rockcritics.com

I just picked up Steve's The Best of Leon Russell

Haven't had a listen yet but had the time at work to read the liner notes. They indicate the disc "beautifully remastered by DCC's Steve Hoffman and elsewhere note utilization of "the first generation masters". Also noted are track by track credits for each of the songs which lists musicians and singers.

Came across the name of Claudia Lennear and curious as to what happened to her (never did find out) did a search on the net.

In the process I came across a reference to this site which I visited and thought some of the members might enjoy. I checked our site search for a previous reference but found none.

Perhaps the "Top Fives" listing might initiate some new threads. Hope you enjoy!

 

I don't pay attention to pro rock critics. They have biases just like the rest of us, and a lot of them are not even that knowledgable about the music they write about. They are just a bunch of people who get free CD trying to make a name for themselves, that's all.

 

I try to avoid any blanket statements about critics because they're such a varied bunch. Would you lump Lester Bangs into the same group as some guy writing blurbs for music chain advertisements?

The only problem with critics in general as that they can be real snippy and dwell on the negative side of things, but I feel that's just human nature (just look at this board).

A good critic, though, will help a listener or audience member open himself up to something new and appreciate things on another level. A good critic will also keep an open mind and try to understand where the artist is coming from rather than impose their own agenda or theories on the artist's work. One of the things that bothers me about some rock critics is how they have a definition of what rock is and trash anyone who deviates from it. It doesn't necessarily have to be a strict definition, it can be pretty loose. Dave Marsh has a pretty good book where he pick his 1001 favorite rock singles of all-time. However, he seems a bit too wary of musicians who try to be more ambitious. I agree with his sentiment that great artistic intent (great as in scope, not quality) doesn't necessarily make for good art, but he seems to take that one step too far, dismissing everything from "Pet Sounds" to David Bowie.

However, he does do a good job with the music he likes, and while I don't agree with some of the entries in the book, I may read about a great bassline in some song, pop it in, and really notice something for the first time.

 

Agreed !!!

 

What is really amazing to me is the effect of the internet on music criticism. While some of you may feel critics have never been worth following, I used to follow a lot of music criticism with interest. However, with forums like this or ICE, the usenet newsgroups, and sites like Amazon, the need/purpose of 'professional' critics has really been diminished. I don't need/want the opinion of a single professional critic when I can go to Amazon and see 200 individual reviews of any particular album. While I disregard any star/rating system, when there are enough Amazon reviews hinting at a particular aspect of an album (e.g. weak songwriting, poor production), I take notice. Even if you don't put any stock in reviews (and any public sites/forums will attract their share of drivel), I like reading them for the same reasons I like reading this group.

By the way, even if you don't like critics, there are occasionally some really interesting bits on rockcritics.com. I check it out about once every other week or so.