George Starostin's review site

[Nick Green]

you may not like all he has to say but he is a good read

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

enjoy!

[CathyG]

Nick - thanks for the tip; I'm at work and so could only skim through some of the material, but it's very interesting reading (even though he is SOOO WRONG!!!!!)

Cathy

[caP'n Jazz]

seems like a good read... i'll save it for later when inevitable boredom strikes :)

[upbgirl]

just who IS this guy and why does he make it difficult to send him my own comments?? [maybe i didnt see it because i was so :boom: . everyone has thier opinions, and i probably should have stopped after his first review, but i COULDNT.. sort of like you HAVE to look at the car accident in case you might see something morbid]
whatever!! [and i find myself holding up my hand to stop his incessant babble like a teenager who has had ENOUGH] and i have NEVER said 'whatever' to stop a conversation, either, much less, held up my hand]:fmad:
i guess the only thing i can take issue with is the fact that he calls jon's voice 'falsetto' which it is NOT!! it is perfectly obvious that he cannot get past his hatred for jon's voice to actually give the rest a fair shake..
also, in 'reviews' like these, it is HIS page [site] so he has the last word, of course! anyone who submitted he *might* be wrong got slammed hard! [and i didnt read the whole damned thing, so i could be wrong, but if he hated ctte and tales, then so be it..i didnt need to read the rest..]
but to compare Yes to supertramp is blasphemy-and i liked supertramp, too!!
john collinge from progression magazine said it best..[paraphrasing here].."at least, bands create something.. critics DO NOT", but he sure created one pissed off yesfan today!!
[and now, in TRUE yesfashion, i am going to dig deeper into myself and see if i can figure out WHY i am SO mad at this guy!! it kind of feels like he called my kid ugly or stupid or something]
i am not blind [or deaf], and didnt care for big generator at all, but i STILL respect the band for doing what they've been doing all these years. i find myself wondering if he's EVER seen yes live.. hhmm..
[now, off for some soul searching to see if i can stop sending this guy 'i hope your radio gets stuck on the yestune you hate most and you HAVE to listen to it forever' vibes-LOL!!]

[BredYes]

I read some of his reviews. Although I don't share some opinions with him, I like to read it, because he knows more details than a reviewer in general. By the way: the man has to be very busy if you look to his huge list of albums.

[yessong]

Well I read his introduction the reviews of the first LP and Magnification (You'll need several hours to read all hi stuff about Yes). I found him to be honest, up front about his point of view and self depricating, which was actually quite funny. Most of the things that I read seemed to be a good balence between open critisizim tempered with some sparking admiration for the boys musical ability. He seemed to find things to like most of the time while balencing those points with things he didn't like...when you consider the average review (when they recieve them - most of the time they just get passed by) is pretty miserable - on the whole, what I read, was amoung the most balenced of reviews I have ever read about the boys.

[RobAdams]

I think this guy just doesn't like YES. He considers AWAKEN overly pompus and ROUNDABOUT the best song on FRAGILE. He downplays Steve Howe's role on THE YES ALBUM, and he completely dumps on RELAYER and TALES. Most of his hate of Yes is directed at Jon Anderson. I didn't find this man's reviews very open minded. But it was a good read none the less.

[yessong]

Originally posted by RobAdams
I think this guy just doesn't like YES. He considers AWAKEN overly pompus and ROUNDABOUT the best song on FRAGILE. He downplays Steve Howe's role on THE YES ALBUM, and he completely dumps on RELAYER and TALES. Most of his hate of Yes is directed at Jon Anderson. I didn't find this man's reviews very open minded. But it was a good read none the less.

Exactly - right - but don't you understand that this is exactly how most of the Non-Yes public see them?

I love almost all that is Yes (Talk is un-listenable...to me) but I agree - Awaken is overblown and pompus - But that's what I like about it. Roundabout was the hit - so most people will see it as the best song, Relayer and Tales are, and I think all will agree on this... strictly for the Yes-pureset (Something that needs to be worked up to as you discover the band). Those two LP's have always been the "number one" targets for critics.

[arrel]

I thought that was pretty entertaining, actually. Subjective, like we were saying on another thread, but entertaining.

His comments on Jon's "poetry" actually sat well with me for the most part. Like him, I pretty much have to ignore the words 90% of time in order to enjoy the music. I know that a lot of people here like the fact that the lyrics are so open they can mean almost anything to anybody, but I have to agree with this guy that I prefer poetry that actually rewards study with an intended meaning that can be grasped, and that isn't just one long exercise in word association.

My biggest disagreement with him in the parts I read was over "The Revealing Science of God" - not the words, but the music. I find much of musical interest in that piece if you take out the chanting.

But, outside of the chanting (which really isn't, percentage-wise, that much of Yes music), I never perceived Jon's singing as robotic. Quirky, maybe, at times, but not robotic.

[gargendie]

I can understand where he is coming from,it took me years to get into Tales and CTTE.Now belive it or not my fav songs are Walls and Ritual.

[BrianD]

Welcome to Yesfans gargendie and yessong - hope you stay around.

yessong - I agree that many of the criticisms he makes about Yes reflect a broader public opinion (that is, when the broader public has had a chance to listen to the music) of those who do not like them that much. In that way he is perceptive. For whatever reason, Jon Anderson tends to polarise public opinion. Many people cannot handle his voice or lyrics. It is difficult for Yes fans to comprehend this but it is a consistent theme that is expressed. And then there is the 'pomposity' - some people don't like vituosity being so fully expressed with complicated music. For Yes fans, that is a given but thats the way it goes. Many people prefer simpler music, thats their taste.

gargendie - as you imply, perseverence pays off. Many of the better tracks require numerous plays before they strike the chord.

Anyway, good to see you both here.