Steely Dan's Discography Gets (SACD) Overhaul

[RageATL]

Wild that it has taken over a year to fully release this back catalog on SACD, but I was just billed for the remaining four SACDs in my order (Katy Lied, The Royal Scam, Aja and Gaucho...I didn't go for Two Against Nature or Everything Must Go), so looks like they'll be shipping soon.

[fdm]

I've been getting the hi-res downloads as they've come out. So perhaps the rest of those are going to show up all at once tonight too.

I haven't compared any of them to my cds, but then again when I last played my cds I probably just had my (mechanically noisy) portable Panny cd player and some so-so portable headphones. Now it's all computer driven with a really nice dac/amp and really nice headphones, so yeah I guess they do sound better.

(One thing I've learned with that hardware upgrade was that it wasn't that old cd player that was doing all the hissing in the right channel, it's actually my hearing… although that may have been exacerbated while trying out a (different) dac/amp and (different) headphone set that I just could not get to sound right even when I turned up the volume probably too high…)

[RageATL]

Originally Posted by RageATL

Wild that it has taken over a year to fully release this back catalog on SACD, but I was just billed for the remaining four SACDs in my order (Katy Lied, The Royal Scam, Aja and Gaucho...I didn't go for Two Against Nature or Everything Must Go), so looks like they'll be shipping soon.

Welp, I goofed...they must have put in an inquiry charge on the remaining four discs in my pre-order to make sure the charge was still valid, cuz it disappeared after a few days, was replaced by a single disc charge and I got a shipping notice that "Aja" had just shipped...it arrived today.

[stvn1974]

IMO, Aja is probably the best produced album that I have ever heard. I would like to hear what the SACD sounds like.

[RageATL]

Originally Posted by stvn1974

IMO, Aja is probably the best produced album that I have ever heard. I would like to hear what the SACD sounds like.

Me too, but the question is, how much more AQ can Analogue Productions eek out of one of the best produced albums of all time. If you refer back to some of my previous posts, you'll see that it was really tough for me to discern (and ultimately not being able to justify the upgrade cost to others in good faith) a difference between the semi-recent 1999 remasters and these SACDs.

[bigshot]

I haven't heard a bad release of a Steely Dan record. They were very hands on when it came to mastering.

[Jodi]

Originally Posted by RageATL

Me too, but the question is, how much more AQ can Analogue Productions eek out of one of the best produced albums of all time. If you refer back to some of my previous posts, you'll see that it was really tough for me to discern (and ultimately not being able to justify the upgrade cost to others in good faith) a difference between the semi-recent 1999 remasters and these SACDs.

Here's just one sample of what to expect from the Analogue Productions SACD of Steely Dan's "Aja", mastered by Bernie Grundman. I just received my copy today, but haven't had time to listen yet.

First, this is dead quiet. I know that’s more typical of LP descriptions but seriously this thing is black.
But it’s also very alive, without being lively. Not at all bright, no glare. You can crank this up to your system limits and never feel like it falls apart. That means no compression - you can also turn it way down and not lose anything. But who does that with this album?
The soundstage is wide and deep, but not too tall. It wraps around maybe 160° in my room, which is 14.5’ wide. Strong and correct center image.
Steve Gadd & Wayne Shorter tearing up on Aja is stunning, the force of Gadd’s drums strong but not overpowering the music. And that sax, “learn to play the saxophone” indeed.
Cymbal strikes, every percussive bit, even the police whistle are all present & perfectly clear.
The backup vocals are not just there, they are an apparent part of the music.
And that’s the real deal here - this was a serious studio effort for its time, and you can hear it loud & clear. Every part played had a purpose and you can clearly hear it. Not a cheesy 1970s rock record, but a perfectly constructed piece of rock art.
There is nothing wrong here - accurate abundant bass, flawless midrange. The dynamic range that shiny discs should be famous for and that records can’t touch.
I own over 450 SACDs and I’ll go ahead and say it - this may be the best rock disc I own.

[RageATL]

Originally Posted by Jodi

Here's just one sample of what to expect from the Analogue Productions SACD of Steely Dan's "Aja", mastered by Bernie Grundman. I just received my copy today, but haven't had time to listen yet.

