Reviews that Stand Out

HI PETE, THIS IS CÉSAR INCA.

As a welcome gesture, I transcribe my latest contribution for teh Archives - my review of Mastermind's 'Until Eternity'. (I only hope this one does not stand out)

"Mastermind's fourth album finds them moving forward into the increasing amount of jazz rock elements into their prog sound, which until their Vol. 3 consisted basically of a combination of symphonic grandeur (a la ELP & Kansas) and metal prog fire, with some notches of AOR melodic drive. The jazz thing is clearly present and developed in 'Inferno' and 'Jubilee', as well as some parts of the closing namesake suite. Curious thing: the main lead guitar theme that kicks off the opening track 'Under the Wheels' is pretty crimsonian, with a wicked metal twist, making it both spectacular and challenging. One way or another, the listener suspects from this moment that nothing can go wrong with the rest of teh album, and it's certainly true - paving the way for the jazz fusion splendour of 'Excelsior!' (IMHO, their best effort ever), this repertoire manages to portray a varied spectrum of musical ideas within the confines of Mastermind's prototypical pompous sound, as it is shown in 'The Tempest' and the namesake suite. Other tracks such as 'Dreaming' are more AOR oriented, allowing some fresh air in order to occasionally relieve the listener from the predominant sonic "oppression". Given the fact that the jazz factor becomes more obvious and more important, the rhythm section is given opportunity to shine in a more sophisticated way than in the band's previous albums (which were not really easy-playing, of course). Yet, it is guitarist extraordinaire Bill Berends who remains the frontman in the instrumental ensamble; always expanding himself on his normal electric guitar and using clever midi tricks in order to create a symphonic amalgam. A great album this is, so I regard it as an excellent addition to any good prog collection."

Neo Prog sucks - Pallas is Neo Prog - This album's great, buy it.

Makes perfect sense.....

I think someone has been taking note!

It's definitely worth discussing the reviews - if discussions like this mean that we get more reviews of this quality, then it's worth it, IMO. After all, we don't want to end up like Ama..., I mean, other review sites, do we?;

JETHRO TULL - A Passion Play
Review by The Mentalist @ 9:13:21 PM EST, 8/22/2004

  —   A Passion to Tull's play as creed undoubtedly is best not of bad by any means. Some of the complex as prog is only not as that by creed. Tull lovers split separate over meaning this before that. Spectacles aside hair is better than most songs sung lost or found by kangaroo in prog pouch. -- Review by Bablefish Just kidding, folks. Couldn't resist it. Here's my real review although there's no guarantee it'll make any more sense that my mock Bablefish review. . .creed! A Passion play is undoubtedly Tull's finest hour. Not that they haven't produce a lot of fantastic album, it's just that this one is by far the most intense and ingenious thing Ian Anderson and Co have ever come up with....

Photos with pets, eh? Here's me with my babies. They don't need much walking but they do need looking after! (ps Danbo, don't bust me man...)(pps, Holland is the true "land of the free".)

This is a review forum?

 I thought this was a social club for the socially inept.

OR is that musically sophisticated?

I'm all for reviewing reviews, but since we have so many different ways of approaching music I don't think it could ever be anything more than sharing your personal 'this is how I look at it' method. I've experimented with strict song component analysis, which is good for determining the skills of the band- it's like standardized testing for music. I've tried putting bands and albums in perspective with current or historical elements, which is nice to pin down influences and figure out what (if anything) they were reacting to. I've also tried going by emotion alone- my Moody Blues reviews have more to do with a nostalgic response to the music than their overall worth or their place in prog. I've even tried getting high and seeing where the music takes me (not a bad approach for the wilder ends of the spectrum, although I like to do some editing before I submit anything from these sessions). I've even toyed with the idea of giving red herring reviews...saying the exact opposite of how I feel, with subtle humor, to see if anyone gets it.

And after all of it, my reviews ultimately have no more worth than any of the ones featured on this thread. In fact, my review output has dwindled considerably because I am losing the passion (to borrow VB's phrase) to talk about music. Most of the people who are willing (or driven) to discuss music simply do not have much to say. Even the best of them typically appear only to render their judgement and then vanish with little thought for feedback...whether I'm among the better ones or not, I can see the motivation: you get frustrated when people miss the point, go off on tangents, or bow to majority opinion for the sake of genial compromise. When I started with the site I was excited about having a conversation about music and trading insights with a group of informed people; now I find that the smart ones rarely say anything and we're just going over the same tired topics and statements. With respect, the "opinions are like a-holes" theory is one of those...I wonder how many interesting conversations that sort of statement has deflated.

I thought this thread would be a nice left-turn, to have some fun discussing reviews that don't lend themselves to the usual responses. I guess in hindsight I should be surprised it took three pages to get this point.