Basilisk Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 The starting place is simply... what good are reviews? How do you use them? What is the purpose of them? I'm curious to find out how many of you rely on reviews to affect your purchasing decisions, and how. Will you track down a compilation from a label you've never heard of if the reviews coming in are solid? Or are you more cautious, using reviews to screen new releases that you already figure you would like? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frontier Psychiatrist Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 I usually read reviews by some people that i trust. The guy that started the topic usually posts reasonable reviews and i usually pay attention to his thoughts. Than i download several releases that i marked and hear them. If i like it i might buy it. I usually prefer artist albums and preferrably local, Israeli, releases, although they are quite sporadic nowadays... If it's a new and small label than i usually prioritze it's purchase. If it's Spun/Hommega/BNE i usually think twice. I seldomly buy mainstream. Only the worthiest pieces like Pink Floyd or anything in the caliber. My 3 cents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benf52 Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 i never use reviews to buy smthg... i read them sometimes, more for fun than anything else, or to get some idea about what to get, but ultimately i listen before... can't trust them... i always listen to samples on saikosounds before... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragonflier Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 Reviews can be good to get an idea of what to check out in the first place. I always download and listen to the stuff before I buy though, unless I'm absolutely sure the stuff is quality. I agree that the reviews aren't always thrustworthy, it seems like some is more focused on licking the label's ass so they'll get more free promos than writing their honest opinion. As Basilisk said, reading the reviews sometimes make you think that every release is top class, which in fact is very far from the truth. But still, they can be to some use, especially the progressive releases, which interests me most within psy these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benf52 Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 i think the main pb with reviews is that most people only rate albums considering the style... not if it's actually quality music... so if they like the style they will say it's great.... so u can't trust most reviews... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAH Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 well i write reviews now and again so i figure i should answer a couple of things here. More and more labels are turning to consider people reviewing CD's for promotional purposes. This is not however an extension of their PR campaign as i see it. as a matter of fact for some reason the reviews i go hardest on, and i take the time to criticise constructively are the ones that write back saying thanks. Reviews IMHO are out there too provide info not only on the CD itself but the artist, the record label, what they are up to these days, how does it compare to their previous releases... what it might sound like in respect to similar stuff out there. and what you might expect. Not to mention having to accuratelly describing the sound/flow so other people will understand. i never use reviews to buy smthg... i read them sometimes, more for fun than anything else, or to get some idea about what to get, but ultimately i listen before... can't trust them... i always listen to samples on saikosounds before... 302242[/snapback] Shameless self-promotion here... sonic-energy 90% of the times includes samples in the reviews (80% of times saiko samples) so you can get an idea of what it sounds like too... as we all know words are not always enough. i think the main pb with reviews is that most people only rate albums considering the style... not if it's actually quality music... so if they like the style they will say it's great.... so u can't trust most reviews... 302261[/snapback] I have written reviews from Optokoppler, to Uni to Interphaze, going to Inpyside releases to Maia releases to...V/A - wild rumpus & vertigo records stuff... what category do i fall in then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benf52 Posted July 23, 2005 Share Posted July 23, 2005 i really don't get ur point about shameless self promotion... if u really thought i am advertising for saiko, then u must be seriously paranoid.. or maybe u work for some other websites i just like going there to hear samples that's all... as far as my 2nd point u did not get it so i can't answer ur question... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaft Posted July 23, 2005 Share Posted July 23, 2005 i really don't get ur point about shameless self promotion... 302324[/snapback] He was referring to his website: http://sonic-energy.net/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAH Posted July 23, 2005 Share Posted July 23, 2005 He was referring to his website: http://sonic-energy.net/ 302330[/snapback] thankx dude now it is no longer shameless self-promotion i really don't get ur point about shameless self promotion... if u really thought i am advertising for saiko, then u must be seriously paranoid.. or maybe u work for some other websites i just like going there to hear samples that's all... as far as my 2nd point u did not get it so i can't answer ur question... 