Jump to content

Black Crowes/Warpaint review


ArmsofAtlas

Recommended Posts

http://blackcrowes.com/Release_MAXIM.html

Apparently they can review an album with just hearing one song. I wonder how much stuff like this has effected album sales through the years.

I would imagine very little. While I do read album/movie reviews I don't rely on them 100%, I put more stock in the opinions of friends with whom I share similiar musical tastes. The true test is actually listening to the album myself. Oftentimes I find my opinion differs greatly from the reviewers (and sometimes even my friends) so I wouldn't worry too much about what reviewers say and/or how their comments might affect album sales. Obviously if a record gets poor reviews across the board it's reason for concern but that doesn't mean I'm not going to like the album in question.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

from what I can tell, the new Black Crowes album sounds like a very southern/chill album.

Which is probably why MAXIM didn't care for the first single. But hell, they are used to putting Avril Lavigne on their cover, and probably give her music great reviews.

They are, and have always been hacks in my opinion.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Black Crowes Attack Maxim Magazine Review Of New CD

NEW YORK (AP) - The Black Crowes are lashing out at Maxim magazine for reviewing the band's new album - apparently without actually hearing it first.

The review, published in Maxim's March issue, gives the Crowes' ''Warpaint'' a rating of two-and-a-half stars out of five.

''The writer - who has not heard the album since advance CDs were not made available - wrote what appears to be a disparaging assessment anyway, citing, 'it hasn't left Chris Robinson and the gang much room for growth,''' said a statement on the band's official Web site.

The band's manager, Pete Angelus, said the magazine explained that its review an ''educated guess.''

''It speaks directly to the lack of the publication's credibility,'' Angelus said in a statement. ''In my opinion, it's a disgrace to the arts, journalism, critics, the publication itself and the public. What's next - Maxim's concert reviews of shows they never attended, book reviews of books never read and film reviews of films never seen?''

A representative for the magazine would not confirm or deny to The Associated Press whether the writer actually listened to the album. Instead, Maxim released this statement in response: ''Maxim will continue to provide our readers with information that is important to them, whether it is about fashion, lifestyle, technology, music, movies and more.''

''Warpaint,'' the band's first album in seven years, is set for release March 4. The blues-rock group, fronted Chris Robinson, has released only one song from the disc, ''Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution.''

The band's hits include ''Hard to Handle'' and ''She Talks to Angels.''

(Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Maxim Apologizes for Black Crowes Review

NEW YORK — Maxim magazine has apologized for publishing a negative review of the Black Crowes' new album by a writer who hadn't listened to the whole CD.

The review in Maxim's March issue gives the Crowes' "Warpaint" a rating of two-and-a-half stars out of five. The band posted an exasperated statement on its Web site last week saying the Maxim writer hadn't heard the entire album because advance copies weren't available. The Crowes' manager, Pete Angelus, said the magazine explained that its review was an "educated guess."

Maxim editorial director James Kaminsky responded Tuesday with this statement: "It is Maxim's editorial policy to assign star ratings only to those albums that have been heard in their entirety. Unfortunately, that policy was not followed in the March 2008 issue of our magazine and we apologize to our readers."

A spokeswoman for the magazine contacted by The Associated Press declined to say whether the writer would face disciplinary action.

"Warpaint," the Black Crowes' first album in seven years, is set for release March 4. The blues-rock group, fronted by Chris Robinson, has released only one song from the disc, "Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution."

The band's hits include "Hard to Handle" and "She Talks to Angels."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

it's pretty bogus to review an album based on one song. i saw the Crowes over the summer, and they sounded pretty good, and it feels like this might be a great new album from what i hear. the only thing i'm sort of disappointed in is the fact that it's being released on vinyl too, which basically means we won't even get an hour of music, most likely between 40-45 minutes. maybe i'm just spoiled from listening to too many jambands, but cd's hold 80 minutes of music, why are artists still recording vinyl length albums? at least give us an hour of new music.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

it's pretty bogus to review an album based on one song. i saw the Crowes over the summer, and they sounded pretty good, and it feels like this might be a great new album from what i hear. the only thing i'm sort of disappointed in is the fact that it's being released on vinyl too, which basically means we won't even get an hour of music, most likely between 40-45 minutes. maybe i'm just spoiled from listening to too many jambands, but cd's hold 80 minutes of music, why are artists still recording vinyl length albums? at least give us an hour of new music.

