There are no 1-star albums, are there? - Progressive Rock Music Forum

Cristi wrote:

I would rate (and have rated) only albums from artists I know and like, genres I enjoy.

I would never rate poorly an artist that is not my thing, that i would never listen to anyway.

So if you auto-buy a new release of your favorite artist/band and it's a stinker you would not rate the album?

If one star means I don't like it, there are many of them. However, the fact I don't like them doesn't mean they're not good, they just don't appeal to my taste. As an example, most prog metal falls into this category.

SteveG wrote:

Well, to be honest, as someone who spent many years doing A&R for record companies like EMI, l had to be critical of what some artists were presening to the company.I didn't like hurting poeple's feeling but sometimes songs and/or lyrics just didn't work. The thing is if these poeple could do better, you just had to tell them. And usually they did.I feel same about reviews. It's not about being a fan to me.

So, you're the reason we have RIO.

No, I know how to behave in the restaurant now, I don't tear at the meat with my hands. If I've become a man of the world somehow, that's not necessarily to say I'm a worldly man.

Well, to be honest, as someone who spent many years doing A&R for record companies like EMI, l had to be critical of what some artists were presening to the company.I didn't like hurting poeple's feeling but sometimes songs and/or lyrics just didn't work. The thing is if these poeple could do better, you just had to tell them. And usually they did.I feel same about reviews. It's not about being a fan to me.

Edited by SteveG - October 25 2020 at 16:54

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Like many who have contributed to this thread, I prefer to rate & review albums that I like; I'm all about promoting & heralding the good stuff I hear.

For the longest time I used the 3 star rating as the standard for "albums/music/artistry that I respect because I know I could do no better." But the PA quotes for four stars using the word "excellent" and "good, but non-essential" for three stars has finally led me to return to many of my old ratings to adjust them. There are many albums that I rated as "good"/three stars that really aren't (and have thus been demoted to two stars), and many more that I rated as "excellent"/four stars that really shouldn't be considered "an excellent addition to any prog rock music collection." And many of my abundant "masterpiece" ratings have been downgraded to four stars because I really can't use the word "essential" when recommending them to others; "excellent," yes; "essential," that's really high praise.

I agree with what SteveG said on page one: one star ratings are for really horrible sounding recordings (most of which occur in the old bootleg world)--or for truly low-achieving infantile music.

Drew Fisher
https://progisaliveandwell.blogspot.com/

AFlowerKingCrimson wrote:

The Queen and Paul Rogers album. Not sure what else. Maybe Mike Rutherford's "acting very strange" album.

I'm planning to listen to the Queen + Paul Rodgers studio album for the first time tomorrow. I just hope it's as good as the live album, but at least I won't be setting my expectations too high now if you think the album's only worth a 1-star rating.

Hercules wrote:

it's probably because I love them. So that's why I have a large number of 5* reviews.

It's the same reason why I have a large number of 5-star reviews too. I only review the albums I really like.

Acting very strange is a good one! That is a horrible one star album! Makes me wonder what Mike was thinking! Even Mike and the Mechanics isn't as horrible. At least I don't think so. Tongue

I rarely review any album I don't listen to regularly, and if I listen to them regularly, it's probably because I love them. So that's why I have a large number of 5* reviews.

Similarly, I don't usually bother with 1* albums because I don't have many, having got rid of them in a purge that would have done Stalin proud: it's just when something truly repulsive turns up (First Utterance or Trout Mask Replica), I spit my dummy out with it.

A TVR is not a car. It's a way of life.

The Queen and Paul Rogers album. Not sure what else. Maybe Mike Rutherford's "acting very strange" album.