Steely Dan-which is the best CD remaster?

Steely Dan has so many remasters I can't keep track. I think their are two on MCA after the original. Plus Japanese versions etc. Let's hear the verdict!

 

Try to find the early MCA "Japan made for the US" versions. They are the best IMO. Some were recently for sale in the Classified's

 

They have the 37*** prefix, but I have found them very difficult to find, except for Aja.


Evan

 

Get the original Japanese pressings on MCA. Aja, Gaucho, and A Decade of Steely Dan are the easiest ones to find, but the others are worth searching for.

Avoid the remasters ('91 and '99 issues).

 

Or if you simply want to make it easy and have great sounding discs, just grab the Citizen Steely Dan boxset and be done with it.

 

Do you know if "Royal Scam" was originally released with the Japan 32XD catalogue number? I have seen "Decade" and "Gaucho" with that number and the sticker obi, but "Royal Scam" is the one I would be interested in.

 

Which sound better, Citizen Steely Dan or the MCA Japan originals? I don't mean to start a debate, just wanted opinions.

 

I agree original CD pressings of Aja and Gaucho are everywhere. The rest seem hard to find.
Bob.

 

IMO, the Citizen sounds fine exept for Aja. Get the Box Set and the MCA Aja first pressing

 

Forgot to mention, the1999 remasters suck. They are loud with nasty EQ and sound like the work of John Astley. I know he didn't do them but one would think so without looking at the inserts.
Bob.

 

Citizen Steely Dan was the best sounding of the Dan discs in 93 when it was released. There are all kinds of debates on this subject here and really it depends on what kind of stereo you have and how nuts you want to go seeking these titles out. If you can, buy the Box, otherwise there is NOTHING wrong with the recent remasters, most of which can be found for a budget price.

 

Ahem....don't you think the SH-mastered Katy Lied is the one to get?

 

Hallo Nachtschwärmer ;-)
Could be, I haven't heard Steve's version. From what I've read, it's not easy to locate. And I've read a good comment of the Citizen Katie Lied from Steely Dan's guitarist Denny Dias:

See also http://www.steelydan.com/dennys3.html

 

I do if I can ever find it. What I really want to buy right now is an original Pretzel Logic complete with Ricky intro.
Bob.

 

There have been many threads on the Steely Dan CD catalogs, so everyone should make use of the Search Function to get the full story.

I agree with those that the 37xxx series MCA discs (or their MCD/DMCL European equivalents) have the edge over the Citizen box-set. The box sounds a little closed in and lacking some sparkle in the high frequencies (the shimmer in cymbals, for example), in my opinion, and I prefer the tonality of the MCAs. I haven't heard any of the later re-masterings, so cannot comment on them, except for the Gaucho SACD which is also recommended.

As to the two discs mentioned above, I picked up a US MCA 37042 DIDX 371 DADC pressing of Pretzel and a German made BMG Ariola/MCA MCD 01800 / DMCL 1800 Sonopress I-5630 / MCD 01800 / A pressing of Katy Lied last weekend (for the princely sums of $4.95 each). Despite SH having mastered the Katy, Pretzel is by far the more enjoyable listen (stronger material) -- so, if you had to choose! (And before anyone asks, Andreas confirmed in one of the many Dan threads that this German pressing is bit identical to Leppo's confirmed version of the SH Katy Lied.)

 

Says you! I respectfully disagree. The SH Katy sounds better and has stronger material.

 

Get the box

 

Look for the UK CD of Pretzel MCA MCDL 1781.

Great sound and a full Rikki.

 

A contrarian view here, I guess...

Unless you are more thrilled by collecting than music, I would ignore those telling you to seek the oldest and most obscure versions. I find the 1999 remasters to be the best sounding by a significant margin. In particular, check out Ray Brown's string bass on Countdown to Ecstasy and the Bosendorfer piano on Katy Lied. I've never heard them better on any other US version, especially the early ones made with antique wheezy-sounding analog to digital converters.

Note that the US remasters prior to the 1999 versions did have some problems compared to the earlier releases, especially on Aja.

- Joe

 

I'm pretty sure all early (pre-1991) editions of "Pretzel Logic" are the same (the missing marimba on "Rikki" was re-instated very quickly on all the early editions from what I can gather). They certainly sound the same but I've not verified it with a null test so take this with a pinch of salt.

 

i love my complete original set of 'Manufactured in Japan for MCA' CDs--you can't go wrong with those. however, curiosity got the best of me recently and i bought a sealed copy of the 1999 edition of Countdown to Ecstacy, the SD album with the most pedestrian production value. the sound is FAR from awful, terrible, and myriad other pejoratives thrown at the '99s. the casual fan is well-served by the currently-available set of remasters.

all IMHO.

 

'99s are fine

double post

 

I prefer the Citizen box to the 1999 remasters as they're too bright. Citizen sounds far warmer. I don't know what generation of tapes were used for the Citizen box or if they have any NR but that box is the Dan I started with, along with a Bob Ludwig mastered copy of Decade back in 1994. That's what I reach for to this very day.

 

Audiophile issues aside, as we've said on similar threads, Fagen's liner notes on the most recent reissues are priceless, and only available on those!

 

I can't argue with that. Those notes are priceless.

The box set needs notes like those. Donald could've written an entire essay on the history of Dan in the style of those liner notes and that would have been great.