American Songwriter's Scores
- Music
For 1,814 reviews, this publication has graded:
-
50% higher than the average critic
-
5% same as the average critic
-
45% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 0.8 points higher than other critics.
(0-100 point scale)
Average Music review score: 74
Highest review score: | Rockstar | |
---|---|---|
Lowest review score: | Dancing Backward in High Heels |
Score distribution:
-
Positive: 1,458 out of 1814
-
Mixed: 352 out of 1814
-
Negative: 4 out of 1814
1814
music
reviews
- By Date
- By Critic Score
-
- Critic Score
At nearly 10 hours of music, the “super deluxe” bundle is too much for any but the most committed. But the edited editions include some of the best stuff, leaving the rest for the Prince faithful. And if anyone was unsure of just how talented, creative and prolific Prince was at his inspired peak, this fully loaded box solidifies his legacy as a true American icon.- American Songwriter
- Posted Sep 29, 2020
- Read full review
-
- Critic Score
Like any live recording, this can never replicate the electricity in the intimate venue with Otis and his band firing on all cylinders but, all things considered, it’s as close as we’re likely to ever get.- American Songwriter
- Posted Nov 4, 2016
- Read full review
-
- Critic Score
The 65-66 era of his career occupies rarefied space in the annals of rock; The Cutting Edge somehow demystifies it and makes it seem more impressive all at once. For a guy who once warned us not to look back, Bob Dylan keeps giving us irresistible reasons to do exactly that.- American Songwriter
- Posted Nov 6, 2015
- Read full review
-
- Critic Score
As with the previous three reissues, the pristine remastering removes a slight audio film that was still present after the 1992 versions. That’s especially obvious on the guitar parts of the more delicate songs but also shines a brighter light on John Bonham’s remarkable drumming that both grounded the band and pushed the other members into expanding their own boundaries.- American Songwriter
- Posted Nov 11, 2014
- Read full review
-
- Critic Score
Anyone who has somehow been immune to the late icon’s talents need only push play and let his showmanship, musicality and sheer star power wash over you to understand why he was such a legend. This captures it all and it has never looked or sounded better.- American Songwriter
- Posted Jun 30, 2022
- Read full review
-
- Critic Score
As with the previous three reissues, the pristine remastering removes a slight audio film that was still present after the 1992 versions. That’s especially obvious on the guitar parts of the more delicate songs but also shines a brighter light on John Bonham’s remarkable drumming that both grounded the band and pushed the other members into expanding their own boundaries.- American Songwriter
- Posted Nov 11, 2014
- Read full review
-
- Critic Score
Not many albums still stop you in your tracks after 25 years of listening. This one does. It’s a pure masterpiece, from beginning to end.- American Songwriter
- Posted Nov 10, 2017
- Read full review
-
- Critic Score
This mammoth box with 65 tracks (50 never heard before), features a stunning remix of the initial 11 songs from veteran producer Ed Stasium (who was on the shortlist to first helm the project). .... The “leftovers” are not just for hardcore fans either. Some alternate takes are as powerful, perhaps more so than what ended up on the finished release. .... Tim remains revelatory.- American Songwriter
- Posted Sep 29, 2023
- Read full review
-
- Critic Score
For Zappa obsessives, and you know who you are, it’s impossible to imagine a more thorough and exhaustive (maybe exhausting is a better word) examination of the artist and how his music was created—before the advent of digital technology– than this. Sit back, dig in and enjoy.- American Songwriter
- Posted Feb 5, 2020
- Read full review
-
- Critic Score
Dylan goes through an eight-song set of staggering quality (“Desolation Row,” “Just Like A Woman,” Visions Of Johanna,” and so on) with his interpretive skills at their peak and his hold over his audiences nothing short of mesmeric. Maybe only Dylan completists will shell out for a series of discs with repetitive set lists. Those completists will be getting a bargain.- American Songwriter
- Posted Jan 10, 2017
- Read full review
-
- Critic Score
While it doesn’t include some of his best post-jail efforts, the set documents the beginning of one of the greatest second acts in rock history.- American Songwriter
- Posted Sep 5, 2013
- Read full review
-
- Critic Score