Just because it's being released on vinyl doesn't mean it's going to be relegated to the length of a single LP. As for "vinyl length" records there's a lot to be said for that. Just because an artist has 80 minutes or more at their disposal doesn't mean they have to use it. Case in point, the last few R.E.M. albums have been rather lengthy affairs but their new one clocks in at 35 minutes. If you look at their back catalog (or any artists' that dates back to the vinyl age) you'll see that length is pretty much the case with the majority of their recordings. Not every album can be a Physical Graffiti as it takes a lot to keep someone's attention for an entire 80 plus minutes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

BLACK CROWES Manager 'Rejects' MAXIM's Apology

The BLACK CROWES' manager Pete Angelus has rejected Maxim magazine's apology for publishing a negative review of the band' new album by a writer who hadn't listened to the whole CD.

According to The Associated Press, the review in Maxim's March issue gives the CROWES' "Warpaint" a rating of two-and-a-half stars out of five. The band posted an exasperated statement on its web site last week saying the Maxim writer hadn't heard the entire album because advance copies weren't available. Angelus said the magazine explained that its review was an "educated guess."

Maxim editorial director James Kaminsky responded Tuesday with this statement: "It is Maxim's editorial policy to assign star ratings only to those albums that have been heard in their entirety. Unfortunately, that policy was not followed in the March 2008 issue of our magazine and we apologize to our readers."

In response, Angelus stated, "In my opinion, Maxim's fabrication of an album review is highly unethical and indefensible. This issue potentially pertains to all artists and their craft, and a publication which apparently has no respect for either.

"Maxim seems to continue in their attempt to deceive the public with their usage of the word 'entirety.' At the most, Maxim could have only heard the one complete song that has been released to radio before publishing their 'album review.' It comes as no surprise that Maxim has elected to apologize to their readers now that the world has been informed of their deception; however, that is not full accountability."

In closing, Angelus said, "In my opinion, Maxim's 'apology' is self-serving damage control by failing to mention the BLACK CROWES. The appropriate action from Maxim is to immediately issue a public apology to the BLACK CROWES for disparaging both the band and their soon to be released new album 'Warpaint' without having heard the material."

"Warpaint", the BLACK CROWES' first album in seven years, is set for release March 4. The blues-rock group, fronted by Chris Robinson, has released only one song from the disc, "Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just because it's being released on vinyl doesn't mean it's going to be relegated to the length of a single LP. As for "vinyl length" records there's a lot to be said for that. Just because an artist has 80 minutes or more at their disposal doesn't mean they have to use it. Case in point, the last few R.E.M. albums have been rather lengthy affairs but their new one clocks in at 35 minutes. If you look at their back catalog (or any artists' that dates back to the vinyl age) you'll see that length is pretty much the case with the majority of their recordings. Not every album can be a Physical Graffiti as it takes a lot to keep someone's attention for an entire 80 plus minutes.

i realize that, sure, if every album is 80 minutes then there's lots of filler, but a single LP length album with 10 tracks will probably have a fair number of short 2 minute songs. i know you can't have an album exactly as you want it, but i'm always disappointed when a band comes out with a good 2 minute song, it seems like a waste, why not longer? it's just starting to get good and interesting and then Bam, it's done... i never said it Had to be 80 minutes, it just seems like the artists could take away that LP length restraint and let the songs last as long as they would with no restrictions on length. who knows, perhaps they decided to release it as an LP after it was all said and done, when they noticed it would fit. in my particular case, 40 minutes is too damn short, but i can live with it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think there's also a lot to be said for the 2-3 minute long song. For years and years if anything was over that length it was edited for radio. I'm not saying there's no good songs that are longer, just that I see nothing at all the matter with short tunes. In fact, it may ever be harder to write a concise song than it is a longer one since you only have such a short period of time to get your point across.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I hate the fact that this has happened. The media can be full of it sometimes, and respectable bands like these guys have to pay.

