Strangely enough, I never actually picked up on the loudness factor, most likely due to volume normalization in most media players.

Just for the sake of it, I compared the 1988 release of R.E.M.'s Eponymous to the 2004 release of U2's Vertigo with volume normalization turned off, and found that listening to U2 at an accptable volume for R.E.M.'s album is deafening, while listening to R.E.M. at an acceptable volume for U2 is whisper-quiet.
Don_HH2K | 11.20.06 - 4:27 pm | #