Steely Dan: Mid-80s CDs*

Yeah I can't see the classifieds section yet,

 

Beatles.

 

Hey SteelyTom from Boston!

 

Love that dirty water....

 

one reason I like this forum is that you can interact with ocd types, like myself, and learn about all kinds of versions of various albums. Steely Dan in particular has tons of threads dedicated to their cds.

 

Yeah, there's a 4 song 12" EP called "+ fours" that has a tracklisting of Do It Again, Dallas, Haitian Divorce, Sail The Waterway. I believe this is the easiest way to find those songs.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Two-STEELY-...3626182?pt=Music_on_Vinyl&hash=item3cdc463446

 

Pretty sure there was a 12" single released in the UK that had one (or maybe both) of these on the B side. Maybe Haitian Divorce?

 

Yeah! I love learning all about the different releases! Makes me appreciate music in a different way.

I just picked this up:

http://i.imgur.com/xTPZO7i.jpg

 

Damn....I have seen that single with the 4 songs a couple of times over the years, but never looked at it closely. I didn't realize it had 2 songs on it that were never on an album. Do It Again and Haitian Divorce were never my favorites so I never considered picking it up.

 

You know, as I'm not much of a fan of mass market remasters (not sure which one's these use) these are actually quite good, I have a couple of the SHM Jewel case ones, nice defined bass

 

Are "Dallas" and "Sail the Waterway" in stereo on this EP?

 

No, they're mono.

 

The Steve Hoffman mastered CD that is at auction on Ebay is very nice and quite close to the best vinyl version (ABC AB 1006), I bought one for $20 on Ebay. That said the 1999 remaster CD is very good, rest assured you already have a fine disc in hand.

 

What about the 24K Gold CD by MFSL. Is the gold thing a gimmick?

 

I've always felt it's the mastering that counts, not the color/material of said disc. Steve Hoffman masters will sound pretty darn swell on a silver CD.

That said, I think the problem with the MFSL Gold SD discs are that the masterings are atrocious...high-endy and at least one at an incorrect speed, IIRC.

 

Yeah that's what I've read. Garbage-In, Garbage-Out.

I've almost picked up all the Steely Dan 80s pressings (MCAD-37XXX series). I have the 1999 remaster of Aja and the SHM-SACD. I haven't found the Hoffman mastered Aja though. Not really sure how to tell or who to trust that says they have it. It's crazy how much information is out there. I should have Katy Lied within the next few weeks. Maybe I'll get the Hoffman master,

 

Yeah and to elaborate, it was discussed in an older thread that they were transferred directly from a copy of the original single as the master tapes were not at hand at that time. Dallas and Sail The Waterway can also be found on the Japanese compilation Steely Dan (known as the Geisha album), I believe they used the same source however.

Even though the sound quality is not as good as the individual releases, the Gold (Expanded Edition) LP is a good place to scoop up:

FM [Sax Version - a remix originally made for this compilation that combines FM with the Reprise. Later released on other compilations, but this is the only place to find it on vinyl.]
Here At The Western World [1978 mix of a Royal Scam Outtake, originally the sole exclusive track on 1978's Greatest Hits]
Bodhisattva (Live) [B Side Of Hey Nineteen and Time Out Of Mind]
True Companion [Donald Fagen soundtrack contribution / single from 1981]
Century's End [Donald Fagen soundtrack contribution / single from 1988]

The first three of those can also be found on Citizen Steely Dan and the first two also appeared on numerous compilations including Showbiz Kids.

 

Has anyone heard http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=WPCR-14170 ?

The Nightfly [SACD Hybrid].

 

I believe I have one on order at present from the UK new in wrapper, based on the vendor description, specifically the release date. It has been a couple weeks en route. I'll report back when it arrives.

 

Where did you buy it if you don't mind me asking?

 

to get the original canon quickly get Citizen and Decade...Decade will give you the guitar ending version of FM and the intro to Rikki in case your Citizen is missing it...I'm still learning about how to pick out "great" mastering and my system is very modest (i.e. lousy) but I DO have pretty good ears...

 

It is a re-release of the 2003-ish DVD-A mastering: sounds excellent and has an awesome surround mix.

 

Couldn't find that darn Steely Dan album by album thread, but anyway is the USA pressings still the best audio source for their catalogue ?

 

Agree. But not a specific Album by Album thread.

 

the MFSL's of 'aja' and "gaucho" are excellent.