On another note, I can't decide whether or not to get Warpaint on vinyl or CD :unsure:

Maybe they reviewed the album from the 30 second clips on the Walmart website?

"It's good, but the songs are a bit short :blink: "

You would be wise to get the vinyl as apparently the are very, very limited.

Album out on Monday, Brixton Academy show on the 9th April. CAN'T BLOODY WAIT!!! :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

MANAGER OF THE BLACK CROWES ISSUES AN OPEN LETTER TO MAXIM MAGAZINE AND JAMES KAMINSKY:

In my thirty years in the music business, I have never once written a letter to any publication to discuss or oppose a "review" of my artist’s work. Any artist or manager who has survived a dramatically changing musical landscape, and experienced some longevity throughout, has a clear understanding that both good and bad reviews are part of the scenery.

However, this letter was not written to address a bad “review” but rather a fabricated album review that your magazine published even though your “music critic” had not heard more than one song.

In our business, a fabricated review is a serious concern that may ultimately harm all artists because it calls into question the credibility of the entire review process.

A February 20th email response from a Maxim representative stated in part:

“On the rare occasion that we are not given music because of our lead time or unavailability of the tunes, we make an educated guess…Of course, we always prefer to hearing the music, but sometimes there are big albums that we don’t want to ignore that aren’t available to hear, which is what happened with the Crowes. It’s either an educated guess preview or no coverage at all, so in this case we chose the former.”

In your publication’s first attempt to deal with this issue publicly, a Maxim representative had only this to say in their official statement:

"Maxim will continue to provide our readers with information that is important to them, whether it is about fashion, lifestyle, technology, music, movies and more."

As the media coverage increased dramatically, it seems that your publication realized that the above statement failed to address the scope of the issue, and then released the following:

"It is Maxim's editorial policy to assign star ratings only to those albums that have been heard in their entirety. Unfortunately, that policy was not followed in the March 2008 issue of our magazine and we apologize to our readers."

Mr. Kaminsky, your explanation would be interesting as to why you felt it was acceptable to address only your readers in your apology statement and completely neglect to mention The Black Crowes, whose music your publication denigrated in a fabricated album review.

I believe that after the flood of negative media coverage directed towards Maxim, only then did the publication feel it necessary to issue a public apology to its readership to contain the damage caused by its actions.

I also believe that the reason you omitted The Black Crowes from your apology was because your only concerns during this entire situation have been to protect Maxim’s bottom line and the potentially tarnished perception to your readers.

Yesterday, you were quoted in an Associated Press interview stating in part:

"I will be the last person to mince words here: This is a mistake. ... There should be no blurry line between what's a preview and what's a review."

Contrary to your above referenced statement, it seems that your magazine’s actions have created an extremely blurry line, if there is any line at all, between “what’s a preview and what’s a review.” Shouldn’t a proper “preview” notify the reader that an artist’s work is forthcoming, whereas a “review” offers an opinion of the material after someone has actually heard the music?

In this case, Maxim’s preview offered an opinion on an entire album based on having heard no more than the one track that had been released to radio, “Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution,” and went so far as to assign a star rating.

Please enlighten your readership and me, or at the very least your staff, as to what your definitions and guidelines are for previews versus reviews.

Apparently the “mistake” has allegedly occurred with another artist. The recording artist Nas publicly stated that Maxim gave his unheard, unfinished material a 2.5 star rating.

Was that a preview or a review that rated his material while he was still in the recording studio? In either instance, I feel it is indefensible.

In yesterday’s Associated Press article, the full extent of your accountability to The Black Crowes was covered as follows:

“In his interview with the AP, Kaminsky officially apologized to the Crowes.”

After three public statements made by your publication, I feel that offering an apology through an Associated Press writer without addressing the band directly is offensive.

Although my comments may be perceived as unforgiving, the fact remains:

Maxim has yet to issue a public apology directly to The Black Crowes.

