but without the recesses you can see with a glance from the side if the revolver is loaded or not.
Small point of order here, you cannot tell from the side if the gun is loaded or not. You can tell if there are CASES in the cylinder, but not if they are live ammo or not.
Now, if you look at the cylinder from the FRONT (I do NOT recommend this) you can see the bullets in place, or not, so from the front, you can tell if it is loaded.
S&W calls one model the "classic" and I will admit that the "square" (not sloped) cylinder latch helps a lot returning the gun to the look of the earlier models.
But if it has a lock, doesn't have a pinned barrel, or recessed chambers then to me, its not "THE" classic.
And while recessed chambers are not needed with centerfires, (and S&W freely admitted that they only put them in the magnums as a sign of the extra work -quality- used making the gun. You won't see them on an "ordinary" .38, but you will find them in the high quality .357 Magnum! (ok, it was just a marketing ploy, but we LIKED them!)
On a rimfire, the recessed chamber is a useful feature, helping contain fragments in the event of a rim blow out. (rare, but they do happen).