To review a music album, I start by listening to the album in its entirety to get a sense of the overall sound and direction of the music. As I listen, I pay attention to the different songs and their individual strengths and weaknesses, as well as the lyrics and how they contribute to the overall feel of the album.
Once I have a good understanding of the album, I can start writing my review. I begin by providing some basic information about the album, such as
- the artist,
- the release date,
- and the genre of music.
Then, I provide a brief overview of
- my overall impression of the album,
- highlighting its strengths
- and weaknesses.
If something stands out, I lean towards discussing an individual song or more on the album, providing my thoughts on it and how it contributes to the overall feel of the album. I try to provide specific examples to support my points, and avoid using overly technical language or jargon that readers may find confusing.
Finally, I conclude my review by summarizing your overall thoughts on the album and providing a recommendation for whether or not others should listen to it. Keep in mind that my review tries to be objective and fair, even if I didn't personally enjoy the album but it is indeed my own opinion due to my interpretation.
For example, I would assign a weight of
- a weight of 30% to the quality of the production (that is, suited for the genre/sound of the album, in my opinion),
- a weight of 20% to the songwriting,
- a weight of 20% to the album-art,
- a weight of 15% to the musicianship, and
- a weight of 15% to the album's originality.
To calculate the overall score, I would first evaluate each factor on a scale of 0-100 and then multiply it by the corresponding weight. For example, if I give the album a score of 90 for the quality of the production (30% weight), 80 for the songwriting (20% weight), 70 for the album-art (20% weight), 60 for the musicianship (15% weight), and 50 for the originality (15% weight), the overall score would be calculated as follows: