New York Daily News (Jim Faber)'s Scores

  • Music
Select another publication »
For 136 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 46% higher than the average critic
  • 0% same as the average critic
  • 54% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 6.7 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Music review score: 66
Highest review score: 100 Miles Davis at Newport: 1955-1975 The Bootleg Series, Vol. 4
Lowest review score: 0 Grand Romantic
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 61 out of 136
  2. Mixed: 73 out of 136
  3. Negative: 2 out of 136
136 music reviews
view
per page
    • 68 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Man Against Machine
    The lyrics also circle the wagons, settling on eye-glazing tales of football heroes gone to war, men who realize it’s more fulfilling to fish than to climb the corporate ladder, and piercing realizations like “the answer lies in people loving people.”
    • 60 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Smoke + Mirrors
    Ultimately, the strategy backfires. The Dragons’ approach may help them conjure effective public environments, but they’re devoid of personal expression.
    • 55 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    V
    The hooks on the album are memorable mainly for the wrong reason; They’re so annoying, you won’t be able to scrub them from your mind.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Symphonica
    There’s no getting around the fact that his versions of “Feeling Good” or “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” pale compared to those of Nina Simone and Roberta Flack.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Kill the Lights
    He serves up several ballads, which salute hunting, fishing, and scarecrows. None are particularly convincing, given the anchor-man blandness of Bryan’s vocals.
    • 45 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    A.K.A.
    A.K.A. finds J.Lo throwing anything she can at the wall to see what sticks.
    • 53 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Mobile Orchestra
    The artist widened his palette this time, bringing in the country singer Jake Owen on one track, and soul star Aloe Blacc on a song that aims to repeat the magic Blacc struck on Aviici’s “Wake Me Up.” Unfortunately, Young’s nerdy sensibility kills that.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    The Great Unknown
    The songs offer few individualized lyrical details, and no consistent themes, to pin on a particular person. The arrangements, likewise, have a slick adaptability that makes these songs serviceable cover material for any pop star of the hour.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    First Kiss
    Kid obviously lusts for the Man in Black’s bad boy image, but he ignores the demons that fueled it. Even the album’s production misses its role model’s core.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    High Hopes
    Nearly all the tracks on High Hopes are wildly overproduced and arranged, leaving no room to rock.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Ghost Stories
    If the new music has the consistency of loose porridge, the lyrics prove just as watered down.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Corazón
    Like most star collaborations, this one shoehorns in some ill-suited, name-brand guests--like Gloria Estefan and R&B’s Miguel. Santana’s glistening leads compete with, rather than complement, these artists. Some tracks feel as awkward as Match.com first dates.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Ultraviolence
    The sound is so dense it threatens to asphyxiate the singer, which may just be the point. Everything about her work plays into fantasies of a potentially fatal manipulation.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 20 Critic Score
    The Monsanto Years
    The new [album] sinks decent riffs and an earnest message in unlistenably didactic lyrics.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 0 Critic Score
    Grand Romantic
    Ruess’ voice has great volume, but no body. There’s no roundness, or richness, to his tone. It’s all hard angles, offering no cushion for the screech. Worse, he often pushes his voice beyond its bounds, in the process making him sound as pinched as Alvin or one of the Chipmunks.
next
Page: