bad or negative reviews that sold you on an album

What band is that?

mount rushmore.

also i'm apparently never going to get the hang of BBCode italics.

Dylan's Empire Burlesque and the Stones' Dirty Work's mostly awful reviews were based on such specious reasoning that I knew I had to find out for myself.

stephen thomas erlewine's review of attila's s/t for AMG:

Many critics, fans, and college students have spent hours debating the serious question of what the worst album in the history of rock actually is. One listen to Attila would provide them with a definitive answer. Attila undoubtedly is the worst album released in the history of rock & roll -- hell, the history of recorded music itself. There have been many bad ideas in rock, but none match the colossal stupidity of Attila. There's a reason why they're the only heavy rock organ-and-drums duo in the history of rock & roll -- it's an atrocious combination. Organ and drum combos work well in jazz, because the musicians know how to balance the dynamics of the two instruments, but in this group of Huns, it becomes an unbearable, unholy noise. Billy Joel decided that the only way a keyboardist could compete with the guitarists popping up in Hendrix's wake was to rig his organ with piles of effects pedals, Leslie organs, distortion, and wah-wah -- and use them all at once while he yells, not sings, and Jon Small flails away haplessly at his drums. It's impossible to make out the riffs, since the organ just sounds like a wall of white noise, and there are no melodies, only shouting. Everything is turned to 11 -- because it's one louder than ten, innit? -- and even when the group tries out a different, slower style, it still sounds the same, because the instrumentation, attack, and effects never change. By the end of the album, it feels as if a drill has punctured the center of your skull -- it's that piercing, painful, and monotonous. Joel has gone on record describing the results as "psychedelic bullsh*t." Remove the word "psychedelic" and you have an accurate description of the album. (By the way, Joel and Small are dressed as Huns on the cover. For some reason, they're standing in a meat locker. It's as if the duo unconsciously knew they were creating the most ridiculous album package in rock & roll history.)

AMGs "mood" list sealed the deal:

Hostile, Angry, Bleak, Brooding, Bitter, Angst-Ridden, Cathartic, Rebellious, Cynical/ Sarcastic, Druggy, Aggressive, Reckless, Thuggish, Malevolent, Paranoid, Confrontational, Menacing, Intense, Raucous, Harsh

So are Mount Rushmore and Attila actually any good then? If Billy Joel wasn't in Attila that review would have made me seek it out as well! Although since Billy Joel now hates it I guess it might be good.

i'm waiting for mount rushmore to show up in the mail, actually. attila's not nearly the wall of noise that the review makes out, excepting the second half of the "amplifier fire" suite. standard heavy organ rock grooves (sort of like a cruder mk II deep purple), doesn't really get into a vanilla fudge plod-rock thing. also has a kinda bad heavy rock novelty song ("california flash") and billy joel singing about kicking faces in.

http://www.headheritage.co.uk/unsung/review/804

i remember wanting to check out the 2nd liars record because it got one star from spin and one star from rolling stone.

Fuck it, I'm putting both of those on my Slsk wishlist when I get home :)

Billy Joel decided that the only way a keyboardist could compete with the guitarists popping up in Hendrix's wake was to rig his organ with piles of effects pedals, Leslie organs, distortion, and wah-wah -- and use them all at once while he yells, not sings

This sounds like the best thing ever!

I saw a Mt Rushmore in Kim's not long ago and almost bought it.

Ariel Pink - I love his music, especially since Pitchfork always pans his stuff (these thoughts circa 2004).

Mt Rushmore *record*
xpost

The review for "Shark Sandwich" was merely a two word review which simply read "Shit Sandwich".

Hawkwindz doubly OTM re Attila! It was the combination of Erlewine ranting plus Head Heritage raving that sealed the deal for me. I think that record's hysterical & have no idea why Erlewine got all worked up - sounded practically offended, for chrissakes.

...the only heavy rock organ-and-drums duo in the history of rock & roll ...
wrong.
henriksen und karlsen. who are great.
also, lee michaels did a duo album with just a drummer, i think.