302324[/snapback] you just lost me here... i have no idea what yer talking about then... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tatsu Posted July 23, 2005 Share Posted July 23, 2005 I still use reviews to consider if I buy an album or not. The time sof buying stuff just after reading reviews are over though... There are way to much new albums and comps to risk that so if a review sounds interesting, I still listen to some samples from the online shops before I buy something. I don't care that much about the rating of a review but more about the description of the style of the CD that is reviewed (if it's full-on, melodic, progressive...), I also like reviews that describe all of the tracks. I also don't care if the review is from here (ok, I dislike the oh so funny full-on bashing, but that's hardly a surprise I think... ), other sites, magazines or psyreview mailinglist. It's all equal to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benf52 Posted July 23, 2005 Share Posted July 23, 2005 never mind i lost myself lol... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAH Posted July 23, 2005 Share Posted July 23, 2005 never mind i lost myself lol... 302337[/snapback] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trolsk Posted July 23, 2005 Share Posted July 23, 2005 I use reviews to see what releases cause a lot of reactions. If it seems like an interesting release I download it, and if it's actually good (rarely) I buy it. The track-by-track reviews are useless, too long and meaningless. I want to know about the overall vibe and flow not read crappy descriptions of tracks, samples provide more information than 2-3 bad lines of "description". I'll just skip to the conclusion. As far as grades are conserned, some people can't handle 10 grades. An average release gets 7/10 when it should have 5/10 and a good release gets 9/10 when it should have 6/10 or 7/10. Then there's the strong compilations that get 10/10 even though they provide nothing new. I do get the impression that high grades are overrepresented in reviews of dark psy, but I don't know if it's correct, just feeling... Then there's a bunch of people whom you know have good taste in music and actually listen to other styles of music, and their single opinion on music is worth 10x more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vancbc Posted July 24, 2005 Share Posted July 24, 2005 It depends who writes the review. I have identified a handful of people here whose tastes seem to sort of mirror my own. Their recommendations have never let me down, and I put a lot of confidence in their music reviews. However, that doesn't mean they have superior tastes, it just means that if they liked it or saw merit in it, I generally do too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basilisk Posted July 24, 2005 Author Share Posted July 24, 2005 ^ well-stated. Interesting to hear how people approach their music purchasing anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemmiwinks Posted July 24, 2005 Share Posted July 24, 2005 I'm curious to find out how many of you rely on reviews to affect your purchasing decisions, and how. well for me the identity of the reviewer is crucial. Basically I establish a pattern between the reviewer's tastes and mine and if they coincide (read: another oldschooler ) then I pay attention to the review. Back in the days I'd follow reviews written by a certain Anoebis and was rarely dissapointed when getting something he recomended. Alas now he almost never writes reviews anymore Now I just get anything released on Sun Trip label but there's only one release per year so... Other than that I agree that people who always try to sell everything don't have much credibility and I almost never even bother reading their reviews anymore. I also have a problem with people who don't take positions in their reviews, it's like "track 1 has these sounds, track 2 has these drifting noises, etc." and then "good bye"... like is it good or not for crying out loud? So yes in the end it's all a matter of dloading and trying out for yourself but with all the releases out there noone can keep up using that system anyway so that's why reading some reviews can at least pinpoint the albums to try out in the first place... