A review is an evaluation of a publication, product, service, or company such as

a movie (a movie review), video game, musical composition (music review of a co

mposition or recording), book (book review); a piece of hardware like a car, hom
e appliance, or computer; or an event or performance, such as a live music conce
rt, play, musical theater show, or dance show. In addition to a critical evaluat
ion, the review's author may assign the work a rating to indicate its relative m
erit. More loosely, an author may review current events, trends, or items in the
news. A compilation of reviews may itself be called a review. The New York Revi
ew of Books, for instance, is a collection of essays on literature, culture, and
current affairs. National Review, founded by William F. Buckley, Jr., is an inf
luential conservative magazine, and Monthly Review is a long-running socialist p
eriodical.
In the scientific literature, review articles are a category of scientific paper
, which provides a synthesis of research on a topic at that moment in time. A co
mpilation of these reviews forms the core content of a 'secondary' scientific jo
urnal, with examples including Annual Reviews, the Nature Reviews series of jour
nals and Trends. A peer review is the process by which scientists assess the wor
k of their colleagues that has been submitted for publication in the scientific
literature. A software review is also a form of peer review, by the co-workers.
A consumer review refers to a review written by the owner of a product or the us
er of a service who has sufficient experience to comment on reliability and whet
her or not the product or service delivers on its promises, otherwise known as p
roduct reviews. Product reviews can be done either individually, or as a compari
son to similar products. An expert review usually refers to a review written by
someone who has tested several peer products or services to identify which offer
s the best value for money or the best set of features. A bought review is the s
ystem where the creator (usually a company) of a new product pays a reviewer to
review his new product.
Contents [hide]
1 Book review
2 Music reviews
2.1 Performance reviews
2.2 Recording reviews
2.3 Composition reviews
3 Bought review
4 See also
5 References
Book review[edit]
A book review (or book report) is a form of literary criticism in which a book i
s analyzed based on content, style, and merit. It is often carried out in period
icals, as school work, or online. Its length may vary from a single paragraph to
a substantial essay. Such a review often contains evaluations of the book on th
e basis of personal taste. Reviewers, in literary periodicals, often use the occ
asion of a book review for a display of learning or to promulgate their own idea
s on the topic of a fiction or non-fiction work. At the other end of the spectru
m, some book reviews resemble simple plot summaries.
Music reviews[edit]
Performance reviews[edit]
Reviews of live music performances are typically short articles that tell reader
s about the performers or group(s) that were involved and the pieces or songs th
at were performed. The comments made by reviewers fall, roughly into two categor
ies: technical comments and subjective/artistic comments. The elements in the "t
echnical" category include rhythmic "togetherness", intonation, errors or slip-u
ps, and so on. These elements are fairly "black and white"; a pianist playing a
concerto either played the right notes on a climactic scale run, or she missed i
t. The subjective comments refer to elements which are a matter of taste. The ba
lance between the different elements in a review (information about the performe
r or group; information about the pieces/songs; commentary about the technical a
nd subjective elements of the performance) depends on the audience that a music
critic is writing for. Music reviewers writing in local newspapers or general-in
terest magazines may not be able to assume that the readers will be familiar wit
h music performers and pieces/songs, so they may decide to include a great deal
of "background" information.
Recording reviews[edit]
Music critics and music writers also review recordings of music, including indiv
idual songs or pieces or entire albums. In the case of a review of an entire alb
um, the reviewer will not only judge the individual songs or pieces; they will a
lso judge how well all of the songs or pieces work together or go together.
The age of digital downloads may considerably change the album review. Where pre
viously albums were purchased as collections of songs, often with a common theme
, the rise of individual song downloads may have significant impact on consumers
' exposure to an artist's music. Die-hard fans will most likely continue to expl
ore an artist's complete work; but individuals will most likely make significant
ly different choices and "cherry-pick" songs they have been exposed to. The conc
ept of "singles" or individual hits marked for retail has been around for long t
ime; however the price for a single in the days of CDs or 45's was much closer t
o the complete album price. When you consider that each song on an artist's albu
m is often priced at the same amount, the odds of the average consumer purchase
the entire album instead of selecting the "hit" songs decreases significantly.
Composition reviews[edit]
In Classical music, music critics may also do reviews of compositions, even if t
he piece or song has never been performed and it only exists on manuscript paper
in a score. To review a composition in this fashion, the critic will use music
theory skills such as harmonic analysis and thematic analysis, along with their
knowledge of idioms and compositional practices.
Bought review[edit]
A bought review is the system where the creator (usually a company) of a new pro
duct pays a reviewer to review his new product. Primarily used in the car, movie
and game industry this system creates a kind of undercover advertising. Bought
reviews tend to be biased due to the informative value of reviews. In some cases
, a bought review may be independent, if the person that is hired to do the revi
ew has a strong reputation for independence and integrity. Even if a "bought rev
iew" from a respected critic is actually independent, the perception of potentia
l bias will remain, due to the financial relationship between the company and th
e critic.
A similar type of review that may be biased is the so-called "puff piece", a rev
iew of "[a product]", film, or event that is written by a sympathetic reviewer o
r by an individual who has a connection to the product or event in question, eit
her in terms of an employment relationship or other links. For example, a major
media conglomerate that owns both print media and record companies may instruct
one of its employees in one of its newspapers to do a review of an album which i
s being released by the conglomerate's record company. Although some journalists
may assert their professional independence and integrity, and insist on produci
ng an unbiased review, in other cases, writers may succumb to the pressure and p
en a biased "puff piece" which praises the product or event while omitting any d
iscussion of any shortcomings. In some cases, "puff pieces" purport to provide a
review of the product or event, but instead merely provide "peacock words" ("An
amazing recording"); "weasel words" ("probably one of the most important albums
of the 2000s") and tabloid-style filler which is peripheral or irrelevant to as
sessing the qualities of the product or event ("During the filming, there were r
umors that romantic sparks flew between the two co-leads, who were often seen ta
lking together on the set").