Rate the band

Brilliant idea!

Snow Dog wrote: You're as mad as you're mad, blue, bouncy bunny!

So you don't like the idea I take it?

If we AVERAGE all the album ratings we can have a RATING of the band ?

M@X wrote: If we AVERAGE all the album ratings we can have a RATING of the band ?

I think you've got something there M@X!

fandango wrote: tuxon wrote: Snow Dog wrote: You're as mad as you're mad, blue, bouncy bunny! So you don't like the idea I take it? I can see problems.. firstly, how could you star rate a band like Yes?  Surely their rating would be different depending on the era you were considering (no need to elaborate!). Secondly, star rating bands can get a bit personal, for instance I think Jadis are superb, but I know they aren't everyone's cup of tea.  If this site only gave them 2 stars, I'd be quite upset, whereas its not so bad if it were for one album. Thirdly, would you rate the band on quality of music, or whether they are prog?  For instance, a band on the fringes of this forum couldn't be given a '2/5' on the basis that they weren't very prog, even if many people love them... As I say to Snow Dog... paws for thought...

Yes, I think the site should remain in terms of albums, and not in terms of how "good" a band is.  We like bands because of the albums they produce, not because we're told they are a "five-star" band.  like fandango wrote, a 2 star band could have a 5 star album but fewer people would know about it.  Plus, it would probably just spark more fanboy/hateboy antics.  also, most of the would-be five star bands werent five star forever....

so the point i guess is, I'd rather buy a five star album from a relatively unknown band than a 2-star album from a five star band

tuxon wrote: Snow Dog wrote: You're as mad as you're mad, blue, bouncy bunny! So you don't like the idea I take it?

I'm not sure actually, but with M@X's modification it might work fine!

MikeEnRegalia wrote: Another idea I've been playing around with is if the rating shouldn't on a song basis ...  and in case of epics, on a part-of-the-song basis.

I do that

Snow Dog wrote: tuxon wrote: I intended the discussion more focussed on a band review, not so much on the rating, probably should have given the thread a better name Some information about bands is not given it the bands summary (a lot of summary's are really short), a review of the band provides a platform for fans and people with additional information to share that information. Not always is it possible to include this information in album reviews, and a band review can have all distinctive elements of the band on one page. I think it can be a good addition to the biography, but maybe not Sounds like it could be abused! Do you envision this as a members only thing, or maybe a three star member thing?

You mean like flowerchild? No, every single one of those additions would have to be reviewed by a collaborator or an admin, which I think would be too tedious.

I do NOT like this idea. Impossible to properly 'rate' a band who has released music over a long period of time, with many a style and lineup change.

Take GENESIS for instance:

FGTR/Trepass years: 2/5 stars

Nursery Cryme-The Lamb years: 5/5 stars

Trick/W&W years: 4/5 stars

ATTWT/Duke years: 3/5 stars

Abacab-We Can't Dance years: 2/5 stars

Calling All Stations: 1/5 stars

You could do the same thing with KC, YES, and even MARILLION.

Plus what about bands that have effectively only released a single/couple albums (whether good or bad)?

fandango wrote: tuxon wrote: Snow Dog wrote: You're as mad as you're mad, blue, bouncy bunny! So you don't like the idea I take it? I can see problems.. firstly, how could you star rate a band like Yes?  Surely their rating would be different depending on the era you were considering (no need to elaborate!). Secondly, star rating bands can get a bit personal, for instance I think Jadis are superb, but I know they aren't everyone's cup of tea.  If this site only gave them 2 stars, I'd be quite upset, whereas its not so bad if it were for one album. Thirdly, would you rate the band on quality of music, or whether they are prog?  For instance, a band on the fringes of this forum couldn't be given a '2/5' on the basis that they weren't very prog, even if many people love them... As I say to Snow Dog... paws for thought...

Fandango's first concern is fair enough. In this case you should consider the "best" era while rating:) this way, bands like Yes, King Crimson, VDGG, Genesis, ELP, Jethro Tull etc. will come up as 5 star bands in many reviewers' lists.

But since his second and third concerns apply also to the album reviews, these tricks seem to be unevitable. ("Cyclone", for instance, isn't everyone's cup of tea,either! and most albums are reviewed by many according to their "progness"). What can you do?

I thought of suggesting this to the archives before I saw the blue bouncy rabbit's forum topic. I'm just too lazy to initiate such ideas!! IMHO, it is good to be a group review section in order to have a general idea of the bands (apart from the short band descriptions) this way you may have an idea when, for instance, you come across an album of a band which is not familiar to you. (this is mostly true in my case, where I pick up my records as second hand vinyls, or in mp3 format) You mustn't be under obligation to read all album reviews, in my case, I could have forgotten a review, or haven't read it at all, and if I decide to go back to the site before picking up an album, this not only loses me time, but also the album might disappear before I go there:)

This is also good if you have enough possibilities for picking up among shows of the bands... (in countries like mine, you have only few choices:)) If you don't know a band, you can read band reviews and decide or not to go to the show. You may not get a clear idea from the album reviews, even if it's a live album. Besides, the may not have a live album at all, and as in the example of TD, may play a different piece in every one of their shows! (OK, TD is an extreme example  it completely depended on chance!)

Not to mention if you're buying a whole collection as mp3 CD's (since this is ileegal!). Well, mp3 CD's are at least cheap as a single album (in my case, 10 times cheaper!!!), this way, you can get the worth of your money, at least in one album:) not all albums of a particular group suck!! (or does it; Radiohead and Asia might be examples

sorry for the long post!