From: "Michael Bennett" <mrhonorama@hotmail.com>
> So my question, for those who were really around then -- what was up with
> that?  Did you think the critics were nuts?  Did it affect your buying
> habits, and you had to come back later and get this good stuff?


I'm old enough to field this one, and my answer is a qualified "yes." With
my young man's budget (which, sadly, is not that distinguishable from my
current old man's budget), my lack of musicologist peers and probably a yen
to feel hip, I did indeed let the general critical consensus shape my
record-buying habits.

For instance, my contemporaries will recall that both Queen and ELO were
generally reviled by the scribes.  I didn't like 'em either --still don't,
as I've admitted more than once here-- but I'll never know if my distaste
for their music was a true aspect of my own tastes, or whether I allowed
such widespread dismissal to color my perceptions.

I took my first steps off the bandwagon when the writers continued to diss
some of the stuff I genuinely liked, such as post-Brian Beach Boys, early
pop/prog like Yes and Gabriel-era Genesis, even Led Zeppelin --people forget
how much crap Zep took from the rock press! It worked the other way, too; I
tried but could not join the lovefest that greeted Television or --sorry,
Mike-- Sparks, to name two.

And with the generally underwhelming reception given to first-wave LA power
pop (Plimsouls, The Beat, still among my all-time faves) I realized that the
rock rags were useful as a heads-up to what was being released, but that I'd
actually have to make up my own mind about what I liked. Imagine that!

Drew
Steely Dan - EVERYTHING MUST GO (which reminds me that the crits hated THE
ROYAL SCAM,  which was and is one of my favorite Dan records)