Yeah, I like it cooked a certain way works for me too. I love old signal chains on voices too (I read an article by the recording engineer for Adele* in response to Tony Visconti alleging she was autotuned in which he described the entire signal chain which went so far as to use an actual echo chamber!). I knew someone who was adamant that, not vinyl, not 78s through those ear trumpet sound directors (knew someone who believed that) but wax cylinders were the only, one, and true accurate reproduction of the voice. Yeah, whatever.
I think it was that song that I’d walk into a shop and delightedly think for a second it was Merry Clayton singing gimme shelter. Which is awesome. Her solo version that is. She obviously sang the original too.
I think that might be the case. It still often has the problem of sameness in some regards (that old Adorno argument), but the palate they pull from of different genres of music is probably wider?
But I guess there is the problem of definition… what was and is considered pop and what isn’t?
Wider palate and digital age production plus the fact that way more people can be listening on relatively good systems or headphones these days than in the past. I listened to this on my home theatre speakers and the amount of space between the slightly unsettling deep bass and the wispy almost inhuman vocals is really effective.
