A VERY MERRY STEELY DAN CHRISTMAS TO YOU

CAN'T BUY A THRILL (Japanese SHM-CD)

The Dan's first album, and although there's some great stuff in here, it's obvious they were still trying to find their way. The addition of vocalist David Palmer (of "Dirty Work", etc.) proved to be a mistake, even though Donald Fagen has never been particularly comfortable as the front man--especially when touring, a habit which continues today. This one is not my rip.

COUNTDOWN TO ECSTASY (Japanese SHM-CD)

In their second effort, they proved to be much more interesting...especially with songs like "Bodhisattva", "My Old School", "Your Gold Teeth", "Show Biz Kids", and, well, pretty much the entire album. Not one to miss.

PRETZEL LOGIC (Japanese SHM-CD)

I really took notice when this one came out, especially since that was the heyday of the 8-track tape, and you either listened to the whole album, or just sections. I listened to the whole album, and have never forgotten it.

KATY LIED (Japanese SHM-CD)

Absolutely stunning, especially when you consider that when this was going to be released, it was almost junked because a new mixing technology had "ruined" it. Nope. Here it is in all its glory.

THE ROYAL SCAM (Japanese SHM-CD)

Musically, this one seems to have a harder edge than any of the other albums. Still, though, it's one of my favorites.

AJA (Japanese SHM-CD)

For sheer listening pleasure, this album has to take my vote for Steely Dan. Totally brilliant.

GAUCHO (DVD-A)

Not one of my rips, but it sounds immeasurably better than my copies of the Japanese SHM-CD. This includes the 24-96 version, which is why the download is so large...and so worth it.

THE DEFINITIVE STEELY DAN (Japanese SHM-CD)

A fair attempt at a greatest hits album, but hardly "definitive", since they didn't even put in "Here At the Western World", but still worth having. Not one of my rips.

FORWARD INTO THE PAST: Becker & Fagen - The Early Years

A collection of outtakes and demos, some of them quite interesting. Worth the time.

THE NIGHTFLY (MFSL 16-44/24-96 Vinyl Rip)

Obviously not one of mine, but the sound on this one beats every other copy of it I have. On his first solo effort, Fagen sounds more like Steely Dan than he does on his follow-ups. Check out "I.G.Y.", "New Frontier" and the title track, for instance. This also includes some bonus Steely Dan stuff I threw in that don't appear on any of the other albums, such as "Here At the Western World", "Dallas", and "Sail the Waterway".

TRILOGY: 10 EXTRAS (16-44/24-96)

Mostly a collection of live tracks and singles, all provided in 16-44 and 24-96. Not my rip, but a great addition to any collection.

MARIAN McPARTLAND'S PIANO JAZZ with Special Guest STEELY DAN

This 2002 Public Radio broadcast has been available on the internet almost since it was aired, but most of those copies were MP3. Here, we finally have a Japanese pressing of the whole show. Even if you cut out the discussion, there's still a half hour or so of Steely Dan music with more of a jazz feel than usual. Highly recommended.

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Rod Stewart - CLASSIC ROD STEWART (Japanese SHM-CD)

Rod Stewart - CLASSIC ROD STEWART (Japanese SHM-CD)

This is a pretty good overview of the early days of Rod Stewart, back when he was a rocker, not a disco superstar, a pop star, or a middle-of-the-road oldies singer. Sure, there are songs missing, but none of these "best of" collections have everything...otherwise, we'd never buy (or re-buy) the original albums. However, on this one we do have "Maggie May" with a prelude I don't remember ever hearing, "You Wear It Well", "I Know I'm Losing You", "Every Picture Tells A Story", "Angel", "Gasoline Alley", "It's All Over Now", "Reason To Believe", "Twistin' the Night Away", "Handbags & Gladrags", "Mine For Me" and more.

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COMING ATTRACTIONS & OTHER STUFF

COMING ATTRACTIONS
AND
OTHER MATTERS

Immediately following this post, you'll be seeing the 1990 Toshiba-EMI release of Duran Duran's RIO (which sounds wonderful, by the way), but I wanted to give you some advance warning about some of the things you're likely to see here before too long. Here's a list:

Jimmy Buffett - YOU HAD TO BE THERE (U.S. Pressing)
Steely Dan - Just about everything in SHM-CD plus some great, rare extras
Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band - LIVE BULLET (U.S. Pressing from the UK Masters)
Bread - THE BEST OF BREAD (U.S. Pressing)
Chicago - CHICAGO V (Japanese SHM-CD)
Chicago - CHICAGO II (Japanese SHM-CD)
Chicago - CHICAGO VII (Japanese SHM-CD)
Chicago - LIMITED EDITION (Canadian Tin Box Set)
Carole King - WRAP AROUND JOY (Japanese Mini-LP)
Carole King - HER GREATEST HITS Songs of Long Ago (Japanese Mini-LP)

...and many more artists such as the Eagles, more Pat Travers, Rod Stewart, Tom Petty, Billy Squier, Hootie and the Blowfish, Bad Company, Bruce Springsteen, John Cafferty, Styx, and so on.

