by MPJackV » Fri Sep 25, 2009 10:12 am
First off, I wanna say that the Jabberwocks' album is great. Jeremy Winston, a friend/member of my a cappella group, was able to meet one of the jabberwocks at Bill Hare's recording/producing summer class and he showed me the album. I was very impressed with the energy, the solo talent, and especially with how the album was produced.
When I heard it, I thought to myself, "Going by what seems to be the trend of how RARB has been scoring things these days, this album will most likely get a high 4 or 5." It really shocked me when it didn't, especially considering that I feel that there are albums out there that received the same score or higher that aren't as good as Breaking and Entering. If another group of reviewers had been assigned to this album, would it have gotten a higher score?
I also don't really understand how Catherine Lewis can give straight 5s and have the overall score be a 4. Granted, she does clarify her reasons for giving the group a 4, which seem to be valid, but something seems inconsistent. How can a reviewer criticize a group for the creativity in their arrangements, yet still give them a 5 for Innovation/Creativity? How can a reviewer say that there are average moments in an album when her initial scores signify that everything was pristine? It just seems misleading and unjustified to me. If a reviewer thought that an album was a 4, I feel like it should be reflected in the initial scores. Otherwise, did she just dock off points out of pure subjectivity? Is that a legitimate way to score an album?
Perhaps I'm just misinterpreting the way reviewers score things, either way I think that more explanation is needed. As a fan and supporter of RARB, I don't want to start thinking that perhaps the reviews I'm reading aren't credible anymore.