Music Reviews ­ A Users Guide

by Al Kunz

Have you ever read the account of a concert you attended and wondered if the reviewer was even at the same show? Have you purchased a CD based on a glowing review only to be disappointed? Did you ever decide not to purchase the latest release from a favorite artist due to bad press only to hear it elsewhere and love it? If this happens it doesn't mean your taste is flawed, or that the reviewer didn't know what he was talking about, only that your musical preferences are different.

What I hope to do here is give you a peek into the process we use to review a disc. I'll discuss some of the clues you can use to help decide if you might really like that new release that got panned, or loathe a disc the reviewer obviously loved.

Presumably you like Texas and Americana Music; if not, you've come to the wrong place. But music appropriate for the label of Americana can cover a wide spectrum, some of which may not be your thing. In recent months Rockzillaworld has published reviews of the "Latin infused acoustic jazz" of Victor Andrada, The Stone Coyotes, playing their "Stonesy rock with a lot of groove," and Canadian folk-poet Leonard Cohen. We've also covered the country-rock of Mark Insley, the psycho-country of Jon Wayne, and the insurgent-country torch songs of Kelly Hogan. In all these cases the reviewer found something to like, but not necessarily something you'll like.

With the easy availability and falling cost of technology, producing and releasing a recording on CD is within the financial reach of almost anyone with the desire to do so. This means there is a lot more good music available, certainly a positive development. But on the negative side, there are many more sub-par releases vying for your music dollar. One of our goals is to help point you towards those sometimes obscure or emerging artists you might enjoy.

The Rockzillaworld staff receives discs from artists, producers, record labels, and promoters. These may arrive unsolicited. Sometimes we'll uncover a promising artist and initiate contact ourselves. Other times we'll purchase a disc from our favorite music retailer.

Whatever the path, when a disc lands on our desk, we'll listen to it. If it doesn't fit within the Americana genre or is too inferior in production or performance, it will get tossed to the side, never to be reviewed. Like Mama said, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything." Those that make the first cut will have some appeal beyond the family and friends of the band. We may review those discs with the most promise first, but based on backlog any CD that is not weeded out immediately has a possibility of being reviewed. In making the cut, we assume the disc will interest some of our readers.

The Rockzillaworld reviewers are a disparate bunch. We've got Texans and we've got Yankees. Some have spent years writing for publication, others haven't written anything more complicated than a shopping list since college. There are experienced songwriters and musicians as well as those with no musical talent. What we have in common is a love of and familiarity with a wide range of music and the desire to share our discoveries.

Rockzillaworld readers are also a diverse lot. We can't guarantee you'll like a particular CD because you all have different tastes. What we can do is provide the information to make an informed decision on your own. We'll highlight the strengths of a particular artist or release. We'll try to describe the style or feel of a performance. Sometimes we might compare or contrast characteristics of this act to another artist. Lyrical samples are usually provided for those who care about a song's message and not just the beat.

After reading a review you should have a good idea if this is a disc you'd enjoy. If it's described as "great acoustic folk" and you think all music should "rawk," this isn't for you. If the reviewer didn't like it because it was "full of sentimental ballads," don't rule it out. Measure your own likes and dislikes against the reviewer's. If you love sentimental ballads this might be perfect for you. Still unsure, then visit the artist's web site, which sometimes will give you the chance to listen to song samples.

Lastly, let us know how your experience compares to ours. All the reviews on Rockzillaworld have a link to email the reviewer. If you think we missed the boat, tell us why. If we got it right, let us know that too.

Contact Al Kunz at kunz-at-rockzilla.net

 
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