Confession time.
For many years I have been writing reviews of albums that are released and fall within the prog rock framework. Initially for our great magazine IO-Pages and since a few years for my own site and occasionally for Background Magazine. The main reason is of course that I love to do this and I do have a thing for language. I always try to give a combination of factual information and my own view (taste) and add a spark of humour where possible. It is also important for reviews not to be too short but also not too long. Especially with IO-Pages, the length of a review is limited to a maximum number of words and I always considered that to be quite difficult. The reviews on my own site are often longer and more extensive, but I try to make sure that they do not become too long-winded.
Because I know pretty well what I really like and also hope to be pretty well informed about everything that is released, I will buy on CD what appeals to me. Of course, and fortunately, I am still surprised by albums that I initially missed. Most of the reviews on my website are of albums that I have purchased and will therefore often be reasonable to very positive. For balance, I also try to review albums that don't have my direct preference but do have a lot of impact within the genre. So that can result in less positive reviews, but if I have something to criticize I always try to substantiate it. The saying "tastes differ" is there for a reason. I don't pretend to be a music connoisseur but more a music lover with a pretty distinct taste.
As mentioned in the introduction on this website, I was mainly shaped by the neoprog from the eighties, but that doesn't mean that I completely missed the 70s. Of course I listened to everything from Genesis or Yes and also from all the other greats from that time. Where Genesis, Pink Floyd and Camel clearly appeal to me more than Yes or King Crimson. Without keyboards no complete music for me but I am just a little more of a guitar man and have tried several times to become a better guitarist myself, in vain by the way. I know it's shocking to some, but Steve Howe, Robert Fripp, and even Steve Hackett aren't among my favourites. Not because they are not good, but there are others who appeal to me more. On my favourites page you can see who they are.
However, this is not where I want to go with this column. What then? Sometimes I have trouble motivating myself to write reviews. I notice that I am repeating myself too much and sometimes wonder why I simply don't hear what others do hear in some albums (f.i. Steven Wilson – The Overview), Is that bad? Oh well, not really of course, and let's be honest, my site does not attract thousands of visitors per month and that's fine with me. Then it's just okay that there is an occasional month in which I don't post anything. Often after such a period you start a bit fresher and the fun comes back automatically.
Something that will (hopefully) never change is my passion for music, but when I notice how happy beautiful new albums still make me, I'm not too afraid of that. I have decided to become a bit more selective in terms of choices of albums that I review and that will mean; Fewer reviews but even more personal (more subjective). After all, there are plenty of sites where you can read more business-like reviews. To be honest, I notice that my style of writing is shifting a bit. Where I used to believe that a review should mainly contain facts, I now tend more towards a review that I hold against the light of my own taste.
I myself often look at a number of regular sites whose reviews I read and I often know how to include the opinion of a certain reviewer in the assessment of an album. Of course, this also applies to the regular visitors of this site. It's nice to know through the comments that people read and (mostly) appreciate your writings. Thank you very much for that!