You might recall the review of The Black Crowes’ new album, Warpaint, which ran in the airbrushed funbags mag Maxim. The publication printed a review of the album, although advance copies were not available. So, it was an “educated guess preview,” which obviously pissed off the Crowes and their management.
In yesterday’s LA Times, David Peisner, the freelance writer who composed this review decided to clear his name with the following statement: “I’m a freelance writer. I was assigned to write previews of the Black Crowes and Nas albums. I did that. When the issue came out, the previews were laid out as reviews complete with star ratings. I never at any point or to anyone claimed to have heard these albums in their entirety. Whatever decisions Maxim made after I turned in my work were beyond my control.”
Previewing records that you have yet to hear is, well, impossible, so that doesn’t really work. Crowes’ manager Pete Angelus had a few words to say in response to Peisner’s explanation: “There’s no accountability for Dave Peisner, editor James Kaminsky or Maxim magazine. They issued a partial apology to their readership, but no apology directly to the artist whose work they denigrated without having heard more than one song, while attempting to pass it off as an album review. I think Peisner’s claim is absurd. He wrote a review of music that he never heard, he disparaged both the band and the material. He said, ‘It hasn’t left Chris Robinson and the gang much room for growth,’ and yet now he’s going to attempt to pass off his actions on Maxim? Absurd.”
As this continues to develop, we will most definitely keep you posted.
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