L.A. Times Pop Music Critic, Ann Powers has a blog post I found interesting. It seems that Ms. Powers recently reviewed a Tina Turner concert and her review was not entirely favorable. As a result of her concert review, she has received a lot of negative feedback including some from peers.
From Powers’ Tina Turner concert review….
Turner’s moves transcended sexual expression to become superhuman, the miraculous athleticism of a woman who’s moved beyond life’s stages into some other state of eternal strength.
If this sounds dramatic, don’t forget that, like Bernhardt (actress Sarah Bernhardt whose farewell tour, Powers drew a comparison to), Turner is a figure whose artistic genius is all tied up in her physicality — and in a biography marked by physical hardship and survival. This career-spanning show never referred to her former husband, the late Ike Turner, who helped Tina establish herself artistically, only to violently abuse her. Yet the defiance and stoicism expressed in many of Turner’s songs become more affecting in light of what she’s endured.
If only she could still sing them with the control — as well as the fiery power — she had when she recorded them. Through the show’s first half, Turner frequently missed notes, sometimes going utterly off key. Whenever her dance moves got tricky, it seemed, Turner’s vocals suffered.
As the night wore on through renditions of 1980s power ballads, classic rock covers and her own formative soul hits, another pattern also surfaced. Turner delivered on songs with a soul or classic rock bent — songs whose melodies are right in the pocket with percolating beats and greasy guitar riffs. Mining the bent notes and gruff intonation of soul, Turner mastered the rough but beautiful timbre that made her famous. On smoother, less sturdy songs like “Typical Male,” Turner pushed too hard and ended up shrieking.
And now, this is from Powers’ blog post after the reactions…
In the end, I decided that ignoring Turner’s flaws would have been disrespectful, a qualifying act not unlike that old male chauvinist saw: “You play pretty good for a girl.” She’s a real artist, and a musical innovator; she would want me to be honest, I think.
I didn’t expect to be roundly shamed for pointing out the bum notes.
I received a mini-flood of negative letters after the review went live at latimes.com. It didn’t surprise me that her admirers disagreed with my point of view; as any writer who’s lately endured the wrath of the Jonas Brothers contingent knows, fan love often spirals into unwavering, even militant, loyalty. What got me was the ultimate assertion these defenses made, which was that Turner’s stature and biography means she shouldn’t be judged, period…
…So, here’s my question: is there a point when an artist becomes off-limits to criticism?
Is there a point when an artist becomes off-limits to criticism? I think the answer is no. No artist is beyond criticism. But, if you are a critic and you say stuff that is perceived as negative, you have to be prepared to suffer the wrath of the fans.
Beyond that, no consumer is ever going to send you a thank you note for informing them that a concert had some rough spots.
In a week that the Times Corporation has announced that they will end their subscription to the AP Newswire for all of their papers, a sign that points to the fact that the newspaper business in particular, journalism in general, is failing on a grand scale, and at a time when entertainment writers at many papers are finding themselves first in line for a pink slip, another question may be more valid.
Are critics done for?
Now, I’ve made fun of music writers and critics in the past, poked fun at the pursuit and I’ve heard from friends that my digs make them uncomfortable in a “Why you wanna bite the hand that could feed you” sort of way. But, having been at this a while, here on the far peripheral edge of the music world, I know a secret. If you are an unknown, an indie, a stack of rave reviews aren’t going to translate in to sales and income but, one high profile (or even semi-high profile in the Google age) negative review can do a lot of damage. People don’t like it when I say stuff like that but, it’s for real. And, a lot of cats still spend their dollars sending hundreds of discs out to hundreds of writers, who have stacks of thousands of discs on their desks, hoping to get that big, career launching whizzbanger of a review. Most of the more savvy artists and micro-brew labels that I know, that are still in the game, are saving that cost.
Ask yourself these two questions…
1. Can you remember the last time you bought a CD by an artist that you previously had not heard of on the basis of a good review?
2. Have you declined to buy a record by an unknown because of a bad review?
But, that all pertains to the unknown cats, what about the household names? What about the Eagles’, AC/DC’s, Madonna’s, Tina Turner’s of the world; acts who have long careers and fan bases as strong as Gibraltar.
When Ann Powers writes a less than glowing concert review, do you envision somebody, anybody out there, sitting on the edge, trying to decide whether they should call Ticket Master and pull the trigger. It’s not happening. But, what does happen is, the guy that’s already laid out the big money for the next show, is going to take it as a personal affront. Doesn’t matter if the review is truthful at $180 for a good seat, that guy is thinking that you are insulting his integrity, his judgment.
Is there still a place for the critic or, is it the end of an era?
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