The Smiley Smile Message Board

Not sure if there is a  consolidated thread for press reviews yet, or whether it's necessary but here goes anyway.

3 1/2 stars and a very positive review from All Music:

http://www.allmusic.com/album/thats-why-god-made-the-radio-mw0002362118


And looking slightly jaundiced on Metacritic (although early days to be fair):

http://www.metacritic.com/music/thats-why-god-made-the-radio


Guardian (3 stars), for anyone that missed it:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/may/31/beach-boys-thats-why-review

Independent (3 stars):

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-the-beach-boys-thats-why-god-made-the-radio-capitol-7813308.html

 
Gotta love hate metacritic

 ;D

All Music is usually my go-to site for reviews, but the grammar in that article was appalling!

I just read this and realized that the lyric in Spring Vacation is "Easy Money" NOT "Peas And Honey"...I knew that couldn't be right, but I kept listening over and over and couldn't decipher it.  Now I know!  :-D

i thought it was "Bees and Honey" for a while.

heeeyyyy 3.5/5 from allmusic is pretty good.  i'm not gonna look at metacritic too much.  I don't think it's gonna get much better than 3/5

allmusic gives 4/5 to almost anything that gets released. It gives 4.5 and 5 to many that dont deserve it. Slightly optimistic critics at that site for my taste but great for the group!  ;D

They gave 2/5 to a great Rufus wainwright album and some really good mando diao albums.  So I have my issues with them ha.  I think TLOS got a 3/5 from them

MIU, LA and The Beach Boys (1985) each got 2 stars on AllMusic. KTSA got 1.5.

TLOS got a 2.5 actually which I thought was crazy.

in the allmusic listing for TWGMTR, Beaches in Mind is checked off as one of the four best tracks! Suck it all you haters!! That is an AWESOME song!!! (as are the rest on the album)

Why the hate for Metacritic itself? It's just a compendium. Do you hate Rotten Tomatoes also?

I don't understand, metacritic says the Independent gave the album a forty, when this link says it received three out of five stars.  Hmm...

I'm pretty happy with the allmusic review.  I don't particularly like that site at all, but they seem to rate nearly everything and people seem to see it.  So a three and a half out of four stars is really quite good. 

It's actually on a 5-star scale.

Because everyone is an asshole.

Oops. I meant five. Typo.

Read the quote in fatheroftheman's post and it might make more sense. I don't think anyone actually hates Metacritic.

Confusingly the independent have given the album two separate reviews: one rated two stars and the other rated three. Metacritic are listing the lower score.

What the heck! That's not fair! That's bringing the average down!  >:(

I imagine one will have been in the Independent and one in The Independent On Sunday, which has a totally different editorial staff but shares the same website.

Amazing review in the New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/05/arts/music/new-releases-from-the-beach-boys-and-alan-jackson.html?ref=arts

And another positive one from PopMatters:

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/159260-the-beach-boys-thats-why-god-made-the-radio/

cbs news: very positive
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501368_162-57446660/review-brian-wilson-writes-new-beach-boys-album/
usa today: also positive
http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/reviews/story/2012-06-04/beach-boys-thats-why-god-made-the-radio/55385752/1

So, does metacritic simply ignore the reviews without numbers?

Nope. It included the NYTimes review, ranking it as a 70 (which seems a bit low). They do not include all media outlets, though.

How did they figure it was a 70, if I may ask?

Ask them.  :P

Seems a bit shady...

Taking a break from starting threads here. Right now Metacritic is using Rolling Stone's review of the single for the album score. I would think on release day we'll see a flood of reviews and I predict  the album will end up with a score in the mid 70s.

i think mid 60's top.  but that's perfectly fine

good review from the Oasis' fan site version of us

http://www.live4ever.uk.com/2012/06/review-the-beach-boys-thats-why-god-made-the-radio/

Has no one yet mentioned the review in Rolling Stone? I couldn't seem to find it online but saw the magazine and it gave it 3 stars.
What a ridiculous history of reviews....online it now rates most of their albums differently. Summer Days 2 stars???????

Pretty good read

Weird how the magazine review is done, but the website's not uploaded.

The Onion's AV Club gave it a C+ this morning, but had some complimentary things to say about it. The comments, though, reveal the uphill battle to convince non-fans to give it a chance. On a sunnier note, I got the number two review on iTunes...and the reviews there are almost all terrific.

Here's Time magazine's review, which is actually Consequence of Sound's review

http://entertainment.time.com/2012/06/05/beach-boys-new-album-timeless-harmonies-for-changing-times/

"Girl Don't Tell Me", "Help Me, Rhonda", "California Girls", "Let Him Run Wild", "Summer Means New Love", "And Your Dreams Come True" = total trash.

Well, let's face it, the Beach Boys put this upon themselves. The new album is in no way, objectively, a 10/10 or 9/10 or whatever. It's like one of Paul McCartney's better solo albums in the last two decades - fans will dig it, but the mom that listened to Help when she was growing up won't care.

""Girl Don't Tell Me", "Help Me, Rhonda", "California Girls", "Let Him Run Wild", "Summer Means New Love", "And Your Dreams Come True" = total trash."

For a magazine with an audience that revels in the notion that their dicks are really guitars, or vice versa, this doesn't come as a surprise.

Part of me can't help but think that a 50th anniversary reunion album is there to be shot down, particularly when several of the songs are the kind of poppy stuff you wouldn't associate with 70 year old men, and which are in no way anywhere near as good as the poppy stuff they did in their heyday.  However, some of the other stuff goes well beyond what I expected. This is the Beach Boys, however. They aren't and never were cool except to people in the know. Another, more modern band, let's say, could release a string of albums that trade on the same kind of riffs that their first two or three did - variations on their slow song; variations on their fast song; variations on their arty song - but, hey, they're a 'guitar band' and they're 'lads' and, for whatever reason, they're 'cool' amongst music media types and they'd get a good review. In retrospect, the Guardian review isn't that bad, although it gets a couple of songs dead wrong.

As much as I can't stand some of the production - particularly the fucking awful drums on some songs - I'll go with AGD and say this is their best album since Holland (not counting Love You).

No review so far on the BBC site, in fact no mention of the new album at all in their music section, very strange.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2012/06/album-review-the-beach-boys-thats-why-god-made-the-radio.html

from my little home town paper.

very good.

daybreak and Beaches not getting lots of love; any positivereviews of them avail.

I think this is a monster album. front page on Rhapsody

when does Billboear weigh in?

i wanted to skip beaches in mind immediately when the drums kicked in.  I stuck with it though, against my natural instincts.

There is a nice review on beachboys.com (http://beachboys.com), gives it a four star rating.

Listening to the album now:

1. Think about the Days: Nice harmonies. Kinda wish it was all a capella though. 6/10.

2. That's Why God Made the Radio: Song sounds nicer here. Not sure why. Still as good as it was when I first heard it. 8/10.

3. Isn't it Time: Really nice catchy song. Like the middle eight, comes out of nowhere in a good way. Can see why this is going to be the second single. 7/10.

4. Spring Vacation: Love the intro. Really love the melody of this song. Lyrics aren't the greatest but the music makes up for it. 7/10.

5. The Private Life of Bill and Sue: Has a tropical feel to it which is kinda out of place and what was with the end lol? I like the chorus though. 6/10.

6. Shelter: Love the part leading to the chorus. Very heart warming chorus by the way. Really nice tune right up to the awesome tag. 7/10.

7. Daybreak over the Ocean: Kinda uninspired. Not a fan. Instrumental break is nice however. 5/10.

8. Beaches in Mind: A really uninspired song. All there is to say. 4/10.

9. Strange World: Really like the verses here. Love how the chorus goes into the verse. Nice little piece. Like the ending. 6/10.

10. From there to Back Again: Classic Brian. This sounds like a Pet Sounds song combined with a Today! side 2 piece. The starts and stops in the middle are great. Proof that Brian never lost it. Great ending. 9/10.

11. Pacific Coast Highway: Nice little reprise to Think about the Days at the beginning here. Kinda like how Our Prayer ends In Blue Hawaii. Sounds like something but I can't put my finger on it (maybe Pacific Ocean Blue). Nice little interlude. 6/10.

12. Summer's Gone: Really nice closer that features the classic Beach Boys harmonies. Have to remember not to listen to this right when the semester starts or I will ball my eyes out lol. Ending gave me chills. Great closer 7/10

Overall, I give the album 7/10. Good album that could've been great if some clunkers had been removed.

