Odd question here. I am listening to my copy of Astral Weeks (a 1980s vinyl pressing), and Van's voice sounds oddly compressed and distorted, as if they'd overdriven the mic preamp when recording it. I don't have a digital reference to compare to, so I thought I'd ask, is my copy damaged, or is it supposed to sound this way? To the best of my knowledge, my stylus is in good condition and properly aligned, so what's up?

I remember I thought my copy of "There's A Riot Goin' On" by Sly and the Family Stone was damaged until I read that the album was intentionally muddy and distorted sounding. Maybe this is something similar.