My views are similar but not identical. Gaucho - agreed, though I've not heard all the different CD masters. Aja - I really don't like the SACD. To my ears it has "sound all over the place" & has been mastered to sound good from a hi-fi rather than a musical viewpoint. Steve's master IS much better. Countdown To Ecstasy - I think the SACD has been well mastered as it gives an organic sound, unlike the SACD of Aja. Unfortunately the master tapes are worn & this is audible. You may prefer the SACD to an original CD if you like lots of detail but I prefer the life & ambience of an original CD. Pretzel Logic - Similar to Countdown To Ecstasy to my ears. I'm not aware that our host has stated that the master tapes are worn (unlike Countdown To Ecstasy) but to my ears the SACD has similar advantages & disadvantages compared to an original CD, although the differences aren't as great.
I've now obtained a Master 8 of Gaucho. To my ears this is superior to the later SACD as the CD's got a better sense of groove & sounds more natural than the SACD.
Based on recommendations in this forum, I obtained a copy of the Canadian "Greatest Hits" CD (MCA Canada MCAD 6008). I have seen some talk in the forums about posting peak levels for this CD to check for any different masterings, as this CD appears to have been in print since the early 1990s. However, I have not found any documentation of the peak levels, nor was this CD in the Dynamic Range Database until I added today. My synopsis is that the mastering for this CD probably has not changed. The DR figures compare favorably to those of the 1978 ABC LP and the individual album tracks. As has been reported with this CD, the compilation is supposed to be of level adjusted versions of the individual album tracks in their original Roger Nichols masterings. However, I do not hear some of the historic glitches -- for example, on "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" and "Any Major Dude -- so some digital micro edits may have been applied at some point. For perusal and comparison, peak levels and DR figures posted below: 01 92.1 02 91.3 03 90.2 04 80.1 05 90.2 06 55.6 07 88.5 08 96.9 09 79.8 10 85.5 11 91.1 12 91.1 13 91.1 14 88.8 15 94.2 16 92.0 17 86.7 18 95.4 DR13 -0.71 dB -16.13 dB 5:56 01-Do It Again DR12 -0.79 dB -15.41 dB 4:35 02-Reeling In The Years DR14 -0.89 dB -17.89 dB 5:49 03-My Old School DR13 -1.93 dB -16.98 dB 5:19 04-Bodhisattva DR13 -0.90 dB -16.38 dB 5:28 05-Show Biz Kids DR13 -5.08 dB -20.70 dB 2:50 06-East St. Louis Toodle-oo DR12 -1.05 dB -17.27 dB 4:33 07-Rikki Don't Lose That Number DR12 -0.27 dB -15.25 dB 4:32 08-Pretzel Logic DR12 -1.96 dB -17.13 dB 3:09 09-Any Major Dude DR15 -1.36 dB -19.59 dB 4:02 10-Here At The Western World DR14 -0.80 dB -18.16 dB 3:43 11-Black Friday DR14 -0.80 dB -18.20 dB 3:21 12-Bad Sneakers DR13 -0.80 dB -16.93 dB 3:57 13-Doctor Wu DR14 -1.03 dB -17.32 dB 5:51 14-Haitian Divorce DR13 -0.52 dB -16.32 dB 4:40 15-Kid Charlemagne DR13 -0.72 dB -17.33 dB 4:01 16-The Fez DR12 -1.23 dB -16.04 dB 3:58 17-Peg DR14 -0.41 dB -16.99 dB 4:32 18-Josie Album details - Dynamic Range Database AJ
Cool! Thought you might like this one - it's my go-to copy for a number of situations. BTW - your EAC peak values match mine, so we should have the same mastering. That being said, the glitches in Rikki and Any Major Dude are clearly present on my copy. Here's my disc info if anyone wants to add this: Greatest Hits: MCAD 6008/Matrix: LT36 MCAD 6008 #40720Z39. "Manufactured by Cinram for MCA Records Canada." 92.1 % / 91.3 %/ 90.2 % / 80.1 % / 90.2 % / 55.6 % / 88.5 % / 96.9 % / 79.8 % / 85.5 % / 91.2% / 91.1 % / 91.2 % / 88.8 % / 94.2 % / 92.0 % / 86.7 % / 95.4 % I can provide the full EAC log on request Cheers, Paul
Yes, my disc carries the "Manufactured by Cinram for MCA Records Canada" credit on the disc face. That does not appear to have been changed since the disc went into production 20 or so years ago. I am not sure that my recent pressing is truly a Cinram disc, though it may be. Its matrix is Z129612 72 1122 MCAD6008-2 01. I seem to recall that I ordered a used disc, but I definitely was sent a new disc. The back inlay definitely has been updated to add a umusic.ca URL. I have given the disc only a cursory listen over computer speakers thus far. I have not yet imported the disc into Roon to play on my main system. And I do not listen over headphones. So, the historic glitches still may be present, but I just have not heard them. Do you have any estimate of the age of your pressing? I still would be curious to see EAC levels from a confirmed early 1990s pressing. I doubt that any of the numbers have changed, as the levels and DR figures posted so far do not look like they have been updated to those of a more modern mastering. AJ
This seems like a good place to add the compilations so I put sorting out a good format for that on the to do list.
