What A Great Review MONSTRANCE
How can you resist buying an album when this is the first review it gets.
Read extracts from what critic Ben Gott had to say in his review for kevchino.com
…painful for me to review…
…almost unlistenable.
…lovely it is not.
…it sounds as if Partridge is playing the guitar with metal fingernails.
…I’m simply asking for something without the drone,without the sharp edges…
…MONSTRANCE is no feast.Its more like a cold pancake.
…so what is the market for an album like MONSTRANCE?…serial killers?
…it is simply too experimental…
…don’t know if I’ll ever listen to MONSTRANCE again.
Wow! Thanks Mr.Gott for that TAP-esque review. Doesn’t that make you want to check it out even more?
Go and listen to the free download of the track “I Lovely Cosmonaut” and you could get yourself as upset as Ben.
Oh, mein Gott! That is really a monster review for Monstrance…
But seriorsly, I can never imagine Andy creating a sound from his guitar with “metal fingernails”.
Ah well, soon we all can judge by ourselves!
I’m sure Mr. Gott is a lovely person, but I’ll judge for myself. In fact, I’ll have two . . . !
MD: “…a recent review of your new album MONSTRANCE contained only one word: “SHITSTRANCE”
AP: “You can’t print that!”
BA: “That’s not real!”
………hmmmm… think I’ll check it out myself. After all, I like Spinal Tap…….
Andy, you are THE MAN! You’ve taken a hurtful review and turned it to your advantage. I doff my cap to you!
I preordered “Monstrance” this morning - knowing full well what it is that I’ve ordered - and I really look forward to hearing it.
Hee hee! Are you sure that Ben wasn’t reviewing the album for kvetchino.com?
In terms of his appreciation of “Monstrance”, I don’t think he “Gott” it.
greetings from SuperSuper Italy Andy!!!
Cristiano
Hi to everyone,
This is Ben Gott, the fellow who wrote the review of “Monstrance” for kevchino.com. I have been a die hard fan of XTC since I first heard “The Smartest Monkeys” on a tape that my brother made me in 1994.
To be honest with everyone on the board, I wasn’t quite expecting the reception that my review received. I want to make clear that, very simply, the words that have been excerpted here are a piece — and only a piece — of my own opinion. What the excerpter does not make clear is how painful — how truly, absolutely painful — it was for me to write such a review. After loving every XTC album — yes, that’s right, EVERY one — I felt as if I had finally hit a brick wall with “Monstrance.” (You can read the entire review here: http://www.kevchino.com/index.aspx?review=1219 in order to get the full story. And by the way: the crack about “serial killers” was right next to a crack about “Danny Elfman”; anyone with a sense of humour would have known that I was trying to make you smile!)
But does that mean that I respect or admire Andy Partridge’s music any less? Not in the least. I appreciate that he is exploring a different direction. It’s just not the direction that I would have gone in. “Monstrance” just isn’t my style. However, I’d urge every single one of you to pick up your own copy and to judge for yourself. You may love it. You may hate it. But I urge you to live it, like I did, and then to decide.
As a musician myself, I have many wishes in life. I’d like to see Roger McGuinn perform. I’d like to go on a plane ride with Peter Buck. But, most importantly, I’d like to have a cup of coffee with Andy Partridge. His music has inspired and enlightened me for as long as I’ve listened to it, and I hope against hope that it will continue to do so long after “Monstrance” is shelved, chronologically, between the “Fuzzy Warbles” sets and the next Partridge masterpiece.
(By the way, if you’d like to read my glowing review, also on kevchino.com, of “Fuzzy Warbles,” click here: http://www.kevchino.com/index.aspx?review=1139. That one got a 10 out of 10.)
All the best, and all the rest,
-Ben
Ben, I think your review made more people curious about Monstrance. So that was good.
You got to admit that Andy made a cool turnaround of your review. And whatever you think of the album is of course okay. You listened and decided the music was not for you. Me? Well, usually I don´t care much for improvised music, but the two tracks I have heard so far have made me curious. Soon I will know…
But hey, I think you should aim higher than a cup of coffee. I would say that at least a couple of bottles with Châteauneuf-du-Pape is the way to go. He, he…
Per and friends,
Absolutely, and I deserved the turnaround. I’ve certainly done the same with less-than-stellar reviews of my own music.
Curiosity about music is the only way that we can discover new things. There’s so much that I wouldn’t be listening to now if I hadn’t taken the initial risks.
Love the conversation we’re having, folks.
-BG
I don’t understand it. The Independent’s Andy Gill makes it album of the month, yet it drives poor Ben to an almost soulshattering loss of faith! Bah, I’ll just have to shell out and buy the full Monstrance for myself, ere I lose sleep. Ben, Andy’s been talking a bit lately about how conservative his fans are…you wouldn’t be conservative, now, would you?