"hippopotamomus" got 0 out of 10 in the NME. i went out and got it the next day. it was, IIRC, great.

i remember wanting to check out the 2nd liars record because it got one star from spin and one star from rolling stone.

-- M@tt He1ges0n, Tuesday, August 14, 2007 4:04 PM (5 hours ago) Bookmark Link

otm

i endorse mount rushmore (the band).

"We Didn't Kick the Face In."

Metal Machine Music

some wag in Melody Maker described The Durutti Column's 'Obey The Time' as "dance music for insomniacs"...I thought, fuck yeah, I could get into that...

MMM is probably the classic example, actually. i knew i had to hear that years before i had heard the velvet underground.

wrong. henriksen und karlsen. who are great.

true! and magma (from germany) of "rock duo magma" fame. cosmic rock show, too, i think.

also should've pointed out that "california flash" is a bad novelty heavy rock song about a streaker!

oops xp

everything i've ever read about the karen carpenter solo album says "stay away! soft rock and lite disco! poison!", which of course makes me desperately want to hear it. i finally found a copy on slsk, but it's all mixed together weirdly. it SOUNDS great, though, even if some of the songs are chopped up.

sold

also should've pointed out that "california flash" is a bad novelty heavy rock song about a streaker!

More precisely, it's a song about a rock singer who drops his pants onstage and promptly gets arrested. Just like Jim Morrison - and the main riff even sounds exactly like the Doors' "Peace Frog" played backwards!

That second Liars album is the best thing they've done.

But yeah, this happens all the time, especially if you count "people bitching on ILX about it" as "bad reviews."

Usually, though, I like an album a lot, then read the reviews (perhaps expecting to be validated), and end up with a "man, fuck this reviewer" feeling. That happened most memorably with the Supersystem album from El Guapo; it got panned everywhere, but is great and weird.

Rolling 2004 Negative Reviews That Make The Subject Sound Awesome Thread

i'm more familiar with the opposite happening: a positive review that manages to make the content sound horrible. maybe it's a jazz thing...

i say the first liars is the best out of an extremely diverse and interesting catalogue...

i don't think i'm likely to be sold on an album based on a shit review. i'd sooner just completely disregard the reviewer and make my own mind up

http://erik1966route1.blogspot.com/2008/10/bizarre-stomping-lunacy-appreciation.html

For a label like Kill Rock Stars to put out some amazing artists such as Sleater-Kinney and Bikini Kill, it's surprising that they'll also occasionally release a record by a band such as Thrones. Although credit is due for the diversity that this label is known for, Sperm Whale is a headache of jumbled feedback and drum programming. With frontman, and only member, Joe Preston taking on every instrument, Thrones slowly creep their way through a mash of sludgy guitars and rev erbed vocals that only a Melvins fan could appreciate. This album be easily described as one which seems a lot longer than it actually is. The CD version of Sperm Whale contains Thrones' first EP, White Rabbit White Rabbit White Rabbit.

http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:3bfoxqrkldde

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,287426,00.html

I bought a Ganzmord demo because the reviews were all saying that it was worse than Ildjarn, and basically sounded like listening to a crate of kitchenware being thrown down some stairs, with your head stuffed in a vacuum cleaner. Which was completely correct.

second Liars is classic. This review I loved, http://www.ibiza-voice.com/story/news/2719. Mentioning John Coltrane in a review of a Margaret Dygas release??!? Really enjoyed the CD. The ResidentAdvisor review of a Hecker CD too was one that directed me to buy.

<3 Ganzmord

hahaha the comments on that biggie review are so right on

I'd at times be tempted to check out something if it is accused of being too "clever" and "smooth", but then, chances are, I might as well end up with something awfully boring like Maroon 5, Toploader or Journey instead of something actually quite great like Styx, Barclay James Harvest or Alan Parsons Project.

p4k's review for kate bush's aerial really was the nail in the coffin (I'm tired and too lazy too think of something not so cliche) confirming that the site is a bunch of assholes. That album is great, and the woman is 52 ffs. Considering she had a smoking habit it's forgivable that she doesn't scream like she used to.

*Composed of a bunch of assholes. or is a bunch of assholes. ur pick.