Great, I was hopeful that, as the thread starter, you might be open to adding the compilations to the summary. I know that much of the peak levels tracking work already has been done for "A Decade of Steely Dan" in another thread. Carrying that over to the summary here seems doable. AJ
I am not 100% sure what we want to accomplish on the compilation front. People can correct me as I have not really put any research into this, but doesn't each release have just the one mastering? If there are multiple masterings we can of course dive into them. I have put together from wiki all of the compilations that have CD releases, not including Citizens which is broken up in each album's summary post. Through any iterative process when a useful compilation post is mostly polished up, I will redo each album in new posts combining all of the subsequent edits, then tack on the compilation post, so then we should then have everything up to date in one place. Greatest Hits Steely Dan - Greatest Hits Mastering 1: 92.1/91.3/90.2/80.1/90.2/55.6/88.5/96.9/79.8/85.5/91.2/91.1/91.2/88.8/94.2/ 92.0/86.7/95.4 MCAD 6008/Matrix: LT36 MCAD 6008 #40720Z39. "Manufactured by Cinram for MCA Records Canada. Gold (Expanded Edition) Steely Dan - Gold Mastering 1: 96.3/93.6/94.4/94.4/91.2/92.6/88.2/99.2/89.1/97.7/94.4/94.4 MCAD 10387/Matrix: W.O. 18836-3 A Decade of Steely Dan Steely Dan - A Decade Of Steely Dan Mastering 1: 94.0/100.0/93.4/91.0/76.1/86.3/86.2/91.0/67.8/79.2/44.4/88.8/96.3/100.0 MCAD-5570/Matrix: DIDX-306 2896 613 03 The Very Best of Steely Dan: Reelin' In the Years Steely Dan - The Very Best Of Steely Dan - Reelin' In The Years Remastered: The Best of Steely Dan – Then and Now Steely Dan - Remastered • The Best Of Steely Dan Then And Now Showbiz Kids: The Steely Dan Story, 1972–1980 Steely Dan - Showbiz Kids (The Steely Dan Story 1972-1980) Steely Dan: The Definitive Collection Steely Dan - The Definitive Collection 20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of Steely Dan Steely Dan - The Best Of Steely Dan
Definitely, several masterings and/or variations exist -- including an MCA Masterdisc gold variant, which is reportedly a Glenn Meadows remaster. Steely Dan CDs Different Masterings: A Decade of Steely Dan A Decade of Steely Dan on CD: Mastered by Ludwig/Nichols or Katz? AJ
I can confirm the Gold disc is the Glenn Meadows - I held it in my hand. (Decade of Steely Dan lists the mastering engineers on the back and on the disc.) I should have bought it - but - well - budget. I can help fill in some of these in the next couple of days. Cheers, Paul
Okay - here's some data points: A Decade Of Steely Dan 94.0 % / 100.0 % / 93.4 % / 91.0 % / 76.1 % / 86.3 % / 86.2 % / 91.0 % / 67.8 % / 79.2 % / 44.4 % / 88.8 % / 96.4 % / 100.0 % MCAD-5570 Matrix: "DIDX-306 2896 613 03 *" Back cover states: "Remastered by Bob Ludwig and Roger Nichols" Incorrectly states mastered by Gary Katz on the disc. ------------------------- Steely Dan Gold "Expanded Edition" 96.3 % / 93.6 % / 94.4 % / 94.4 % / 91.2 % / 92.6 % / 88.2 % / 99.2 % / 89.1 % / 97.7 % / 94.4 % / 94.4 % MCAD-10387 Matrix: "(MCAD-10387) C05L1518D" Cheers, Paul
I just happen to have all my SD CDs sitting on the couch next to me and I have the Decade you mention. I wouldn't have thought to look for that.
Yeah - I think it became a discussion point here on the forums. Like "Did Gary Katz actually master Decade?" kind of questions. Cheers, Paul
Showbiz Kids - The Steely Dan Story - 1972-1980 Disc 1: 98.8 % / 98.8 % / 98.8 % / 98.8 % / 98.8 % / 98.8 % / 98.8 % / 98.8 % / 98.8 % / 98.8 % / 98.7 % / 98.8 % / 98.7 % / 98.4 % / 98.8 % / 98.8 % / 98.8 % / 98.8 % 088 112 407-2 Matrix: "MFG BY MATSUSHITA UNIVERSAL MEDIA SERVICES 0881124082 0858118516" -------------------------------------- Disc 2: 94.3 % / 94.3 % / 94.3 % / 94.3 % / 94.2 % / 93.8 % / 94.3 % / 94.3 % / 94.3 % / 94.2 % / 94.3 % / 94.3 % / 94.1 % / 94.2 % / 94.2 % 088 112 407-2 Matrix: "MFG BY MATSUSHITA UNIVERSAL MEDIA SERVICES 0881124082 0858018515" NOTE: the matrix strings - although similar are not *quite* the same I double checked 'em. Those are all the compilations I have Cheers, Paul
Do you have any other matrix info by chance? I am not super familiar with DADC being cited on Aja discs, but Discogs references DADC for both the USA and Japan for USA first CD, so my guess is it should be mastering 3, a nice CD in my book.
Thanks! I asked yesterday because I saw one in a store. I decided to buy it and can post EAC numbers later.
Anybody remember this? Apparently some of the "inferior "versions are favored in the forum. Metal Leg 18 - October 1991 - The Steely Dan Reader
Not sure what you mean (MFSL?), the inferior versions are the second MCA CD run. "All of Steely Dan’s original albums, from 1972’s Can’t Buy A Thrill through 1980’s Gaucho, were transferred to CD from the proper master tapes for their initial run in 1985; but subsequent pressings, including current warehouse and retailer stock, were made from faulty masters."
