Kevin Sutton wrote:

>I have to comment once again to all listers that if you haven't seen or
>read this magazine [ref. to the International Record Review], you
>must. It is IMHO, exactly what a music magazine should be.

IRR is one of the most interesting completely derivative publications I've
seen.  It looks almost exactly like someone took Gramophone and said:

1)  Hmm, too many typefaces, let's pick one and stick to it.

2) Too many illustrations, not enough text.  Remove illustrations, replace
with text.  Imagine a glossy magazine in the year 2000 that has several
straight pages of plain text.

3) Hmm, people really like having the recording index in the front--let's
put it right there in the front and not move the thing around.  And put all
the writer info there.  And web sites.  And new releases.  Strangest thing
I've ever seen--everything you want to get to easily is right there, smack
in the front, with typography that seems strangely intended for actual
reading.  (Is there anyone out there that is capable of reading the reissue
column in Gramophone now that it has been hacked and mangled by a group of
drugged Wired graphics department rejects?)

4) Since we've now increased the IQ of the magazine, we're probably going
to have a readership with a higher IQ, so the reviews can be intelligent
and not talk down to anyone (Although the review recent issue featured a
painfully overwritten review of Hilary Hahn's Barber/Meyer CD--although my
opinion may be strongly influenced by the fact that it lauded the Meyer
piece, which sounded to me like half an hour of undeveloped patented Sony
crossover-intended violin noodling.)

In short, for anyone unfamiliar with IRR who is wondering what it is
like--just pull out a recent issue of Gramophone, make a list of everything
annoying about that issue, and then imagine all those annoyances purged or
corrected.  Then you'll know what IRR is like.  ;)

It doesn't replace ARG or Fanfare, but renders Gramophone completely
dispensable, unless you have an affection for a particular writer.

Jason