King For A Day
by Bobby Conn
Metascore
70

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
  1. BBC collective
    80
    Overblown orchestrations, searing choruses, a demonic self-help tape pastiche and odes to Tom Cruise’s private life are tempered by sparse melodic interludes and tender songs of souls battling against grim routine.
  2. Dusted Magazine
    80
    A series of songs that are seriously well-constructed and complicated - yet deeply, deeply odd.
  3. Lost At Sea
    80
    King For A Day is part-pop, part-prog rock, but all cultured and colorful.
  5. Magnet
    80
    It's a tossup as to how much of Conn's shtick is a put-on, but when the music's this good, that's a moot question. [#75, p.94]
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  6. Mojo
    70
    Ooz[es] between queasy fantasy and distorted reality. [Mar 2007, p.105]
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  7. New Musical Express (NME)
    50
    It's guiltily satisfying in a bearded, nodding sort of way, but there's little to grab on to in such an ironic hall of mirrors.
  8. No Ripcord
    60
    As a whole, it leaves you thinking that Bobby Conn could have, if he wanted to, made a seminal underground record.
  9. Pitchfork
    65
    As good as the record sounds and as capably as he immerses himself in assorted flavors pop, there remains an odd sense of distance to Conn on record.
  10. PopMatters
    70
    The listener can both admire the brilliance of the individual pieces within the songs, the separate tracks themselves, and the entirety of the 12 cuts as a single unit. King for a Day shines from all perspectives.
  11. Q Magazine
    40
    The problem lies in Conn himself, a mannered vocalist whose lyrics aren't as funny or provocative as he thinks. [Mar 2007, p.111]
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  12. Spin
    70
    A near-operatic concept record about fantasy and delusion. [Mar 2007, p.91]
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  13. The Guardian
    60
    The artifice of stardom has turned Conn's music anaemic, and the exhausted strings, overexcited guitars and mellow funk grooves end up as disposable as his subjects.
  14. The New York Times
    70
    It helps tremendously that “King for a Day” is such a sonically ambitious album. [19 Feb 2007]
  15. Tiny Mix Tapes
    50
    King for a Day will definitely ‘love you long time’ with its bloated tracklisting, but you’ll soon realize that the attention-getting devices are working in reverse. Sure, they’ll cause you to crook your neck and gaze curiously, but once it all comes into focus, you’re likely to move on to better things.
  16. Uncut
    80
    It's less gonzoid than previous efforts and more effective for that. [Mar 2007, p.79]
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  17. Under The Radar
    80
    A spectacular record. [#16, p.90]
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User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 6 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 6
  3. Negative: 1 out of 6
  1. [Anonymous]
    Apr 12, 2007
    9
    People are confused by Mr. Conn, so they think it must be bad. The best thing to do is just listen to it! It seems like a hard thing for most People are confused by Mr. Conn, so they think it must be bad. The best thing to do is just listen to it! It seems like a hard thing for most critics to do.… Full Review »
  2. daniel
    Mar 5, 2007
    8
    You love him or hate him, but you can't ignore him. A truly fascinating record.
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