Steely Dan - Citizen box set vs. current cds - sound quality

Are the current remastered Steely Dan cd's the same as the Citizen Steely Dan box set? Or were the cd's done later?

If so what is the better sound of the two?

 

Hi there - I can't answer your question but I'd suggest you look for the original MCA CDs...you may have to look for a while but they do pop up online and in used bins (often for very little) and they sound awesome. I had a couple of the later remasters and I don't know if they're the same as what's in CITIZEN DAN, but I can tell you I didn't like the way they sounded at all.

Roger Nichols mastered most of the original MCA CDs, and there are also versions of KATY LIED and AJA mastered by Steve Hoffman out there too (do a Forum search, lots on this). THE ROYAL SCAM original MCA CD mastered by Nichols sounds incredible.

It can get confusing finding these discs - MCA changed outer packaging a few times but sometimes the original mastering persisted for a while etc. Do a Forum search again to find stuff like the numbers on the CDs you want to look for.

 

Between the box set and the current remasters, the current discs are a significant improvement. The box set was treated with noise reduction throughout, and sounds a bit muddy. The current discs are brighter (maybe too bright, according to some), but they're really not that bad. I still prefer the original first-round Nichols discs, but if you don't feel like hunting those down, the current remasters should suit you just fine.

 

They are not the same...

And I would not touch the 2nd 1/2 of your question with a 10 foot pole

Having said that, the RM's are on yourmusic.com for $7 each. IMHO, the liner notes alone are worth the $7.

Brian

 

Ditto,the Liner Notes to the Remasters are witty and brilliant no doubt.The Box Set sounds warmer BUT in a bad compressed and muddy way.The Nichols Discs are very revealing and in some ways they are too revealing but they sound clear open and accurate but there is no tubey magic or air or analogness on these discs but they are very clean and present the music in a very forward light.Let the Buyer Beware...but enjoy the liner notes.....especially the whole bit about ABC Records on the Aja disc....priceless storytelling from the strangeness rock/jazz duo of all time.Becker could have been a satirist...........

 

Gaucho

What do you guys think of the SACD version of Gaucho (CD layer sound quality)?

 

I picked up the el cheapo super savers version of Pretzel logic this week in a used bin and can't stop playing it in my car. I've re-fallen in love with this album. I haven't heard the remasters but traded in all my original discs when the boxset came out. Although the box sounds fine to me, I've been re-picking up the older versions when I see them.

 

Best I've heard. Again, that's MY opinion. But I am very happy with it.

 

I've been picking up the old ones too. I am actually being embarassingly nitpicky about it. There are all kinds of variations to those MCA discs, but the early-early ones are MCA "made in Japan for U.S." pressings, with cat#s that begin with "MCAD-37". You'll find "made in U.S." copies, plaid back re-issues, cat#s starting with "MCAD-31", record club issues (some of these categories overlap)... all of them are later and are supposedly the same first mastering, but I must say I'm having a fun time hunting for the early ones.

 

Same with me. I like the box-set's sound too, but I pick up the originals when I see them in a second hand record store.
Achim

 

I personally think the early discs are the best. I just found that once I buying them and started playing them I ended up getting rid of the remasters as fast as poss. No comparison soundwise. Well to me anyway.

I also think the SACD of Gaucho's red book layer is excellent.

 

[SACD redbook layer]
I second that, played it a lot over the last few months and IMHO it sounds fantastic.

 

They are $6 at Buy.com with free shipping.

 

Get the box set

 

That thing is loaded with noise reduction. I used to like it...until I came here and was educated.

 

I have the Box Set, but have been playing more vinyl lately. The Cisco Aja
of course is great, and the Greatest Hits double l.p. sounds better than the
c.d.s I have. Also recently got Pretzel Logic and Countdown (orig. ABCs)
in minty condition. These guys recorded this stuff in analog, so I'm just
following through.

 

My dad got this as a birthday present around the time it came out, it turned me into a fan. The absence of the "Rikki don't lose that number" intro, the "Dallas/Sail the waterway" single and the incorrect sequence of some albums has always bothered me though. The booklet that comes with the boxed set isn't that great either.

 

I had the box set, but I really didn't like the sound, at all. They just sounded "not right" to me, not like I remember off my old lps. I recently bought all of the remasters, and I'm much happier with them, sound is clearer, seems more spacious and truer to the lp sound I remember (not exactly, or course!). Now I'm on the look out for the early cds, just to see what all the fuss is about.

 

I have all of the original MCA's, either US or Japan for US and they do sound great. The original vinyl is a bit better (I have these as well) but these CD's are excellent. Not too difficult to find either.

 

I had the remasters for CBAT and Pretzel Logic, and ditched those as soon as I heard the original CD's. They sound very good and can be had for very little money. Its worth it to search those out...

 

Even the plaid back MCA's sound better than the box set or newest remasters. Very easy to find these floating around.

 

I just bought the seven MCA titles from various Amazon vendors for a total of $27.55 plus shipping.

 

The CD layer sounds similar to the 2000 remaster, at least I haven't been able to spot major differences. The stereo and 5.1 surround layers are probably my favourites of the ones I've heard (I've heard the original USA MCA LP, the Citizen boxed set, the 2000 remaster and the SACD), it just adds a bit more warmth to what is already an amazing sounding album.