Personal attacks in our CD's review

[RainMaker]

hey,

can anybody here relate to the experience of being personally attacked in a magazine's review of your CD?

well it just happened to moi & bandmates. the reviewer repeatedly criticized my bandmate's name (which was given to him by his parents, folks, he was not consulted), and his nickname, which is completely wholesome short and decent, and the name of our album (which was the same as one of the original songs. Um, is this not done frequently? ).

the reviewer said he hated the cover art of the record so much, he said he was afraid he might have to listen to the record more than once. this was even before the first listen. The record cover is one main color, kinda foggy and abstract (low budget baby).

the reviewer hardly mentioned the music, but he surely must have hated it. he allowed that the guitarist was competent, the drummer distracted, the bass player OK, the horn player amateur, cited overall lack of taste.

anyway, the overall review is kinda wacky; so much so i think the reviewer's credibility may be questioned by thoughtful readers. i was however surprised that the magazine's editor didn't bounce it back to the writer because of the rather pointed personal attacks on the musicians, and the very limited discussion of the actual music. BTW we don't know this reviewer, have never met him to our knowledge, he does not write much (not famous or anything like that).

any thots out there? anybody wanna share stories of negative reviews?

i kinda feel like i have been hit w/ a water filled balloon... joked w/ my bandmate that maybe we should all change our names to "Ramone" or something...

thanks people

[MRS]

I'd be interested in your situation had you posted said review, cover art, name of band, names of band members, skate sharpeners, the massage table our bus

[Nate Dorward]

Hm, maybe post the review & it'd be easier to judge? -- Has the disc received any other reviews?

[Pete C]

Agreed that we need more details.

[JazzJunkie]

One thing that can be commented on here sans explicit details is the cover art. I've seen some absolutely horrendous cover art (some of which has been attached to some big names) and it's never been ripped. Nine times out of ten the cover art is never even mentioned, so his (or her) attack in that area does make me a little suspicious... but please do share the whole thang with us.

[jazzy mary]

We need more details. What magazine? Is your cd a jazz cd? Leave it to us at JC to give you the straight scoop!

[Brian Olewnick]

Originally Posted by JazzJunkie

One thing that can be commented on here sans explicit details is the cover art. I've seen some absolutely horrendous cover art (some of which has been attached to some big names) and it's never been ripped. Nine times out of ten the cover art is never even mentioned, so his (or her) attack in that area does make me a little suspicious... but please do share the whole thang with us.

I find it worth mentioning if it's particularly awful. At Bags, the review of that Liebman Emanem disc recently resurfaced with some commentary on the (godawful) cover. Not by me, but I don't have a problem with the mention in cases like that.

[Nate Dorward]

Sometimes one mentions the cover art if it's particularly good/appropriate! -- & yes, if it's a real eyesore then I'm often tempted to mention it. Why not?

[RainyDay]

What kind of music? Where was it reviewed? Given the thread about Branford Marsalis and the silly criticism of his cover for Eternal, I wondered if it could have been written by someone here.

[Chaney]

I hope you don't mind, RainMaker, but perhaps clues might be found in a previous post (of RainMaker):

NYC: Bassist Needed for Beyond Jazz Group

Hey! We're a working beyond jazz group whose bassist is out of state for the foreseeable future. We have gigs lined up so we need a bass player!

Need a pro who can read charts and notes and keep time. Paid gigs in tri-state area, unpaid rehearsals 2-3x per month in Manhattan. General business and club dates. We love to play, we're not burned out/jaded or whatever so we hope you still like to play, too.

We play jazz/swing tunes but lots of other grooves, such as funk, reggae, Latin, rock. MOSTLY ORIGINALS so you gotta be able to read. When we do "Take 5", we do it as reggae. We do "Black Magic Woman" as salsa... "People Are Strange" as a swing... you get the idea: we don't play standards on autopilot. Influences include Charlie Hunter, Bill Frisell, The Bad Plus, MMW, Oregon, Pat Metheny.

We do not discriminate based on gender, age, race, country of origin, sexual orientation, piecings or lack thereof, tattoos or ice cream flavor preferences. Vegans and buffalo eaters are both OK by us, but we are straightedge types, except for a glass of wine or a beer now and then.

If this sounds good to you, or if you know a bassist who's looking for a happening project, please call (516) 705-6575 and leave a quick message.

Thanks for reading!

[crawjo]

There's no mention of cover art in this review, but everything else seemed to match what Rainmaker was talking about. Published in the Cadence that arrived in the mail this week, written by David DuPont.

