[Elements] 051113

Sun Nov 13 16:23:11 GMT 2005

ELEMENTS		SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2005

[The Australian Review](2)
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Date: Sun, 13 Nov 2005 10:02:19 +0800 (CST)
From: Dave MacDonald <kaosommadawn at yahoo.com.hk>
Subject: Re: [Amarok] The Australian Review

Hi all, congrats on your review in the Oz wolf.

I`ve just finished reading reviews in a pommy mag by the name of Uncut, I`m 
sure a lot of you have
seen it but for those who ain`t, here is this years winner of the VD award 
for music critics.

"Light + Shade" - 2 stars(out of 5)

Sumptuous but soulless twin set from ageless virtuoso.

Forget preconceptions of Oldfield as a grouchy prog dullard and his latest 
double album actually
sounds rich in lovely noises,the criss crossing vapour trails of 
software-generated vocals on "The
Gate", the vast plateau of Ry Cooder-esque twangs on "First Steps", the 
misty eyed Celtic swells
of "Pres De Troi". Likewise the glistening trance-techno belters on the 
second "Shade" disc,which
would have slipped comfortably into a late-`90s Paul Oakenfold set. If only 
the whole enterprise
were not so polished,bloated and laden with baroque,latterday Floydian 
guitar noodling. Oldfield
is one of the last great English eccentrics of middle-brow-coffee-table pop 
- but then so is
Andrew Lloyd Webber"

Stephen Dalton.....

hmmm, who`s paul pakenfold then my preciouses? but seriously does anyone on 
the list know this
alleged reviewer Mr Dalton? A visit from the boys with empty cider bottles 
ought to jostle his
writing brain cell into remembering what it is he is paid to do methinks.
____________________________

From: "wolf" <wolfies at fastmail.fm>
Date: Sun, 13 Nov 2005 17:25:58 +1100
Subject: Re: [Amarok] The Australian Review

Hey Dave - nice ta hear of you again! Hope honkers is treatin' you right
:D

tanks for kind words re review

 > I`ve just finished reading reviews in a pommy mag by the name of Uncut, 
I`m sure a lot of you have
 > seen it but for those who ain`t, here is this years winner of the VD 
award for music critics.

hahahaha!   *spot* on!

now - to Mr Dalton - by all accounts a well read and respected, often
published rock writing veteran who straddles the globe and some of the
world's mot prestigious publications with his opinions -

but *beware* - this is a guy who cut his teeth at NME - Mike's nemesis
in the punk era...you can still hear the institutionalised bitterness
echoing through the decades..

 >Forget preconceptions of Oldfield as a grouchy prog dullard

anyone here have those preconceptions? hands up - and prepare for firing
squad

then we have the usual "what he got he pinched from everyone else" train
of thought - which is insulting to both MO and those he cites

 > sounds rich in lovely noises,the criss crossing vapour trails of
 > software-generated vocals on "The
 > Gate", the vast plateau of Ry Cooder-esque twangs on "First Steps", the
 > misty eyed Celtic swells
 > of "Pres De Troi"...

 >...if the whole enterprise
 > were not so polished, bloated and laden with baroque, latterday Floydian
 > guitar noodling.

then the usual nose-picking poisonous snipe -

 > Oldfield
 > is one of the last great English eccentrics of middle-brow-coffee-table
 > pop

and there you have it - the *typical* MO review - one quick listen and
two minutes to write

and, as usual, it's by someone in love with his own wordsmith
cleverness in almost complete ignorance of, and certainly at the expense
of the artist he's having a
lovely time castigating

mate, there are so many of these - if you research MO reviews you won't
find more than a handful that are positive since 1975. i believe MO is
an easy target for this sort of half-baked, badly thought out wankery
because he is unique - a giant multi-coloured beach ball of a musician
with no real peers, and no real precursors.

  > hmmm, who`s paul oakenfold then my preciouses?

Paul Oakenfold is one of roughly 10,000,000 indistinguishable dance
party techno producers - who
go onstage with a bank of computers, often in Ibiza, and pretend to
break a sweat twiddling knobs for the gyrating hordes

 > but seriously does anyone
 > on the list know this
 > alleged reviewer Mr Dalton?

not I, sir

 > A visit from the boys with empty cider
 > bottles ought to jostle his
 > writing brain cell into remembering what it is he is paid to do methinks.

heh :D

sounds like a job for the Rob Miles army!

wolf
_________

Appendix on Mr Dalton - (or should that be spleen..!)

