Robert Christgau: CG 70s: The Grades

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> <html> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"> <link rel=stylesheet href="/rxgau.css" type="text/css"> <meta name="robots" content="INDEX,FOLLOW"> <title>Robert Christgau: CG 70s: The Grades</title> </head> <body bgcolor="#e0ffff"> <table width="100%" border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=10> <tr><td colspan=2 bgcolor="#1010e0"> <a class=xlnk href="/"><img class=xlnk src="/rxgau.gif" width=287 height=47 alt="Robert Christgau: Dean of American Rock Critics"></a> </td></tr> <tr><td bgcolor="#1010e0" valign=top> <table cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3 border=1> <tr><td class=xlnk nowrap><a class=xlnk href="/cg.php">Consumer Guide:</a>   <a class="xlnk" href="/xg/web/cgusers.php">User's Guide</a>   <a class="xlnk" href="/xg/bk-cg90/grades-90s.php">Grades 1990-</a>   <a class="xlnk" href="/xg/bk-cg70/grades.php">Grades 1969-89</a>   <a class="xlnk" href="https://robertchristgau.substack.com/">And It Don't Stop</a> <tr><td class=xlnk nowrap><a class=xlnk href="/books.php">Books:</a>   <a class="xlnk" href="/bk-bkreps.php">Book Reports</a>   <a class="xlnk" href="/bk-isitya.php">Is It Still Good to Ya?</a>   <a class="xlnk" href="/bk-goitc.php">Going Into the City</a>   <a class="xlnk" href="/bk-cg90s.php">Consumer Guide: 90s</a>   <a class="xlnk" href="/bk-guaw.php">Grown Up All Wrong</a>   <a class="xlnk" href="/bk-cg80s.php">Consumer Guide: 80s</a>   <a class="xlnk" href="/bk-cg70s.php">Consumer Guide: 70s</a>   <a class="xlnk" href="/bk-aow.php">Any Old Way You Choose It</a>   <a class="xlnk" href="/bk-fest.php">Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough</a> <tr><td class=xlnk nowrap><a class=xlnk href="/xgausez.php">Xgau Sez</a></td></tr> <tr><td class=xlnk nowrap>Writings:   <a class="xlnk" href="/xg/dontstop/index.php">And It Don't Stop</a>   <a class="xlnk" href="/xg/cg/index.php">CG Columns</a>   <a class="xlnk" href="/xg/bn/index.php">Rock&Roll& [new]</a>   <a class="xlnk" href="/xg/rock/index.php">Rock&Roll& [old]</a>   <a class="xlnk" href="/xg/music/index.php">Music Essays</a>   <a class="xlnk" href="/xg/cdrev/index.php">Music Reviews</a>   <a class="xlnk" href="/xg/bkrev/index.php">Book Reviews</a>   <a class="xlnk" href="/xg/najp/index.php">NAJP Blog</a>   <a class="xlnk" href="/xg/play/index.php">Playboy</a>   <a class="xlnk" href="/xg/bl/index.php">Blender</a>   <a class="xlnk" href="/xg/rs/index.php">Rolling Stone</a>   <a class="xlnk" href="/xg/bb/index.php">Billboard</a>   <a class="xlnk" href="/xg/vr/index.php">Video Reviews</a>   <a class="xlnk" href="/xg/pnj/index.php">Pazz & Jop</a>   <a class="xlnk" href="/xg/recyc/index.php">Recyclables</a>   <a class="xlnk" href="/xg/news/index.php">Newsprint</a>   <a class="xlnk" href="/xg/list/index.php">Lists</a>   <a class="xlnk" href="/xg/misc/index.php">Miscellany</a> <tr><td class=xlnk nowrap><a class=xlnk href="/biblio.php">Bibliography</a></td></tr> <tr><td class=xlnk nowrap><a class=xlnk href="/xg/npr/index.php">NPR</a></td></tr> <tr><td class=xlnk nowrap>Web Site:   <a class="xlnk" href="/index.php">Home</a>   <a class="xlnk" href="/map.php">Site Map</a>   <a class="xlnk" href="/contact.php">Contact</a>   <a class="xlnk" href="/newest.php">What's New?</a>   <a class="xlnk" href="/rss.php"><img src="/images/rss-button-12.jpg">  RSS</a> <tr><td class=xlnk nowrap>Social Media:   <a class="xlnk" href="https://substack.com/@robertchristgau?">Substack</a>   <a class="xlnk" href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:jw6pxdbvxz2jkjkk5w6bofx5">Bluesky</a>   <a class="xlnk" href="https://x.com/rxgau">[Twitter]</a> <tr><td class=xlnk nowrap>Carola Dibbell:   <a class="xlnk" href="http://caroladibbell.com/">Carola's Website</a>   <a class="xlnk" href="/u/cd/">Archive</a> <tr><td class=xlnk><a class=xlnk href="/get_artist.php">CG Search:</a> <form method=get action="/get_artist.php"> <input type=text name=name size=15> </form></tr> <tr><td class=xlnk><a class="xlnk" href="https://google.com/search">Google Search:</a> <form method="get" action="https://google.com/search" target="_blank"> <input type="hidden" name="sitesearch" value="robertchristgau.com"> <input type="text" name="q" size="15" maxlength="255"> </form></tr> </table> </td><td valign=top width="100%">  <a href="/bk-cg70s.php"> <img src="/images/cg70s.jpg" height=138 width=93 align=right border=0 alt="CG-70s Book Cover"></a> <h2>The Grades</h2> An A+ record is an organically conceived masterpiece that repays prolonged listening with new excitement and insight. It is unlikely to be marred by more than one merely ordinary cut. An A is a great record both of whose sides offer enduring pleasure and surprise. You should own it. An A- is a very good record. If one of its sides doesn't provide intense and consistent satisfaction, then both include several cuts that do. A B+ is a good record, at least one of whose sides can be played with lasting interest and the other of which includes at least one enjoyable cut. A B is an admirable effort that aficionados of the style or artist will probably find quite listenable. A B- is a competent or mildly interesting record that will usually feature at least three worthwhile cuts. A C+ is a not disreputable performance, most likely a failed experiment or a pleasant piece of hackwork. A C is a record of clear professionalism or barely discernible inspiration, but not both. A C- is a regrettably successful exploitation or a basically honest but quite incompetent stab at something more. A D+ is an appalling piece of pimpwork or a thoroughly botched token of sincerity. It is impossible to understand why anyone would buy a D record. It is impossible to understand why anyone would release a D- record. It is impossible to understand why anyone would cut an E+ record. E records are frequently cited as proof that there is no God. An E- record is an organically conceived masterpiece that repays repeated listening with a sense of horror in the face of the void. It is unlikely to be marred by one listenable cut. Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the '70s, 1980 <hr> <table width="100%"><tr valign=center> <td><a href="criteria.php"><img src="/icon/prev.gif"></a></td> <td width="50%">The Criteria</td> <td width="50%" align=right>A</td> <td><a href="/get_chap.php?k=A&bk=70"><img src="/icon/next.gif"></a></td> </tr></table>  </td> </table> </body> </html>

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Robert Christgau: CG 70s: The Grades