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Sweetpea Group: Members Posts: 1476 Joined: April 2007 Posted: Dec. 08 2008, 05:10 I was just browsing the reviews for Five Miles Out, and the one from High Fidelity really got my dander up. I was preparing to type out a diatribe flouting the whole of the article, from the blatantly ignorant "it sticks pretty much to the tried-and-true formula of its six predecessors" to the blithely narrowminded "Oldfield is still dallying with strings and cymbals and zithers, mucking around with syrupy melodies and overblown arrangements", but all that righteous indignation was wearing me out. And by the time I got to "It's doubtful that anyone will be listening to Oldfield's music one hundred years from now. Stripped of their multiple layers and elaborate arrangements, his compositions are little more than catchy commercial fodder; they don't seem to have enough of an emotional edge or depth to warrant continued listening" I was actually finding it kinda funny. So I've gone from growling to chuckling. But I still think the reviewer is a poopyhead. -------------- "I'm no physicist, but technically couldn't Mike both be with the horse and be flying through space at the same time? (On account of the earth's orbit around the Sun and all that). So it seems he never had to make the choice after all. I bet he's kicking himself now." - clotty Back to top

Matt Group: Admins Posts: 1186 Joined: Nov. 2002 Posted: Dec. 08 2008, 05:20 You would have thought a reviewer with a name like "X. Rae" would be better able to see into the depths of work like FMO... -------------- "I say I say I say I say, what's got three bottles and five eyes and no legs and two wheels" Back to top

Scatterplot Group: Members Posts: 1980 Joined: Dec. 2007 Posted: Dec. 08 2008, 06:15 I remember that mag and that article. That reviewer had the same "formula" to use with all his reviews. A lot of pomposity, a little praise but never too much, a little bit more put down but never too much. I bet that same year he wrote almost exactly the same thing for Peter Gabriel Security. -------------- We raise our voices in the night Crying to heaven And will our voices be heard Or will they break Like the wind Back to top

nightspore Group: Members Posts: 4761 Joined: Mar. 2008 Posted: Dec. 08 2008, 06:20 It's best to avoid any reviewer who hides behind very imprecise and cliched words like "overblown" and "syrupy". It would have been just as bad if s/he had liked the record and said it was "stunning". (That word is my personal pet hate; many who should know better resort to it when they can't think of anything specific to say. If I had my way everyone caught using it would be fined ten dollars with the proceeds going to charity! Back to top

Sir Mustapha Group: Musicians Posts: 2802 Joined: April 2003 Posted: Dec. 08 2008, 07:44 The only thing that can make me pissed off in reviews are factual errors; especially now, when pretty much every bit of relevant information is just one Wikipedia article away. I remember George Starostin had several of them on his reviews (such as the "synthesizer loop" at the end of Tubular Bells part 1, from an album that features not a single synthesized note), but that was his personal page, he wasn't paid to do research, and he was awesome anyway. But professional reviewers should put more than a bit of effort in research before writing. As for the opinions in the reviews themselves, well, a shallow and bland review always puts me off, regardless of whether it's positive or negative. If the guy at least has a good idea of what he's saying, he can tear Amarok to shreds and still have my respect. Doesn't seem to be the case on the review above: "tried-and-true formula"? Family Man? And the gem: Stripped of their multiple layers and elaborate arrangements, his compositions are little more than catchy commercial fodder; Yeah, and that 4th movement to that Beethoven symphony is just a catchy little tune with lots of stuff around it. -------------- Check out http://ferniecanto.com.br for all my music, including my latest albums: Don't Stay in the City, Making Amends and Builders of Worlds. Also check my Bandcamp page: http://ferniecanto.bandcamp.com Back to top

Dirk Star Group: Members Posts: 1331 Joined: Sep. 2007 Posted: Dec. 08 2008, 08:58 Quote (Sweetpea @ Dec. 08 2008, 10:10) Quote But I still think the reviewer is a poopyhead. Go on Sweetpea,stick the boot in good and proper.. The bit that gets me is the "hundred years from now" nonsense,because we`re all going to be around to dis-prove that theory are`nt we?Although that said over a quater of his alloted time frame has gone by already..Mmmm wonder if he`s getting twitchy yet?Also that bit Sir M mentions there about "factual errors" and such,a "fifty minute electronic hippy symphony" or whatever???..Maybe by electronic he meant that some of the instruments had to be plugged-in,I mean has he even listened to Tubular Bells you wonder?..Good grief! Oh yeah and Family Man is "space rock" is it?..Can`t say it`s the sort of thing I`d imagine being played by a silver suited beat-combo down at the Jetsons lounge bar,but I guess you never know?Maybe we could all come back in about 75 years or so and see if it happens.I`ll meet you all in the foyer,next to the Amarok tele-port console. Back to top

Harmono Group: Members Posts: 759 Joined: May 2005 Posted: Dec. 08 2008, 12:01 Quote (Sweetpea @ Dec. 08 2008, 11:10) But I still think the reviewer is a poopyhead. A stunningly pompous poopyhead. Back to top

Scatterplot Group: Members Posts: 1980 Joined: Dec. 2007 Posted: Dec. 08 2008, 14:43 I remember having a subscription to that mag as well as "stereo review" in those days. Fascinating to look back. But there has been a question bugging me since 1982.     I walked into my fav. record shop that year, one day and was browsing. I heard a very familiar, unmistakable style of guitar playing I knew very well playing quite loudly. I went to the cashier and asked "what is that album?" He said it's the new Mike Oldfield record "Five Miles Out".  I went....more like ran to the O section and grabbed a copy. On the back it said copyright 1980. I talked with the guy, who seemed to also like Oldfield, hence why he was playing it and hence why I found it the week it was available, and he pointed out yes it says copyright 1980. I said, "but that was when QE2 came out, what gives?" Can anyone shed some light on why a 1982 MO album says copyright 1980 on it? Just curious. Jim -------------- We raise our voices in the night Crying to heaven And will our voices be heard Or will they break Like the wind Back to top

