True that. Not sure what the status is of the master. Ill have to give my best abc black label a spin...it's been awhile. Maybe it will cure my want for a improvement.
Playing my best vinyl 1a/1b in VG+ condition on my mancave Scott system. I forgot how good it sounds. I'll probaby sell the doubles I have.
The only stereo master we had suspected might be gone was, oddly enough, Gaucho. The recent, non-Japanese, stereo versions on HD Tracks, DVD-A, SACD, etc. all seem to be from the same 2000-era Roger Nichols digital transfer, with various volume level adjustments. If they still had the analog master tapes, there should be more variations between these. Although - after the Universal fire, all the Steely Dan stereo master tapes may be gone now. Cheers, Paul
Just listening to my black label CBAT and thinking how nice it would be to have a copy with a little less surface noise, them looked over at Discogs and think I'm okay with what I have after seeing the prices. maybe a simple question of scarcity? I noticed the "wants" are about double the "haves" for this album.
Huh, wondered why the one at my local disappeared quick (black label) Also wondering why I didn't grab it...
Has any one heard or own the Speakers Corner version of CBAT? The hipster record store I try to stay away from is advertising on their website several sealed Speakers Corner pressings. It looks like they have Can't Buy A Thrill, The APP Eye In The Sky (2 copies) and the J Geils Band s/t.
I had a nice black label years ago and lost it around 2016 with a bunch of other albums... the only reason I have my current copy is through the kindness of a forum member that offered it as an add-on with a super-clean RL Gaucho not long ago. I love you guys, man!
I haven't, but judging from the prices I've seen, it must be amazing. Either that or the sleeve is made of compressed high quality hash....
Supposed to sound very good, but bested by a black label original, and also there's a tape drag on Fire In The Hole that might be an issue for you. Also depends what the price is. I'd probably snag one for $25 just to hear it, but I'm not paying the current going rate. Also, this is unrelated, but.... I didn't see a thread about this yet. Is this the first official release for the semi-legendary B&F demos? (Or is this just a bootleg, albeit one being sold by a reputable site??) Brill Building: Best Of The Original Recordings 1968-71: The Sound Of Vinyl Exclusive 180g Yellow Vinyl
No doubt, However, I might get lucky with this one as the owner is notorious for his strange pricing behavior.
There's only one of this Dan on Speakers Corner for sale in the UK through Discogs. The guy is asking £150 for it.
It sounds pretty good, but once I heard that tape drag on side 2, I couldn't forget it. Sold mine because of it.
@Dr. Funk - I have the SC, and recommend it very highly. A thread search brings these results : Search Results for Query: SPEAKERS CORNER | Steve Hoffman Music Forums Funny, my 2017 post is the oldest of the 16 posts. I paid normal retail back then.
Still any hard proof that they were burned up? From Can't Buy Me A Thrill to Gaucho, all? What stereo masters are still alive?
I prefer the Japan-for-USA MCA CD, but the quad, as noted, is eye-popping. It's "out there" as a DVD-A conversion. Too fun.
I’m actually listening to a needledrop of the Speakers Corner right now for the first time ever - after reading so much about it over the years. I gotta say I’m not overly impressed. To my ears, the bottom-end is a little too goosed and unnatural for my taste. IMO, it sounds like they were trying get low-end which simply isn’t there on the tapes. And the tape drag on Fire In The Hole is immediately apparent and - without knowing more about the back story - seems inexcusable. Having said that, I have to add the caveat that I got the needledrop from an unknown source. So perhaps what I’m hearing is simply the aural characteristics of someone else’s vinyl rig. I certainly wouldn’t spend the going rate for it (which seems to be well north of $100). But if you can get it relatively cheap, I’m sure you could unload it easily and maybe even make a profit if you don’t care for it.
Thank you for your perspective and info. I called and it's already gone...the employee I talked with wasn't sure, but thought it sold for $75 which I wouldn't have paid. This vinyl boom keeps getting crazier around here.
Folks here convinced me that those early black label Dunhills are fantastic. They were right - they are. However...don't shy away from a UK Probe, or a JPN 70's VIM series. All very nice.
Sadly - we may never definitively know either. Universal has been notoriously tight lipped on this. At this point, I'd assume all of the stereo masters and multi-track outtakes are gone. Mutli-tracks for the main albums were apparently stored separately - some of these have been confirmed as existing by Elliot Scheiner. I wrote a summary of what we know here: Steely Dan Aja vinyl shootout Cheers, Paul
