You might like John Mellencamp - No Better than This.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Better_Than_This
I own that LP and it is horrid. If Mellencamp wanted to go for the 1950s sound, he should have used an Ampex 350 to record to and not a cheap consumer Ampex deck.
He produced the soundtrack to the film "Oh Brother Where Art Thou,' which I bought on vinyl a decade ago. It contains a modern performance of Hard Time/Killin' Floor, a famous Skip James song. I can't remember if the production quality is great (I assumed your question was whether his albums sound good), but it is studded with great artists performing Dust Bowl era stuff. The great Skip James original recordings (transcribed to 33) are brilliant but antique-sounding; his 'record deal' was with a furniture company that made record players; the company went bankrupt early in the Depression and I think James got lost for decades until he was 'rediscovered' in the early 60's by some blues devotees that dragged the suffering artist from his hospital bed to Newport in 63 or 64. (I think James was suffering from cancer of the penis- ugh).
There is a pretty famous piece of footage showing James playing indoors while at Newport to a small crowd; a hulking man is leaning against the bar listening- only when the man turns around do you see that it is Howlin' Wolf.
So, I guess I bought this album because of Skip James, although there are other good songs and performances on it. More than you might have needed to know about Skip. T-Bone Burnett is pretty ubiquitous as a producer. I don't have his most recent work with Diana Krall, although her earlier albums were very well produced (and mixed, if memory serves, by the legendary Al Schmitt).
It sounds to me like the intent of your thread is not to acquire decent recordings that T Bone Burnett is/was involved in, but rather just bitching as you've not said anything good about him so far.
John-What LPs/CDs I own that T Bone had a hand in is small and so far I'm not a fan. What I wanted to find out from people who have more experience than I do with his recordings is if he does have some great stuff out there to be had or if I should steer clear of him. So my first reaction wasn't directed at you, it was my reaction to that horrid Mellencamp LP. I don't want to spend anymore of my money on LPs that he was involved in if the SQ I'm hearing is typical of his recordings.
I didn't take it personally really, and for the record I don't play that LP much either, but I have a little less contempt for it.
I find it interesting though that you are trying to seek out albums from a specific producer to possibly consider. I never do that, and we know there are some great ones like Phil Ramone/Lanois to name but twp. I focus on the music I like and if good production and mastering come with it...bonus! I know guys that eat up anything done by Hoffman/Gray/Marino/Diamant, plus, plus, etc., etc. etc.
John-It's the exact opposite from that. I was looking at some new LPs last night and saw one that caught my eye until I saw T Bone Burnett listed as the producer. I haven't liked what he has done so far that I own and that is why I asked the question when I started the thread. You could say that I have stayed away from him, not sought out his work.
I have the Wallflowers Bringing Down the Horse on CD. I bought it many years ago when it first came out and haven't listened to it in many years either. I didn't realize that was a T Bone produced album also. I like the music, but it's far too compressed and just loud if memory serves me correctly.
I don't think so. I have One Headlight on playlists with pre-loudness wars material that the band is learning and it doesn't stand out. Most highly compressed material will pop up dramatically in volume when juxtaposed against older recordings.
Tim
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