2024 the best of review

Price: $12.97
(as of Nov 25, 2024 11:15:15 UTC - Details)

2009 two CD compilation. Steely Dan have sold more than 30 million albums worldwide and helped define the soundtrack of the '70s with hits including “F.M.,” “Reelin' in the Years,” “Rikki Don't Lose That Number,” “Peg,” and “Hey Nineteen” (amongst others), culled from their seven platinum albums issued between 1972 and 1980. They reunited in the early '90s and have toured throughout the decade and beyond, releasing multi-Grammy winner Two Against Nature in 2000 and its acclaimed follow-up Everything Must Go in 2003. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.

Track List:

Disc 1
1. Do It Again
2. Dirty Work
3. Reelin' In The Years
4. Only A Fool Would Say That
5. Change Of The Guard
6. Bodhisattva
7. The Boston Rag
8. Show Biz Kids
9. My Old School
10. Rikki Don't Lose That Number
11. Night By Night
12. Pretzel Logic
13. Any Major Dude Will Tell You
14. Black Friday
15. Bad Sneakers
16. Doctor Wu
17. Any World (That I'm Welcome To)
18. Chain Lightning

Disc 2
1. Kid Charlemagne
2. Don't Take Me Alive
3. Haitian Divorce
4. The Fez
5. Here In The Western World
6. Black Cow
7. Aja
8. Deacon Blues
9. Peg
10. Josie
11. Fm
12. Babylon Sisters
13. Hey Nineteen
14. Time Out Of Mind
15. Third World Man
Package Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.55 x 4.92 x 0.31 inches; 4.23 ounces
Date First Available ‏ : ‎ August 25, 2023
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CGMHNYXF
Reviewer: Marc Reedy
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Pretzel logic all over again
Review: I have been a fan since a young woman recommended them to me back in 1997. It didn’t work out but I have been a consistent steely Dan fan. The one song I kind of skip over is “Rikki don’t lose that number “ as I relate it to a movie scene. Movies sometimes birth an obscure song or ruin a song depending on the movie and song and where it’s placed. I really think this collection is outstanding and I choose steely Dan over the Beatles any day

Reviewer: bullet08
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: If you like classic rock, get this album.
Review: Always listen to classic rock stations in my car. Since I listen to classic rocks in the car, I rarely buy classic rock CDs. Then I decided to get this album. Since I really don't pay much attention to artist names, had no idea Steely Dan played these tunes. I'm a casual listener. Was very surprised this band had so many tunes that play on the radio, and so many that I enjoy. Definitely a good buy if you are into classic rock.

Reviewer: Vicki E
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Yes!
Review: Love Steely Dan and this double set did not disappoint. I only wish it had 4 or even 5 discs.

Reviewer: Mac
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Steely Dans Greatest hits
Review: Awesome group. They made some of the best music; great songs

Reviewer: southern lady
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Great collection
Review: One of the best collection of Steely Dan greatest hits. Very pleased. You will not be disappointed if you are a fan.

