Yeah. I need to find the original. Never made it a priority. The best SD related vinyl I've own are the lps in Fagens Cheap Xmas set.
And - I'm not going to derail here too much - but the *gasp* CD of Greatest Hits is also a great way to get a collection of the original '87 digital flat transfers. It was sold in Canada - but should be easy enough to find here and there. And, because of the drive for sound quality in the original vinyl running time, isn't missing any tracks. Yeah - normally I'm not a compilation fan, but I do like this one a lot! Cheers, Paul
Also - remember they couldn't find all of the original multi-tracks for Aja - even before the fire. From the liner notes of the 2000 CD remaster of Aja: When we recently sent for the multitrack masters of Aja so as to make new surround-sound mixes of same, we discovered that the two-inch multitracks of the songs Aja and Black Cow were nowhere to be found. They had somehow become separated from the other boxes, which the producer had abandoned here and there (studios, storage lockers, etc.) almost twenty years before. Anyone having information about the whereabouts of these missing two inch tapes should contact HK Management at (415) 485-1444. There will be a $600.00 reward for anyone who successfully leads us to the tapes. This is not a joke. Happy hunting. Cheers, Paul
I'm not sure if you know that or not. There is some word out there that Cisco did NOT have access to the original master tapes. But regardless, the poster said it "sounded" like the AB-1006 had that open, immediate, master tape sound. The Cisco, at least my copy, didn't sound like that. It sounded a bit muffled and closed in at the midband. My shootout resulted in the same finding as the poster.
So they added tracks then for the CD version? The original vinyl was 1978. It had Here at the Western World as the only bonus track. At any rate, it's an Aja thread so I'll stop here. I just took a look for a proper original on Discogs and about $50. I could buy it and put the LP's in my Back to Black gatefold whic is very nice.
No bonus tracks - but they managed to fit the entire double album - including Here At The Western World - on one 80 minute CD. It has all 18 tracks of the original 1978 double vinyl, all sourced from the original '87 digital transfers - for better or worse. Before I managed to track down individual copies of the '87s, this was my go-to source for many of the tracks. Just wanted to clear that up - back to Aja! Cheers, Paul
To me the Cisco sounds less futzed with and more dynamic. The only song that sounds muffled to me is Deacon Blues, and that song has always sounded weak compared to the others. I also prefer the bass on the Cisco as it sounds less fattened up by compression. Of course, we're also talking about masters that were over 30 years old at the time the Cisco was manufactured. One thing I do notice about the Cisco is that the side two tracks sound significantly better than the side one tracks. Whether that's a result of the mixing of those tunes or the generation of tapes used for each side is hard to know without actually seeing the tapes themselves. So I'm sticking with what the original story was then the Cisco reissue was produced: the true (uncompressed) stereo masters used for the first time. And I'm taking the non-access-to-the-original-masters story that showed up afterwards as just that: a story (a rumor). There's also the fact that we're talking about two separate masterings--decades apart--from two different mastering engineers. That alone could account for the different sonic presentations of these two releases. In any case, it's good to have choices--which is what we have here with both the original pressings out there and the Cisco reissue. (Not to mention the numerous CD versions.) Name your poison and go with it. It's all good. As I have both an original pressing and the Cisco I do take the original for a spin from time to time. Neither sounds bad to my ears. I do have to add that I came onto this album late as I wasn't a huge Steely Dan fan back in the 70s. (I only owned the fantastic Katy Lied.) So I don't have any the fondness-for-the-original feelings that others may have from playing the original Aja LP for decades. Honestly, if the multi-tracks are in good shape I'd like to see this album remixed. I think it could sound even better. As it is it doesn't quite jell sonically from track to track. Deacon Blues in particular could use the overhaul. Several different studios were used in making Aja, and it sounds like it.
So - with all of this discussion, I remembered I bought a copy of Aja on vinyl for $4.00 labeled "Good". Armed with the knowledge about AA, AB and Bernie from this very thread, I dug it out of storage. Guess what? Yup - AB-1006 matrixes. Looks like Bernie's handwriting too. Guess I'll be digging the turntable and pre-amp out of storage now. I need to do that anyway - I also found an original Command Quadraphonic of Countdown To Ecstasy recently. I think I've found my weekend project Cheers, Paul
As long as you don't need a remix of Aja or Black Cow: Steely Dan Aja vinyl shootout Those multi-track tapes have been missing since 1999. Cheers, Paul
Yes. I know. And that is a damn shame. How nice it would be to have a reissue campaign of the Steely Dan catalogue in a manner similar to that of the Jethro Tull catalogue.
God help me I rebought the CISCO after selling it only last June. This hobby is insane, as, it seems, am I. That said, this copy sure sounds quieter...
Can anyone link to any samples of the AB vs. the AA, I'd prefer to hearing anything from side B. I don't need a long sample, whatever is allowed by copyright.
Same here. No distortions on my system, just perfect clear sound with great bass and nice warm definition, clearer than the AB-1006, but not sterile, overly bright or cold or whatever. Great fun!
I wouldn’t mind betting that this guy - although he claims that the two best choices (Cisco and the original American one) are clearly superior to every other pressing done anywhere in the world since 1977 (a rather sweeping statement, as it’d take him a long time to assess them all) hasn’t heard the EU BtoB...
I'm sure they all sound better than my german 1st pressing. I'd love to get a US AB press, but of course people now ask silly money for it, so I'll live with what I have for now.
I have an original press & a Back to Black, the latter is better to my ears. Aja is a great sounding record, I don’t feel the need to chase rainbows on this one.
