A review can serve many purposes and take many forms. Some are great entertainment, some educate, others are analytical and filled with attempts and objective judgment. Some reviews manage all of the above. Regardless of the approach taken, the goal should be to serve the reader; an idea lost on some critics who get caught up in their own brand of snarky brilliance and elitism.
I try to remind myself of what I look for in the reviews I read when I'm writing one. When I first started, I used to assign grades to the records. I thought it served a purpose and I'd seen many other sites and magazines do it so I emulated it. I don't do that any more. One reason is because I noticed two albums could each receive the same grade and still feel leagues different, even when the grades both came from me.
Another reason I stopped is because I'd read someone's review and look at the grade and find the two incongruous. I'd be stunned to see an album marked down because this particular writer didn't like things about it I knew I'd love, or because the things they liked about it would drive me nuts. I remember when I interviewed Peter Karp he said some critics thought Shadows & Cracks was too wordy. That seemed to me to be the equivalent of telling Bob Dylan to shut up or Mozart to put down the Stradivarius. What the fuck is that all about? The grade doesn't matter and it doesn't serve the reader.
That brings us (finally) to the latest record from Popa Chubby, Deliveries After Dark. Even if I still assigned grades or stars to records, I'm not sure I'd be able to with this one. It's not easy to write about a record that doesn't illicit strong feelings favorably or unfavorably. I like Deliveries but I don't love it. Even after listening to it for awhile, I still feel a little unresolved (much like I did when I reviewed Tuatara's West of the Moon). Rather than forcing the conclusions before I'm ready, here are a few things I like about Deliveries and a few things I didn't.
The Good:
The guitar playing, obviously! The guy never seems to run out of licks. If you enjoy blues-based guitar, you're going to hear something you like on this record.
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Article comments
1 - Donald Gibson
Have you heard PC's cover of Tom Waits' "Heart Attack and Vine"? Man, he plays the hell out of that one.
2 - Mark Saleski
...critics who get caught up in their own brand of snarky brilliance and elitism
mr. hathaway, there's gonna be a problem if you insist on talkin' about me like this in a public forum.
3 - Glen Boyd
Actually, I coulda sworn he was talking about himself...
;>P
-Glen
4 - Mark Saleski
ok, that's it...somebody revoke my html license.
5 - Lisa McKay
Consider it revoked. Geesh, can't leave you guys alone around here for two seconds without you getting into some kinda trouble...
6 - Mark Saleski
do i still get those Springsteen tickets?
(i just wanted to say that in front of josh and glen)
7 - Josh
This from a guy who had the fuckin' stones to call himself an iguana rockologist. The fuck, you say.
Keep 'em in line, Lisa.
8 - El Bicho
Hard to take this guy serious when it sounds like Beavis & Butthead named him.
9 - Glen Boyd
I'll only take responsibilty for the Rockologist part...(and I agree, that did take some Stones). Somebody else came up with that whole Iguana thing, though...
:>D
-Glen
10 - Mat Brewster
Yeah, that's the worst freaking name I ever heard.
11 - Josh Hathaway
You'll notice I used the initials "PC" to refer to him a couple times because I couldn't bring myself to refer to him as Popa or Chubby. It is the worst freakin' moniker.