Having recently seen Jeff Beck on tour here in San Francisco, I have listened to a few of his classics, and being a drummer myself, I have a particular awareness of how drums are recorded, I really think "Blow by Blow" and "There and Back" sound wonderful on my original vinyl issues.
Drums are by far the most challenging acoustic instrument to record due to inherent sonic issues that are presented, and the necessity to properly mic the variety of dynamic conditions that run across drum kit, from the low frequencies of a kick drum to the shimmer of a small crash cymbal.
If an artist is going to use drums on their recording, and they are interested in making a higher consciousness recording aimed at the audiophile market, then there are great challenges to overcome to really capture a top tier drummer playing across a well tuned, and well miked drum kit.
The producers and sound engineers that are able to pull this off, my hats off to them.
