So disappointed in today's Americana

You might check out Meg Baird, particularly her work with the band "Espers" out of Philly. It’s more psych-folk than Americana but it is based on American folk music, with a twist. Esper’s "The Weed Tree" is a good start. Baird is pretty prolific and is associated with a number of other acts if you decide you like her.
I did a brief write up of a band out of Brooklyn called The National Reserve, whose album, Motel La Grange, reminded me a little of Bob Seger, Little Feat and The Band. The thing I liked about the record is that it sounded like a real band playing in a bar rather than a studio confection.
As I’m wont to say almost every time the topic comes up, get thee to see the great David Lindley if he is out on tour anywhere near you. Not a ’new’ talent, but so formidable, makes you appreciate why he was the go-to guy on so many albums out of LA in the ’70s.

Hi Slaw:
Hope you enjoy it. It is my personal fave from Brandi. There is also an album of other artists performing the songs on "The Story" which has some great performances and some not so great performances. It's called "Cover Stories" and the funds from sales go to a War Child charity fund.

Good one whart! David Lindley is a monster lap steel player, with a style employing, unlike most steel players, lots of sustain and over-driven tube distortion. He's great live, and his first two solo albums (he was in the late-60's band Kaleidoscope, and on many L.A. recordings of Jackson Browne and other singer/songwriters) are not just musically excellent, but also unusually good sounding for Rock 'n' Roll records. I have long used the first (which includes David's fantastic version of "Mercury Blues") for hi-fi evaluations.

whart1 ,

  Really appreciate the suggestion of The National Reserve!  I like them a lot.

Listening to "by the way, I forgive you" on vinyl right now. Musically, I really like the album. However, it does suffer from SQ issues, probably compression. Too bad, as it is really good. Makes me wonder how much more I might enjoy it if it was recorded differently.

Question for those who understand recorded music production: "Who is responsible for the amount of compression used? Is it the recording engineer, producer, mastering technician, etc.? Who makes the decision about the amount of compression used?