Bassman Group: Members Posts: 548 Joined: Feb. 2008 Posted: Dec. 08 2008, 17:20 Jim, your comment had me going through my old vinyls.  My copy said (P) and © 1982.  So your copy's kinda strange.  It was cool digging out my original TB from CBS/Columbia. I can also relate about the old "High Fidelity" and "Stereo Review".  I used to get them, too.  Still have all the "Stereo Review"s in boxes upstairs.  They seemed just slightly less snotty than HF.  I haven't looked at them in ages, but I seem to recall liking Steve Simels' reviews a bit. Critics.  Meh. Back to top

Sweetpea Group: Members Posts: 1476 Joined: April 2007 Posted: Dec. 10 2008, 03:03 Quote (Sir Mustapha @ Dec. 08 2008, 07:44) Stripped of their multiple layers and elaborate arrangements, his compositions are little more than catchy commercial fodder; Yeah, and that 4th movement to that Beethoven symphony is just a catchy little tune with lots of stuff around it. My thoughts were along similar lines, Sir M, though rather less articulate. I must lose IQ points when I get riled up, because I was often reduced to 'WTF?', and 'AARRGH!'. -------------- "I'm no physicist, but technically couldn't Mike both be with the horse and be flying through space at the same time? (On account of the earth's orbit around the Sun and all that). So it seems he never had to make the choice after all. I bet he's kicking himself now." - clotty Back to top

Silver Negus Group: Members Posts: 357 Joined: Sep. 2007 Posted: Dec. 10 2008, 15:06 Quote (Sweetpea @ Dec. 08 2008, 05:10) I was just browsing the reviews for Five Miles Out, and the one from High Fidelity really got my dander up. I was preparing to type out a diatribe flouting the whole of the article, from the blatantly ignorant "it sticks pretty much to the tried-and-true formula of its six predecessors" to the blithely narrowminded "Oldfield is still dallying with strings and cymbals and zithers, mucking around with syrupy melodies and overblown arrangements", but all that righteous indignation was wearing me out. And by the time I got to "It's doubtful that anyone will be listening to Oldfield's music one hundred years from now. Stripped of their multiple layers and elaborate arrangements, his compositions are little more than catchy commercial fodder; they don't seem to have enough of an emotional edge or depth to warrant continued listening" I was actually finding it kinda funny. So I've gone from growling to chuckling. But I still think the reviewer is a poopyhead. Maybe this reviewer didn't know quality and culture when it  stared at him in the face? Back to top

hph Group: Members Posts: 70 Joined: Nov. 2009 Posted: May 30 2011, 15:49 A German comedian once said: "Reviewers are like eunuchs. They know how it should be done but they aren't able to do it!". Bad joke, I know...   It was en vogue at that time for critics to bash all the heroes from the seventies. Yes, Genesis, Oldfield and many more, they all made music in the early eighties and almost everything I could read about them in the music press back then was cynical rubbish. Back to top

Sir Mustapha Group: Musicians Posts: 2802 Joined: April 2003 Posted: May 30 2011, 16:59 In most cases, the problem with "professional" reviews is that, invariably, they are following some sort of agenda. I'm not saying that there aren't any independent outlets of opinion, but can someone take seriously anything that is said by Pitchfork Media, for example? I actually enjoy reading good reviews. I write reviews and I enjoy it a whole lot. But when people start making money off it, it's always a problem. Except for Mark Prindle: he appears on TV, but he's still cool. -------------- Check out http://ferniecanto.com.br for all my music, including my latest albums: Don't Stay in the City, Making Amends and Builders of Worlds. Also check my Bandcamp page: http://ferniecanto.bandcamp.com Back to top

nightspore Group: Members Posts: 4761 Joined: Mar. 2008 Posted: May 30 2011, 21:46 Quote (Sir Mustapha @ May 30 2011, 16:59) In most cases, the problem with "professional" reviews is that, invariably, they are following some sort of agenda. I'm not saying that there aren't any independent outlets of opinion, but can someone take seriously anything that is said by Pitchfork Media, for example? I actually enjoy reading good reviews. I write reviews and I enjoy it a whole lot. But when people start making money off it, it's always a problem. Except for Mark Prindle: he appears on TV, but he's still cool. Yes, it would have been more of a worry if they'd produced a positive review, because as Eliot reminds us "Fools' approval stings, and honour stains". Back to top

Milamber Group: Musicians Posts: 2263 Joined: Feb. 2010 Posted: May 30 2011, 21:57 Just Stunning   Back to top

nightspore Group: Members Posts: 4761 Joined: Mar. 2008 Posted: May 30 2011, 23:25 Quote (Milamber @ May 30 2011, 21:57) Just Stunning   Do you mean my comment? In what sense? Back to top

Milamber Group: Musicians Posts: 2263 Joined: Feb. 2010 Posted: May 31 2011, 00:01 See your first post... I'll get me coat   Back to top

nightspore Group: Members Posts: 4761 Joined: Mar. 2008 Posted: May 31 2011, 00:08 Quote (Milamber @ May 31 2011, 00:01) See your first post... I'll get me coat   You have an encyclopedic memory for detail, Cam. I take off my hat to you (it will go with your coat    ) Back to top

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