I recently acquired a really high end stereo system. Have been looking for stuff that really shines with a good system. Had several Dire Straits albums when I was in college. Recently acquired their Dire Straits and Making Movies CDs. Searched out and bought the best recordings I could find. Both of these albums really stand out in regard to production value. The sound quality is fantastic. Up there with Steely Dan in my opinion. I just ordered their Communique album. It is on the way.
As this thread progresses I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it sort of confirms the sad state of rock right now. While it might not be dead, the conversation here has mostly been about older bands. There have been some great references to newer bands but far less compared to the older bands.
Someone mentioned the constraints that new bands are under to simply crank out typical pop stuff. I disagree that this has any more of a stifling effect than it did in the 1970's. It was oppressive then. It caused any number of good musicians to drop out of the game. The best and brightest fought the record companies and won. Rush comes to mind. Pink Floyd and many others even wrote songs about it....Have a Cigar, Welcome to the Machine, etc.
