RingoStarfish

The comparison between Duran and the Doors is – with just one word – simply HILARIOUS. Aside from the fact that we can't make many conjectures, the destinies are too different (the Doors had a suicidal singer and thus a premature end for the band, while Duran went through like four different phases in their musical lives; the Doors were forgotten in Europe and somewhat in America too until the slow rediscovery that started from Apocalypse Now onwards, while the Duran are tied to a single decade; the Doors, indeed, had living success in the late '60s and then a break with the public until the boom including the malediction from '80 to '00). But if we fantasize a bit... "Rio" is the "Light My Fire" of the situation (with a sax and bass bridge by Taylor instead of Manzarek's organ), "Save A Prayer" is a "Crystal Ship"... "A View to a Kill" is a robbing ignorant single like "Hello, I Love You," and "Planet Earth" is the icebreaker type "Break On Through"... as for literary pretensions, Le Bon and Morrison, despite everything they might claim or what could be claimed, are at the same level of intellectuality: very little. But they were musicians, not poets... or am I wrong? And I like them just the same. (Otherwise, I’d go get Leonard Cohen or Morrissey or Battiato’s Pollution just to throw out a couple of names.)

beautiful beautiful, I like it...! By chance or intuition, I noticed that among my records, arranged alphabetically, come Doors, Duran Duran, Dylan Bob... that is, those whom Francis referred to in his comments... maybe he has a stack of CDs very similar to mine!! :))

I don’t mean to get into a quagmire... but let’s not compare Simply Red and Duran in terms of influence. You’ll notice that there are more people who can speak negatively about the Beatles than about the Doors. Only because this contemporary re-analysis has already begun for the Beatles, which hasn’t happened yet for the Doors and others – “it’s taken for granted that they are great”... Here, Francis is coming back to his senses after the horde of barbarians has passed. But don’t say that, unlike what might happen at Ondarock or Karlporz, you write reviews on Debaser as if it were a casual phone conversation: this is true for others, but not for the reviews with the “Francis trademark.” Don’t tell me that those on Pulp, T-Rex or Hatful of Hollow were just a couple of words thrown together over the phone. They were beautiful reviews. Clear, elegant, passionate but competent. Or they were pieces of exuberant and striking journalism, yet incredibly enjoyable and genuine (referring to the legendary one on “Don’t Believe The Truth,” I was there!). Love the quotation from Bersani, but let’s take it with a grain of salt... with the ladies, the Doors are better (I’d say almost unbeatable) for the first encounters, Bolero for the epic rides when you’re already familiar with the girl. I still recommend Creedence for quickies in the car.

In my opinion, no one knows how to counter, neither Francis nor the others opposing him... almost as if everything is taken for granted... or rather, as if it's obvious 1. that the Doors are great 2. that "Light My Fire" is one of the most important songs in modern pop 3. the influence of the Doors on the future 4. etc., etc... and yet IT SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN FOR GRANTED. Explain it, please. To Francis, to me, to yourselves. At least for now, almost no one has used appropriate arguments, just everyone blushing. Perhaps by re-discussing the importance or lack thereof of a supposed cornerstone of rock, you will come out more convinced. And then you will truly know whether it was all just positive/negative prejudice or ideas that are purely and proudly your own.

The problem is that both the review and 95% of the comments are on the wrong plane, that is, not technical-musical. Everyone is pulling the blanket to their side, all outraged, "but how could you do that..." Jim, if I didn't adore Piper as the greatest Pink Floyd album, I would write a review that tears it apart, but unfortunately... that doesn't mean if someone did, I would start condemning them; on the contrary... maybe! We're here precisely to chat about these things! When I pointed out that valid means and motivations are needed to write reviews like this, I meant that this one doesn't have them. But at least they tried. And no one else does.

The invective holds little weight, after all, entirely based on emotional tricks—and not strictly technical-musical issues—that render the noble quotes from Wilde or Morrissey gratuitous and wasted as justifications for one’s stumbles. Francis has therefore gone off track, but perhaps only because he is now too self-conditioned by public judgment. Attempting clumsily to block anticipated insults from others by preemptively offending is not the Francis of old. Nor is it the Francis of his later phase, whom I had the pleasure of experiencing through his interventions. Nonetheless, the spirit and intent remain that make Francis one of the few bastions of healthy discussion and debate, attempting to scrutinize every musical particle with new eyes, including what is now taken for granted. There should be more reviews that—still presenting valid and reasonable arguments—question the unassailable great classics of the past or reassess what has been sidelined as a failure, a donut without a hole. This review is an interesting donut without a hole. It seems just and necessary to reassess it immediately not for the means (which I reiterate are historically low for the quality to which Francis has accustomed us) but for the purpose. Let’s hope someone else understands this instead of being indignant, entrenched in their positions, “hey, how dare you mistreat a classic, if you do that you understand nothing and indeed you might deserve to be offended.” Come on, let’s make a bit more effort… as a debate, we can do much better… (encouragement vote)

Useless duels between irritable computer geeks... Francis, as usual, sabotages his own reviews with his blunders, which, to be frank, are growing increasingly alarming. After polite and sharp reviews, it seems he enjoys being in the eye of the storm, so what does he do? He doubles down, in every aspect, but by scratching too hard we’ve hit rock bottom, filled with curses, resentment against innocent pseudo-rebellious teenagers, an unwarranted defense of pretentious brands, and a complete misunderstanding of the delightful little diaries where, indeed, it didn’t matter if a phrase was uttered by Martin Luther King or Jerry Calà, what mattered was its impactful effect on his peers. We can't explain in this context the wonderful and complex games of feminine nature - and not only - adolescent and post-adolescent dynamics. Even Che Guevara appears on t-shirts because he was handsome. The same goes for Jim Morrison. Much more photogenic than Gandhi, but also than Pete Townshend or Brian Wilson.

I think like Zion, but due to my personal-musical background... Maiden Voyage remains my favorite from the non-funk production, a peak perhaps never reached again by Hancock (despite all the magnificent things he has done). And the review... is it enough to say... worthy of Grasshopper?

and of course...

Great scoop this review… I haven't seen Nightmare Before… since it came out in theaters (and I was blown away)… but Renatone was impossible to ignore; in fact, I agree, he was the soul of the dubbing and of the cartoon itself. Worth rediscovering. I knew that even George W had something good in that Oval Office.