Talk:Almost Blue

This review is transcluded from Talk:Almost Blue/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Reviewer: BennyOnTheLoose (talk · contribs) 22:59, 26 October 2022 (UTC)Reply

GA review (see here for what the criteria are, and here for what they are not)
It is reasonably well written. a (prose, spelling, and grammar): b (MoS for lead, layout, word choice, fiction, and lists): It is factually accurate and verifiable. a (references): b (citations to reliable sources): c (OR): {{GAList/check|}y} d (copyvio and plagiarism): It is broad in its coverage. a (major aspects): b (focused): It follows the neutral point of view policy. Fair representation without bias: It is stable. No edit wars, etc.: It is illustrated by images, where possible and appropriate. a (images are tagged and non-free images have fair use rationales): b (appropriate use with suitable captions):
Overall: Pass/Fail:
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Feel free to challenge any of my comments. Regards, BennyOnTheLoose (talk) 23:56, 26 October 2022 (UTC)Reply

Copyvio check

• I reviewed all the matches over 15% found using Earwig's Copyvio Detector. No concerns.

Images

• I don't see support for the caption "Before Almost Blue, Costello recorded multiple projects with country singer George Jones" in the body of the text. (only the duet on"Stranger in the House" )

• Fixed

• FUR is OK for the album cover, the other two images seem to be legitimately PD. Alt text could be added for the album cover. (MOS:ALT). Image positioning and the other captions are OK.

• Added

Background

• "By 1981, Elvis Costello had experimented with country music throughout his entire career" - doesn't read quite right to me. Maybe something like ""Elvis Costello had experimented with country music throughout his entire career to 1981"?

• Done

• "The weaker commercial performances of both Get Happy!! (1980) and Trust (1981)" - weaker than what? (it's only later, in his quote, that we find out)

• That better? – zmbro _{(talk) (cont)} 22:06, 28 October 2022 (UTC)Reply

• Yep. BennyOnTheLoose (talk) 22:52, 29 October 2022 (UTC)Reply

• "his current thoughts into his own music" - maybe "in" rather than "into"?

• Done

• having already established himself as, in biographer Graeme Thomson's words, "the finest songwriter among his peers." - this is quite a stong statement to be supported only by a single biographer's statement, even one as well-regarded as Thomson.

• Removed it

• acoustic demos of several standards during the previous months, including "Gloomy Sunday" and Cole Porter's "Love for Sale", Costello devised an album of cover versions to test himself as a singer and interpreter seems a bit too close a paraphrasing of the source's acoustic demo versions of several standards, including Cole Porter’s ‘Love For Sale’ and ‘Gloomy Sunday’. He had in mind an album of cover versions, to test himself as a singer and an interpreter

• BennyOnTheLoose Hmm. How would you change it? I'm a little stuck here. – zmbro _{(talk) (cont)} 22:12, 28 October 2022 (UTC)Reply

• I don't think WP:LIMITED really applies here. I'm tempted to dig down into the sources that Thomson used (liner notes and the BBC show?) but that would be exceeding my mandate as a GA reviewer. How about something like "Intending to explore his capabilities as a performer of cover versions, he recorded acoustic demos of "Gloomy Sunday" (1933), Cole Porter's "Love for Sale" (1930), and other classic popular songs." BennyOnTheLoose (talk) 22:52, 29 October 2022 (UTC)Reply

  Yep that works, done. – zmbro _{(talk) (cont)} 00:19, 30 October 2022 (UTC)Reply

Development

• any reason to include a year for some songs, e.g. "I'll Take Care of You" and "Heartbreak Hotel" but not for other such as "Gloomy Sunday", "Love for Sale" and "He's Got You"?

• Fixed (I think)

• Optionally, you could take the info about Lowe producing the previous five albums into the main text rather than a footnote. However, a simialr statement does appear later in the text.
• Sherrill also convinced Costello to record his own song "Too Far Gone" - as several covers have been mentioned, could this make readers think that "Too Far Gone" was a Sherrill composition?

• It is his, actually

• I think I meant "make readers think that 'Too Far Gone' was a Costello composition"; or I might just be trying to cover for my own incompetence. BennyOnTheLoose (talk) 22:52, 29 October 2022 (UTC)Reply

Production

• "which he described" - who he?

• Ope, fixed

• and was constantly drinking, which led to the recording of Haggard's "Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down" and Rich's "Sittin' and Thinkin" - seems worth expanding on, if sources allow.
• Sherrill acted as a poor producer. - not a great phrasing - looks like this is from Costello's own account so I think should be identifed as such in the text.

• Done

• I think that Rockpile could be wikilinked without breaching MOS:LINKQUOTE.

• Done

• His piano playing, in particular, stands out amongst the album - feels like this view should be attributed

• Good point, done

Packaging and artwork

• No issues.

Release

• they could not take a piano onto the wood floor of the saloon so Nieve was forced to mime the string parts using a violin - I'm not sure "was forced" is right; presumably he did this as something other than playing piano, but there mut have been other options.

• Changed to simply 'mimed'

Critical reception

• Rolling Stone has a duplicate link.

• Fixed

• "the continued absence of Costello's angry persona from his earlier works" - I think could do with some tweaking. Maybe something like "the continued absence of Costello's angry persona that had featured in his earlier works"?

• Done

Aftermath and legacy

• No issues.

Reissues

• No issues.

Track listing

• WP:ALBUMSTYLE#Style and form is part of an essay rather than a guideline, but doesn't have songwriters in <small> text.

• Fixed

Personnel

• No issues.

Charts

• No issues.

Notes

• Note a is unreferenced.

• That's sourced by the three references behind it. – zmbro _{(talk) (cont)} 22:06, 28 October 2022 (UTC)Reply

• OK. BennyOnTheLoose (talk) 22:52, 29 October 2022 (UTC)Reply

• Note c "properly recorded" - is that the right phrase here?

• Adjusted

• I'd normally suggest WP:CITEBUNDLE if there are half a dozen references together, but given what note f is about, seems OK to keep those unbundled.

References

• Sources seem fine.
• Spot checks on Clayton-Lea (ref 5), Hodge, and some of the Thomson references. No issues except one noted above.

Infobox and Lead

• "the weaker commercial performances" - see comment above.

• How would you word it in this section? – zmbro _{(talk) (cont)} 22:06, 28 October 2022 (UTC)Reply

• I think reusing the text from the body would be OK. BennyOnTheLoose (talk) 22:52, 29 October 2022 (UTC)Reply

  BennyOnTheLoose Didn't wanna use "following" twice so I rearranged it. Should be all set. Thanks for reviewing :-) – zmbro _{(talk) (cont)} 00:23, 30 October 2022 (UTC)Reply