The problem with Beaches In Mind is that the thing is just too dang slow. I see it as the nominal rocker on the album as indicated by the squonky  Jeff Baxter guitar and heavy beat  (really hate that guitar sound on a BBs album  BTW) The thing is- it just don't ROCK enough. If they could have simply sped up the tempo a bit, it would have stood out from the other tracks much better and could have been a nice change-of-pace track. What they they have here is a bit of a white elephant- a rocker that simply doesn't rock. They should have gone balls out on this one like they would have done back in the day.

I really like that review. Short and sweet

General consensus of the reviewers seem to be:

BW has put magic into everything he touched.
Mike Love has put sulphuric acid into everything he touched.

Seems like most be hatin' on ML, which is ofc okey and everyone is used to it by now. His contributions pull the album down without a doubt and that mid section of songs are generally pointed out by critics to be weaker than the opening track or the final suite.

Basically means the Beach Boys struggle to create good upbeat songs while they can excel at writing slower songs. I guess the idea of upbeat rockers at the age of 70 is something many might cringe at... (Like I do when I hear Spring Vavation  :ahh)

The New York Times loves it:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/05/arts/music/new-releases-from-the-beach-boys-and-alan-jackson.html?_r=1&ref=arts

USA Today's review

http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/reviews/story/2012-06-04/beach-boys-thats-why-god-made-the-radio/55385752/1

Rolling Stone:
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/thats-why-god-made-the-radio-20120605

Paste Magazine (6/10):

http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2012/06/the-beach-boys-thats-why-god-made-the-radio.html

Rolling Stone is sh*t.

That's all I got.

The "Mike is poo" tone of the Paste magazine is getting really tiresome.

I'm dying for Pitchfork's take on the album, I just listened, and wow.  I mean wow.  Some really spectacular stuff, I was blown away.

Here's another one:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2891911/posts

So Pitchfork has still failed to review the thing, maybe they're not going to?

i think they stretch tuesday album releases across the week they came out.

Good one from Bob Lefsetz news letter...

Paul McCartney should be quaking in his boots.

This record should be unlistenable, a complete waste of time, Brian hasn't done anything good since 1998's "Imagination". That's the only time he recaptured the original Beach Boys sound, when he worked with Joe Thomas.

He worked with Joe Thomas again.

I had zero hopes for this album. The last two times I ran into Brian Wilson:

1. He hung his head on the table at the BMI dinner, even though he was the one being honored.

2. He wouldn't reveal a single detail about this album, as if he worked for the CIA and would be shot if anything came out.

And seeing him live is almost creepy. It's really the Jeffrey Foskett show. Sometimes I think it would be better if Brian didn't even show up.

As for this reunion and tour... If you don't think it's about the money, you've got enough. Brian's played it out live, he can do clubs at best. So, he buried the hatchet with his "brothers" and is on a tour that I refuse to attend, to see Brian catatonic at a keyboard he doesn't even play. As for the Grammy performance...who knew Mike Love couldn't hit the notes either?

But there are elements on "That's Why God Made The Radio" that are so right, so perfect, so melodic, so joyous, they transcend not only Top Forty radio, but everything in the marketplace.

You see Brian still hears the sounds in his head. And with the right interpreter, in this case Joe Thomas, he can lay them down on tape.

Ignore most of the Mike Love stuff, about half the album is disposable. But drill down to certain tracks and you'll become speechless. How did they get such beauty, how did Brian Wilson concoct a timeless sound that would fit perfectly on the Beach Boys' sixties albums yet doesn't seem dated today?

I'd start with "Pacific Coast Highway".

Those multi-voice harmonies, I don't know anybody who can still do this, and make it sound so rich.

And what is that, a french horn?

And then Brian starts to sing... And his imperfect voice finally works, it's found its space. His age and inability to be as sweet as he used to reminds us all that we age, and even though we may be pushing seventy, that doesn't mean we have nothing to say...

"Driving down Pacific Coast..."

Have you ever done this? With the top down and the wind blowing in your hair? You feel like the rest of the world doesn't matter, you feel utterly happy to be alive. Brian captures this, along with the bittersweet feeling that it won't be forever.

