Maxim's minimum rating

Maxim magazine in the US has apologised for publishing a bad review of the Black Crowes' new album even though the writer had not heard the full CD.

Its March issue gave Warpaint 2.5 stars out of five, but the band insisted that advance copies of the album had actually not been available. They claimed the magazine would have been able to hear only one track.

Maxim said in a statement that its policy of only giving ratings to albums heard in full "was not followed".

Following Maxim's review, the group said on their website: "Incredulously, the magazine gave the album a two-and-a-half star rating, although neither the writer nor the editor could have heard more than one song - the single Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution."

The magazine's actions were "a disgrace to the arts, journalism, critics, the publication itself and the public", according to the Black Crowes' manager, Pete Angelus.