.What/how things get reviewed here
Compilations/Best ofs: Usually not mentioned unless there are some previously unreleased tracks of note. Also maybe mentioned if I feel it’s a particularly good representation of the group’s work. In general I don’t recommend compilations – they are always going to be “good listens” by default, but they take the tracks out of context, and make listening to the actual albums less exciting since you’ve heard the good tracks already. They never grab me the way the full-length albums do. However, I may recommend them if the artist doesn’t have a 4+ star album. Singles collections that are technically compilations do get rated and graded since most of the material doesn’t appear elsewhere.
Live Albums: I do grade these, and I realize in some cases they can be preferable to the studio albums. In general, it’s not really hard to make a good live album, but there are a few things I’m looking for. The most important thing is that I don’t want it to just sound like a compilation – if there’s more energy, some kind of variation on the song, different arrangements, it’s a plus. Bands that just churn out tunes the way they played them in the studio won’t get graded too highly since they are kind of like compilations, making them unnecessary to those who already have the studio albums. Besides, even if they can replicate their studio sound, there’s usually got to be SOME kind of imperfection or issue in sound quality. Just taking things at a higher tempo can make live albums worthwhile. Some groups that seem tightly wound in the studio can really unhinge live and the results can be great (I’m thinking 80’s King Crimson here). Sound quality is the other big issue – if it sounds like a bootleg, it probably won’t get more than three stars, and all the highest-graded live recordings sound great on any system. Nowadays the issue becomes something like, “which live albums will you review?”, since groups like They Might Be Giants and Underworld have the technology to release every concert, and a number of bands put out bootleg series of live albums that aren’t really too much different from each other. This is a tough line to walk, but generally the idea is if I can find it on Amazon or in a record store, it’ll be reviewed. Also, if it’s just a one-shot or special release that captures a time that other live albums don’t (such as some of the limited Ween releases), it’ll be reviewed as well. This is especially true if the recording is particularly high quality.
EPs: I do downgrade albums sometimes for being too short, and in general, anything that’s less than 25 minutes is going to be hard to grade. The ratings ought to scale to each other and there aren’t many cases in which a 20-minute EP is going to be as worthwhile as a full-length album, but I don’t want to downgrade EPs just because of what they are. Furthermore most EPs do contain some material from the full-lengths (usually of a soon-to-be-released albums), so I don’t want to grade them again. So I am grading these on a case-by-case basis – I’d say if the material is all new, more than 25 minutes, and contain more than a few musical ideas, I’ll give it a grade.
Singles: Not graded unless there’s a ton of otherwise unreleased tracks, and usually not mentioned without at least a couple. Usually I’ll just mention what I have, particularly if the single has something that I think is of particular interest to fans.
Remix Albums: I really don’t like these, because it seems most DJs use them as promotional tools rather than an outlet for making good music. The pattern is this – take a take that got cut off your last album, remove a few elements and sub in a few pieces of the track you’re remixing, extend it to 10 minutes, and turn it in. I do grade these sometimes but they shouldn’t be counted for/against the band unless they themselves are doing the remixing (and these are the only ones that really turn out good). Compilations of the artist in question remixing outside material will be reviewed/graded as normal, but they shouldn’t really influence your opinion of the artist much either.
Tribute Albums: Is there anything more disappointing than tribute albums? Usually they get decent lineups, but too often I expect them to be a collection of good cover tunes, when again they seem to be mostly used as a promotional tool. Most tribute albums have at least one good cover, but few of them are good from beginning to end. That said, I’ll review the ones I have or am interested in, as some of them really are worth looking at.
DJ Albums: Reviewed and graded as anything else, but shouldn’t really be looked upon as an indication of the artist’s talent. In the world of dance music there’s tons of obscure stuff, so most of them should feature mostly material you haven’t heard yet.
Multi-artist compilations: Maybe one day I’ll have a special section for these. In general I don’t listen to discs that jump from artist to artist on each track, but a few of them are pretty good.
Collaborations: Usually appear the page of whichever artist I know the best, or felt had the biggest contribution to the album. All Brian Eno or Ryuichi Sakamoto collabs will probably go on their respective pages since they do so many and it’s simply easier that way. Either way I’ll try to at least link them from any of the collaborator’s pages. In some cases I’ll do another page for them, especially if the collaborations yielded more than one album or had their own band name (such as Harmonia, or the 801), or if they just don’t sound like anything else the artists in question have released.