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insejn Posted July 24, 2005 Share Posted July 24, 2005 I download alot of music. If I hear something I like I'll buy it. I don't reviews particular good since it's hard to imagine how the music sounds through reading it. I rather read shorter reviews where some good words are printed down and shorter description of the music is made. Altho the reviewer can be biased to get more cds sent to him Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khogg Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 What good are reviews? Something I can scan quickly to decide whether it's even worth 10 mintues of my time to listen to some samples. How do you use them? What is the purpose of them? See above. Will you track down a compilation from a label you've never heard of if the reviews coming in are solid? It depends. A good review quickly lets you now what style an album is. I pay attention to certain reviewers whose taste I expect to match mine. Then I see what they say. If that's sounds interesting, then I check the overall theme of the reviews. If I'm still interested, I will spend time listening to samples. The more positive the reviews, the more of a chance I'll give it. A true evaluation requires multiple reviews, something sadly lacking from this once great site. [isratrance offers lots of meaningless reviews by 13 year old kids that love everything ever released, so I don't even bother reading reviews on that site -- only the promotional section is worth looking at to get a heads up on what's coming out.] Or are you more cautious, using reviews to screen new releases that you already figure you would like? Somewhat yes. See comment above. That being said, how many go out and gather mp3 previews of the albums first, to make up your own mind? Can't even be bothered with mp3's. I listen to samples on webshops. I've been growing wary of the sheer abundance of positive reviews coming out. You're not the only one. The reviewers with the greatest volume of output are the ones receiving promos, I think. Indeed. Opinion seems to be devalued in favour of description. Yes. Easier to describe than to say what is true... this is just some average piece of shit that I got for free but I can't say that or they'll stop sending Cd's to me. What does that mean for the people reading the reviews? What does it all mean for reviews in general? Has it all mostly been co-opted into being another arm of the promotional efforts of the labels? Are reviews a rather useless relic from the time, so many years ago, when sites like TRiP provided a valuable service to trance fans worldwide. I couldn't have said it better myself. This is why I was so opposed to the Isratrance like "cleanup" of this site. I predicted it would end the usefullness of the reviews and said as much. The review Nazi's took over though and things have never been the same. I can say that the early reviews helped me a great deal while I was getting to know Goa trance! The scene is vastly different now in 2005 however, so what is the place of reviews nowadays? I just don't know. I still read them though. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The guy that started the topic usually posts reasonable reviews and i usually pay attention to his thoughts. Ha! The guy that starts it is often the guy who got the promo. I skip the first and read after that for the opinion of people who actually paid for it (unless the first guy is a guy I trust and/or believe actually paid for it). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The track-by-track reviews are useless, too long and meaningless. I want to know about the overall vibe and flow not read crappy descriptions of tracks, samples provide more information than 2-3 bad lines of "description". I'll just skip to the conclusion. As far as grades are conserned, some people can't handle 10 grades. An average release gets 7/10 when it should have 5/10 and a good release gets 9/10 when it should have 6/10 or 7/10. Then there's the strong compilations that get 10/10 even though they provide nothing new. So fucking true. Yes, yes, and yes. You must dance to this one folks. Totally killaaaaarrrr. Buddy boy released his debut album last year on our shit label and quickly went on a world tour that included every current trance hot spot, and now he's releasing his new fresh totally inspired second album... complete with GMS remix and collaboration with some mediocre Israeli 'artist.' Wow. Super killer. Buy now. You won't be dissappointed until it arrives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traveller Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 personally i don't usually bother reading any reviews.. other than the very few albums i've reviewed myself.. there i'm interested to know what others think.. other than that i don't give a crap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tox Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 Personally I would really like this site to come back to the old level of reviewing! I would never let someone else make up my mind for me, but I love to hear other ppl's opinion on a certain matter. Especially when it's about music I have strong feelings for (could be + aswell as - ) & it's nice to get some background info too. I understand that not everybody has the time (or skills) to write reviews like DP has been doing for so long. But even in 4 sentences you sat something useful, no? So imho you should NEVER hesitate to participate in the review-section, whatever your opion about that cd would be. So please keep'em coming, I'll keep reading'em Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAH Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 If you actually bother reading this thread as someone who reviews, it is so clear pleasing everyone is technically IMPOSSIBLE. So because there is a bunch of new releases under 'really good' lately then that automatically means people are getting pse-udo promos and hyping some cd? I guess the possibility of having different people reviewing stuff with different states is just not an option... Or