Talk:Canadian drug charges and trial of Jimi Hendrix/GA1

GA Review edit

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Reviewer: Ritchie333 (talk · contribs) 21:15, 19 February 2014 (UTC)Reply

Okay, I'll give this a go. I've just read the whole article top to bottom and it's a great piece of writing that puts a whole slant on Hendrix's life that I never really appreciated before. One quick thing I want to comment on is I think the image captions need adjusting to put some more context into the bust and its trial. How is a 1973 picture of Toronto airport specifically relevant to the article? A few terms could use more explanation; we know who Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell are, but not everyone will, for example.

I'll go through the article in finer detail tomorrow and make specific in-depth comments. Ritchie333 (talk) (cont) 21:15, 19 February 2014 (UTC)Reply

Okay, thanks. I've clarified who Redding and Mitchell are, and I've added some detail to the image captions. Hope this resolves your concern. Thanks again for taking on the GAN! GabeMc (talk|contribs) 17:48, 20 February 2014 (UTC)Reply

Okay, specific comments (please note I edit-conflicted, so some of the image caption stuff might now be irrelevant)

Lead edit

  • The infobox picture could do with a little more context as to how specifically it relates to the article ie: "Hendrix's booking photo at the time of his arrest in Toronto, 3 May 1969"
  • From a usability point of view, having the wikilink to Hendrix in the title instead of the first use half a sentence later means it doesn't stand out on my browser. I can't think of another article that links to a sub-term in its actual title text.
  • Might it be worth dropping in a bit about the charges and trial's notability. The mentions of a possible cover up that's detailed in the body, and its general lack of coverage compared to, say, the Stones' Redland bust in 1967, would be worth dropping into the lead.

Background edit

  • Could we wikilink Benedict Canyon, Los Angeles? Having never been to California myself, I'd find it useful.
  • Redding and Mitchell are already wikilinked in the lead. I can't remember what the MOS says about double-linking stuff in the lead and the body.
  • Was Cobo Center called that in 1968, instead of Cobo Hall? If not, it might be worth dropping that as a brief note
  • I personally prefer a comma or no punctuation to colons before quotations, but MOS:COMMA doesn't specify either way and it's not part of the GA criteria anyhow, so it doesn't matter
  • As mentioned above, the caption to File:Jimi hendryx experience 1968.JPG could add a little more context such as "The Jimi Hendrix Experience in 1968, around the time they were living in Benedict Canyon"
  • The reference to "Shapiro & Glebbeek 1995, pp. 357–358." is a little bit vague - particularly as its used to merely cite the 2 May 1969 Cobo Center gig. Could we tie it down to a specific page?

Arrest, performance, and arraignment edit

  • File:International Airport Toronto 1973.jpg - picture caption could say something like "On arrival at Toronto International Airport (pictured in 1973), Hendrix was detailed by customs and subsequently arrested"
  • "Hendrix confirmed that the bags were his". Would be simpler just to say "Hendrix confirmed that they were"
  • "At 9:30 a.m. on May 3, 1969, while passing through Canadian customs..." - I assume events earlier on in this paragraph also took place on 3 May, though the specific time makes sense where it is
  • "While they awaited the lab results, tour manager Gerry Stickells" - we already know who Stickells is per a previous paragraph, "Stickells" will do here. "Tour manager Gerry Stickells" occurs elsewhere later in the article - same issue
  • "He was released by 8 p.m., and escorted to the venue by the Toronto police," - "escorted to the venue by the police" might be simpler, there's no reason to suspect a different police force took him to the gig

Preliminary hearing edit

  • Off-topic remark - crikey, if possession carried 20 years, what did trafficking carry? Execution?

Second Toronto arrest edit

  • "he purchased new clothing" - "he purchased new clothes" is simpler
  • "to which Levine replied: "Recognize you. They will be waiting at customs for you." - shouldn't "Recognize you" have a question mark at the end of it?

Trial edit

  • "The prosecution called as witnesses the officers who discovered the drugs and the lab technicians who identified the substance as heroin" - "identified them as heroin" might be simpler
  • "Plummer 2012" could do with a page number (though for newspaper sources I believe this isn't even required for FAC, so it's not a major issue)
  • The phrase "obviously mod" doesn't appear to be in the link to the Plummer 2012 source
    • It appears in the Globe and Mail article transposed into the Plummer article. GabeMc (talk|contribs) 18:35, 20 February 2014 (UTC)Reply
  • "UPI" should be written in full as not everyone knows what United Press International is
  • [nb 3] can be integrated into the article ie : "The second witness called by the defense was the United Press International (UPI) journalist and Hendrix's friend Sharon Lawrence"
  • "Hendrix's manager, Chas Chandler...." needs a little more context. Earlier we were told that Mike Jeffrey was his manager. I can't remember the exact sequencing of who was managing him and when, but hopefully you can!" (FWIW Chandler's own article is in a very sorry state indeed with barely any referencing)
    • Chandler was a co-manager and producer. I've clarified this a bit. GabeMc (talk|contribs) 18:35, 20 February 2014 (UTC)Reply
  • "The incident proved quite stressful for Hendrix" is vague. Might be worth specifically attributing it Shadwick, unless you have a quotation that it really is how Hendrix himself felt
  • "Shapiro and Glebbeek" - this is the first mention of them, and therefore should give their full names and importance (ie: Hendrix authors)

Initial suppression of media coverage edit

Conspiracy theory edit

  • The section title is POV (if you'd asked the police and authorities at the time they'd have outright denied it). How about "Reaction" or "Public response" instead?
    • I'm not sure about this one; neither "Reaction" or "Public response" is accurate to the section, IMO. I think that theory makes it clear that its not a proven fact, but I'm open to suggestions. The section is about a possible conspiracy to make rock stars look bad, so it seems appropriate to me. GabeMc (talk|contribs) 18:35, 20 February 2014 (UTC)Reply
  • Was Wayne Kramer talking specifically about Hendrix's arrest or drug busts in general?
  • "and soon afterward Eric Clapton and Stephen Stills were also" - how about "were too" instead?

Summary edit

GA review (see here for what the criteria are, and here for what they are not)
  1. It is reasonably well written.
    a (prose, no copyvios, spelling and grammar):   b (MoS for lead, layout, word choice, fiction, and lists):  
  2. It is factually accurate and verifiable.
    a (reference section):   b (citations to reliable sources):   c (OR):  
  3. It is broad in its coverage.
    a (major aspects):   b (focused):  
  4. It follows the neutral point of view policy.
    Fair representation without bias:  
  5. It is stable.
    No edit wars, etc.:  
  6. It is illustrated by images and other media, where possible and appropriate.
    a (images are tagged and non-free content have fair use rationales):   b (appropriate use with suitable captions):  
  7. Overall:
    Pass/Fail:  

This is a very good article and an interesting insight into a part of Hendrix's life that I was previously unaware of, and which neatly ties into the general culture and reaction to rock stars in the 1960s. All the issues here are relatively minor things, so I'm putting the review On hold pending fixes. Ritchie333 (talk) (cont) 18:03, 20 February 2014 (UTC)Reply

Thanks for the excellent review, Ritchie! I think I've now addressed all of your concerns, but if I missed anything please let me know. GabeMc (talk|contribs) 18:35, 20 February 2014 (UTC)Reply
Just the UPI abbreviation, which I've done myself, so it's a pass. Well done. Ritchie333 (talk) (cont) 19:36, 20 February 2014 (UTC)Reply
Thanks, Ritchie! GabeMc (talk|contribs) 19:38, 20 February 2014 (UTC)Reply