Noted producer Tony Visconti made an interesting, sad comment on the CD Loudness wars over on Steve Hoffman’s forum. Visconti has worked with Thin Lizzy, Morrisey, David Bowie and many other well-known artists.

I asked him for his take on this issue, bearing in mind that two of the three most afflicted Bowie releases were produced by him, according to this fan. Visconti replied:

Without mentioning names, many mastering engineers perpetuate the loudness wars. One once turned to me after I made a request for more dynamics and said, “I have a reputation to uphold, I can’t make it that quiet.” Really, I was just asking for the carefully mixed quiet intro to stay quiet until the rest of the band crashed in.

How depressing.