Actually, Ben , I’ve been thinking about your review since my last post, and I’m afraid the hiatus has not led to a better appreciation of it. In fact, I am now of the mind that your review is rather thoughtless and insulting: firstly, for expecting an outcome from an artist you profess to know something of: (read: “You are predictable, Andy, we must have vocal-based power-pop.”) and secondly, you have completely ignored whatever input Martyn Barker and Barry Andrews had into the direction of the music. In the tracks I have heard, I can pick Andy “listening” for changes from his co-musicians, and reacting accordingly. I haven’t heard the full issue, but it bodes well, and my dowloaded tracks haven’t disappointed.
These are musicians who are playing off each other. You are a consumer of fast food. I wish you well, but get a blood test.
love
Trevor ‘Keltik’ Williams
Trevor,
I appreciate that time has solidified your opinion, as it has solidified mine. But the fact that I am disappointed in “Monstrance” should say nothing about my appreciation of music. It boggles my mind that, because I happen to dislike this particular offering, I’m being criticized for being too “close minded.” Nothing could be further from the truth. With 1,500 CDs and 12,000 digital music files, plus an appreciation for everyone from XTC to Keith Jarrett to New Edition to Saint-Saëns, I don’t think that I have to prove my bona fides to anyone.
Again, I reiterate: listen to the album yourself and judge for yourself. If you love it, great. If not, great. But loving it or hating it has nothing to do with how musically intelligent you are. It’s simply your taste; your feeling.
And conservative? Jeez, I don’t think so. I’ve had my recurring monthly donation to Barack Obama all set up since he announced!
Love and rockets,
-Ben
N.P.: Camper Van Beethoven | “Take the Skinheads Bowling”
Who was saying anything about your appreciation of music, Ben? This is about your approach to this review: you’ve decided that you want to hear something by Andy Partridge; you expected at least a rerun of Nonsuch; and it’s not what you expected. How disappointing!
My opinion hasn’t solidified. It’s fluid as always, and prepared to admit that there may be tracks on Monstrance I won’t like or ‘get’ immediately, but I won’t let my expectations get in the way. I will probably put on the headphones and shut my eyes, and let the picture form. Easy enough.
By telling me you have 1500 CD’s and 12,000 music files, you’ve gone out of your way to prove your bona fides. No doubt, they’re all in serried alphabetical ranks, and you get white with rage when your partner puts one back out of order. At my age (close to Andy Partridge’s) I have that much rubbish in my head. It’s called a memory. (and be assured, if you have that much music, a large percentage of it will be rubbish).
I’d apologize to Martyn Barker and Barry Andrews if I were you, for assuming they were just stooges in this. Especially Barker: drummers can be vindictive.
Best wishes, darling, you sound like you have a background in accountancy.
Love and no rockets ( or cluster bombs, an American invention, I believe)
TW
Trevor,
You are absolutely right that Martyn and Barry are exceptionally talented musicians, and I erred in not making that clearer in my review.
It’s April 6th, and “Monstrance” has been out for the whole week. So I’m going to bow out of this discussion and let everyone else have a go.
-Ben
Wow, for a moment I thought I was on the XTC Forum! He, he…
I just got my parcel from APE and sit here with my Monstrance t-shirt, but I haven´t had a chance to spin the CD:s yet. I don´t know if I will close my eyes, but I will absolutely open my ears…
I’ve listened to my brand new cds yesterday. The least I can say is that I really don’t share Ben’s vision of Monstrance. This album may surprised some only used to the “pop” side of Mr. Partridge, but hey, we were warned it was an “experimental” album. And wow, it is a very good one! The atmospheres and moods, the drums, Andy’s rythmic guitars, the sounds and noises of Andrews’ keyboards, and oh the SOUND!!! The sound of Monstrance is fantastic. Barker’s drumming is astonishing, Andy’s work on his guitar sound and rythmic interplay with the drum beat is impressive (metal fingernails????), the sound textures variety of keyboards, tensions and space… And it’s IMPROVISED, for christ sake. I think the necessary alchemy between the 3 musicians is truly and well present. At first listen, I should say that only 2 or 3 tracks have not yet “click” with me, but overall I find Monstrance is a beautiful, rich and impressive album. A really worthy piece of aural art. Merci Messieurs !
Well, I’ve had my copies for a week now, and the more I listen to them, the more I ‘hear’ what they were aiming for. I’ve been experimenting a little by setting up my own guitar rig and playing along, and it is almost like being with them, it’s obvious they are feeling there way through some sections but it’s a tremendously creative feeling, and a worthy addition to the library of XTC-related items. This is tremendous stuff and I hereby beg Andy and Barry to sit down and meld this experience into a more structured bit of writing, whether jazz, pop, or Victorian pier-entertainment. You guys have a lot of great ideas; put them on record….
