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So disappointed in today's Americana

I make it a habit of getting the Grammy nominated Americana albums from the library each year. Past years have introduced me to much new music, some good, some bad, some treasures (TajMo for example). This year I just listened to Brandi Carlile's cd 'By the way I forgive you', nominated for best Americana roots album. OMG it is unlistenable! You would think singer / songwriters would strive for a pristine recording that highlights their lyrics and mostly acoustic arrangements. No - it is a sonic mess, compressed all to hell. To quote my wife "Turn that crap off". End of rant. 
mcondo
mcondo OP
202 posts
 
One of the more unusual "Americana genre" performances was Robert Plant's Band of Joy performance at the 2010 Americana awards. I think having recorded with Alison Krauss and with Patti Griffin in the band gave them some Americana cred - but it was pure rock with some roll mixed in. 
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lonemountain
462 posts
 
Sarah Jarosz is recorded by one the best engineers in the business. Follow him for great records, Gary Pacozsa.  His records are ridiculously good.  "Follow Me Down" (her #2 album) and Build Me Up from Bones (#3) both got Grammy noms.  Her latest Undercurrent was nominated for Best American Roots performance, Best Folk Album and Best Engineered Album.   He did Alison Krauss "Windy City" and "Deep Waters"  from The Lone Heartstring Band. "Forever Words" Johnny Cash and "Cover Stories, 10 years", Brandi Carlile.   Find his records on
allmusic.com

Brad
Lone Mountain Audio

slaw's avatar
slaw
22,178 posts
 
@whart 

I agree with you in your analysis of what may make up Americana. It's very difficult these days to pigeon hole a specific genre because of the genre bending going on.

Love Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O'Donovan/Crooked Still, Sara Watkins......
mcondo OP
202 posts
 
Love Sarah, haven't listened to her in a while. Will pick up Undercurrent from the library for a listen. 
n80
2,133 posts
 
The DR measurements on Sarah Jarosz's albums seem to hover around 8, which I consider marginal but darn good compared to some of the albums mentioned above. There are folks here at Audiogon who consider anything less than 10 to be poor. So whoever her engineer is, either he is part of the problem or someone else is compressing the work after he's done with it.

Some Steely Dan albums up up around 16. Mark Knopfler, until recently, was typically in the 12-14 range. Pete Townshend's White City averages 12. 
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