In Defence of Neo-Prog

If it's a considered onslaught, I look forward to it!

Pixel Pirate wrote:

think there's a danger of misrepresenting the band and album in question if the reviewer doesn't like the band in the first place. I wouldn't really know how to be fair to a band I didn't like.

In that line of thuinking it wouldn't be fair to review bands and albums you love, because in that case you would give more credit than they deserve.

That's why I believe we should try to review every gender of music we reasonably understand even if we hate a determined band. A good reviewer woudn't throw $h¡t to a band that is good even if he doesn't like them,

Even if the reviewer is unfair this would be easy to notice in a place as ProgArchives, if 20 reviews say it's a great album and only one says it's crap, then the reviewer is being unfair and too subjective, but in most cases the reviews and ratings are ballanced.

I don't like most of King Crimson, but I won't dare to give Red (for example) less than 3 stars (Maybe I'll give 2 to Thrakk or Bboom) because it's clear for me that even if they are not my cup of tea, the touch of the genius is present.

But I won't give more than one star to a 3 men Genesis album like Invisible Touch or Shapes (Mama) and that would not be unfair if you notice that most of the reviews are similar.

Iván

Reed Lover wrote: “…so what is the point?”

One of the points is this: that album has 29 5-star ratings, 3 4-star ratings, 2 3-star ratings and 2 2-star ratings (one of the latter being Peter Rideout’s). To put it another way, 81% think the album is a masterpiece and 89% think the album is excellent at worst. If only people who like an album review it then how can I, as someone who knows precious little about it, hope to gain a balanced opinion? It is useful if people from various age groups (including, hopefully, my own) comment on an album. It is useful if people with various musical tastes (including, hopefully, my own) comment on an album. It is useful if people with different moral perspectives comment on an album. I want diversity of opinion. I want polemic. I want to hear all views, all sides of the argument. I don’t want, say, 100 people all with the same tastes, all from the same age group, all with the same background, all with the same morals, telling me an album is marvellous. I want to know what others think of it; others who might represent my tastes and views. They may happen to like it, which may encourage me to listen to it, or even buy it.

Additionally, polemic - including didactic comments such as those in Peter Rideout’s review - may actually stimulate curiosity. I actually listened to the album after reading his review – I was piqued and wanted to hear what all the fuss was about. I'm not going to say what I thought, but at some point I will review the album (after I get through the pile I already have earmarked for review).

And lastly, although he did not dissect the music track by track, there is enough information in the review to tell me about the style of music, what he thinks of the singer, the lyrics etc. In my opinion the review does not, as you state, merely say “I’m a middle aged man and it says nothing to me.”

I don’t want to get too sidetracked onto that one review or one reviewer in particular, though. My general point, which I’m glad Iván shares, is that it is worthwhile to review albums (ergo bands) whether or not you like them. We sometimes have to comment on things we don’t like or agree with in all walks of life – why not music?

P.S. This is not a rant at you Reed Lover!

This thread has taken on a life of its own.

Easy Livin - Thanks for the support.  My point in beginning this thread was that, if not for bands such as Marillion, this forum might be reduced to reviews of the new Britney Spears album.

I feel that the reviews are most useful when a listener is interested in trying a new band or genre.  As a Genesis fan for example, I know what disks I like and why I like them.  Its interesting to see what other people think, but not necessary useful.

What is useful for me is when I'm thinking about trying a new band for the first time.  By reading the reviews for IQ, for example, I realized that I wanted to start with a disk with Peter Nicholls on vocals, as that seemed to be the general feeling of most of the other listeners.  As a result, I bought Dark Matter and thoroughloy enjoyed it, and I intend to dig deeper into more of their work. Being in the US, its tough to find their stuff.

I recently posted my first review (Mike Oldfield's "Amarok").  My intent was for someone not familiar with the piece to be able to decide if it was right for them.  I hope I succeeded.  In that vein, I think its imperitive for fans and non-fans to post reviews.  If I know why someone didn't like something, I can decide if I might fall into that category myself.

Keep the reviews coming from everyone! The debate and the differences of opinion are what makes life interesting!