Entertainment For Lively Minds
Did you ever buy a cd on the strength of a glowing review only to discover that...
Posted by Richard Raftery on 13 November 2008 - 9:34pm.
... it was a complete stinker? You know the score. you buy a respected monthly magazine which probably gives stars and so, after reading a review which just stops short of demanding immediate cannonisation of artiste(s) concerned you put it on your 'must have' list. You finally get it, listen once, twice, maybe even thrice and then never bother again for several years. As evidence for the prosecution I cite Daniel Lanois' 'For The Beauty Of Wynona'. It must be good since he worked with loads of people etc...nah, 'tis cack I'm afraid.
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You just bought the wrong one :-)
His first album 'Acadie' is a stunner.
Shine
is good too
I thought
Wynona was ok.....
Skip Spence - Oar
Everyone was going on about this a few years back but it was a real disappointment. I love Syd Barret's stuff so maybe I was expecting more of that, but I just found it dull
agree
another "critics classic" that is absolute crap. Long since thrown into the overrated landfill site. (located just south of the indie landfill, take the first exit off Highway 61)
Nonesuch by Jim White
wasn't the album I was led to believe by some reviews. It was ok, but not the mindbending new take on country tinged Americana I was hoping for.
Also, I'm surprised no-one has given Jude Rogers another kicking for liking Ys by Joanna Newsome more than they do. In Ms R's defence I seem to recall it got blanket praise and featured very highly in all the year end round ups that I read that year.
Ys
I love it! Takes a little getting used to admittedly but then I generally like music which is a little more involved.
Sorry twang old mate
but its tweeness sent me scurrying to the vomit bucket (must empty that soon, by the way). Still haven't forgiven Jude for THAT rave review.
Seconded Comrade..
I haven't forgiven her either. Utter bloody rubbish.
Whearas I think...
It's probably the best album of the last five years. Once you get used to the squeaky toy voice, and that does take time, it's incredibly rewarding. I've probably listened to it well over a hundred times, it's still throwing up surprises, and now I think it's a stunning, beautiful record. And when I saw her play with the LSO, one of those increasingly rare you-can-hear-a-pin-drop shows, one of the really nice things was that the classical musicians were quite obviously in awe of her.
Still, I can appreciate why people don't persevere.
Joanna Newsom
I can't say I've got into the record either since being persuaded to buy it on the strength of many great reviews. However, I'm a product of my time and I'm afraid I get a load of records all the time because there are so many around these days, and if I don't like it within a couple of listens, or I like an other one I got at the same time far more, it might not get another go for a year or two.
I can certainly forgive Jude that one. She can do anything she likes, frankly - she's probably still my favourite Word writer/reviewer ever, though Andrew Collins isn't far back in second.
I sample online first...
iTunes and the like all offer free 30-second samples of all their tracks. If I've read a rave review of a new band, I'll check out a few samples online before investing.
The King of 'You Have To Buy This' is 'Pet Sounds'
I do not have to like this record because everyone else does.
You don't...
...you have to like it because it's some of the most beautiful music ever recorded :-)
I don't like it
Happily someone copied for me saving me the investment on a CD I'd have given straight to Oxfam.
I don't like it either.
So there.
er...
Offend Maggie by Deerhoof. 9th album return to form blah blah, 5 stars in sunday times. God it's hard work. Conversely, Stolen From Strangers by Jun Miyake, another 5 star review in Guardian Friday Review - brilliant. Spectatularly brilliant.
You win some and you lose some.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/oct/24/miyake
HMS Fable by Shack....
...something by Flowered Up. Solid Air by John Martyn (Sorry! ducks flying plaudits). Many others, but these spring immediately to mind. Thank heavens for Napster and its 30 second snippets.
Sorry mate,
but you can't expect a 30 second sample of anything to reveal much, and this is particularly true when it's Solid Air you're listening to. It's an album of textures and flow as much as anything, and you'll need at least 5 minutes of it to get the drift.
I fear I've badly expressed myself....
....I've bought, played ...and given up on all the albums mentioned. I now use Napster to audition stuff, but all of the above were before t'Interweb. I have been meaning to try SA again, though
I must admit though...
... I am probably going to buy the new Hank Williams collection of (to a considerable extent) previously unheard material, based largely on the gushing reviews everywhere. But you can't ever have too much Hank (except perhaps 'I Just Told Mama Goodbye').
Lost Highway
I picked up a cheapo cheapo Hank album in the garage for 99p which is a belter - called "Lost highway" and is a radio concert he played in Nashville in 1949. Fantastic.
Hank
I actually bought it on the strength of the Word review, and it's astonishing, much of it actually better than the stuff he released during his lifetime. Amazing collection.