That could be answered with a basic question to Steve. Steve, You have heard your finished version on CD, haven't you? (sorry this seems silly)
I pulled out my copy of Aja and I have a slight varision to what has been noted in this thread. My copy is MCAD-37214 DIDY 55, Matrix Code is CI-5650-1 (there is also a string of Japanese charaters in the center circle area). The disc does say Made in USA, but no UPC listed on the rear insert.
When I did AJA (and KATY LIED, which I felt were the best sounding of all the SD albums) at MCA for CD the tape was sent to Japan for manufacturing. When it came out I never snagged a copy, being that it was uncredited and I never wanted to hear AJA again in my life. Now I'm sorry I didn't because I heard it was changed about 6 months later by demand of STEELY DAN, not because they didn't like the result (they probably never heard it) but because they wanted their own engineer to master the series. At the time I argued that recording engineers NEVER want to master their own stuff due to that time-honored fail-safe backup system of letting someone double check the work. So, I felt this was a ploy on the part of SD to renegotiate their royalty rate or something and I told the legal department so. Well, I was partly right but they did want their engineer to do the mastering. Since it didn't matter to me one way or the other (since none of the other SD albums were actually on the CD release schedule) I lost interest in what happened next, as I was on to something else. Sorry 'bout that! I guess what happened next is that the album was mastered twice more, once for Japan and then once again when production was moved to the USA.
Thanks for the reply Steve. Butt, dang I'm DUMB!!! Still don't know want "ALL" this means??? I quess ONLY the first of the first are Steve's. That's for posting running times. As this may be my only hope. OK, I got one for ya! MCAD-37214 DIDX 55 (USA) Mtd. for BMG Made in USA (on disc) MFD BY JVC (on inner ring)??? Did JVC have plants in the US?
It seems that no one has uncovered a version of Aja that Steve has identified as possessing his mastering. He has gone on the record saying that the early US pressing that differs from the original Japanese pressings is not his. He also confirmed to Joel Cairo (Kevin) that at least one of the original Japanese pressings is not his. I am no longer concerned about this. For one thing, we have no way forward in locating Steve's version. What I mean is that while Steve has instructed us on what to listen for, a particular pressing has not been identified. Secondly, I have three different Japanese pressings that sound great. They sound the same to my ears, and they easily beat the other versions I've compared them to ('91 remaster, '99 remaster, and MFSL UDI). The only other version I have for comparison is an early US DADC pressing (with DIDY-55 on the disc and inserts), but I haven't compared it to the Japanese pressings yet. I've become saturated with Aja after doing all the other comparisons, so I haven't had the desire to do any serious listening lately. Based on everyone else's observations, I highly doubt that my US DADC disc is unique. My guess is that it's either the same as the Japanese pressings or worse.
Maybe this thread should be put in "Urban Myth or Legend" status??? Maybe there is some unknowing lucky soul out there who has one of the 5000 potential copies. Probably hasn't touched it in years because a re-master came out and we all know that re-masters mean its better!!!! Chris
5000 discs were manufactured. The band requested they be destroyed. Steve thinks/believes, 1000 got released. Soooooooooooooooooooooooo... There are exactly; 0 to 5000 discs, out there. Good Luck!
It was initially assumed that Steve's mastering could only be found on Japanese pressings since it was said that only the first 5,000 copies pressed used Steve's master. It seems that no one has found a Japanese pressing with Steve's master.
This is getting to be mind-boggling. Keith: Can we strike a deal that we will both send our JPN. Aja discs to SH for him to review? We can each also send him a return envelope with postage prepaid.
Even if most of the original 5000 CDs were destroyed as Steely Dan requested, there is no way of knowing if MCA sent a clone of Steve's version of "Aja" to another one of its' CD suppliers. Remember, record labels have been known to pull masters off the shelf and send them into production withouth much thought or care. Unless the MCA tape vault destroyed the Hoffman "Aja" digital master, there is possibility that it went into production later without anyone knowing.
The DIDY 55 version runs 39:57.65 (Mine has a "CRC" just above "Produced by Gary Katz so it must be Columbia Record Club version. My US DIDX 55 "Mfg by JVC" runs 40.00.53 in EAC. Does the DIDY 55 match the later versions and the DIDX 55 match the Japanese versions? Could the CRC version be Steve's?
Could you do a peak level comparison of the two discs on EAC and post the results? Peak level analyses have been posted for Japanese pressings before, so we could compare the results.
Since it seems that none of the Japanese pressings bear Steve's mastering, folks have turned to the US pressings. Unfortunately, no one has found anything special there either. The search should continue, though. Remember that Steve confirmed that Leppo's US CRC pressing of Katy Lied bears his mastering. (According to EAC, Leppo's disc is identical to Japanese pressings and another US CRC pressing that I have.)
