yeah, i think that's what happened with SG but that's also why i think it was subpar by her standards. they say necessity is the mother of all creation, and so there was no need for her to push certain instruments to do more if she could just add different ones. i think the white stripes are so impressive because mr. white has to do so much more with the guitar than he would if he just got another dude to play rhythm so he could focus on straight lead. it pushes you to be more creative when you have less--i'd say it's more impressive to see a very good drawing in microsoft paint than in photoshop. i love albums with a lot of complex sounds, but i think it's good to add that once you have a strong core rather than start off knowing all the different things you're going to use because it limits your creation from the start. so with SG, i get the feeling that a lot of times the hook or the raison d'etre for the songs is the collaboration more than her original composition.
for me personally, i prefer band sounds than otherwise, KSK is a rare exception, but even with the beatles' sgt. peppers, i love it and all but i don't listen to it as much because sometimes i just want something raw that simple instruments will give you, something you can do live without extraneous sounds being played over the speakers or a huge band.
also, you mentioned time constraints, and i guess that might have been a reason, but i don't think it's worth putting something out because of that kind of reason and maybe it shows how her mindset has changed a little. though for a musician with a contract, it's hard to be critical of her in that sense since i don't know her financial situation and whether or not she could endure a fine (i guess that's what they do if you take too long on something with a deadline?).
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