Is New Vinyl Exempt from Loudness Wars?

Again(since you brought it up)- A presentation, by Harman International:http://www.distortionofsound.com Another site that may be of interest to some: http://dr.loudness-war.info/ There are a number of LPs and their DRs listed. A search is available, via either artist or album title. Sorry, if others have already mentioned the site..

I'm not at all surprised by ct0517's finding of Natalie Merchant's work. I've never worked with Natalie, but I've known her in passing and also know several of the people she works with rather well. They all are VERY aware of their sound and the technical considerations that go into it. A group that Natalie has worked with, The Horseflies, recorded and produced a CD several years ago that still blows me away - "Until the Ocean".  http://www.thehorseflies.com/store.htm Unique and phenomenal music, but also a remarkable and brilliant use of the best capabilities of digital studio production. Needless to say, it is not needlessly compressed. But for much the same reason, it's not available on LP, as I doubt that its sound would translate well to that medium.

Natalie Merchant has a voice of gold.   One of my favorites.  I could listen to her sing the phone book. 

Lp2cd

Unique and phenomenal music, but also a remarkable and brilliant use of the best capabilities of digital studio production. Needless to say, it is not needlessly compressed. But for much the same reason, it’s not available on LP, as I doubt that its sound would translate well to that medium.

Lp2cd - can you tell us why this is with the Horseflies album. Why the sound would not translate well ? 

ct0517-
Understand, I had nothing to do with the production of that album. (Also, Natalie Merchant is not on it...) But why would it probably not work on an LP? The short answer is that CDs are a playback medium that is altogether superior to the LP, a fact that has been argued ceaselessly but is simply true. I'll not argue it further; as has been pointed out already, the problems with CDs lay primarily with the common misuse of digital technology. (Hyper clean recordings don't sound quite right either. But that's a different issue.) On "Until the Ocean," The Horseflies made full, proper and creative use of current recording technology and the CD's capabilities. That is not to say it couldn't be produced to LP, but it would undoubtedly require significant compromises in dynamic range and bass response, which, knowing them, they would likely be reluctant to do. (The Horseflies worked, hard, on that recording for several years!)

A further issue surrounding the idea of an LP version of "Until the Ocean," is that very, VERY, few people, especially at the time of its release, had LP playback equipment that would do any justice to that recording, especially if it was dialed down for LP. It's rather a challenge on good CD playback systems, which are far more common, and again, I'm certain that The Horseflies are concerned that their music be optimally heard. (They even bring the fellow who did much of the tracking for the CD, Will Russell, with them on the road to mix their live sound. They're fussy! BTW, Judy Hyman, the fiddler, is Dick Hyman's daughter...)

Besides all that, at the time "Until the Ocean" was released, the LP fad was only just getting started. It would have (and still does...) require considerable extra difficulty and expense to produce an LP. It was enough for them just to produce the CD, which they never expected to sell more than a very few thousand copies.

So this is all speculation on my part. I've known The Horseflies for decades, and I run into them occasionally. Next time I do, maybe I'll ask. They may very well have an answer that is all their own.