EAC for my DIDX 55 Mfg by JVC AJA EAC extraction logfile from 12. October 2004, 21:38 for CD Unknown Artist / Unknown Title Used drive : PLEXTOR CD-ROM PX-20TS Adapter: 0 ID: 3 Read mode : Secure with C2, accurate stream, NO disable cache Combined read/write offset correction : 0 Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No Used output format : Internal WAV Routines 44.100 Hz; 16 Bit; Stereo Other options : Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No Installed external ASPI interface Track 1 Filename C:\CD Files\C D\CD 6\Track01.wav Peak level 81.4 % Track quality 100.0 % Test CRC 9DDCA60E Copy OK Track 2 Filename C:\CD Files\C D\CD 6\Track02.wav Peak level 100.0 % Track quality 100.0 % Test CRC 5E4E0B47 Copy OK Track 3 Filename C:\CD Files\C D\CD 6\Track03.wav Peak level 100.0 % Track quality 99.9 % Test CRC 32DF7965 Copy OK Track 4 Filename C:\CD Files\C D\CD 6\Track04.wav Peak level 97.4 % Track quality 100.0 % Test CRC C8C3F6D6 Copy OK Track 5 Filename C:\CD Files\C D\CD 6\Track05.wav Peak level 99.8 % Track quality 100.0 % Test CRC 08DA6C6A Copy OK Track 6 Filename C:\CD Files\C D\CD 6\Track06.wav Peak level 100.0 % Track quality 100.0 % Test CRC 143A8FD5 Copy OK Track 7 Filename C:\CD Files\C D\CD 6\Track07.wav Peak level 90.4 % Track quality 100.0 % Test CRC 5D043036 Copy OK No errors occured End of status report
EAC for my DIDY 55 CRC AJA EAC extraction logfile from 12. October 2004, 21:45 for CD Unknown Artist / Unknown Title Used drive : PLEXTOR CD-ROM PX-20TS Adapter: 0 ID: 3 Read mode : Secure with C2, accurate stream, NO disable cache Combined read/write offset correction : 0 Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No Used output format : Internal WAV Routines 44.100 Hz; 16 Bit; Stereo Other options : Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No Installed external ASPI interface Track 1 Filename C:\CD Files\C D\CD 6\Track01.wav Peak level 90.8 % Track quality 100.0 % Test CRC 215C2018 Copy OK Track 2 Filename C:\CD Files\C D\CD 6\Track02.wav Peak level 91.7 % Track quality 100.0 % Test CRC DE5DB4E5 Copy OK Track 3 Filename C:\CD Files\C D\CD 6\Track03.wav Peak level 90.6 % Track quality 100.0 % Test CRC 4B052389 Copy OK Track 4 Filename C:\CD Files\C D\CD 6\Track04.wav Peak level 88.7 % Track quality 100.0 % Test CRC EAE643FE Copy OK Track 5 Filename C:\CD Files\C D\CD 6\Track05.wav Peak level 96.3 % Track quality 100.0 % Test CRC B5C070BD Copy OK Track 6 Filename C:\CD Files\C D\CD 6\Track06.wav Peak level 86.2 % Track quality 100.0 % Test CRC 95B7E3A9 Copy OK Track 7 Filename C:\CD Files\C D\CD 6\Track07.wav Peak level 97.6 % Track quality 100.0 % Test CRC 0C355FEC Copy OK No errors occured End of status report
Beattles, your US DIDX-55 disc is different than my early Japanese pressings. I have the following three Japanese pressings of Aja: 1. MCAD-37214/DIDX-55, pressed at the CBS/Sony plant 2. MCAD-37214/DIDX-55, pressed at the JVC plant 3. catalog number 32XD-112, pressed at the CBS/Sony plant (original release in Japan; inserts also show MCAD-37214 and DIDX-55) All three are identical according to EAC. Here's the data:
Beattles, we just had two posts cross. I knew you'd be posting data for your DIDY-55 CRC disc! Anyway, your DIDY-55 CRC disc is identical to my Japanese pressings. I have a DIDY-55 CRC disc, and I bet it's identical to your DIDY-55 CRC disc and the Japanese pressings. How do you like the sound of the DIDX-55 disc? I wonder if this is the later mastering that Steve dismissed earlier in this thread. Given that a lot of the peak levels at or around 100%, it seems as though it's been boosted relative to the DIDY-55 and Japanese pressings. Does your DIDY-55 disc have any markings to suggest that it was pressed at CBS/Sony's DADC plant in the US? Is there any text stamped on the clear plastic ring? Also, what is the matrix code? My DIDY-55 disc has "Made in U.S.A. - Digital Audio Disc Corp." stamped on the plastic ring, and the matrix code has "DIDX-000055". Since the US DADC plant opened before the US JVC plant, I'm thinking that my DADC pressing pre-dates your DIDX-55 JVC pressing. That could explain why the DADC pressing is identical to the Japanese pressings. Perhaps there was a "secret remaster" prior to the discs being pressed by JVC.
My neighbor actually has the DIDY 55 CRC disc so It will be Frday before I can check the inner markings. To me the DIDY 55 sounds slightly brighter and the DIDX 55 sounds warmer.
