Many of Adele's fans who were hopeful her new album, 30, would have audio quality that matched the wonderfulness of her singing found themselves disappointed.
Seems her producers might have taken up the lance and banner of The Loudness War.
That's a real shame.
As my friend, Seth Godin, is fond of saying about something similar—the race to the bottom:
"Be careful. You might win, or worse, come in second."