Chuck Nessa Posted August 29, 2011 Report Share Posted August 29, 2011 Some guy reviews the Sonny Rollins Impulse "double" reissue of On Impulse / There Will Never Be Another You and after taking a small swipe at the sound of recordings from Rudy's studio says the following: Sonically, however, the real treat is There Will Never Be Another You. Recorded live in New York City's Museum of Modern Art in 1965, but mysteriously not released until 1978, the record is a treasure. The room is audible, especially when Rollins moves around and away from the mic. Seems interesting until you remember this concert was recorded outside in the garden. "The room is audible"????? Where do they find these people? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcello Posted August 29, 2011 Report Share Posted August 29, 2011 Hell, Sonny's off mike for half the recording! No ears. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzbo Posted August 29, 2011 Report Share Posted August 29, 2011 I've given up on their reviews. Their policy takes all "personal opinion language" nearly complete out of the review, and just about anyone can review. I mean two or three times they even let me do it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ep1str0phy Posted August 29, 2011 Report Share Posted August 29, 2011 When I was doing reviews there, that was pretty much the gist of it. Anyone can do it, regardless of knowledge or credentials. If you did it often enough (or maybe even if not--I'm not certain), you entered a sort of pool for review copies--hence reviews for more esoteric/obscure modern releases (the stuff of pro reviewers that may or may not have received notice otherwise). That being said, the site "hosts" some very legit reviewers from time to time. IIRC, that was the context within which I first read anything of Clifford's--and he's nothing if not completely knowledgable about the music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fasstrack Posted August 30, 2011 Report Share Posted August 30, 2011 Some guy reviews the Sonny Rollins Impulse "double" reissue of On Impulse / There Will Never Be Another You and after taking a small swipe at the sound of recordings from Rudy's studio says the following: Sonically, however, the real treat is There Will Never Be Another You. Recorded live in New York City's Museum of Modern Art in 1965, but mysteriously not released until 1978, the record is a treasure. The room is audible, especially when Rollins moves around and away from the mic. Seems interesting until you remember this concert was recorded outside in the garden. "The room is audible"????? Where do they find these people? Chuck, the main thing about AAJ is they are mostly a promotional/advertising tool. Maybe a lame review like this one slips by sometimes and its good you called them on it. But mainly what I've observed is all the reviews I've read (I quit checking the site long ago) are, well in polite company let's say 'tongue kisses' and know I really meant an activity that happens when you, um, hit a line drive and get waved in to third. Most of the 'news' is gig announcements by the gigee. I have no problem with that. You have to be entrepreneurial (sp?), especially these days. But that's what the site is, advertising. Period. I always thought their softball reviews that never had one critical word were designed never to offend or say anything of depth or insight so as not drive people away. If you look at their interviews, same thing. No hardball questions ever, and let everyone push the public persona they want. Let's make believe anyone playing jazz is a saint and genius and keep selling ad space. They should change their name to All About Worship. And maybe in a way it is a good way to bring new people to the fold. Anyway, they're a popular site that gets a lot of hits and people with CD product pay, I imagine, a pretty penny to have their faces on home page ads. If I had a CD to promote and could swing it financially or it was on someone else's dime I'd want it there myself. Might help move a few and, um, at least I wouldn't have to worry about a pan... So I don't take AAJ seriously or waste any time visiting. And this guy's review is just a few steps down the food chain from the rest. No big leap from bland and solicitous to lame and dumb. Not surprised at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hot Ptah Posted August 30, 2011 Report Share Posted August 30, 2011 The other thing I have noticed is that the AAJ site is quite a bit different than the AAJ forum, where the members chat. The AAJ forum does not have a lot of lively music discussions, but it does have an ongoing thread about new jazz releases which is quite active. There is more discussion there about obscure new jazz releases than we have here. Otherwise, much like some other jazz discussion boards, there seems to be much less discussion about jazz in general than there used to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fasstrack Posted August 30, 2011 Report Share Posted August 30, 2011 The other thing I have noticed is that the AAJ site is quite a bit different than the AAJ forum, where the members chat. The AAJ forum does not have a lot of lively music discussions, but it does have an ongoing thread about new jazz releases which is quite active. There is more discussion there about obscure new jazz releases than we have here. Otherwise, much like some other jazz discussion boards, there seems to be much less discussion about jazz in general than there used to be. Let's all go and kick their ass! Um, I'll hold your coat b/c I'm just that kind of guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hot Ptah Posted August 30, 2011 Report Share Posted August 30, 2011 (edited) The other thing I have noticed is that the AAJ site is quite a bit different than the AAJ forum, where the members chat. The AAJ forum does not have a lot of lively music discussions, but it does have an ongoing thread about new jazz releases which is quite active. There is more discussion there about obscure new jazz releases than we have here. Otherwise, much like some other jazz discussion boards, there seems to be much less discussion about jazz in general than there used to be. Let's all go and kick their ass! Um, I'll hold your coat b/c I'm just that kind of guy. One thing I did notice--I posted something there about Allen Lowe's new album, "Blues and the Empirical Truth", and some of the AAJ members came back with quite thoughtful, extended posts about it. When I posted the same thing on Jazz Corner Speakeasy, there were over 300 views and not one comment. When I have posted something here about Allen's new album, there has been very little response. It may not be accurate to paint these jazz boards with a broad brush. Edited August 30, 2011 by Hot Ptah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fasstrack Posted August 30, 2011 Report Share Posted August 30, 2011 The other thing I have noticed is that the AAJ site is quite a bit different than the AAJ forum, where the members chat. The AAJ forum does not have a lot of lively music discussions, but it does have an ongoing thread about new jazz releases which is quite active. There is more discussion there about obscure new jazz releases than we have here. Otherwise, much like some other jazz discussion boards, there seems to be much less discussion about jazz in general than there used to be. Let's all go and kick their ass! Um, I'll hold your coat b/c I'm just that kind of guy. One thing I did notice--I posted something there about Allen Lowe's new album, "Blues and the Empirical Truth", and some of the AAJ members came back with quite thoughtful, extended posts about it. When I posted the same thing on Jazz Corner Speakeasy, there were over 300 views and not one comment. When I have posted something here about Allen's new album, there has been very little response. It may not be accurate to paint these jazz boards with a broad brush. I never got many responses from Speakeasy, don't care for the attitude and knowledge level of many of the posters, so I only post gig announcements. Lois is a very nice woman I've met and cares a lot about the quality of the posting and the reputation of her site, but I don't know about said quality. Doesn't knock me out and it seems they have a lot of smart-asses looking to take digs at people. Once I wrote something about John Hicks' memorial at St. Marks' Methodist Church that Lois and readers seemed to appreciate. Another time they were slamming Stanley Crouch in typical 'brave' fashion under cover of Web anonymity. I had issues with Stanley and joined in, but Jewish guilt or something kicked in and I reached out to him. The upshot was he reached back, we became friendly and he came to my gig and I found out he's a great guy, or at least has been cool with me. You should've seen these big shots rip into him, though. Really upset Lois, who is a pretty for real person. I kind of like it here, hence my 'kick their ass' remark, joking notwithstanding. As long as people are knowledgeable and not mean-spirited heated discussions are cool. But I don't need to be giving or asking opinions on a million forums. Life is short and so is time. One that works is more than enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted August 30, 2011 Report Share Posted August 30, 2011 Life is short and so is time. Time is probably longer than life...but maybe not? Still...if life is circular, how long is time...or vice-versa, if even? And if even, then how odd? How odd! Burma Shave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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