I agree with you in that the Japanese CBS/Sony and JVC pressings sound closed in when compared to the MFSL UDI CD.
The details of my Aja CD: MCD 01745 DMCL 1745 (c) 1977, 1984 MCA Records, Inc. Distributed by BMG Ariola - A Bertelsmann Music Group Company All trademarks and logos are protected - Printed In Germany Total time: 39:57 Individual times: 5:12, 7:57, 7:37, 3:58, 5:35, 5:06, 4:30 The details of my Katy Lied CD: MCD 01800 DMCL 1800 (c) 1975, 1985 MCA Records, Inc. Distributed by BMG Ariola - A Bertelsmann Music Group Company All trademarks and logos are protected - Printed In Germany Total time: 35:39 Individual times: 3:41, 3:21, 3:07, 3:17, 3:57, 3:47, 4:15, 3:02, 3:55, 3:15 My Pretzel Logic, Royal Scam and Gaucho are from the same series...MCD 01781, MCD 01708 and MCD 01814, respectively.
Interesting as my Aja tracks are different on my Japanese pressing. 5:07 7:56 7:26 3:58 5:31 5:03 4:30. On my USA version they're the same and on my MFSL they're same as well. Hmmm. They sure all sound different from each other though.
Thanks for the info. Do the discs have clear plastic rings at the center? Are you able to post a scan of one of the discs? Also, do the discs or inserts make any reference to WEST Germany? I am not familiar with the MCD catalog number series and am just wondering how old it is.
The Aja, Pretzel Logic and Royal Scam discs have a silver inner ring. The Katy Lied and Gaucho discs have a clear inner ring. I also found that Gaucho is actually Made In Austria (that is printed on the disc, the back cover says Printed In Germany), and Royal Scam is from the UK. None of the CDs make any mention of specifically West Germany. Maybe they aren't even from the 1980s?
Andreas, thanks. My guess is that your German pressings are later issues. Did you buy them new? If so, when? As I said earlier in this thread, I have one West German Steely Dan MCA disc. It's A Decade of Steely Dan. The disc says "Manufactured in West Germany..." on the label side, and the disc does not have a clear plastic ring. There is not barcode on the back insert.
A little off topic You joke, but I actually had Amiga (E. German) label pressings of Lennon's Shaved Fish & Double Fantasy (seemed funny to me, all things considered). Not nearly as wierd as the Russian Manfred Mann album I had, though...
Couldn't find anything on the subject (let alone an explanation) - perhaps I wasn't looking in the right place?
Dob, I thought you were looking for a way to contact Roger in a public forum..that's why I provided the link. Sorry 'bout that.
I agree this Roger Nichols flat transfer does sound great. Forum friends, I seriously doubt that the SH mastered Aja and Katy Lied CDs were ever released by MCA. I along with other members have searched and compared *every* early MCA pressing and have yet to find one.
It is certainly beginning to appear that way, since nobody has any definitive clues as to what Steve's Aja looks and sounds like. It probably wasn't released since the Boss himself does not have a copy of it. Well, at least we can all agree that the first Nichols flat transfer sounds good. And in the end, isn't that what really counts? Evan
I gotta question: where did the "there were 5,000 pressed" figure come from? Insider info? Educated guessing? Just wonderin'.
What I think we should be considering is that just one version was released, but I really don't think that we have the information available to say definitively that what we have is the Nichols version or the Hoffman version. When Kevin had Steve listen to the CBS/Sony pressing, Steve was going from memory of what his version sounded like. Remember that he does not have the disc himself, nor has he instructed us of what to look for in terms of plant pressing, matrix code, track and disc times, etc. With all due respect to Steve, listening for a filled in mid-range is somewhat vague. We all hear things differently, plus we cannot identify a filled in mid-range when we have only found one version (i.e., we have no basis for comparison). So, the Japanese pressings we have all found (CBS/Sony and JVC pressings) sound great. They all seem to be derived from the same master, and that master could be Steve's or Nichols'. We have no basis to conclude that it is one or the other. Just because it's been said that Steve's version was limited to 5,000 copies doesn't mean it's correct. Perhaps all Japanese pressings are Steve's version. Perhaps none of them are. Perhaps Steve's version was never released.
That's what I have been told, but you would think that someone would have uncovered this disc by now. 5,000 isn't a huge quantity, but it isn't an extremely limited pressing either. Discs that are far less common come up on eBay, and folks here have such discs. With all due respect, I am skeptical about the 5,000 figure.
"Well, at least we can all agree that the first Nichols flat transfer sounds good. And in the end, isn't that what really counts?" I also agree with Evan that if most of us like the sound of the Roger Nichols' version, then we should be happy that we have his version. Ed Hurdle HeavyDistortion
Not to pick on Ed, but why are we assuming that what we are all listening to is the Nichols version? What evidence do we really have? There is no evidence to indicate that both versions exist, but there is also no evidence to say what exactly we are listening to either. What we have is good, but we don't know what we have.