Isn't this what music's supposed to do? Touch our hearts and souls, set our minds free, so they can reflect on times gone and yet to come?

No one else could even write these changes, never mind make them work.

And be sure to stay until the 1:20 mark, when the above words are sung... It's like an angel, the voice of God, has come out from the wings to reveal truth. Utterly astounding. "Pacific Coast Highway" may only be 1:47, but that's enough, it's not too short, it's not unfinished, it's just right, you want, you need to hear it again and again and again.

After "Pacific Coast Highway" I'd go to the top of the album, "Think About The Days". The Eagles tried this with their last album, opening up with a rich, quiet a cappella number, but now you know where Henley gets it, Brian Wilson doubles down and trumps the band that owns the biggest selling album of all time. It's like you're lifted from your chair and carried over the landscape, in a bubble, only you and the music, no one else. There are no distractions, you can only observe. The human condition is a lonely one, it's a search for connection. Music, when done right, does this better than any artistic medium, even better than conversation. You feel touched by Wilson's magic wand.

And now we go to the third cut, "Isn't It Time", whose title is so close to the superior "It's About Time" from "Sunflower", and it's not as good as what comes before, but the chorus, harmonies and changes beginning just before forty seconds in...this is the Beach Boys sound, something we've given up on hearing again. But the piece de resistance comes at 1:15, I ask you, who else can concoct such a satisfying vocal blend?

And speaking of vocal blends... When you hear the band sing the chorus of "Beaches In Mind", which starts this song, you'll smile. It's just a snippet of the song, but it's so great it puts a smile on your face and makes the rest of your record collection irrelevant.

And I'll throw in "Strange World", maybe because it mentions the Santa Monica Pier, and unlike too many tracks today, the verse actually has a melody. "Strange World" is one of those strange songs where the elements are better than the whole. There are bite-sized nuggets spread throughout. So many songs today are unfinished. But it's the change at the end of the verse that grabs you. Who else takes such risks? NO ONE!

And then there's the single, "That's Why God Made The Radio". Yes, Brian Wilson wasn't made for these times, who listens to the radio anymore? They're talking on the phone, texting... The sixties are done. Or are they?

I bought every Beach Boys album until "Friends". I kept waiting for them to recapture the magic, but Brian faded away and the albums became uneven. Then there was a resurgence with the aforementioned "Sunflower" and I've never given up hope. Kind of the same way you always believe your best days are in front of you, despite all the evidence to the contrary. You see we run on hope. And music. And somehow, Brian Wilson has regained hope, which has allowed him to bestow such great music upon us once again.

There's no "California Girls", not even a "Help Me Rhonda". But there are so many snippets, little pops and crackles of Brian Wilson genius, that not only are you thrilled, you too have hope, that our best days are ahead of us. Hell, if Brian Wilson can deliver, come back from the dead and show that not only has he not lost it, he's still better than just about everybody else, what can you do?

Skip the live show, ignore the reviews, if you were never a Beach Boys fan, move right along. But if you bought the albums, if you lived for more than the hits, your jaw will drop, you will be absolutely stunned. That sound is still there. Brian is still here.

Spotify link: http://spoti.fi/NFTpDV

"Brian hasn't done anything good since 1998's "Imagination". That's the only time he recaptured the original Beach Boys sound, when he worked with Joe Thomas."

Wow. So wrong.

Tell us what you think of the other 99.9% of his review?  ;D

Regarding the Bob Lefsetz review....It's one of the best I've read. The truth hurts sometimes when you're discussing Brian Wilson, because of his problems and because he has given us so much happiness. I don't agree with everything Bob wrote, but I like his insights into the past and present BW/BB world. He's pretty positive about this album...and the future, isn't he? It's funny how the FUTURE keeps cropping up.

Sad to say, I just cannot imagine them digging this record.

I'm dying to know what their fellow musicians think of the album. You know-- all the people who have gone on record as fans of Brian's genius in particular. Neil Young, Paul McCartney, Tom Petty, David Crosby, ....

I don't know. I somehow feel they might appreciate it, and enjoy it.  They're not dismissive of the band's early work, they gave the ridiculous singles collection an 8.5. I expect something in the 7's.

