"Mark & Mary Ann Weiss" wrote in
k.net:

Exactly! Compression is for radio broadcasting. It should not be used
on modern recordings as a whole composite. I can see a little bit of
compression to smooth out an electric bass to make bad playing more
consistent, but on percussion, it ruins the stunning and stirring
dynamics that make live music a pleasure to hear--and feel.
I have this recent recording of a band that is phenomenal, playing
some great music. I wish I could obtain the master tapes and remaster
the CD for myself though--the engineer(s) in their great wisdom, put a
broadband compressor on the output of the mix! The bass was pumping
the rest of the program and it sounded sickening!

As a classical guy, I avoid compression 99% of the time. I have found,
however, when recording a rock band with heavily distorted guitars, that
just about everything (except perhaps percussion) also needs a heavy dose
of compression. The gritty guitar sound is achieved by overloading a gain
stage (or two) which acts to massively compress the levels. Other more
dynamic instruments get buried unless they, too, get compressed.