Reviews discussion

Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our 'Chives

hahahha... I love clappies....

hmmmm

micky wrote: zafreth Senior Clappie Whore and chief Micky Sycophant Joined: July 26 2006 Location: Mexico Online Status: Offline running errands for the Big Mick Posts: 610 and your Reviews case file was removed for Capt. Rico's desk btw for the copious clappies...

The reviews do not have to be abusive Vic, sometimes we will remove them if they do not comply with the guidlines in other ways. For example if they simply say "This is brilliant" or "this is rubbish", without any supporting commentary.

I believe this two reviews say NOTHING about the album:

Ricochet wrote: Ivan_Melgar_M wrote: I believe this two reviews say NOTHING about the album:   Citizen Cain:       1.      First paragraph says it's a masterpiece and how much he loves the band. + a descriptive sentence: "dark-strange album" + indicates link with Genesis Rico, ecerybody knows CC is a Gensis clone, it's even in the bio. 2.      Second paragraph says the singer (who sung in all CC albums) is a Peter Gabriel clone and how much we must respect clones. 3.      Asks people to give the album a chance. which, surely, is a form of recommendation, no? Sounds more like a cry of help   There's not a single word about the album, I can't say if the guy even heard the album, the review is no use for anybody, just an excuse to add more weight to a 5 stars rating. true, the review is his weakest among those weaker Yep I agree   Triana (A band that I love and rated with 5 stars also):  First paragraph, he tells us he loves Triana, which it's from his country, that has acoustic guitar and that the band has passion.+ descriptive sentence: "Passionate music and vocals delivered with energy and emotion" + appreciation of the instrumental work: "The electric guitar solos are stunning as well, displayed with unique passion."  Please Rico, a sentence (inaccurate BRW because the most important characteristics of Triana are the Moog and Flamenco guitar), are not enough to justify a review. Second Paragraph: Tells us Jesus de la Rosa died (He died long after the release of the album and it's said in the bio), has a nice wish for Jesus de la Rosa (Be with the angels) Please, again nothing about the album, what about the preeminent Moog or the blend of styles, the Cante Leve style of de la Rosa?   Again, and despite I believe Hijos del Agobio (He doesn't even mentuion the album) should be a top ten, this review is worthless.   Iván

Edited by Ivan_Melgar_M - September 23 2008 at 18:01

Are there authorized pre-release copies of Cynic's Traced in Air ? All info points to an Oct 20 release.

The T wrote: ^ I agree.. the album isn't even out yet.. But of course, as we allow reviews of un-released albums, we'll always have this problem...

Additions of unreleased albums, you mean, since we are discussing the legimity of "reviews".

^Mmm... that's new to me (where I've been is the question..) Well, in this case that justification is missing, so I guess the axe should fall....