Frankly, I'm just glad we finally got a Beach Boys-related album that they're not on! ;D

Yes!

Entertainment Weekly's a B+ ...

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20601585,00.html


Yeah, but early work does not equal a 70-year-old Mike Love trying to recapture that.

If we're lucky, it's in the 5s. I think it could be as low as the 2s. Really.

I wholeheartedly disagree! Those last four tracks will most definitely have an impact on Pitchfork. The same two or three guys review all the Beach Boys' stuff and they're genuine fans.  They're not going to give this anywhere near a two. Pitchfork ain't as mean and nasty as everybody thinks.

I'd say that they're getting pretty decent reviews for a band that's been "over the hill" for 45 years now. ;D

Nah, I think the end songs earn at least a 4-5 from them.  It's the other tunes that I'm not sure how they'll go over.  One thing about this album, I think people realize they don't have to be nice.

So you think they'll only give this album one or two points higher than 15 Big Ones?

So, this is the moronic stuff that dips that Metacritic score so low.  Two stars and a 40 from NOW magazine, which had this to say about the album:

"As an early member of the Beach Boys, a 15-year-old David Marks introduced the band to the drugs and drinking that would ultimately lead to the downfall of Brian Wilson and his brothers Carl and Dennis. But at least Marks was interested in trying new things, which is more than you can say for Mike Love.

Both Marks and Love are back for the 50th anniversary tour and 29th album of new material. Granted, not much of it sounds all that new. Though names like Joe Thomas, Wilson’s innovative 1980s producer, and Bon Jovi appear, this is very much Love’s project. And since Ronald Reagan-lite Love thinks the Beach Boys’ best period was their most profitable, we get bankable early 60s simplicity and zero evidence that these guys were once the coolest, funniest, strangest guys in music.

There are a few moments where Wilson is left alone to be his idiosyncratic self, like on the lonely Pacific Coast Highway and oddball The Private Life Of Bill And Sue. But most of the album is moronic Mike Love nostalgia that makes Kokomo sound good in retrospect."

http://www.nowtoronto.com/music/discs.cfm?content=187115

How the heck does this crap count? Marks introduced the drugs?!  :lol Mike Love was in charge of this? Joe Thomas is Brian's 1980's innovative producer? What else did this idiot get wrong? Perhaps this is why people hate Metacritic, because drudge like this gets thrown into the average.  I'm not one to obsess over reviews or scores, but I'd sure  enjoy to see my favorite band be critically acclaimed and get the respect they deserve.  This stuff really makes me mad, though.

People magazine gave it a 3/4 saying "A few cloudy patches like "Spring vacation" bit songs like "PCH" make up for it"

They also love "BIM" :p

Wow, just wow.  David Marks introduced them to drugs?  Mike Love had a hand in writing what, four songs? 

All you can do is laugh.  We live in the wikipedia age and still this stuff makes it through.

Disgusting. Overdramatic narrative trumping (the more interesting)  reality. And the politicization of everything(Ronald Reagan-lite? a rock star? Come the f*** on.) is making me sick.

Looks like Pitchfork won't be running a review.

A very favourable review from Holymoly.com

http://www.holymoly.com/music/reviews/beach-boys-thats-why-god-made-radio-album-make-you-smile63286?

I'm so disappointed by this. Why not?

Pitchfork is scared. No group combines hipness with corniness like the BBs. It has to give Pitchfork's tastemakers brain aneurysms. They have to love the experimental, drugged out SMiLE skits, but hate the intro to "TM Song", all while praising the craziness of Smiley Smile and slagging off the demented piano and spooky ambiance of "Let the Wind Blow". It makes no sense, but they have an image to keep up. How the hell are they supposed to handle this album? Is "Strange World" Polyphonic Spree/Flaming Lips quality musing, or a Disney soundtrack outtake? There would be too much at stake answering a question like that.

Just my guess, given that they didn't do it last week or this week. It seems old to bring it up next, but maybe they will.

But yeah, I agree with Dada ... the album is difficult to critique using their usual standards. Because it's easily 4 or lower if you focus on the Love lyrics, slick production, etc. But you could give it something in the 7s or maybe higher if you focused on the quirky Brian, closing suite aspects. I suspect they're just avoiding it by calling it a piece of 50th anniversary hype.