[Show spoiler]First, this is dead quiet. I know that’s more typical of LP descriptions but seriously this thing is black.
But it’s also very alive, without being lively. Not at all bright, no glare. You can crank this up to your system limits and never feel like it falls apart. That means no compression - you can also turn it way down and not lose anything. But who does that with this album?
The soundstage is wide and deep, but not too tall. It wraps around maybe 160° in my room, which is 14.5’ wide. Strong and correct center image.
Steve Gadd & Wayne Shorter tearing up on Aja is stunning, the force of Gadd’s drums strong but not overpowering the music. And that sax, “learn to play the saxophone” indeed.
Cymbal strikes, every percussive bit, even the police whistle are all present & perfectly clear.
The backup vocals are not just there, they are an apparent part of the music.
And that’s the real deal here - this was a serious studio effort for its time, and you can hear it loud & clear. Every part played had a purpose and you can clearly hear it. Not a cheesy 1970s rock record, but a perfectly constructed piece of rock art.
There is nothing wrong here - accurate abundant bass, flawless midrange. The dynamic range that shiny discs should be famous for and that records can’t touch.
I own over 450 SACDs and I’ll go ahead and say it - this may be the best rock disc I own.

Wow, sexy. Looking forward to a late-night listening session tonight.

[RageATL]

Originally Posted by Jodi

Here's just one sample of what to expect from the Analogue Productions SACD of Steely Dan's "Aja", mastered by Bernie Grundman. I just received my copy today, but haven't had time to listen yet.

[Show spoiler]First, this is dead quiet. I know that’s more typical of LP descriptions but seriously this thing is black.
But it’s also very alive, without being lively. Not at all bright, no glare. You can crank this up to your system limits and never feel like it falls apart. That means no compression - you can also turn it way down and not lose anything. But who does that with this album?
The soundstage is wide and deep, but not too tall. It wraps around maybe 160° in my room, which is 14.5’ wide. Strong and correct center image.
Steve Gadd & Wayne Shorter tearing up on Aja is stunning, the force of Gadd’s drums strong but not overpowering the music. And that sax, “learn to play the saxophone” indeed.
Cymbal strikes, every percussive bit, even the police whistle are all present & perfectly clear.
The backup vocals are not just there, they are an apparent part of the music.
And that’s the real deal here - this was a serious studio effort for its time, and you can hear it loud & clear. Every part played had a purpose and you can clearly hear it. Not a cheesy 1970s rock record, but a perfectly constructed piece of rock art.
There is nothing wrong here - accurate abundant bass, flawless midrange. The dynamic range that shiny discs should be famous for and that records can’t touch.
I own over 450 SACDs and I’ll go ahead and say it - this may be the best rock disc I own.

I'm usually not one for hyperbole and I didn't read it before my quick, two-track listening session (Black Cow and Peg), but I really have to agree with the assessment you posted above. My system was sufficiently warmed up and while I also didn't compare the 1999 remastered version I have to this beforehand, it's painfully obvious how well this disc was handled. It's really that good. If you the same remaster I do, you'll still probably wanna pick it up, but if you don't have a decent copy of this album, this version is the one to buy and well worth the price of admission.

[DanFan]

I see there are also Bernie Grundman remasters of Two Against Nature and Everything must go on SACD.

Are these remasters superior to the stereo mixes found on the DVD-Audio releases in the early 2000's?

[bigshot]

I've never found any Steely Dan release that didn't sound great.

[RageATL]

Originally Posted by DanFan

I see there are also Bernie Grundman remasters of Two Against Nature and Everything must go on SACD.

Are these remasters superior to the stereo mixes found on the DVD-Audio releases in the early 2000's?

Dunno, but I do like that the entire catalog's on one format now for whatever that's worth.

[DanFan]

Originally Posted by RageATL

Dunno, but I do like that the entire catalog's on one format now for whatever that's worth.

The DVD-A discs have 5.1 mixes as well. So they are staying on the shelf even if I get the new stereo mixes by B.G.

[RageATL]

"Gaucho" just arrived for me Friday. As expected, it sounds absolutely fantastic.

[Jodi]

Just arrived today!! "Katy Lied" SACD, Analogue Productions

[RageATL]

Originally Posted by Jodi

Just arrived today!! "Katy Lied" SACD, Analogue Productions

Nice, mine arrived a few days ago as well.

[RageATL]

My copy of "The Royal Scam" arrived over the weekend and that concludes my initial order of all the original "classic" albums. Not sure yet if I'll dip into the late career discs just yet.