CTTE- a target of hate-crime

The other day I noticed yet another single star rating of Close to the edge. Such ratings are there on and off against this album, and I find this quite surprising because this is a progressive rock forum. Now there will always be people who would not like a particular album. Understood. But to rate an album 1 star just because I did not like it is a grossly flawed judgement. I hate The Wall of Pink Floyd. But I still think it deserves at least 3 stars-- because there is a mark of clever dark poetry here. I did not absolutely dig the Court of Crimson King, but I rated it 5 stars considering its time and historic context. I would assume a 5 star rating is not only based on liking alone-- its appreciation of musicianship of a band and technical and artistic contribution to the music. A master-piece is a trend setter-- whether one likes it or not.
This is why I refrain from rating single star to any album I review and I am conservative about rating 5 star to any album. If I don't absolutely like an album I don't review it.  Off couse I don't expect others to do the same.
When someone is rating CTTE 1 star, he is not rating its musicianship or artistic aspect. He is rating it 1 star so that it goes down in the top 100 list here. That's a ridiculous goal. But that seems to be the mind-set. Otherwise, even if someone does not like it-- if he's a prog-rock fan, he's supposed to know that this album was a trend-setter.
The people who rate a real master-piece 1 star, (it could be thick as a brick, or dark side of the moon or selling england by the pound), are no better than the punks who had launched all out campaign against prog rock in the seventies.

I think there may be an element of provocation in those 1-star reviews. Just imagine someone visiting the PA site and seeing all the rave reviews of albums like CTTE, DSOTM, SEBTP and so on - then thinking "Now I'll show them!". I'm quite sure there are people who have never listened to those albums (unfortunately, my opinion seems to be supported by some of the reviews I've seen around), nevertheless may get a kick out of bashing them just to annoy others. 

Then, again, we have to account for personal taste. I have a very good friend who's very much into prog, and some time ago he told me he couldn't get into CTTE. Jokingly I told him "you don't know a thing about good music!", but I know everyone is entitled to their own opinions, even if they clash with mine. This friend of mine loves Renaissance and Camel, and finds Yes far too intellectual and complicated.

I am myself guilty of giving a poor rating (2 stars though, not 1) to at least one of the PA Top 100 albums: Marillion's "Misplaced Childhood". I would never say it's badly sung or played, but it just bores me to tears....

Well It's not a good album and every one can have their own opinion 

Trotsky wrote: Hello Sharier, This kind of thing crops up all the time ... complaints about ratings ... Personally of the 230 plus albums I've reviewed, only a handful have qualified for the 1 star rating, IMO (of course) ... those are albums that I not only fail to enjoy, but don't seem very progressive either I can't see why anybody would feel that way about CTTE, but imagine a hardcore space rock or RIO fan who finds the whole thing overblown and uncreative ... BTW ( IMO, of course) ...  if we never review albums that we don't (honestly) dislike, then we are failing in our effects to provide a balanced guide to prog lovers out there. Cheers!

 

you've done quite a bit of writing

 

I think a one star rating is unfair for CTTE because any Yes fan is going to want that album so it is a minimum two star album. It's not my favorite Yes album; but I've owned it three times: vinyl, CD, and the remaster, which someone gave me. I also had Yessongs on vinyl, which features the track. CTTE is so often written about that it is essential to a collection.

The rating system is really not a question of quality.  Whoever designed it (Bob?) was quite clever.  It really aspires to rate albums by the contribution to the genre, their 'essentialness' to a collection.  Many people rate an album they like five stars because they think it is a great album or one star because they don't like it without really thinking about whether or not someone else should pick up this album.  They rate it based on how they see it qualitatively. In the long run, it all  works out.

There are certainly albums that are more essentail to a collection than some in the top ten.  I would argue that Brain Salad Surgery is more essential than Wish You Were Here; but people love Floyd. I would also argue that Selling England is not essential, and eveything I've read about it seems to agree; but people love Genesis

Sharier wrote: But to rate an album 1 star just because I did not like it is a grossly flawed judgement.

You people make me laugh. Why even have reviews? Why even bother with anything? Lets just have a super objective robot rate all our albums for us, then we'll never have to kick and scream everytime we see a one star review on one of your precious wittle albums. Like it or not reviews are about peoples' opinions, not blindly worshipping something because it's placed on a pedestal.

I PAY NO ATTENTION TO THOSE REVIEWS AS THEY ARE BY THE GENESIS FANBOYS WHO ARE JUST JEALOUS BECAUSE YES MADE THE GREATEST PROG ALBUM.....EVER & WE ALL KNOW THE TITLE OF THAT ALBUM!!!!!

Progger is the first person ever to pay no attention using upper case letters and five exclamation marks.

Progger wrote: I PAY NO ATTENTION TO THOSE REVIEWS AS THEY ARE BY THE GENESIS FANBOYS WHO ARE JUST JEALOUS BECAUSE YES MADE THE GREATEST PROG ALBUM.....EVER & WE ALL KNOW THE TITLE OF THAT ALBUM!!!!!

This forum truly is wonderful sometimes. Lay off the caps, exclamation points, and large font already. It just makes you look like a spazeroid. I am interested in Genesis, but I own no albums; in fact, I've only ever heard 2 or three of their songs. Like I said in my previous post, whether you agree with me or not, my negative review is more helpful than something like this.

Ghandi 2 wrote: Was that my rating? If so, I still stand by it. Is it unfair? Perhaps. However, I think my negative review brings up some valid points that someone who is considering buying the album should hear; it's certainly more constructive than yet another reviewer saying, basically, "THE BEST ALBUM EVER!" (Most of the reviews here are much better than that, but in the end a lot of them boil down to that.) I also use correct punctuation, and although I'm not sure if I mentioned it in the review, I have listened to it about ten times and I still don't like it. That's hardly a "hate crime." The reviews are based on how much you like something; whether or not it was a "trendsetter" doesn't have much relevance to me.

 

Actually, it is not supposed to be based exclusively on opinion, as per my last post, just before yours. 

It would be interesting for me to know how old you are.  People leave that out of their profile and it is frustrating at times; it is interesting to hear how younger people, now listening to Yes, Genesis or whatever for the first time, take to it. Many older people have become so inculcated with much of this music; it is hard to be objective. Some may also steeped in the classics of Genesis, Yes and Floyd without perhap valuing neo-prog or what has come later. I agree that a one star review that offers criticism of an album is better than the endless, "this is the greatest album ever" review. In the quest for that elusive objectivty one often changes ones mind as well. That is the wonderful thing about a community like this.  It forces you to listen to music through everybody's ears.

Edited by ken4musiq

 

It is inconceivable how anyone prog minded can listen to an album such as CTTE and come on here and give it 1 star.If you are prog minded and you have given an album that is universally hailed as awesome in rock circles a serious listen to then it beggars belief that anyone could come up with such a denigrating rating.I think it is, or has to be an attention seeking gesture if you are serious then one wonders what is going inside your head musically that is.