Why is the media always picking on the poor Black Crowes? That seems to be the band and their management's constant refrain. And because they don't like the press, they make it difficult for writers and editors to do their jobs. 

 Simple things like advance CDs and review tickets are antithetical to the Crowes's media-bashing personna.

This is why Maxim made the boo-boo of running a review of the Crowes upcoming Warpaint album without actually hearing it. If the Crowes provided the CD in watermarked form or simply as an online stream this never would have happene

Maxim was just trying to make sure they had the album covered. In lieu of receiving the actual music, they faked the review, giving the album 2-1/2 stars. Here's what they wrote:

"The Black Crowes already sounded like grizzled classic rockers on their 1990 debut. While it certainly was a neat trick for a bunch of wasted twenty-somethings to pull off, it hasn't left Chris Robinson and the gang much room for growth. Now that they're legitimately grizzled, they sound pretty much like they always have: boozy, competent, and in slavish debt to the Stones, the Allmans, and the Faces."

Not surprisingly, the band's hothead manager Pete Angelus went ballistic: 

'Of course, we always prefer 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.' It speaks directly to the lack of the publication's credibility. 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?"

Maxim's editorial director James Kaminsky offered the following apology:

"It is Maxim's editorial policy to assign star ratings only to those albums that have been heard in their entirety. Unfortunately, that policy was not followed in the March 2008 issue of our magazine and we apologize to our readers."

This wasn't enough for Angelus, who kicked up more dust:

"In my opinion, Maxim's fabrication of an album review is highly unethical and indefensible. This issue potentially pertains to all artists and their craft, and a publication which apparently has no respect for either. Maxim seems to continue in their attempt to deceive the public with their usage of the word 'entirety.' At the most, Maxim could have only heard the one complete song that has been released to radio, before publishing their 'album review.' It comes as no surprise that Maxim has elected to apologize to their readers now that the world has been informed of their deception; however, that is not full accountability. In my opinion, Maxim's 'apology' is self-serving damage control by failing to mention the Black Crowes. The appropriate action from Maxim is to immediately issue a public apology to the Black Crowes for disparaging both the band and their soon to be released new album Warpaint without having heard the material."

It is common music-industry practice to provide writers and editors with advance copies of albums for review purposes. Monthly magazine have long lead times. Without advances, they cannot review albums upon their release. Warpaint is coming out on March 4.

The Crowes have released the single, "Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution," in advance. It appears on Relix magazine's Feb./Mar. issue CD sampler. The Crowes are on the cover of the issue.

The song is reminiscent of the Crowes' best work. A CelebStoner insider has heard Warpaint and says it's comparable to the Crowes' second album Southern Harmony and Musical Companion, which is generally regarded as their recording peak. If Warpaint album is so good, why wouldn't the Crowes release it in advance. What are they afraid of?

Instead of complaining about Maxim's mistake, the Crowes need to "remedy" their poor relationship with the media. Otherwise, more mistakes like this one will continue to happen. 

Rolling Stone's review of Warpaint  

http://www.celebstoner.com/news/celebstoner-news/the-black-crowes-brouhaha
-with-maxim.html

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