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Links PageI used to have criticisms attached to most of these sites, but then I realised they're all still way better than the Fyfeopedia despite any flaws. Enjoy........ Arranged from most serious to most idiosyncratic, while I've included the name of an artist I associate with each of them so you know what to expect. To check what's new in the world of indie music reviewing, check out wrcupdates.tripod.com/cgi-bin/wrcupdates.html.Wilson and Alroy's Record Reviews: www.warr.org Alroy is possibly the reviewer who has influenced my taste the most; introducing me to XTC, Richard Thompson and Todd Rundgren. Their reviews can be merciless with a far tougher grading system than any other site on this page, but they write well and clearly listen to everything they review carefully. I don't, however, enjoy Wilson's attempts to enjoy music since 1990, while Alroy hasn't reviewed many interesting things lately. Their reviews are short and easily readable. Joni Mitchell John McFerrin: www.johnmcferrinmusicreviews.org McFerrin is the most thorough reviewer on this whole page, cranking out comprehensive reviews of progressive and classic rock. Yes Scott's Rock and Soul Album Reviews: www.geocities.com/sfloman/homepage.html Scott's looks like he's set to cover everything, including soul and metal not covered by most other sites, and he's the most professional writer linked to on this page. Led Zeppelin Guy Peters: www.guypetersreviews.com Guy has thus far covered slightly more obscure artists which haven't been touched elsewhere, and he's also interested in soul and metal as well as jazz. His writing is amazingly fluent considering he's Belgian, while his site is the best looking with design courtesy of his girlfriend. Husker Du Disclaimer Reviews: www.disclaimerband.com This site complements Wilson and Alroy well, as it concentrates on music from the 1990s. I think that the site takes an overly whiggist perspective, favouring more recent releases to an unjustified degree and dismissing too many established classics like Pet Sounds and Abbey Road to earn credibility. While the site isn't balanced, it does offer a nice guide to more recent recordings. Yo La Tengo Music Junkies Anonymous: www.geocities.com/mjareviews MJA is a conglomerate of reviewers, who cover a lot of ground between them. Rich Bunnell and Nick Karn are both particularly excellent, although I'm not so fond of some of the other contributors. Dream Theater Adrian Denning: www.adriandenning.co.uk/albums.html Adrian is highly prolific and covers a huge amount of territory, and his reviewing style is uniquely informal and chatty. The Beach Boys Jack Feeny: www.jackfeenyreviews.com It's good to see a site not from America, although his tendency to award too many high grades can be frustrating. He covers more new music that most of the other sites, and he is also honest enough not to conceal his fondness for: Bon Jovi Don Ignacio: donignacio.com Don Ignacio has a unique integrated layout with an nice overview of each band and a heavy use of numeric criteria. He's also extremely prolific. David Bowie Sir Mustapha's Reviews: sirmustapha.mylimbo.net/me.htm From Brazil. Has cute little South Park cartoon characters for each band. Thorough. Likes Queen. Queen Cosmic Ben: members.aol.com/cosmicben/page/ Ben is the most expressive writer on this list. His reviews are often charming and reflect his obvious passion about music, while he's unpretentious and prepared to cover relatively virginal ground such as The Monkees and INXS. Bruce Springsteen Steve and Abe: www.angelfire.com/mi4/steveandabe Similar to Cosmic Ben, in that his reviews are openly subjective and he's not such a purist about covering complete discographies and what he reviews. I like his opinion on militant atheists: "I don't believe in negative numbers, but I'm not going around bashing mathematicians." The Rascals Mark Prindle: www.markprindle.com Mark Prindle likes to put lots of obnoxious jokes in his reviews, which often horrify me. Despite this, his reviews are comprehensive and balanced. His site's been around for the best part of a decade, so he's built up a huge library of reviews. He does have a strange prejudice against New Zealand that I've yet to see him justify. The Fall Capn Marvel: www.geocities.com/capnmusic/index.htm From the Prindle school of humorous reviewing, Capn Marvel is quickly covering a vast number of classic rock bands as well as some more diverse stuff. The Rolling Stones Brad's Completely Useless Reviews: http://www.geocities.com/bradreviews Brad does a fine job of conveying his enthusiasm for the music he loves, swearing and cracking jokes all over the place. Radiohead These sites aren't updated any more, but they're excellent resources: Creative Noise: http://starling.rinet.ru/music/temp/music-1.html Brian Burks' site is gimmick free and straightforward, and is especially strong on American post punk rock. The Replacements Cole Reviews: http://colereviews.tripod.com Cole was a sarcastic, hilarious and concise writer. Best quote: "Why can't it be more like the supremely moving 'I Want to Know What Love Is?' Well, we can't all be Mick Jones, can we? Except for that guy from the Clash. I have no idea what I'm talking about." XTC Rock Is Dead: http://www.angelfire.com/ab/reviews Marco Ursi writes nice concise reviews, with a balanced perspective, so it's a shame he doesn't update more often. His site features a list of lots of other good review sites I haven't listed here. Spiritualized |
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Written 2001-2007, Graham Fyfe
