Maxim Reviews Black Crowes Album Without Listening To It

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Hamilton Nolan

02/22/08 04:13PM

Filed to: Music

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In the March issue of Maxim, writer David Peisner reviews the new Black Crowes album, "Warpaint." The verdict: Ehhh. Two and a half stars, out of five. The problem: Maxim didn't listen to the album. Their review, it turns out, was an "educated guess." Um, what? The full story, including the faux-review and the band's outraged response, below.

The Black Crowes' label didn't make advance copies of the album available for review, so they were surprised when they saw Maxim's turn up. The writer couldn't have heard more than one song off the album, the label says. When they contacted the magazine, they say an editor emailed them:

'Of course, we always prefer to (sic) hearing music, but sometimes there are big albums that we don't want to ignore that aren't available to hear, which is what happened with the Crowes. It's either an educated guess preview or no coverage at all, so in this case we chose the former.'"

Yea, that's just not right. If you want to tell the Black Crowes they suck, at least listen to the album first, so you can be specific. Imagine a critic handing you this review without having heard your record:

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The response from the band:

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Then again—now, a lot more people are reading that negative review. There's two sides to the PR coin! The band better hope that its full album is strong enough to make Maxim look foolish.

The following replies are approved. To see additional replies that are pending approval, click Show Pending. Warning: These may contain graphic material.

Furious George Hamilton Nolan 02/22/08 04:29PM

@Steverino: It's sad, because in its early-early years (we're talking the original British version and the earliest American version), Maxim was probably a solid B to B+ magazine. The writing was hilarious at times, if a bit juvenile.

Over time, the quality of the writing dropped off completely, the stories became repetitive, the photo shoots blended into one another, and the magazine became more or less interchangeable with FHM, Stuff, and all the other shitty lad mags flooding the market. At some point I even noticed that whole-cloth stories, jokes, pictorials, and letters to the editor that had originally run in Maxim were being re-run in Stuff a couple months later, or vice versa. That was the final straw for me.

I haven't read one of these mags in years, but every time I've leafed through one, I can feel my brain cells taking up arms and preparing to stage a violent coup.

jean_genetic Hamilton Nolan 02/22/08 06:53PM

Wuthering Heights sucks? No effin' way. Here's a sample, and f&*^ing stellar quote.

"The more the worms writhe, the more I yearn to crush out their entrails, and I grind with greater ferocity in direct proportion to the increase in pain."

There's more greatness where that comes from folks. Do yourselves a favor and read this book!

Rabbi Dave Hamilton Nolan 02/22/08 04:57PM

wait the same magazine that has a completely fabricated "image" of Britney Spears on its current cover? No way.

I've been getting Maxim for free for the past three years. I've moved three times and it keeps following me. I usually just use it to let me know when certain cds are about to come out. that's about it.

I Don't Get It Hamilton Nolan 02/22/08 04:26PM

I attribute this total lapse in journalistic integrity to Kent Brownridge. He never cared about music all those years at Rolling Stone. While still the big baddie in charge there he said "Rolling Stone is not a music magazine." Well...he was right but still.