will also mention that I've never rated the Victims of Circumstance album, because I was thankfully warned away from that one before actually buying it.

Vangelis See You Later is one of my favorites. a weird and interesting album... I probably would have given it at least a 4 star.  Love that album, not a bit, all of it.

Albums I've given 2 stars: 

Barclay James Harvest - Time Honoured Ghosts, Octoberon, Face to Face

ELP - Love Beach

FM - Transformation

Steve Hackett - Voyage of the Acolyte, Blues with a Feeling

Allan Holdsworth - I.O.U.

Led Zeppelin - debut, Coda

Marillion - Fugazi

Moody Blues - Octave, The Other Side of Life, Sur La Mer

Pink Floyd - Obscured by Clouds

Saga - Generation 13

Styx - Crystal Ball, Cornerstone, Kilroy was Here

Vangelis - Direct, El Greco

John Wetton - Arkangel

Yes - Union

ELP - In the Hot Seat 

Hi,

There is a problem here, sort of ... some albums, are very obviously right out front about something ... you have no doubt what "Demons Out" is all about, and goes on for 20 minutes! And you should not have any doubts about ITCOTKC at all, as an iconic and really well done snap shot of the time and place, complete with a "moonshine", as a hippie girl that is going to get taken and killed figuratively. Or even talking to the wind, and no one listening or giving a damn about the words ... one of the worst things on PA sometimes. We kinda love Ian, but it's like its stops there and everyone else is crap. Or the brainwashing with a religious bent, I would imagine, though I can not even come close to listening to those things, and the lack of realization that it is all based on a book that is the worst translation of anything ever done. But it makes people believe in the child story and fantasy of it all ... perfect for controlling the masses for quite a few centuries!

You may dislike Neil Young, but Ohio and a lot of his work, is not empty, or as I like to call it ... "mac & cheese" ... it is serious stuff and he sings with such strength and honesty that a lot of hard core rockers hate, because it makes their favorites sound bad ... really bad ... for trying that make believe stuff on you again ... makes me ask ... did we ever grow up beyond the childish stories!

I highly doubt if a piece of instrumental music has NOT touched someone, somewhere, emotionally and is therefore meaningful to them.  The Star system only tells us what one single listener thought of a piece of music. 

There are many albums that are technically almost perfect, highly skilled musicians, spot on composition, vocal prowess, professional mixing and mastering ... That leave me cold. Music needs soul & spirit. 

Probably why I like Jumble Hole Clough better than Neil Morse 

By thinking about the release. By considering what songs, lyrics, concepts mean. Most importantly, how that meaning impacts the reviewer/listener.

I made a conscious decision when I started my website not to give star ratings or other forms of numerical "bonus points". I find them far too restrictive, certainly only five stars without the halfway house of a half star. Further, they can cause a huge amount of upset with some artists (WHY is that album rated higher than mine?), and at the end of the day, opinions on music are entirely subjective, and there are several people here whose opinion can be, shall we say, interesting.

I too like Paul's contributions to this site, but Blackstar only two stars? I'm sorry, but that, to me, is a shocking rating. You do not need to be a Bowie fan (I am not particularly, certainly only a portion of his output) to understand what a deeply personal and important album that was, the circumstances under which it was made staggering.

The most important thing, as both Jared & Logan have said, is to respect the artist, and, to more the most important consideration, to UNDERSTAND what, why, how, and the process of an album, because it will have a meaning to the artist(s) who produced it. You might not get it. It doesn't mean it is not without merit or artistic value.