Michael Griffiths
Rock n' Roll Doggie
My review of the 3 out of 10 review
I normally don't do this, as I believe matters of opinion should be left to that - opinion - but there are just too many glaring holes in this to turn a blind eye. Let's analyze his summary:
I am currently very disappointed by this album. I did expect something bad after all the current media hype. For if the product is bad, one needs to advertise even more.
He makes it clear he actually expected the album to be bad - based on the principlal that the band have advertized it "more" (which they actually haven't done any more than usual - just look at ATYCLB's promotion). But the main concern: He came to the conclusion that it would be a bad album even before he listened to it. Sounds like a bit of a self fulfilling prophecy to me. Thus he would likely look for evidence to support his pre-set conclusion (essentially, his preconception), which would obviously colour his perception of the record.
But if these songs are to represent the best from the last four years, the band should seriously consider a longer break or a split.
After having convinced himself he was about to listen to a bad record, upon listening he was naturally left disappointed by the conclusion that he had helped shape in his own head prior to even listening to it - and was somehow left stunned by this act of self sabotage. This is evident by the complety rash, rather outlandish claim that U2 should disband after one listening to a new album. Most people don't say these things until they're certain of an album's worth, which normally takes at least a few spins in the CD player.
Furthermore, Bono's extremely bad vocals left a strong negative impact on my evaluation....despite [Bono's] best will and ten attempts....
This seems to be very much a different opinion from the majority. He's basically saying Bono was horrible on all 10 songs after 'Vertigo (if I understand correctly). This doesn't seem to actually be the case at all from the clips I've heard and the general consensus of the reviewers (the most glaring difference being the description for 'Man And A Woman' with vocals "from the War era"). Sounds to me like he's still under the influence of his self-convincing (looking for faults to validate his low expectations).
Maybe he should sometimes really focus on his original talents and not be disturbed by other issues. This would have probably had a better impact on the new songs.
This is pure conjecture. U2 have always had many issues on their plates, especially during ATYCLB - and album that had very strong melodies to boot. If anything, having other issues would simply bring more experience to the table giving Bono more to write about.
But all this turns into bad by flat vocals which on first listening do not leave any recognizable strong impressions. Especially "All Because Of You" is a genuine negative example.
This is how we know he has only listened to the album once. Here he admits it. And his inclusion of 'All Because of You' as a bad vocal leaves me a bit perturbed. It sounds nothing worse than anything on ATYCLB judging from the clip, an album which was supposedly a return to form vocally, a sentiment with which I would agree. And if it's any better than the performance at the Apple conference, then it should be a very good performance indeed. I think this is simply a result of personal preference, not an objective "bad singing" claim. But this is exactly what he's basing his negative opinion on, as he says...so take it with a grain of sal
I normally don't do this, as I believe matters of opinion should be left to that - opinion - but there are just too many glaring holes in this to turn a blind eye. Let's analyze his summary:
I am currently very disappointed by this album. I did expect something bad after all the current media hype. For if the product is bad, one needs to advertise even more.
He makes it clear he actually expected the album to be bad - based on the principlal that the band have advertized it "more" (which they actually haven't done any more than usual - just look at ATYCLB's promotion). But the main concern: He came to the conclusion that it would be a bad album even before he listened to it. Sounds like a bit of a self fulfilling prophecy to me. Thus he would likely look for evidence to support his pre-set conclusion (essentially, his preconception), which would obviously colour his perception of the record.
But if these songs are to represent the best from the last four years, the band should seriously consider a longer break or a split.
After having convinced himself he was about to listen to a bad record, upon listening he was naturally left disappointed by the conclusion that he had helped shape in his own head prior to even listening to it - and was somehow left stunned by this act of self sabotage. This is evident by the complety rash, rather outlandish claim that U2 should disband after one listening to a new album. Most people don't say these things until they're certain of an album's worth, which normally takes at least a few spins in the CD player.
Furthermore, Bono's extremely bad vocals left a strong negative impact on my evaluation....despite [Bono's] best will and ten attempts....
This seems to be very much a different opinion from the majority. He's basically saying Bono was horrible on all 10 songs after 'Vertigo (if I understand correctly). This doesn't seem to actually be the case at all from the clips I've heard and the general consensus of the reviewers (the most glaring difference being the description for 'Man And A Woman' with vocals "from the War era"). Sounds to me like he's still under the influence of his self-convincing (looking for faults to validate his low expectations).
Maybe he should sometimes really focus on his original talents and not be disturbed by other issues. This would have probably had a better impact on the new songs.
This is pure conjecture. U2 have always had many issues on their plates, especially during ATYCLB - and album that had very strong melodies to boot. If anything, having other issues would simply bring more experience to the table giving Bono more to write about.
But all this turns into bad by flat vocals which on first listening do not leave any recognizable strong impressions. Especially "All Because Of You" is a genuine negative example.
This is how we know he has only listened to the album once. Here he admits it. And his inclusion of 'All Because of You' as a bad vocal leaves me a bit perturbed. It sounds nothing worse than anything on ATYCLB judging from the clip, an album which was supposedly a return to form vocally, a sentiment with which I would agree. And if it's any better than the performance at the Apple conference, then it should be a very good performance indeed. I think this is simply a result of personal preference, not an objective "bad singing" claim. But this is exactly what he's basing his negative opinion on, as he says...so take it with a grain of sal
To dare assume that this is the reason I or any of us didn't like that review belittles and demeans us, while removing all blame from Phaser. How convenient - he gets to be guiltless and condescending simultaneously.
