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As many of you probably know, I'm a big fan of the Glyn Johns/Tom Dowd drum sound (think Layla, Who's Next, among many others). Wide stereo spread, very natural sounding - you get the feeling you're sitting at the kit. I know many complain about the lack of tightness/crispness, especially in the snare, but I like it.

Anyway, I'm listening to Live Licks now. I realize live sound isn't always the best, but I've noticed the same thing with recent studio Stones as well. That is, the way things are recorded and mixed, the kit just seems kind of disjointed. A lot of stuff is mixed *dead* center and is somewhat distant sounding, with a few cymbals mixed slightly to the sides and a bit more upfront. It's as if there's zero leakage from one mic to another. Very clinical. That's an improvement?

My three cents, anyway.

I like different sounds for different material. For my money, Zappa has some of the best ("Sheik Yerbouti") and worst (see the entire 1980s) drum sounds out there.

As for the specific Who's Next approach...I guess I'm mixed? It works in that context.

Who's Next isn't even the best sounding example, just an easy to identify one. Quad sounds pretty good (Ron Nevison). As does my Mason Proffit album (don't know the engineer offhand).

I think the main thing is recording the *kit* rather than each individual drum. Of course, that's more or less what was done in the mid-60s and earlier, but full range most were not.