I am interested in the SACDs, but I think that cost is going to play a big part in my decision. I live in Canada, so I am looking at approximately at least double the total cost of US customers. As much as I would like to get them all, I think I may wait for reviews of the actual product and then just pick the ones I would listen to most.
When it comes to SACDs the Steely Dan catalogue is in a similar situation to that of Genesis & Yes. There are SACDs of many of these bands' albums but very few that I enjoy listening to. The only Steely Dan SACD that I enjoy is the Japanese Gaucho & some time after purchasing this I found a CD version that I marginally preferred. Hopefully AP will make a proper job of these & allow the sonic benefits of SACD to become apparent, as opposed to just providing financial benefits to the record company. I'm not looking forward to paying the shipping to the UK for these, especially as they're being released individually. I've emailed Acoustic Sounds asking why their international shipping charges are so high, pointing out how much their competitors charge. I'll post the reply here if I receive one. Having said that I'll no doubt end up buying all of them, including Two Against Nature which for me was their only mis-step.
Chad Kassem refuses to work with Amazon, preferring to support other small businesses. Of course this makes any AP releases prohibitively expensive in the UK and Europe with shipping costs up to twice the cost of the disc itself. The hard fact is UK fans shelling out £100 for 1 disc while US fans could buy 3 of the discs for the same amount... Oh well at least we have free healthcare...
Most AP masterings never end up streaming or available for download, but some have (e.g., Beach Boys, Counting Crows, Oliver Nelson). I've never heard of that happening with MoFi or others.
That's true, and after @Balcanquhal 's comment a little upthread I also remembered the Beach Boys SACD-masterings by KG that surfaced at HDtracks and elsewhere. Sorry for OT, but: which Oliver Nelson AP are you referring to?
Oliver Nelson-The Blues And The Abstract Truth-Hybrid Stereo SACD|Acoustic Sounds This one. Kevin Gray mastering.
The news definitely has my attention! But, in truth, there are just three bits of information for us to kick around: 1. Steely Dan 1972-2003 2. AP SACD at more or less the usual price 3. Bernie GrundmanAm I missing something? So we can enjoy the exciting prospect of the Dan on audiophile SACD, we can voice some concern about BG's clinical values as a mastering engineer, we can complain about AP shipping costs outside the U.S. I guess one might hope for more commentary here, but there's just not a whole lot to go on. Pink Floyd threads will be different, just because there's personal conflict to talk about and sides to be taken and feelings of fan-abuse to work through.
Katy Lied. No it isn't fixed. It most likely never will be if it hasn't been by now. It is what it is, just enjoy it for what it is.
There's plenty to discuss and euphoria to express. I think Grundman is the right engineer for the transfer, but regardless there is not the level of enthusiasm there should be on a fundamental level. The fact that proper source material previously believed to be lost will be used for these SACDs--that alone should put this thread at about 20 pages right now.
I would prefer Kevin Gray, but Grundman has done excellent work in the past. I hope he is still up to the task. My biggest worry is the age of the master tapes and all the splices. I fear that the older tapes may be degraded to the point that the original CDs that Nichols created end up being better. We know from the the SD CD summary thread that Nichols pulled all the analog masters and kept them. Hopefully they are still in good enough shape to get a definitive master on SACD.
I think it is better to wait for the SACD to be in stock before ordering. AP ships for free on all in stock items that total over $49.00.
I’m in for all of the SACD’s. I have the Japanese SHM-SACD’s of Aja, Pretzel Logic, and Countdown to Ecstasy and the SACD’s of Two Against Nature and Everything Must Go. I also have the Cisco Aja and the original vinyl ABC pressings of all the ‘70’s albums. I’m always up for another (and hopefully better) digital version though. I only see a release date for Can’t Buy A Thrill. Is there any indication when the others will be out?
The announcement said all of them within the next year. So that sounds like one will be released every other month?
So I just ordered 3 titles on the SACD portion of my menu. Last Friday I chose 2 from the UHQR section. I was just sitting here thinking how often I reach for my AP CCR SACDs, and it made me smile. As I thought further, what do I have in the way of shiny discs when I want to hear some Steely Dan, and I'm out here in the living room ? CBAT on CD : Steely Dan - Can't Buy A Thrill Katy Lied on CD mastered by our host : Steely Dan - Katy Lied and Aja on CD, also mastered by our host : Steely Dan - Aja Okay, yes there's the Steely Dan - Citizen Steely Dan 1972-1980 too, but none of that is High Res SACD mastered by the great Bernie Grundman, so...
Analogue Productions has been known to include quad mixes on some SACDs. I think there are quads of some of these. Can't By A Thrill perhaps.