I like Andy Partridge when he writes vocal-based pop songs. He is a master at that approach. However, his improvisational bent has never, ever moved me. I applaued the man for following his muse, but, if I want to listen to improvisational music, there are other artists out there (Mike Keneally, Reeves Gabrels) who do it much better, and much more interestingly so than Mr. Partridge.
Excellent music, I think, this is. I love XTC and on another hand, I love Improvised music, such as; Derek Bailey, Barre Phillips, and Kang Tae Hwan, Sainkho Namchylak, or Iva Bittova.
then, “Monstrance” give me deep impression. Quite beauty sounds this is.
I think both Ben and Andy have got it right.
Ben bravely expressed his opinion and gamely faced the inevitable scolding; Andy used it to his advantage.
Fans will always rush to the defense of their idols, and everyone and their aunties are now scurrying out to buy Monstrance on principle.(I just ordered three myself, this morning).
It’s funny, a similar thing happened to me after the release of my last solo CD in 2005. I’d received several great reviews and notices and promptly displayed them on my site. Then, I posted a link on a notoriously snooty folk-orientated forum and naively invited comments.
So, when ‘Mind-achingly awful” was posted by one bristling reviewer, I had to use it didn’t I? It did make me laugh after all, and I kept it in perspective. Not only that, It went straight on my site, nestled between raves from John Lomax III and Roger McGuinn.
In a very small way, it worked for me, too. I tracked a fair amount of traffic to my website from that thread, and even sold a copy of the CD to someone who listened to a sample for himself and obviously disagreed with the poster. Fair enough.(I don’t think his Auntie purchased though)
The thing is, if you’re going to inflict your creations on the general public, you have to expect and accept the good with the bad. Just like when you post a review, you have to accept the consequences; deal with the fallout, so to speak.
Would you really want Ben to pretend to like the album, out of some misguided sense of loyalty?(It’s obvious that the guy is a huge XTC fan, after all). Andy would hate that, surely.
Actually, I was going to ask Ben to review my new release, but I actually do play with metal fingernails, so I’ll not bother.
http://www.steverobinsonmusic.com/
Actually, I think Monstrance got a few good reviews this month. The last I found this morning was among them, on mackro.blogspot.com.
Here’s an extract :
[…]“Monstrance’s strength is its rawness and clarity. No doubt, anyone who has followed XTC’s career is going to expect heavily overdubbed and orchestrated work, so hearing Andy with just a guitar and few effects to play with is harrowing — and that’s a good thing! The man’s guitar talents have always been overshadowed by his arrangements, understandably. But it’s really refreshing to hear him play out his more challenging sounding facets, without necessarily forcing it in your face. “Chaingang” and “Ur Tannoy” are great examples of this.
Barry’s playing has no resemblence to the playing he did back in 1978. Only for moments do the occasional highly dissonant synth-scrapes, like on “Torturetainment”, bring that era to mind. However, he mostly plays it cool, but never rests. He’ll often switch from ambient presets to basic piano presets to simulated prepared piano presets within the same stretch of material, without the transition sounding jarring ever. It’s stating the obvious, but Barry’s an accomplished keyboardist, and this release is yet another showcase for it.
Martyn’s drumming is the perfect rhythmic accompaniment to both Andy and Barry — whenever the music is rhythmic. When not, his drum fills are perfect as well. Martyn deserves the spotlight on most of the material here, in fact.”
[...]
Why does it have to be so difficult for a listener to be able to experiment with the listening experience of recorded experimental music itself? Mainstream pop releases now release deluxe editions often with instrumental versions, a cappella versions, and perhaps other backing tracks. Experimental music often has wacky packaging but (Warning: crass pop-ist generalizations to follow) ends up being just a compact disc or slab of vinyl with really long songs that one has to endure — at least if there are no consumable vices available to help out. Capitalism vs. Music For The People aside, who’s really being more experimental here?
Fah! Anyway… as Andy, Barry, and Martyn came into making Monstrance without a plan and having a grand ol’ time with it, why not do the same on the receiving end while the opportunity is there?”
Useless to say I agree with what’s written above. : )
Gentlemen,
Regarding Monstrance:
Great wallowing fat slabs, pricked and tweezed by sharkheaded loonies with primal punctuality. This is lovely stuff, echoing back down long dingy hallways caroming past Miniatures and obscure but not redundant remixes. It’s lush, penetrating, thought provoking and touching (in all the right places).
Well done gents, well done. What greater added bonerus than to addle addendums of hasbeen assholes like Gott. What’s an Ass Gott? A tie or two cheeks and a hole?
I love the cosmonaut is an interesting tune. not really my style but I understand why ben may be mad