Arturo Llamas Orenday <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>Hi list members: On reading all the topics on the list I have a question:
>I mean all the members are Musicians, I mean players, or what percent
>are, as I am, just a "passionate listener"?

Just from my experience on this list, I would say that passionate listeners
outnumber the trained musicians by a considerable margin, and that the
professional musicians (like myself who do nothing but make music for a
living) are even fewer.

>In that last case, What worthy could be our impressions about one
>determinate recording?  I mean, we can say "It's good" o "It isn't" But
>the question is Can we besome kind of musical critics JUST AND ONLY
>HEARING RECORDINGS?  I would like to know your opinions......  Thanks
>in Advance..

I think that if one listens only to recordings, and never any live
concerts, then he is not qualified to be a critic.  Studio wizardry can
do so much to enhance a recording, that nowadays, nearly anyone can sound
pretty good.  The tyranny of perfection that recordings have placed upon
live performances is ridiculous.  Recordings have created a false standard
that is nearly impossible to live up to on the stage, much to the
discouragement and detriment of live concerts, in my humble, but
professional opinion.

Kevin Sutton