National Boulevard - Last Cigarette

I had to cut through layers of affectation to get to the music on Last Cigarette. First of all we have the title with its tone of artsy seediness. Then we have the chief instigator, guitarist Durso, who pairs spelling his first name "Jimi" a la Hendrix with the nickname "The Twang." Then there's the matter of several brief hidden tracks, fragments of the rhythm section. And then we get the music. The first track kicks in with the band led by Karla Harby's breathy, thin-toned flute. When she steps up to improvise, it's amateur time with trite note choices, and, even worst, a wayward sense of swing. Frankly, at that point I told myself I had to stay alert because I didn't want to have to listen through this a second time. Even ace drummer Matt Wilson sounded detached, nailing the backbeats in a perfunctory manner. My attention waned. So I did indeed have to return to this disc.

Durso is a capable guitarist with a stylistic range wider than suggested by his silly nickname. Still, lapses of taste, like the pathetic closing psychedlic Blues, are plentiful. The rhythm section does pin down the wide-ranging, pop-rock-Jazz grooves. Bassist Letman-Burtinovic is the MVP in this regard and turns in some fine improvising on one of those untitled tracks. All that doesn't entirely redeem this session. The quirkiness and pop directness come off as being calculated, full of obvious style-checking, lacking that creative spark that would allow it to overcome its shortcomings.

[crawjo]

And by the way, Last Cigarette is also the title of one of the tunes on the album.

[Paul B]

Not sure how that review (thanks for posting it, Crawjo) can be considered a "personal attack." Maybe there was no need to bring up the guitarist's nickname, but hell, if you're going to use a nickname like that, well....

And anyway, the reviewer did have positive words for some of the players.

[Nate Dorward]

Jeez, that's a "personal attack"??? Seems a pretty mild pan to me.

[JazzJunkie]

Yes, crawjo, you do seem to have made the right connection. I'm not sure why RM didn't or hasn't filled in all the details on this but I did find the recording and... the cover art is excellent IMO. It's one of the most clever visuals I've seen in a long time and my hat's off to the designer. Also, this group features some of my very favorite players, Matt was mentioned, and a wonderful sax man named Steve lends some notes here. There's a lot of tunes on the disc and I've only listened to samples of the first two, but I'm going to check out more.

RM, it's nice to have you here.

[Brian Olewnick]

Here ya go.

[Vince Kargatis]

I'm missing something - where's Dupont's diss of the cover, if that's the review in question?

[Brian Olewnick]

Could've been edited out by Rusch but Dupont sent the complete write-up to the musicians.

[Sergio Zamora]

That's actually some really nice cover art.

[jazzy mary]

Yeah, where's the diss of the cover? I like the cover. I thought the review was unduly harsh (this is without hearing the music) and making fun of the guy's nickname was pointless. I wouldn't call it a "personal attack" though. It must be painful, though, for an artist when their album gets panned like that. I hope htey are able to take it with a grain of salt, eventually and realize that not everyone will like what they're doing.

I thought the review was amateurish, actually.

[Enforcer]

Mary's right, the review is poorly written.

"...and, even worst, a wayward sense of swing."

Even worst?? What?

[Jimmy Cantiello]

Larry's right. What's sausage got to do with music?...........

[crawjo]

Yeah, in this review the author says it was the bad playing of the flutist that almost made him not want to listen a second time, not the cover, which is not mentioned at all. But maybe you guys are right and the reviewer sent the original to the musicians while an edited version was printed in the mag.

[crawjo]

I double-checked and the "worst" was not a typo on my part. That's the way it is printed in Cadence.

[MRS]

Originally Posted by RainyDay

Given the thread about Branford Marsalis and the silly criticism of his cover for Eternal

[jazzy mary]

Originally Posted by crawjo

I double-checked and the "worst" was not a typo on my part. That's the way it is printed in Cadence.

That's pathetic.

[groover]

Fixed.

Originally Posted by Michael Schaumann

[Dan G]

Originally Posted by crawjo

I double-checked and the "worst" was not a typo on my part. That's the way it is printed in Cadence.

I wouldn't blame the writer - it's pretty easy to make that simple typo. And I'm sure there are many other mistakes just as bad or worse in any issue of Cadence. They really need to get an editor.

As for the review itself, I've seen far more viscious ones in Cadence and other places. And pointing out that the guitarist calls himself "the twang" isn't a personal insult, but anyone who does call themselves something that silly should be prepared for anything that comes their way.

[RainyDay]

RainMaker has managed to get quite a buzz going about his CD.

[graypencil]

FWIW:

I liked the cover art as well ..

..and the review seemed fairly devoid of overt "personal attacks"