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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
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
10,062 posts
 
The Americana Music Association puts on its' own awards ceremony and show every year; that's the one to watch. Their relationship to The Grammys is very much like High End Audio's is to CES. A good source for info on Americana music and artists is the No Depression website.
mcondo OP
202 posts
 
The 2018 awards show is streaming now at the PBS website. Not sure if it will be broadcast over the air on my PBS station - WTTW.
slaw's avatar
slaw
22,477 posts
 
I forgot about M.C. Taylor (Hiss Golden Messenger), saw him on the Tift Merritt and friends tour a while back.

Uncle Tupelo 
Son Volt
Calexico
slaw's avatar
slaw
22,477 posts
 
Regarding Brandi Carlie and others...

Is it not possible to separate the talent from the sonics here?

I’m not going to stop listening/enjoying music because of less than perfect recording quality.

We all know this is a problem. One that the end user has to deal with. That is the area we have control over. I get tired of reading..."my wife came in the room and said "turn that -hit off". While that sort of statement makes for good reading?, it just adds to the negative side without actually trying to fix(?) in one's own space.

Quit complaining and start explaining how you're trying to overcome!
mcondo OP
202 posts
 
I guess my fix is not to listen to heavily compressed recordings in my main system. BTW - watched Brandi Carlile on the 2018 Americana awards show last night. Nice performance that sounded good on my upstairs A/V system. The rest of the show was a little uneven but enjoyable.   
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