Stephen Dalton began his writing career at NME way back in prehistoric
times, before the death or irony and the rise of Britpop. Due to a
bizarre administrative oversight he remains an irregular NME
contributor, but mainly writes on music and film for Uncut, The Times
and Scotland on Sunday. His work also makes occasional guest appearances
in Sight and Sound, Loaded, The Sunday Times, The Scotsman, The Age
(Melbourne), The Sunday Herald (Glasgow), The Sunday Tribune (Dublin),
Irish Examiner (Cork) and various other august publications. He
currently divides his time between Bath and Berlin, and nurses an
unhealthy erotic fascination with Condoleezza Rice. He has never written
a best-selling novel, sold a million-dollar screenplay or smoked crack
with a supermodel. But he is open to offers.

List of articles in the library by artist

Asian Dub Foundation : Foundation Course
Report and Interview by Stephen Dalton, unpublished, February 2003

Basement Jaxx/Goldie Lookin' Chain: Bristol Canons Marsh
Live Review by Stephen Dalton, The Times, August 2004

The Beautiful South
Interview by Stephen Dalton, NME, March 1999

Beck, Guero and Scientology
Interview by Stephen Dalton, Scotland on Sunday, March 2005

Jane Birkin: A Legend In Her Own T'aime
Profile and Interview by Stephen Dalton, The Times, February 2001

Björk
Interview by Stephen Dalton, Vox, June 1993

Nick Cave : "I Wasn't Sid Vicious": Nick Cave
Interview by Stephen Dalton, The Times, September 2004

Elvis Costello & The Imposters: The Delivery Man (Mercury)***
Review by Stephen Dalton, Uncut, November 2004

The Fall : Mark E Smith: Not Falling, Soaring
Interview by Stephen Dalton, Vox, June 1991

50 Cent: Wembley Arena
Live Review by Stephen Dalton, The Times, September 2003

Serge Gainsbourg : Jane Birkin: A Legend In Her Own T'aime
Profile and Interview by Stephen Dalton, The Times, February 2001

Goldie Lookin' Chain : Basement Jaxx/Goldie Lookin' Chain: Bristol
Canons Marsh
Live Review by Stephen Dalton, The Times, August 2004

PJ Harvey : The Dark Lady of Dorset: Polly Jean Harvey
Interview by Stephen Dalton, NME, 1998

The La's : 20 Questions: The La’s
Interview by Stephen Dalton, NME, November 1990

Shelby Lynne
Interview by Stephen Dalton, The Times, April 2000

Madonna : Manchester Evening News Arena
Review by Stephen Dalton, The Times, August 2004

Massive Attack Take A Stand
Interview by Stephen Dalton, The Scotsman, February 2003

To see an illustrated version of this article, click here
Bob Mould : Ground Sugar
Interview by Stephen Dalton, Vox, June 1993

Nine Inch Nails : An Interview with Trent Reznor
Interview by Stephen Dalton, NME, 1999

John Peel RIP
Obituary by Stephen Dalton, Uncut, December 2004

Pet Shop Boys : Neil Tennant, Brett Anderson and Vic Reeves: Twentieth
Century Blues
Interview by Stephen Dalton, NME, April 1997

Pet Shop Boys : The Pet Shop Boys: Pop-aganda
Report and Interview by Stephen Dalton, The Times, September 2004

Pizzicato Five : Caught In A Von Trapp! Pizzicato Five
Interview by Stephen Dalton, NME, March 1997

Radiohead : Hail to the 'Head
Report and Interview by Stephen Dalton, The Melbourne Age, April 2004

Radiohead and Whose Army
Profile and Interview by Stephen Dalton, Uncut, 2001

Razorlight: Manchester Apollo
Review by Stephen Dalton, The Times, February 2005

Suede : Neil Tennant, Brett Anderson and Vic Reeves: Twentieth Century
Blues
Interview by Stephen Dalton, NME, April 1997

Sugar : Ground Sugar
Interview by Stephen Dalton, Vox, June 1993

U2 and the Making of Achtung Baby
Retrospective and Interview by Stephen Dalton, Uncut, November 2004

The White Stripes : White Stripes Or Shite Hype?
Comment by Stephen Dalton, The Times, August 2003

Jah Wobble
Report and Interview by Stephen Dalton, The Times, August 2004

List of genre pieces

Revolution Rock
Essay by Stephen Dalton, Vox, June 1993

Rock 100: Um, What Was It We Wanted To Say?
Book Excerpt by Stephen Dalton, Lenny Kaye, Cooper Square (reissue),
1999

even more at:
http://www.rocksbackpages.com/writer.html?WriterID=dalton_s
________________________

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