Pixies’ full acceptance of the shifts in their schema only further solidify their inimitable identity. The exultant result: Head Carrier, a new classic.- American Songwriter
- Posted Sep 26, 2016
- Read full review
-
- Critic Score
It's a beautifully understated album of personal confessions, wandering thoughts and worldly observations, all rendered with the assurance of a naturally gifted vocalist, one who clearly has no need for auto-tune or other irritating tonal tampering devices.- American Songwriter
- Read full review
-
- Critic Score
To say the results probably exceeded anyone’s expectations is an understatement.- American Songwriter
- Posted Feb 14, 2020
- Read full review
-
- Critic Score
A fierce backing band, Okkervil River lends them drama, tension and a cinematic pomp that underscores the miraculous nature of Erickson's recovery.- American Songwriter
- Read full review
-
- Critic Score
Bruce Springsteen's Wrecking Ball is that rare release that manages to fulfill, defy, and exceed expectations all at once.- American Songwriter
- Posted Mar 5, 2012
- Read full review
-
- Critic Score
Few albums in recent memory are as thematically bold and cohesive as The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We. Mitski has a firm world built around her. Her identity as a musician has been long set in motion. Nevertheless, she flies past her own mark in this record, creating something more multifaceted than ever before.- American Songwriter
- Posted Sep 18, 2023
- Read full review
-
- Critic Score
A remarkable recording, it can easily be considered an album for the ages.- American Songwriter
- Posted Jul 27, 2023
- Read full review
-
- Critic Score
New liner notes from Barry Hansen provide essential background. But all you need is the music to understand that Arthur Alexander is one of the greatest “unknown” artists of the soul era, and one whose legacy is enhanced by this classy re-issue of one of his finest works.- American Songwriter
- Posted Aug 23, 2017
- Read full review
-
- Critic Score
As bright and warm a guitar-based indie pop album as that [debut album, Gorilla Manor] was, it left a fair amount of room for expansion and maturity. On second album Hummingbird, that growth is readily apparent from the first track.- American Songwriter
- Posted Jan 28, 2013
- Read full review
-
- Critic Score
Though this remastered 40th Anniversary Edition tightens and polishes every tone, L.A. Woman isn't exactly a studio marvel.- American Songwriter
- Posted Mar 9, 2012
- Read full review
-
- Critic Score
The band’s best, worst and WTF moments are on display — along with a lot in the middle — but there is little doubt that The Replacements deserve their place in American rock music history.- American Songwriter
- Posted Sep 24, 2019
- Read full review
-
- Critic Score
In the here and now, with Jump Rope Gazers, they are bounding past their contemporaries.- American Songwriter
- Posted Aug 17, 2020
- Read full review
-
- Critic Score
Some performers are more impressive on CD where their on-stage antics aren’t visible (we’re talking to you “Weird Al”) but the dedication to, and love for, Harrison’s music is infused in every track. That makes this a fitting testament to his music, a thoroughly enjoyable experience (in either its video or audio forms), and a splendid, at times superior, companion piece to its well-regarded predecessor.- American Songwriter
- Posted Feb 26, 2016
- Read full review
-
- Critic Score
It's geek rock's holy grail courtesy of the sub-genre's flagship band, and an album that, though rife with sincerity, songwriter Rivers Cuomo has seemed to run farther and farther away from ever since.- American Songwriter
- Posted Dec 15, 2010
- Read full review
-
- American Songwriter
- Posted Nov 12, 2014
- Read full review
-
- Critic Score
Carry On stuns from start to finish and the quality only increases with each repeat listen.- American Songwriter
- Posted Aug 19, 2013
- Read full review
-
- Critic Score
Recording in his Glasgow hometown helps provide a vibrant, unhurried enthusiasm that’s contagious. Each track is enhanced with guests periodically contributing horns, woodwinds, strings, and even French horns and glockenspiels.- American Songwriter
- Posted Feb 14, 2018
- Read full review
-
- Critic Score
Wise Up Ghost is a fearless, invigorating gut-punch of a record, one that never settles and surprises from start to finish.- American Songwriter
- Posted Sep 12, 2013
- Read full review
-
- Critic Score
There’s not a weak track in the dozen making this another candidate for blues release of the year from brothers who almost never got to play another note together. Making up for lost time never sounded so good.- American Songwriter
- Posted Sep 15, 2015
- Read full review