HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — The Black Crowes are taking aim at Maxim magazine for writing a review of the band’s latest release — apparently without actually hearing it.
A review of “Warpaint,” the band’s first album in seven years, appears in Maxim’s March issue, receiving a rating of two-and-a-half stars out of five. But the Black Crowes are now calling out the men’s pub for what they consider a mysterious album review.
In a statement posted on the band’s Web site, the rockers ask, “How is it that a magazine can review an entire album — and assign a star rating to it — without actually hearing the album?”
“The writer — who has not heard the album since advance CDs were not made available — wrote what appears to be a disparaging assessment anyway, citing, ‘it hasn’t left Chris Robinson and the gang much room for growth,’ ” the statement continued.
The band’s manager, Pete Angelus, said the magazine explained that its review was an “educated guess.”
“It speaks directly to the lack of the publication’s credibility,” Angelus said in a statement. “In my opinion, it’s a disgrace to the arts, journalism, critics, the publication itself and the public. What’s next — Maxim’s concert reviews of shows they never attended, book reviews of books never read and film reviews of films never seen?”
The statement says the band received an email response from Maxim, explaining, “Of course, we always prefer to (sic) hearing music, but sometimes there are big albums that we don’t want to ignore that aren’t available to hear, which is what happened with the Crowes. It’s either an educated guess preview or no coverage at all, so in this case we chose the former.’ “
The Associated Press reports Maxim later released a statement in response, saying, “Maxim will continue to provide our readers with information that is important to them, whether it is about fashion, lifestyle, technology, music, movies and more.”
“Warpaint” is set to be released on March 4.
