^ Wise. Do no harm. Same goes for EQ - when in doubt, better not to.
It's the "compression is always bad" argument which may be well intended in response to the dynamics devastation wrought by the
loudness wars, but is counterproductive in such oversimplification. Folks just don't listen at the same level as the performance in their home or in the car wearing ear-plugs like they do at a big amplified concert. Hardly any are actually capable of reproduction at the original SPL. If they realize it or not, everyone is doing dynamics manipulation by simply adjusting the volume knob.
So much of dynamics is related to recording position- It's easy to set recording levels with minimal headroom back in the section, where everything through the PA is compressed and limited. Compare that to the headroom required recording on-stage near the drum kit. Even more so with a close-mic'd kit.
This!-
Unless you record in an anechoic chamber, you are recording the room as much as, if not more than, the direct sound. This is why I don't recommend thinking of a stereo pair of microphones as being "aimed at" anything. Rather, they work together to pick up a stereophonic impression of the sound field at their location.