I think it's generally agreed that pop music singers are not the be-all end-all in vocal performance. In fact some of them are hardly singers at all, nor would claim to be. Not everyone can be a Robert Plant, Josh Groban, Ella Fitzgerald, Doris Day, or a Karen Carpenter etc.
Opera singers on the other hand have to perform live on stage without amplification or vocal enhancements in front of demanding audiences whilst performing often difficult repertoire.
Folk/ country singers also may often sing 'naked' in front of live audiences (not so much currently) accompanied only by a guitar.
For marketing reasons record companies (and artists) seek to employ producers like Rick Rubin and Mark Ronson who have that golden touch which can turn albums into big sellers.
They've both made some great records but I'd say that vocal fidelity was never the main concern of theirs. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if even artists like Andrea Bocelli didn't get the odd bit of help on his records.
It's just the way it is today, and probably always has been.
Opera singers on the other hand have to perform live on stage without amplification or vocal enhancements in front of demanding audiences whilst performing often difficult repertoire.
Folk/ country singers also may often sing 'naked' in front of live audiences (not so much currently) accompanied only by a guitar.
For marketing reasons record companies (and artists) seek to employ producers like Rick Rubin and Mark Ronson who have that golden touch which can turn albums into big sellers.
They've both made some great records but I'd say that vocal fidelity was never the main concern of theirs. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if even artists like Andrea Bocelli didn't get the odd bit of help on his records.
It's just the way it is today, and probably always has been.