Tonemonkey: yep, big productions often sound great, but there's something about more primitive, demo-like recordings that have a realness to them. although some things are just badly recorded and sound awful! like the man said, there's a fine line between clever and stupid :)
as to my Gary Moore odyssey, i kinda missed a week, but this week it's After Hours. i love Cold Day In Hell! next one i have lined up is either G-Force or Scars, haven't decided yet