[JimmyM]

I don't personally think that is a hatchet job - the quote seems harsh, but it's not the full extent of the review.

> The sublime moments come when Donen calms down and concentrates on melody.

That's a pretty glowing quote!

Overall, the review gives two stars - bad, but not exactly a hatchet job. The criticisms are fair, and well-justified - and Syd Barrett is a pretty cool point of comparison. If anything, I would say it suggests that the hatchet job really is dead if this is the worst that can be found - it's negative, but it really works to justify its negativity and struggles throughout to pick out bright spots.

A hatchet job, in my opinion, must be unremittingly & deliberately brutal, or slash quickly and leave the target all-but-beheaded. Coldplay saw many examples of the former, as reviewers struggled to explain why mediocrity in sufficient quantity became something somehow worse, while I think it was Terrorizer magazine (maybe Metal Hammer?) who managed a one-word review of Fall Out Boy.

[ghaff]

"Hatchet job" carries an implication of more than just a brutal/negative review. It suggests a critique that's done for malicious reasons or in support of a pre-ordained conclusion. Of course, that's often in the eye of the beholder--if you're on the receiving end of a particular biting critique you probably don't think it's fair.

[StavrosK]

What was the word?

[JimmyM]

It began with 'C', I don't like to use or even mention it when there may be Americans present, and it was plural...

I never said it was a particularly clever review. Although it did seem heartfelt.

[StavrosK]

Oh, ouch.