I don't think you understand that there are multiple reviewers on the site, who don't have the exact same opinion.

Tastemakers is plural. I get that they have multiple reviewers, but I believe they work together to an extent to protect Pitchfork's image. Yeah, one might have cool reasons for hating Bjork while another loves Bjork, but it's all done within the confines of acceptable hip opinion.

I'm going to try and contact either Mark Richardson or Dominique Leone, who both have written wonderful pieces on the band for Pitchfork. Richardson wrote the Smile Sessions review, and his staff list names Surf's Up as the greatest song of the 60's.

EDIT: Just sent Pitchfork's website email address and Richardson both emails, we'll see what they say.  Richardson's the editor in chief, so he holds the cards when it comes to this stuff.

Not really a review, but a nice write up about the tour and the album on HitsDailyDouble.com again.

http://www.hitsdailydouble.com/news/newsPage.cgi?news09008

Just wondering, will MOJO be reviewing this?

A very well written review by Joe Marchese at The Second Disc:

http://theseconddisc.com/2012/06/05/catch-a-wave-special-review-the-beach-boys-thats-why-god-made-the-radio/#more-14700

(P.S.  An excellent website...well worth the bookmark!)

I thought this one was a pretyy honest review, although not giving enough mention to the suite on the latter parts of the album.

http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/Beach+Boys+Those+lazy+days+summer/6728030/story.html


The Beach Boys
 
That’s Why God Made the Radio
 
Capitol
 
three out of five
 
It’s hard not to feel a bit insulted as the reunited Beach Boys tip their hand about this whole 50th-anniversary venture four songs in on their first album in 20 years to feature new material.
 
“Summer weather / We’re back together / Easy money, ain’t life funny / Hey what’s it to ya / Hallelujah,” sing Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine and Bruce Johnston, with early member David Marks on guitar, in Spring Vacation.
 
For the most part, this shallow-end disc takes the easy way out suggested by those nose-thumbing lines, wallowing in trite lyrics about carefree days on the beach, summer romances and general nostalgia. The music often follows suit, helped along by slick arrangements and sanded-down production. (Wilson is credited as producer, with Love as executive producer.)
 
The album’s title track has been around for over a month, and it’s quite the stunner, harmonically and melodically. Even though the song’s lyrics bizarrely use the present tense to evoke a world where the car radio provides life’s soundtrack, it’s a beautiful vision of what the whole album might have been.
 
But hope fades slightly with opening track Think About the Days, as fully intact voices wrap themselves around sweet, wordless harmony and then blemish the moment with Muzak piano tinkling.
 
The glory days are frequently brought up: Good Vibrations is cheaply alluded to in Spring Vacation, Darlin’ is lazily rewritten in the chorus of Shelter and Daybreak Over the Ocean seems, at points, reminiscent of Breakaway. Problem is, this album – which is not nearly as satisfying as Wilson’s 2008 solo disc That Lucky Old Sun – doesn’t belong in the company of classics. Isn’t it a mistake, then, to keep reminding us of the back catalogue?
 
And yet, let’s face it: those harmonies! It’s impossible not to get swept away when they launch the chorus of the otherwise pedestrian The Private Life of Bill and Sue straight to the stars or elevate the already-wonderful Strange World into pop heaven. The years seem to have done no damage to that incomparable vocal blend.
 
More redemption comes with From There to Back Again, an unusual Wilson suite that could have been a true contender with a riskier arrangement. But the general feeling here is that no one really wants to make waves.
 
More’s the pity.
 
Podworthy: That’s Why God Made the Radio

I just realized when the reviewers kind of get negative like this in their review, it probably actually HELPS sell albums.  He just described a damn good album to me. 

Nice thing about the People review, they include a small pic of the current BBs, along with one from the early 1970's; plus Rita Wilson's ( is she a cousin?) favorite BBs song!   

    (http://i730.photobucket.com/albums/ww302/bgasnow/scan0001-15.jpg)

Of course Pitbull likes Kokomo best.  ::)

Well he is 'Mr. Worldwide.'

Review from the BBC, not very positive and is actually quite a poor review given that they don't even bother mentioning any of the songs: http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/h6j9 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/h6j9)

WHAT?!