There was a (American?) music website whose name I forget who were mostly pretty decent and stopped operating about 7-10 years ago. I remember that they gave mclusky do dallas such a bad review that in the final message they even made a point that they stood by the review.
While this description is vague, and perhaps imagined, Iâd like to nominate it.
Mark Beaumont of Melody Maker gave Kid A a 1.5/5 in a scathing review.
I found it pretty funny at the time as I was avowedly a âThe Bendsâ fan but looking back it seems a little low. Even more so when taking into account the critical glow that album basked in.
Yeah, the whole music press went a bit mental as Oasis were so huge that everyone was scared of giving it a bad review. I also assume that the mags were scared of not getting an interview with them further down the line if a bad review was published.
Think it was also that the press were scared that theyâd got it wrong in giving âmorning gloryâ lukewarm reviews and then seeing it then blow up the way it did. Think your comment could also apply to blurâs âthe great escapeâ though which got amazing reviews across the board at the time but was subsequently seen as a bit of a dud.
The Pitchfork review for Last of the Country Gentleman. More obscurely, I remember a Planet Sound review of Figure 8 by Elliot Smith that described him as something like âan American version of David Gray, but without the songsâ. It absolutely infuriated me at the time, not least because pre-internet they were probably the most reliable music reviewers around (at least, as far as indie/alternative stuff went).
i dunno about this, itâs a bit too conspiratorial - the reality is that any big band releasing a hotly-anticipated album would be extremely likely to get the 5/5, 10/10 treatment for a good decade after this. Just look at Q Magazine etc
I mean maybe itâs the same thing that underlies it but Oasis were hardly unique if thatâs the case.
This is the moment the government should have nationalized Pitchfork.
Not everyone is going to like the same albums, but itâs clear they never really listened to it and had a vendetta against the band going into it (not saying this is limited to the Pumpkins, see their treatment of The Eels too). If youâre going to say itâs the same thing as Adore and then have the nerve to shit on Jimmy Chamberlinâs drumming of all things, you lose all credibility. Saying Billy has a baby-head was a charming touch too.