Is it all just a matter of opinion

Posted by: Guido Fawkes on 13 April 2011

I was in a library searching through books on the best ways to mix charcoal amd Salt of Petra, as you do in these days of imminent parliamentary reform, when I happened across a book entitled 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die

 

Now whilst many of the selections were reasonable, some were very strange choices indeed; I would not recommend Robbie Williams to anybody as I think there are 1000s of more worthy artists, but then again I have similar views on Frank Sinatra. I know some forum members like him and Robbie, but I have never understood their appeal and probably never will. 

 

Nobody will ever convince me that any album listed in this book is better than Eldorado by the Electric Light Orchestra, but that record is not even mentioned. There are no Half Man Half Biscuit entries and nothing by Shirley Collins or Sandy by Sandy Denny, no Moody Blues, no Desperate Bicycles or Delia Derbyshire, no Unthanks and so it goes on. 

 

Perhaps all this means is the critics views differ from my own. 

 

So is it all entirely subjective and should we even bother with reviews? What purpose do they serve? I can see the value of reviewing recording quality, but reviewers in magazines such as Rolling Stone attempt to say one record is better than another - are the journalists clueless? I picked Rolling Stone as it seems to me particularly poor and irrelevant as a guide to contemporary music; Record Collector is vastly superior as enthusiasts of a particular artist write about that artist.

 

So the conclusion I'm reaching is that for me, the opinion of a journalist in reviews is valueless or am I wrong ....  

 

Does anybody have a different experience and has found reviews in a book/magazine useful ... 

 

All the best, Guy

Posted on: 13 April 2011 by Lontano
Originally Posted by Guido Fawkes:


       


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and nothing by Shirley Collins.    Guy








Anything by her brother, Phil?
Posted on: 13 April 2011 by Guido Fawkes
Originally Posted by Lontano:
Anything by her brother, Phil?

Not unless you count his appearance as a backing musician for Peter Gabriel in Genesis who have two entries: Selling England and Lamb Lies Down and his drumming on the PG solo set; strangely my favourite Genesis record Trespass is not in the list. 

 

All the best, Guy

Posted on: 14 April 2011 by BigH47

Guido F, 

 

I reckon it says more about you that most of your favourites are missing.

I do agree with you about RW and FS though.

 

I'm also willing to bet that Richard Thompson, Rush or Chris Rea don't appear in that list. 

Posted on: 14 April 2011 by Adam Meredith
Originally Posted by Guido Fawkes:

Perhaps all this means is the critics views differ from my own.

You think so?

 

Using critics works along the "People who bought 'X' also bought 'Y'.

 

If you find a critic who regularly liked music/films/food/etc that you like you may be varyingly confident that their recommendation of an untried product may apply to you.

 

These '1001 Stupidest Christmas Books' are either authored by one egomaniac or compiled from the answers of 10,000 idiots.

 

Neither is likely to help unless, like me, you are an egomaniac idiot.

 

People who bought '1001 Stupidest Christmas Books' also bought pretty much anything.

 

I am composing my - "If you have heard these 1001 albums  I will kill you".

Posted on: 14 April 2011 by Guido Fawkes
Originally Posted by BigH47:

Guido F, 

 

I reckon it says more about you that most of your favourites are missing.

I do agree with you about RW and FS though.

 

I'm also willing to bet that Richard Thompson, Rush or Chris Rea don't appear in that list. 

Yes that is probably true, BigH.

Though of my myself I'd say I may be ugly, but I sure ain't weird  

(with apologies to the late great Captain) 

 

Thompson, Richard & Linda – I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight is on the list as are the two obvious Fairport Convention albums to which Richard and Sandy were key contributors.

 

There is no mention of Mr Christopher Rea

 

Rush – 2112 and Rush – Moving Pictures are both listed; I regret to say I've heard neither, but perhaps I will before that great song writer in the sky comes to get me. 

 

There are lots of fine albums on the list, but some that I find bewildering.

 

Destiny’s Child – Survivor

Timberlake, Justin – Justified

Aguilera, Christina – Stripped

Ms Dynamite – A Little Deeper

Slipknot – Slipknot (1st Album)
Eminem – Slim Shady 
Spears, Britney – Baby One More Time
Metallica – S&M
Bonnie Prince Billy – I See a Darkness

Coldplay – Parachutes

Jay Z – Blueprint

 

Plus there are more than a few that I've never heard of 

 

Mind you I'm not alone in not being a fan of Slipknot (please click

 

I think Adam has it right (as is usual) when he says follow a critic who shares much of my taste. The series of British Psych and the two articles on Odd Folk in Record Collector did this for me. As the author clearly liked a lot of records I loved, I investigated his other recommendations and enjoyed these purchases. I discovered Rainbow Ffolly for instance and Fairfield Parlour. 

 

All the best, Guy

Posted on: 14 April 2011 by Guido Fawkes
Originally Posted by Adam Meredith:
I am composing my - "If you have heard these 1001 albums  I will kill you".

I've added your book to my Christmas list - will it be published in time for the festive season?

 

All the best, Guy

Posted on: 14 April 2011 by Derry

It does not, presumably, say that you should enjoy these albums?

Posted on: 14 April 2011 by onip

Music critics are similar to other critics such as visual art and movie critics (and even reviewers in the hi-fi magazines) in that they try to move culture forward based on their own views.  They try to affect the public temper by defining taste.  Critics can have an affect on taste, but not really on quality.  So, even if a reviewer at the time of Beethoven said his music wasn't really music or was dangerous in some other way (check out the Lexicon of Musical Invective for hilariously awesome negative reviews of composers now deemed geniuses) the greatness of Beethoven will stand on its own over time because of its quality over other artists of his day.  Same goes with the Beatles and other groups of similar import.  Musicians are often ahead of the critics and so critics usually end up just reacting to things they like or things they don't like.  Like the reviewers in the hifi magazines, you can ignore many of them and concentrate on the ones that tend to have similar views to yours.  They are only terribly wrong if they disagree with you, but in the end that don't have a major effect on what is valued by people.

Posted on: 14 April 2011 by Bananahead
Originally Posted by Derry:

It does not, presumably, say that you should enjoy these albums?


Exactly.

 

I think that you understand it to be a list of the 1001 best albums. Maybe it's not.