The Observer (UK)'s Scores

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For 2,623 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 37% higher than the average critic
  • 4% same as the average critic
  • 59% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 4.9 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Music review score: 68
Highest review score: 100 Gold-Diggers Sound
Lowest review score: 20 Collections
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,235 out of 2623
  2. Mixed: 1,370 out of 2623
  3. Negative: 18 out of 2623
2623 music reviews
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    • 60 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Natural History
    Souther sings in a mid-70s croon, tuneful but grain-free and, for a man inspired by Roy Orbison, oddly unemotional.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Better Day
    Forty-four years as a recording artist have not diminished Parton's sass.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Two of Everything
    You could argue retro soul and R&B are two of the decade's hegemonic sounds, but there's no vamping here. Rather, songs such as "Go On Easy" glide by in an opiated glaze, while "Strange Attracter" makes unexpectedly groovy use of the bagpipes.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    4
    Only the syrupy "I Was Here" disappoints, its corny bluster at odds with the laid-back feel of her most accomplished album yet.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    The Head and the Heart
    They may have plenty of heart but their heads are lost in the clouds.
    • 34 Metascore
    • 20 Critic Score
    Famous First Words
    Ultimately, Famous First Words sets the cause of resurgent guitar rock back… ooh, a good 20 years.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Satisfied at Last
    Now 64, Ely still sings with agility and swagger, though retrospection and mortality tie together the songs here.
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