Reviewer: Fred C.
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Good selection, but not the best recordings
Review: Rev 5/2/21 (see Notes)The Very Best of Steely Dan (a subset of Citizen Steely Dan) consists of digital recordings made in 1981-1982 from the original stereo analog masters, which Roger Nichols (Dan's main engineer) subsequently declared to be too deteriorated for further use as masters. The digital recordings were made with a 1st-generation digital recorder (a Sony PCM-1610) with standard input filters, which had phase nonlinearities and produced recordings with a dry (slightly smeared) high end without much detail, and with mediocre spaciousness and imaging. (Phase distortion causes time-misalignment of the various harmonics in musical waveforms, and time-misalignment between channels, and it cannot be removed by processing.) So, not surprisingly, the Very Best Of Steely Dan CD has the characteristic dry, un-detailed sound and dubious imaging which I would expect from the stock filters. But there have been times, when I wasn't listening closely, that I thought it sounded good.In 1985, MCA mastering engineers made another set of digital masters from the original stereo analog masters (see Metal Leg 18), apparently using a PCM-1610 with Apogee input filters [1], although Nichols had declared the analog masters to be too deteriorated for further use as masters. The resulting digital masters were used for 1985-1991 CD-releases, without providing consumers (or Nichols, apparently) with any indication that new digital masters had been used. I was initially overly enthusiastic about the sound quality of these CDs, and have since concluded that the only one of the bunch that I like is Katy Lied (MCAD-31194). Its master was dBx-encoded, which protected the recording to some extent from tape deterioration. Gaucho was in good condition, but as Nichols claimed in Metal Leg 18, the analog deck was running too fast during the dubbing process, so that the CD [2] has a high pitch. At first, I didn't notice it, but now it bothers me during the slower cuts. However, it could be corrected by using a player with a speed control. Aja's analog master was in borderline condition and had a lousy high end, which was given a peaky boost on the CD. It might have sounded good on CD players of that era, but modern players reveal its deficiencies. Thrill, Countdown, Pretzel, and Scam have a muffled, generally substandard sound, and the high end has a dry sheen and no detail. I'd avoid all of these CDs and just get the 1999 remasters.Roger Nichols made the 1999 remasters from copies of the original stereo analog masters. He copied each original master when it was new, and stored the copies in his personal archive, maintained them properly, and never used them (except Aja's, which he used once). He digitized them in 1998 with his Apogee AD-8000 24-bit ADC (S/N 1), and I assume that he used an Apogee UV-22 CD-encoder to convert the 24-bit master into a 16-bit master that sounds like it has the dynamic range of a 20-bit master. The 1999 CD-remasters for Thrill, Katy Scam, Aja, and Gaucho sound great (Aja is essentially perfect, for a CD). I have yet to hear Countdown or Pretzel, but I assume they're good. I've seen many subsequent releases on the CD Japan website for Dan fanatics with money to burn, so perhaps the safety masters were subsequently redigitized with more advanced ADCs, or perhaps the 24-bit masters were processed with more advanced DSP to create the CD masters. I also have a nagging suspicion that the multi-tracks and original stereo analog masters were actually well-preserved, and that Dan has perpetrated a deception worthy of the CIA to give the impression that the multi-tracks and original masters no longer exist, for security purposes. Considering the amount of work they put into those recordings, I would think that they would have watched them like hawks to ensure that they were being well-preserved. If they were well-preserved until 32-bit masters could have been made, they'd have the equivalent of eternal analog copies, because 32-bit masters are supposedly indistinguishable from analog masters, even after mixing.The Greatest Hits CD, which was initially released in 1993, was made from a 1978 analog master which was exceptionally clean in 1978 (I got the LP in the mid-80s). 1993, perhaps not coincidentally, was the same year when Apogee introduced its AD-1000 20-bit ADC and the UV-22 CD-encoder, to convert the 20-bit data to a CD-master with an apparent 20-bit dynamic range. However, it might have been made earlier with a 1st-gen digital deck with Apogee filters. In any case, this CD has a detailed, liquid sound quality, with good spaciousness and imaging, and it's essentially as enjoyable as an analog recording.Roger Nichols recorded and mixed Alive in America in analog for the best sound quality, and directly digitized the mixer's output with an Apogee AD-1000 and a UV-22, apparently without making an analog or high-res digital master. The CD has inverted polarity but with its polarity corrected is one of the most detailed I've ever heard. The performances are updated versions of some of their early hits, so it might take a while to get used to them, but they're great.To get the best sound quality from CDs, all you have to do is play them with the right audio polarity through modern DAC-chips. I have a $100 2017 Nobsound Bluetooth 4.2 Lossless Player, which I gave five stars on Amazon in 2018 and which continues to amaze me, although I assume that its sound quality is nothing special by comparison to similar units. It uses 2010-model (9018) Sabre DACs, TI-5532 pro-audio-grade op-amps for the output stage, and an internal 110 VAC power transformer with a secondary winding for the digital power supply and each of the analog power supplies (+/-15). When playing CDs, the CDs are the limiting factor, and some of them are fantastic. LPs and high-res digital have better detail, but CDs are convenient and provide a great selection of music. For more information on getting the best sound quality on a budget, see my review for the 1999 Aja CD-remaster.NotesRev 5/2/21 - Eliminated the erroneous claim that the 1999 Royal Scam CD-remaster has inverted audio polarity, and smoothed out some rough spots.[1] Apogee's filters have a linear phase response, meaning that they delay all frequencies by the same amount and therefore don't cause phase distortion. They became available in late 1985 and were very popular among recording engineers, but they cost about $5K per pair, when $5K could buy a new small car. A 1 KHz square wave filtered by an Apogee filter still resembles a square wave, although with slow rise/fall times and some ripple due to the lack of harmonics beyond 20 KHz. A square wave filtered by the stock filters looks nothing like a square wave.[2] The US CD-release of Gaucho which is based on the 1985 digital master (MCAD-37220 DIDX 56, 1990) can also be identified by "SHAPE OPTIMEDIA, INC. MADE IN USA" molded into the hub-area. Each catalog number can be found on the CD, although it can be hard to find.

Reviewer: Ralphie's Mom
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Great CD
Review: I love Steely Dan. These are great CDs. Takes me back to my younger days. 🙂

Reviewer: Tamara L.
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Best music ever!
Review: I like a lot of genres of music, but this 2 CD set blows me away with continuous great music. Easy listening, maybe. I will admit in in my sixties now, and if you are of a certain age and didn't hide under a rock when you were younger, you will LOVE these CD's.

Reviewer: Pic
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Qualité haut de gamme d'enregistrement fait en République CZ

Reviewer: JOSIMAR
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Es un excelente recopilación de esta gran banda y un sonido perfecto.

Reviewer: Johannes Widén
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Blandad musik med "Steely Dan".

Reviewer: JJ
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: My husband was delighted with the c.d.

Reviewer: Stefan Becker
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Bis vor kurzem hatte ich die Band überhaupt nicht auf dem Radar, obwohl ich seit 40 Jahren intensiv Musik höre und mich ansonsten wirklich sehr gut auskenne. Wem es so geht wie mir und wer intelligente Rockmusik mit Anspruch sucht, dem kann ich diese Musik nur wärmstens empfehlen. Walter Becker und Donald Fagen haben keine Band im eigentlichen Sinne gegründet, sondern ihre Musik mit wechselnden, aber immer hervorragenden Sessionmusikern im Studio eingespielt. Dementsprechend ist Klang und Stil der Stücke sehr unterschiedlich. Von den sehr rockigen Anfängen bis hin zu "Asia", das man guten Gewissens als Jazz-Rock bezeichnen kann. Sie waren dabei ihrer Zeit immer weit voraus. Beispielsweise "Asia" ist sowohl klanglich als auch musikalisch absolut in den 90er Jahren verortbar, obwohl der Track aus den 70er Jahren stammt. Die perfektionistische Studioproduktion von Becker und Fagen macht es möglich, hat aber nach allem, was man so hört auch manche der besten Session-Musiker nach der 100sten Wiederholung einer Aufnahme zum wutentbrannten Zuknallen der Studiotür (von außen) gebracht. Kurzum, wer diese Band nicht kennt und gerne Rock mit Jazzeinfluss hört, der sollte hier unbedingt zugreifen. Für 14€ für zwei CDs mit hervorragender Musik kann man hier absolut nichts falsch machen.