Glad to find this thread to post this although it´s not 100% on topic...
So, yesterday I bought a couple of CDs, as usual once in a month, just to have a listen to the latest music/"sound", Christina Aguilera, Them Crooked Vultures and a couple of more. In addition I bought a Ben Kweddler CD, mostly because of the artwork and price and out of curiosity.
Well, in terms of sound no surprises, all of the chart stuff has this well known, kind of crushed-digital sound, which I have gotten used over the years and usually I cannot make it listening to a whole album.
Then I put in the above mentioned Ben Kweller CD and immediately noticed a change in terms of sound and overall feel. It didnt´t "hurt" at all, highs and mids very smooth and everything sounded alive,natural and easy. I thought to myself that I knew this sound from recordings I made using tape almost 10 years ago.... I looked for the credits and - surprise, surprise - the whole record was recorded to 2 inch analogue, as well as mixed to 1 inch.
All this came to my mind after listening to almost half way through the whole album without even noticing that I would..
Talking about how sound can ruin music and the other way around as I don´t find Ben Kweller´s arrangements to be very special or oustanding..
Will buy a tape machine again without a shadow of a doubt.
cheers
St