Stumbled across an interesting DS review

[brana]

http://starling.rinet.ru/music/dire.htm

I guess it's kinda silly reviewing a review but I would like to see what all of you think about this one because the reason I find this review interesting is the introduction "this page is not written by from the point of view of a Dire Straits fanatic and is not generally intended for narrow-perspective Dire Straits fanatics". Having read that I thought that it might be somewhat more objective, neutral and interesting review than the others, but in my opinion instead of it being a fanatic's review it turned out to be a hater's review.

The things that the reviewer said were not objective and reasonable and I think that if you dislike an artist or a band this much, well then your review has the same weight as the review of a narrow-perspective fanatic.
I have encountered a number of people who said that they find Knoplfer or DS boring, uninteresting but I never heard or read anything like this review.

[dmg]

Very nice find and very interesting too!  You can't deny the author knows his stuff and a lot of what he wrote is a harsh reality, but he was a little over the top.  Of course sensationalism is the only way poor critics manage to get published.

[vgonis]

It is OK I guess. He is a fan and tries hard not to reveal it!  .
One mistake I saw, was the fact that he gives them 1 out of 5 for diversity and then in certain albums claims that MK has gone away from the sound of the first album (namely MM, LoG, BiA) Another one that I don't quite agree, is the fact that he considers the memorable  songs "lucky" compositions. Not so, and anyway, Walk of life is still way up in my list of DS most avoided songs.

[brana]

Yes I agree that he knows stuff about DS and some negative things he said are true. But to say that a band like DS is unimaginative and boring is a very negative point of view or an opinion of a person who listened to all the studio albums like being on some kind of an errand. It's also strange to say that a lot of the more intelligent public is allergic towards Mark Knopfler and his brand of songwriting, because I think that especially that kind of public will appreciate the storytelling that Knopfler is capable of. Later on he comments that Knopfler is an excellent lyricist, capable of both wonderful romantic writing and biting social critique. There's just too many contradictions in this review. Couple of times the author comments about some songs as being epic and awesome while calling the albums from which they came boring, and there are other stuff. The live album reviews are especially funny. 

The author probably wanted his review to look smarter than it is by writing down his "unpopular" opinions. These unpopular opinions work on people who don't know about a specific genre of music. Saying that Rolling Stones suck, Beatles are meaningless or that The Doors are unimaginative to someone who doesn't know much about these things, certainly makes you a bit smarter in their eyes. Even though I don't think that DS match The Doors or The Beatles in their originality or something else, to say that Dire Straits is an unimaginative, boring and not writing good music  is pushing it too far.
 
I guess the main thing that bothers me is that in the introduction he says that the fanatical fan point of view is ridiculous (which I agree with) as if that means that this review will be objective and realistic, and then goes on a badly argumented rant in which he contradicts himself every couple of sentences. If you want to criticize any band of such renown, you get some good arguments instead of contradictions. Just my opinion.

[vgonis]

You are right Brana! The contradictions are way too many, but in a way he is still working for MK's case! Imagine this: Someone who might read it will keep his guard down, seeing the negative introduction and be caught like a fly in the spider net, when reading the actually extra fine analytic reviews of each album. He will be at least tempted to listen and make his own mind!

[Tally]

It's a huge page, with reviews of all the major rock bands. An impressive undertaking.

DS was always a slightly different rock band, with elements from more laid-back styles of music, blues and country. They were more explosive live. On the BIA album, the most famous one, you had 8 minutes of Why Worry or 7 minutes of Ride Across the River... Of course your average rock fan would be confused listening to that 

[yontwocrows]

I don't like reviews at all, because they direct you often in a direction that makes you blind for your own explorations. Said that I think that this reviewer put at least a lot of effort in his writing. He knows about what he is writing. And as you all pointed out, some points are true, although most of them are the reasons why i listen to this stuff. (I'm glad that DS didn't join the punk hype / a little bit too much keyboards in the eighty style for me tough / but DS is certainly a band sticking to the roots. - This is one reason why i listened to them. The incredible guitar skills of Mark and his soloing are another reason, even this review approves here. - The lyrics are a third reason (not all of them, of course)
What i like about this review is that you exactly get the picture which values the reviewer has. It's pretty clear that he prefers rock, and within this genre rather the fast songs with upbeat than the slow ones. So due to this preference his conclusions are quite understandable. As a reader I have a chance to  understand this position and it leaves enough space for my own position. And i therefore know that i would come to other conclusions. This is great. What i don't like is that he is trying to be supercool, looking for the effects he can cause, instead of analyzing it in a more neutral (of course somehow boring) way. But as said in the review, when you are young (under 30) you always aim more for effects than for content...