"Bridge Over Trouble Water" sounds artificial

Yes, that's an unwelcome (and unexpected) result of having a highly (or even just modestly) resolving system.  Sometimes it reveals some hidden gems of detail that you never paid attention to before, but it also can shine a spotlight on the warts.  I find myself seeking out good sounding recordings from artists that I would've never listened to in my youth, and find myself stopping familiar albums halfway through because they are not pleasurable to listen to.  Examples: I listened to Heart's "Magic Man" from the Dreamboat Annie album the other day, and thought to myself halfway through when the synthesizer kicks in, "Boy, that's a cheesy sounding synth".  Black Sabbath's Paranoid album, "Hand of Doom" has some cymbal bell taps at the beginning, and the drummer was out of time with those - never noticed that before. 

Well, there's so much fine new (and old) music to listen to so I'm fine with that and don't complain anymore. Problem is when friends or children come visiting and they all request those crappy recordings.... :-(

Not wrong, IMO, but this is what I've talked about before.  Trends and fads in what is considered a normal or good speaker system have changed over time.

You can't make a perfect speaker system for today and expect it to sound fabulous for all past decades of recorded music, so, I have argued, the best you can do is pick speakers that are equally good for all your styles of music and use tone controls as necessary.

Would be interested in knowing what this sounds like via homage speakers, like BBC mini monitors.

Best,

E

Yup if a release sounds bad and your system is good and the track bothers you, its up to YOU to fix it. Break out the tone controls, DBX, DSP, equalizer what have you. This is war!!!!!!

On BOTW, the strings are absolutely dripping with electronic or spring reverb. I think it was meant to sound chintzy, far away. Same with the solo snare sound. When that got transferred to CD, the charm of that processing turned grating and, for some unlistenable, same with the horns on "Keep the Customer Satisfied." It sounds lovely on lp, but wasn't even supposed to be particularly hi-fi sounding. Still, that lp is a quality recording: So Long, Frank Lloyd Wrigh, Song for the Asking, etc. FWIW,  S&G wasn't just for the "hippie generation," which they actually mocked in their songs; they were heavily marketed to the audiophile set, alongside classical and jazz.