Matt, I agree with what you say about mance and missippi john, although neither in my opinion are typical blues singers, they are both understated, as was my version, and I agree they are both better than me at it,my guitar playing is not tentative, listen again, although i agree its not as good as mance, still he couldnt play the concertina .
however, that does not make me an embarassment or uninspired, the one constructive criticism in the review[ folky mannerisms the becoming ther i took on board and ironed out]that is what reviews should be about constructive criticsm , not just exercising your bad mood in print on to someone else.
my argument is with the reviewer.;however I do think editors can and do on occasions [i dont mean that occassion]instruct or guide reviewers on what they want to see in reviews,[like constructive criticism] to let reviewers have carte blanche, as long as its not libellous, is akin to turning a blind eye.