http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005-2007 by the authors Thu, 29 May 2008 22:00:44 EDT http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/03/07/075429.php#comment-721988 Just found this review. THis effort is a mixed bag- though the worst tracks on here are still better than most anything else out there. "Raise the Roof" and "hands to the Ceiling" - not so good. "Falling off a Log", and "Grand Canyon"- some of her best vocals in years "Easy"- evocative, emotive, amazing 721988@blogcritics.org Thu, 29 May 2008 22:00:44 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/03/07/075429.php#comment-599742 I think the reviewer is right, actually. Bored me to tears. Tracey has made me cry before, but not like this... the people defending her are just as "subjective" as their claims describing his review. He's brave for saying what he did. 599742@blogcritics.org Fri, 8 Jun 2007 15:26:00 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/03/07/075429.php#comment-599739 Did we listen the same album ? I don't think so. This is simply nice and creative energy pointing in all you haters out there. Take a look what is happening with a common pop music, this album is the gem among the others. Shame on you ! Petar. 599739@blogcritics.org Fri, 8 Jun 2007 15:08:03 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/03/07/075429.php#comment-561811 For Piss sake! I like that. Peter, I think I'll look elsewhere for credible reviews. Your review is ridiculously simplistic. To take such a remarkable voice and song writing talent and hold her to one album (her first is it) with no mention of the vertical and lateral poles of her career seems ... prissy and insensitive. All or at least most of Thorn's music grows in weight and power with repeat visits. Timelessness is a word that applies to much of TT's work but it isn't noticeable on first take. I'll come back and eat crow, raw crow if Out Of The Woods doesn't grow into the rich texture of her work. I promise but otherwise, I'm looking elsewhere for insightful and responsible reviews. Sunday, soccer mom mall muzak has got to be one for the book of critic slurs. 561811@blogcritics.org Fri, 16 Mar 2007 22:18:30 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/03/07/075429.php#comment-561802 For Piss sake! I like that. Peter, I think I'll look elsewhere for credible reviews. I haven't even heard OOTW yet but your review is ridiculously simplistic. To take the most amazing voice and song writing talent and hold her to one album (her first is it) with no mention of the vertical and lateral poles of her career seems ... prissy and insensitive. I'll come back and eat crow, raw crow if Out Of The Woods even hints at Sunday, soccer mom mall muzak to me. I promise but otherwise, I'm looking elsewhere for insightful and responsible reviews. 561802@blogcritics.org Fri, 16 Mar 2007 22:00:50 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/03/07/075429.php#comment-560747 Slowly but surely, this album has the ability to grow on you. 560747@blogcritics.org Thu, 15 Mar 2007 02:18:22 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/03/07/075429.php#comment-558404 Thank you so much Dee for pointing that out. "Utterly failed," is indeed terse. And so is, "the blandest and most deadened thing." 558404@blogcritics.org Sun, 11 Mar 2007 01:40:49 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/03/07/075429.php#comment-558323 I dunno, mate. I think he's right on. Dance music IS a complete toss-off mostly. I've heard this record and concur. She can do better and has, even very recently. I think "utterly failed" is a bit terse, wouldn't you say? It sounds like you might actually be defending her? Which is fine. But let's be clear on couching "critique" in word-of-the-day rhetoric and verbal puffery. It seems only to serve you as attempting to shame the author with big words. If you heard the record, tell us why it deserves a better review. And, perhaps more importantly, what you liked about it. 558323@blogcritics.org Sat, 10 Mar 2007 19:12:16 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/03/07/075429.php#comment-558139 Your review largely reflects your personal taste. That's your prerogative. But I'm very sure you can do better as a critic. As much as Tracey Thorn must be afforded room for improvement in her latest endeavour, so must you as a critic. My rating of your review: 3/10, mostly for your effort. Next time, outline your aesthetic standards and merit or demerit a work from there. Be more mindful of presenting specific illustrations rather than relegating your opinion to generalisations that may be catchy but not sound for critical analysis. Your review is replete of this. To illustrate, here are some of those statements: "Woods settles into an unsettling bit of dance music autopilot. Bo-ring... the mood is one of escape, shunning of responsibilities and feels like a mixtape for Sunday morning shopping at the Urban Outfitters... a soundtrack to the Soccer Mom's Saturday Night Dance Party, if such a thing exists... comes across as both trite and predicated." Employing these sweeping generalisations can only be justified when vis-a-vis a lyrical and musical analysis of the work/s in question. And you utterly failed to offer this. Hence, a critique of the critic is in order. Albeit unsolicited, be more mindful of your work. 558139@blogcritics.org Sat, 10 Mar 2007 04:15:52 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/03/07/075429.php#comment-557737 Pardon my typo in the first line. I meant to say someone else is MOVED by it, not loved by it. Although I am sure Tracey loves me! 557737@blogcritics.org Fri, 9 Mar 2007 06:46:10 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/03/07/075429.php#comment-557736 Hmmm, taste is taste. It's never easy to explain why someone doesn't like a record and someone else is really loved by it. Not sure what you were expecting, but I think we heard different albums. The record I heard is one that spans the sounds of her career, from folky acoustic (Hand Up To The Ceiling - a teaser title!) to lush dancepop (It's All True and Raise The Roof) late-EBTG dance tracks (Grand Canyon). One song, Nowhere Near, is close to the finest ballad she has ever done and an honest depiction of her life now. I don't hear the, to quote you, "shunning of responsibilities" in a line like "gets me running up stairs to count heads in tangled beds." How many times did you play the record? Did you catch that line. It's not a perfect record - there are some cringey cliches here and there, but it is a "grower" record in many respects. The single may fool people into thinking they are buying something more uptempo, I suppose. I hope people will try this album themselves and not just walk away from it thinking it is a, to quote you again, "Soccer mom" record. [Trite putdown to moms, by the way.] If you really think she is a great as you imply, then I hope you'll live with the record a bit more before you toss that promo out. 557736@blogcritics.org Fri, 9 Mar 2007 06:44:25 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/03/07/075429.php#comment-555064 Thanks. Yeah, no one was more disappointed than me in having to write the review. She is one of those talents who I am incredibly fond of. But you have to call them honestly. Maybe this can lay the groundwork for another commentary on "When Artists Go Soft," or some such a thing. Hmmmm.... 555064@blogcritics.org Wed, 7 Mar 2007 12:00:44 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/03/07/075429.php#comment-555061 Nice review, Peter, although I am disappointed to hear this. I agree that she has one of the great melancholy voices in the pop landscape. Pity that seems to have been wasted on this. 555061@blogcritics.org Wed, 7 Mar 2007 11:52:26 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/03/07/075429.php#comment-554993 How can you compare a solo release from 25 years ago with an album that follows an impressive track ebtg track record? Sure OOTW is no Distant Shore, but Walking Wounded certainly isn't Idlewild, either. Is Tracey not allowed to grow, loosen up and just have fun? And so what if you perceived her mood to be wanting to escape...she's a mother of three for piss sake; I wanna see what the girl does! 554993@blogcritics.org Wed, 7 Mar 2007 09:17:39 EST