EBay Seller's Misleading Review

[jodigrind]

I just purchased Kenny Garrett's Prisoner of Love from EBay based on my growing interest in the development of his sound post-Miles.

The seller includes a "review" of the item that reads as follows:

"Altoist Kenny Garrett's second recording as a leader (following an earlier effort for Criss Cross) is a surprising success, especially compared to his later (and near-classic) recordings. The first three selections find Garrett sticking to the melody over automatic pilot rhythms in asuccessful attempt to obtain a cross between Grover Washington Jr. and Stanley Turrentine. "Blue Moon" in particular is a masterpiece with the perfect arrangement altering the chord structure for the best, and the remainder of this album is much better. The most notable aspect to Prisoner Of Love is that Miles Davis (who was Garrett's employer at the time) makes two rare appearances as a sideman, and his ensemble work on the nursery rhyme melody of "Big Ol' Head" and "Free Mandela" is as unforgettable as virtually this entire recording."

Ebay Link

Something didn't seem right to me about this. Sure enough, I checked out the AMG review, which reads just a bit differently:

"Altoist Kenny Garrett's second recording as a leader (following an earlier effort for Criss Cross) is a surprising dud, especially compared to his later (and near-classic) recordings. The first three selections find Garrett sticking to the melody over automatic pilot rhythms in an unsuccessful attempt to obtain a cross between Grover Washington Jr. and Stanley Turrentine. "Blue Moon" in particular is a turkey with the embarrassing arrangement altering the chord structure for the worse, and the remainder of this album is not much better. The most notable aspect to Prisoner Of Love is that Miles Davis (who was Garrett's employer at the time) makes two rare appearances as a sideman, but his muted ensemble work on the nursery rhyme melody of "Big Ol' Head" and "Free Mandela" is as forgettable as virtually this entire misfire."

All Music Review

I go back and forth between finding this incredibly funny and quite slimy. In the end, I'm just surprised he made the effort to tinker with the review.

[Dan Gould]

Did you realize the review was doctored before or after winning the bid? I realize your interest is independent of Yanow's review ...

For the moment, I'm at the seller for doing what he did. But do report back on your purchase and tell us which review is more accurate.

[PHILLYQ]

I find it funny & slimy at the same time- that's pretty difficult to do.

[Jazzmoose]

I would have found it a lot more bothersome if he had claimed it was a quote from AllMusic rather than just his own copy.

[ep1str0phy]

My God, that's hilarious.

(Apologies for your plight, if any.)

[mikelz777]

My vote goes for slimey, desperate and embarassingly pathetic.

[Rooster_Ties]

On the other hand, only four or five words were changed. Heck, I make that many mistakes retyping things all the time.