Early US ABC for all albums up to "Gaucho" (MCA RL for this one). Failing that, UK Probes sound good. Make sure you get AB-1006 for "Aja" There's a Cisco "Aja" reissue which is well regarded in this forum, but it is really pricey these days; same for Speakers Corner's "Can't buy a Thrill" My two cents.
I completely agree with Moonchild. It's not too hard. Only Gaucho was released after MCA bought out ABC, I would avoid the other MCAs. There isn't much of a premium hit her in the US for getting ABCs over MCA. Most of their records sold well in the 70s, so there are usually a lot of them with few buyers today. Check the discount bins for the middle era ones.
Get the ABC pressings. I worked for ABC during some of this time in the 70s and they are so much better than those that came out when MCA bought ABC. So skip any MCA Dan albums if possible (although I haven't heard them all from MCA) I actually like the 75-78 ABC pressings. Seem better than those earlier in the decade. Clean vinyl.
I have all of Steely Dan's vinyl output and at least 7 different pressings of Aja from various countries and in various colors. I sold my Cisco copy when I realized I liked my promo copy much better, but I guess that's not unusual. The Cisco was somewhat clinical sounding to me. I took a pass on the Fagan One Step pressing, but wish I had not, because I could have sold it later on. You might want to pick up Steely Dan's greatest hits, because it's the only album with "Here at the Western World" on it. "FM" is worth picking up also.
I second the recommendation for Greatest Hits. Not only is “Here at the Western World” an excellent track, but the sound quality of a Masterdisk RL-cut pressing in general trumps many of the earlier records on which the other songs first appeared. For example, “Doctor Wu” as cut by Bob Ludwig on the Greatest Hits LP sounds far better to me than on any version of Katy Lied I’ve come across.
Another +1 on the Ludwig x4 Greatest Hits Pretzel Logic-The US Allen Zentz (AZ) cut, not sure if his sig is on all of them or not. For their first single the UK +Fours 1977 EP carries the mono Dallas and it's b-side Sail The Waterway.
MCA makes crappy records, so like everyone said, avoid unless it's Gaucho. Even older, clean ABC Steely Dan records aren't that pricey for clean ones. Aja is easy to find!
I have two copies of that UK EP. Of the two tracks you mentioned, "Sail The Waterway" is my favorite (no doubt, at least in part, because DF sings the lead), but "Do It Again" and "Haitian Divorce" are also on that record (in stereo) and sound particularly spectacular at 45 RPM!
Yes on the greatest hits. It’s fantastic. I had boxes of promo stamped copies of this in 79 that I used to give away as promos when I worked for ABC. I should have kept a box.
I agree, all ABC versions are real nice and not hard to find. I have a Cisco Aja, it is great but my "AB" label pressing is good too.
I think this answer's pretty easy, as evidenced by the other posts: track down ABC pressings for everything up through Gaucho. With that one, you don't have a choice, it's MCA only. In the late '90s/early '00s, I was buying the Dan discography on vinyl at local stores as I found them. I didn't pay too much attention to whether they were ABC or MCAs. I ended up with about half of each. I decided to upgrade some albums when I ran across copies with better covers. My first MCA to ABC swap was Pretzel Logic, and oh man, what a difference! It was like hearing the album for the first time all over again. Not to mention that the MCA reissue didn't have the gatefold cover. Aja is another one in particular where you must not settle for MCA, and track down an ABC. I bought a sealed ABC not too long ago for probably too much money ($35), but I'm still glad I got it. Sealed for 40 years until I got ahold of it! The Cisco Aja does go for insane prices! It seems like a sealed or nice NM copy fetches around $200! Surely the sound's not that much better than a well-maintained ABC? Is it rarity (it was a numbered limited edition pressing) that is driving up the prices? I know SteelyNJ says that opinion is divided, but I'm not familiar with any discussions surrounding it. Anyone care to weigh in on its merits vs. a minty ABC original?
... and just to mention, I have 5 Aja's on LP, 2 AB-1006 and 3 AA-1006 - I bought the AA's for like a buck a piece at Goodwill because they were actually the AB-1006 with the B scratched out and an A etched in. You might keep those in mind when shopping and snag one if you see one, if you haven't yet found that AB-1006 when you see one.
Just picked up a Canadian ABC Aja and Greatest hits on ABC. The Canadian Aja has a '7' on the spine. Never saw that before.
Is the album cover really glossy? My Canadian Aja LP (with the "7" on the spine) has the glossiest, shiniest cover of any record in my collection- were all the Aja LPs like that?
The Cisco Aja is not universally well regarded here. It's not as good as an original. AB-1006 pressing.
I respectfully disagree. As I said above, opinion is divided. BTW, I had no idea sealed copies were selling in the $200 neighborhood. I have one...but it's not for sale!
The US one's and a Japan 1980 I have are all high gloss. Very nice indeed The '7' may indicate a 'Price Code'
Okay, so how many really silent AB-1006 copies are still around? Quote noisey most of them. And of course you have heard only silent ones. It is not so black-and-white in my opinion.
NOT that I always agree with Fremer but... https://www.analogplanet.com/content/ciscos-iajai-reissue-exclusive-first-listen-0 Also, very mixed buyer opinions here (although many of the inferior ratings are related strictly to purported manufacturing defects): Vinyl Records, SACDs, DVD Audio, Audiophile Equipment|Acoustic Sounds But back to the thread at hand, I would not recommend that the OP spend anywhere near $200 for a Cisco "Aja" when a good US ABC AB-1006 can be had for a whole lot less $$$.