Although I maintain that Maxim should act in good faith and issue a public statement of apology to The Black Crowes, as was done for your readers, I feel that this issue was important to expose on behalf of all artists and expect that Maxim will follow the publication’s claimed policies in the future.

Sincerely,

Pete Angelus

Angelus Entertainment

Link to comment
Share on other sites

MANAGER OF THE BLACK CROWES ISSUES AN OPEN LETTER TO MAXIM MAGAZINE AND JAMES KAMINSKY:

In my thirty years in the music business, I have never once written a letter to any publication to discuss or oppose a "review" of my artist’s work. Any artist or manager who has survived a dramatically changing musical landscape, and experienced some longevity throughout, has a clear understanding that both good and bad reviews are part of the scenery.

However, this letter was not written to address a bad “review” but rather a fabricated album review that your magazine published even though your “music critic” had not heard more than one song.

In our business, a fabricated review is a serious concern that may ultimately harm all artists because it calls into question the credibility of the entire review process.

A February 20th email response from a Maxim representative stated in part:

“On the rare occasion that we are not given music because of our lead time or unavailability of the tunes, we make an educated guess…Of course, we always prefer to hearing the music, but sometimes there are big albums that we don’t want to ignore that aren’t available to hear, which is what happened with the Crowes. It’s either an educated guess preview or no coverage at all, so in this case we chose the former.”

In your publication’s first attempt to deal with this issue publicly, a Maxim representative had only this to say in their official statement:

"Maxim will continue to provide our readers with information that is important to them, whether it is about fashion, lifestyle, technology, music, movies and more."

As the media coverage increased dramatically, it seems that your publication realized that the above statement failed to address the scope of the issue, and then released the following:

"It is Maxim's editorial policy to assign star ratings only to those albums that have been heard in their entirety. Unfortunately, that policy was not followed in the March 2008 issue of our magazine and we apologize to our readers."

Mr. Kaminsky, your explanation would be interesting as to why you felt it was acceptable to address only your readers in your apology statement and completely neglect to mention The Black Crowes, whose music your publication denigrated in a fabricated album review.

I believe that after the flood of negative media coverage directed towards Maxim, only then did the publication feel it necessary to issue a public apology to its readership to contain the damage caused by its actions.

I also believe that the reason you omitted The Black Crowes from your apology was because your only concerns during this entire situation have been to protect Maxim’s bottom line and the potentially tarnished perception to your readers.

Yesterday, you were quoted in an Associated Press interview stating in part:

"I will be the last person to mince words here: This is a mistake. ... There should be no blurry line between what's a preview and what's a review."

Contrary to your above referenced statement, it seems that your magazine’s actions have created an extremely blurry line, if there is any line at all, between “what’s a preview and what’s a review.” Shouldn’t a proper “preview” notify the reader that an artist’s work is forthcoming, whereas a “review” offers an opinion of the material after someone has actually heard the music?

In this case, Maxim’s preview offered an opinion on an entire album based on having heard no more than the one track that had been released to radio, “Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution,” and went so far as to assign a star rating.

Please enlighten your readership and me, or at the very least your staff, as to what your definitions and guidelines are for previews versus reviews.

Apparently the “mistake” has allegedly occurred with another artist. The recording artist Nas publicly stated that Maxim gave his unheard, unfinished material a 2.5 star rating.

Was that a preview or a review that rated his material while he was still in the recording studio? In either instance, I feel it is indefensible.

In yesterday’s Associated Press article, the full extent of your accountability to The Black Crowes was covered as follows:

“In his interview with the AP, Kaminsky officially apologized to the Crowes.”

After three public statements made by your publication, I feel that offering an apology through an Associated Press writer without addressing the band directly is offensive.

Although my comments may be perceived as unforgiving, the fact remains:

Maxim has yet to issue a public apology directly to The Black Crowes.

Although I maintain that Maxim should act in good faith and issue a public statement of apology to The Black Crowes, as was done for your readers, I feel that this issue was important to expose on behalf of all artists and expect that Maxim will follow the publication’s claimed policies in the future.

