The idea is that
at least then you feel SORT of like you're playing a kit,
instead of being put in front of a bass drum and being told,
"Now play the kick drum like you would if there were a whole
kit here, and in a few minutes we're going to do the same thing
again with just the snare, and the toms after that, and...".

Believe it or not, that "play just the snare, and we'll do the high-hat next,"
etc. type of production was actually occuring on a regular basis in the 80's,
particularly in England. If I remember correctly, a few of the Duran Duran
records were made this way, and I think the producer on some of those records
(the late Alex Sadkin, I think) was famous for that. His reasoning was that he
wanted the cleanliness of each track, so he'd be able to treat each drum
without leakage.

Seems like a perfectly horrible way to make music.

John