ClemofNazareth wrote: Not sure I really care, but I suspect this guy   AXCRAFT — Dancing Madly Backwards Review by AmericanProgster Here's a review from a person who just discovered the band, since being a former member of a band means you can't give a balanced review. So with that said, I think this album is very under rated and just great. The sound quality may not be top notch but considering this was most likely a local band, its pretty damn good. Dancing Madly Backwards is a wonderful American symphonic album that doesn't distract itself with overtly hard rock or,as much as I hate this term, pomp rock ventures. Its just pure prog rock. And for anyone who is either American or a fan of American progressive rock knows, there is not much out of it around. So I think people should buy this album not only because its a great prog album, but also because it deserves its place in American Progressive Rock History. Posted Sunday, September 28, 2008, 10:30 EST is the same as this guy (or they are in cahoots):     jimimac50 Even though I was the lead singer for Axcraft, I can truthfully say that the album is nowhere near great. But that does not mean that it's not worth owning or at least listening. The group has never been paid any royalties, even though it's being sold worldwide on the AKARMA album label which is owned by Bill Holmes. I plan to make some changes on the album and distribute it myself. I am also in the process of releasing a second Axcraft album from tapes that are in my possesion. So try and hold out for my reissue of the first Axcraft album, ( DANCING MADLY BACKWARDS), and the soon to be released second album. Oh yeah, the album is worth listening to, and we were a very good band, to bad outside influences got in the way.   Posted 8:00:40 PM EST, 10/14/2005 Also, AmericanProgster is clearly responding to my earlier review of the album:   ClemofNazareth This is actually a pretty bland album, and the few reviews I’ve read all seem to come either from former members of the band, family members, or other close friends. Axcraft clearly never made much of an inroad to the music community outside their immediate area. This is also their only album as far as I know, and I don’t believe the band was in existence for very long either. There is very little information to be found about these guys, which leads me to believe they were a local band that made whatever living they managed by playing small venues and as an opening act. The keyboards are not complex, but they are played in a typical seventies American style – i.e., fast, spirited, and pretty much in synch with the electric guitars. The drum work is decent at best, and the lyrics are mostly light and vaguely spacey in nature and theme. There are some decent piano passages, notably at the beginning of “Astral Love” and a little bit on the title track. Otherwise this is a mediocre album, and pretty forgettable in the spectrum of seventies music. There are a couple live tracks at the end that actually sound like they are open-air recordings, not even from the soundboard. I’m not sure if this is accurate, but in any case the recording quality is quite muddled and a definite distraction from the music. I don’t know much about these guys, and frankly haven’t spent much time trying to find out much. Akarma released this on CD for some reason, but you probably won’t find it except by accident. Or if you make a real attempt to locate it, but don’t bother. Two stars.   ~~   He may also be related to the guy who poasted this review (and sent me a pretty rude PM) a while back:   AXCRAFT — Dancing Madly Backwards Review by Lanny westbrook Although there is a negative rating on the Axcraft album from clemof nazareth or bob moore or what ever name he's hiding under,you can easily tell he did not listen to the album. Maybe he had the flu or his head is still up his ass. I have reviewed many more rock albums than the afore mentioned "critic" and I use the term loosely. The recording was done at A&M studios in LA. my Michael Von Verdict, who was the engineer for the Eagles. The group was offered a very lucrative contract. I think the A&M people know a little bit more than Mr. Richard Cranium,(dick head,) get it/ The only review done by family or friends was the lead vocalist who did not give the album rave reviews unlike Mr. Cranium mentioned,uninformed as usual.The album is worth listening to, and it has really great music on it. You have to remember this was recorded in the seventies and not today. The album must be very popular because it is in it's third pressing. So you might want to take another listen after you've cleaned the wax out of your ears Mr. Cranium. Lanny Westbrook Posted Monday, December 17, 2007, 16:18 EST ~~   Like I said, not sure I care but you would think grown men would grow up at some point....

Oh c'mon now Clem,  Has a major label A & R man or A & M ever been wrong ? Oh wait, the typical label explanation as to the cost of releasing music is that you have one hit or one act that makes money, for every few hundred or thousand  bands that don't. Seems like a pretty good case for music industry insiders being able to recognize true talent (does William Hung still have a record contract ? They've re-released Metal Machine Music ?  )
The only positive thing that can be said, is that they at least were honest enough to state their connection to the group.
Other than that, and the admirable quality that loyalty to friends is, I have to say I listened to the MP3 sample at PA. I don't know if this is the best song on the album. But even assuming that it's average for this LP, it is pretty lame.
Oh, Lanny, if you read a few reviews of obscure RPI or other 70s lesser known scenes and groups, you'll find that the mediocre recording quality (compared to today's, or even to that time's bigger acts) is mentioned often enough. In this case, once you read the entire review, you may see that Clem was speaking of the "live" cuts. You'll also see that most reviewers, especially the collabs and PA reviewers will make a point about sound, but not judge the music simply based on that one aspect.
And finally, an opinion given on your or a friend/family member's artistic creation bears no relation to that person's worth as a human being. Just to make sure that you know the limits of the judgement, or rather the opinion.
Oh, I can't seem to find any mention of any of the many music reviews that you've done. Would this include opinions given to friends ? Is there a reason why the number of them would matter ? Have you noticed that there are a few people here that have posted many more review than Clem ? Have you bothered to read other writings from Clem regarding albums that you have heard ? Is it possible that your objectivity could be questioned ? Do most people rave about the album after they've heard it ? How many copies per pressing ? Why haven't we seen more reviews when you consider the number of one-off RPI and Krautrock albums that have been reviewed on this site ? Are there reviews that we can find elsewhere ? Are these reviews doen by the various sites' personnel or family and friends ?
The fact that AXcraft got a "recording deal" is nice for them, but proves nothing. And you may remember that studios have "house" engineers that are assigned projects because that's what they're paid to do.
So take it easy. So what if a PA "expert" doesn't hear much to recommend the album to others. I'm sure there is still a possiblity that y'all are good people anyways ...


Edited by debrewguy - September 28 2008 at 13:20