the first person who actually wrote something on the topic was the one that got the promo? honestly what kind of quack fukin theory is that? get real people! nobody is out there to please labels so they will sent him a couple more cd's he didin't like to begin with anyway!? reviewing stuff is aout telling people about new music they might or might not like/ eitherway is about opening your mind a little to new stuff... Is about telling people about a great cd they just got, someone might be interested or did not know about... thats why reviews are ussually positive... because it sucks writting crap about music you don't enjoy... it's more a tedious process than anythign else... but i guess in people's minds there has to be even a secret conspiracy EVEN for reviews.... right i enjoy reading pr0fane's reviews, Aje's and Deathpsoture who is there to fill out a void of new music coming out that people might interested about... yet people seem so caught on dimishing what is to me... seemingly an labour love... cause nobody is paying you to sit down a couple of hours and writte some words about a cd... but is rather the need to communicate about good music to people. Yet some folks can't really see that. so they clutter in this thread... when they haven't written/read a single review, or participated in any review discussion for that matter... just to bitch about it... so you know what? shut the hell up cause we aren't interested in your opinions either. Bitching is oh-so fashionable these days ain't it? gonna smoke a ciggie now cause i obviously woke up on thw wrong side of the bed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traveller Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 oh come on there's some serious cd whoring going around in the reviewer cycles.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAH Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 oh come on there's some serious cd whoring going around in the reviewer cycles.. 303589[/snapback] perhaps, but grouping everyone in this category seems a little cynical and paranoid to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traveller Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 perhaps, but grouping everyone in this category seems a little cynical and paranoid to me. 303598[/snapback] ok ok it's not that bad but some people always seem to end the review like "Well I didn't like this so much but I'm sure most will love it." or "This and that makes this very interesting album, but.." .. it's sort of like copy & paste reviews as if some people have like a base they just add some words to.. whatever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeathPosture Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 bla bla bla... 303581[/snapback] That needed to be said Rah - thank you! I agree with you... I've been reading this thread since it got posted, and wondered if I should reply or not... I'm pretty sure I'm one of the dreaded reviewers you all refer to, so I think I better reply here... Yes I get free CDs - and yes, I get a lot of free CDs - and that's awesome! But I do put a lot of work into my reviews - without getting paid. It can take anywhere from 1 to 5-6 hours to write a decent review - if I spent that time working, I could by loads more CDs than just one... So why do I do it? There are several reasons: #1. I like it... I somehow relax while I sit in front of my computer with my headphones on, trying to write something useful about a CD... It's my creative outlet so to speak. I can't paint, I'm way too restless to produce music and I don't DJ or throw parties - so this is MY contribution to the scene I love so much! #2. Reviews are my own personal database of "good tracks"... I have so many CDs that I find it hard to keep track of all of them - with these reviews I can always to back and find those stand-out tracks. #3. Collective purposes. I'm a raging collector and my collection keeps growing - fuelled equally by promos + stuff I buy from various internet-shops + second hand... And I spend LOADS of money each month on music... I'm obsessed with owning original CDs - and that's why I ask for full retail version of the stuff I review... CD-Rs have no value for me... #4: Vanity I guess... As I mentioned earlier I can't do much else good to contribute to the scene. But I've got this review thing going pretty well, and usually people like what I write... I get quite a lot of positive feedback and I 'feed' on that... It inspires me to keep doing what I'm doing... And when a label contacts me and asks me if they can send me their new CDs, I usually say yes - STRESSING that I take great pride in writing 100% honest reviews... I cannot stress enough how much pride I take in writing honest, non-biased reviews... Although certain people have accused me of being a label-whore... But just as Rah I usually only write about stuff that I like... I pretty much have all the "sucky" labels filtered out... I hardly ever review Israeli full-on and if I do, I say it straight if I don't like it... So there you have it... I receive enough positive feedback to keep doing what I'm doing... I like it, and I hope that at least some of you have found my reviews useful... DeathPosture Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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