Sincerely,

Pete Angelus

Angelus Entertainment

I was thinkin about this, and it's partly the fault of early leaks and stuff. I mean, 10 years ago it woulda been unheard of for a well known band to not put out an advanced copy. Now they gotta hold back so some douche bag music reviewer or dj doesnt paste it all over the internet.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

While I don;t agree reviewing a whole album by listening to one song, all this so called negative press seems to be working quite nicely for the Crowes. People will buy this just to see what all the fuss is about. Reverse marketing at it's finest IMHO B)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

While I don;t agree reviewing a whole album by listening to one song, all this so called negative press seems to be working quite nicely for the Crowes. People will buy this just to see what all the fuss is about. Reverse marketing at it's finest IMHO B)

Indeed. Managers have been doin it since Epstein and has since been perfected, to a fault these days.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I remember when Wilco got dropped from their label because Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was deemed "too noncommercial". The ensuing bidding war and drama of kicking Jay Bennett out of the band probably drummed up more sales for that record out of interest than any publicity machine ever could have generated. Someday I probably should see I Am Trying To Break Your Heart, the documentary they filmed during that whole mess.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Black Crowes - Warpaint

February 29th, 2008 | 6:00 pm est | Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Looking back, it seems inevitable that the Black Crowes would suffer a rocky middle age. Young bands yearning to be old tend to stumble when they years start to pile up, once hunger and ambition starts to fade into the ceaseless grind of the road, and the Crowes were no exception. After they mapped out the furthest reaches of their world on 1994’s Amorica, they slowly spun their tires, turning out records both respectable and tired, before internal tensions slowly tore the brothers Robinson apart, leading to a split in 2002, not long after the release of their sixth album Lions. A few years of solo wanderings lead the band to a reunion in 2005 but they had to go through a few more lineup changes - including the addition of North Mississippi Allstar Luther Dickinson as the replacement for guitarist Mark Ford — before they buckled down to record their seventh album, 2008’s Warpaint. All that turmoil and trouble is felt on Warpaint, as are the years the band spent paying dues on the jam-band circuit after Amorica. Warpaint shows that decade of hard struggle gave the band soul and chops, turning them into the band they’ve always wanted to be.

The Black Crowes haven’t changed their basic sound - ever since Shake Your Moneymaker the band has always drawn deeply from the Stones and Faces, tempering that British swagger with southern-fried blues borrowed from the Allmans, then slowly threading hippie mysticism throughout - but the feel has, as the group has turned from reckless ruffians to seasoned veterans, with all their feeling lived-in and genuine. There’s depth here, highlighted by an instrumental suppleness that slightly recalls Little Feat - particularly on the slow-rolling “Oh Josephine” with its gently cascading choruses - an evolution that could only be earned during those years on the road, building the band through nightly jams and a slow cycle of membership turnovers. This is a suppleness that has grit, thanks especially to Dickinson’s glass slide runs that give this music some welcome grease. The Crowes also pull off a couple of sly moves here, weaving some swirling psychedelia through the chorus of “Movin’ on Down the Line,” turning the Rev Charlie Jackson’s “God’s Got It” into a heavy heavy backwoods stop, then spinning the closing “Oh Mule” into a roiling blues raga that. These are the turns and tricks of veterans, who can slide these flourishes into their signature sound without calling attention to their changeup, but these numbers are enough of a departure to garner attention - what may not get as much praise is how the Crowes write compellingly within their standard sound, as they do so here, beginning with the opening gambit of the down-n-dirty “Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution” and the crawling “Walk Believer Walk.” From there, Warpaint continues to gain momentum, as this album not only is their strongest set of songs since Amorica, it has a depth and presence that is rare for a digital age creation and, best of all, the album has a true narrative thrust, making it feel like a true classic rock album. What the Black Crowes have done here is what true journeymen do: they don’t renounce their past, they build upon it, finding hidden depths within it, shaping tradition after their own image to make it sound fresh. They’re old-fashioned, but in the best sense: they’re in it for the long haul, which the superb Warpaint proves beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Allmusic blog.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...