If for some reason you can't make a comment, you can email me at baelblood@aol.com to let me know what you want and prefer.

Duran Duran - 1982 Rio (Toshiba-EMI CP21-6047) [1990 Japanese Remaster]

This fantastic version of Duran Duran's RIO is like nothing I've ever heard before. It's amazing to think that back in 1990, the Japanese were producing pressings such as this. Not my rip, of course, and it's missing the obi, but there's little doubt where this was produced.

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Chicago - Chicago Transit Authority (Japanese SHM-CD)

Chicago - Chicago Transit Authority (Japanese SHM-CD)

I've always been fascinated by the sophistication of this album, particularly since it's Chicago's first, issued in 1969, forty years ago. For a major portion of their early production, Chicago was an esoteric band--only (strangely) more commercial types such as Blood, Sweat & Tears and Chase incorporated horns into rock so thoroughly, melding it with a jazz sensibility. Truly, this was "fusion" at its finest.

Even today, forty years later, this album sounds great...almost contemporary. With the Japanese pressing and SHM-CD remastering, however, it puts the whole sound into another realm. The major songs, here..."Introduction", "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?", "Beginnings", "Questions 67 and 68", as well as the reworking of the Spencer Davis Group's "I'm A Man"--all in their full album length and glory--make this one a must.

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Pat Travers - 8 + 8 Best of '77-'80 (UK Edition)

Pat Travers - 8 + 8 Best of '77-'80 (UK Edition) - It's amazing how many Pat Travers albums (including U.S. pressings) sound so much better than normal pressings, many of them falling into the audiophile category by sound alone. This is, in effect, two old-style length LP's on one CD, and the sound is simply fantastic.

Let's start with the first eight tracks. These are the complete album LIVE! GO FOR WHAT YOU KNOW, one of those pivotal live albums I mentioned in the previous post. The remastering, though, is better than the sound of the original vinyl, and these eight songs alone make this album well worth purchasing.

The second eight tracks are a selection from 1977-1980 studio releases, and sound almost as good. If you like Pat Travers, or the blues, you'll want this one.

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Little Feat - Waiting For Columbus Deluxe Edition (Japanese)

Little Feat - Waiting For Columbus Deluxe Edition (Japanese)

One of those iconic live albums in which the performance completely transcends studio versions. I may be a bit prejudiced because I was there, and also saw them a few times at the even smaller Warner Theater in D.C., but this is still one of those live albums you've simply got to have. This is the Japanese pressing of the Deluxe Edition, with all the extra tracks. I must say, it was worth the price just for the increase in sound quality.

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Heart - Eight (Or Nine) Albums, Mostly Imports

DREAMBOAT ANNIE - Until the Japanese get off the stick and do a SHM-CD or blue-spec set of these albums, this pressing remains the highest quality available, better even than the DCC Gold, Steve Hoffman-produced edition. The editing is more in line with the original release, and the sound is crisper, cleaner, and deeper.



MAGAZINE (Original Issue) - This is a vinyl rip (not mine) in 24-96 flac of the original, unauthorized U.S. or Canadian (Mushroom Records) pressing of the album from 1977. Originally intended to be the band's second album, if the strongest songs in this one ("Heartless", "Magazine" and "Devil Delight", etc.) had been combined with the strongest ones from LITTLE QUEEN, I honestly believe it would have been a breakthrough hit on par with Fleetwood Mac's RUMOURS. However, the band's quite understandable break with their original label caused said label to issue an album of what seems to be early studio versions and canned live tracks. When a lawsuit caused this album to be withdrawn, the deal was that Heart would re-record and re-mix the album completely, which they did. In the process, however, I think they ruined it. There's a feeling missing from both the singing and playing in the commercially-released version, and the songs seem somewhat, well, over-produced. In any event, this is the absolute best copy I've ever found of this album. I also have it available in an ape image, and will upload that upon request.



MAGAZINE - This is the re-recorded version, and the best mix and pressing available--which, despite my disparaging remarks above, is nonetheless quite impressive. In a timeline, this album actually comes after LITTLE QUEEN, and the re-mix shows it. Still, well worth a listen and a comparison to the original.



LITTLE QUEEN - This uses the same mastering as the U.S. Legacy expanded edition, only the Japanese quality control gives it a better sound. A brilliant album, but if MAGAZINE had included tunes from here (as originally planned), the album would have been much stronger.



DOG & BUTTERFLY - Perhaps the last truly brilliant album Heart ever released, in its 2004 Legacy expanded remaster and benefiting from a Japanese pressing. Highly recommended



PRIVATE AUDITION and PASSIONWORKS - This UK import contains both of these previously hard-to-find CD's in one slipcase. The sound is only slightly better than the U.S. pressings...but try to find even them!



HEART - Considered the first of Heart's "corporate rock" period, it's also arguably the best of that bunch. The Japanese pressing is certainly superior to the MFSL.



DREAMBOAT ANNIE LIVE - This is one of those rare Japanese pressings (in SHM-CD, no less!) which actually sounds worse than the U.S. edition. The only saving grace are two Japan-only live tracks, which sound better than the rest of the album.

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Boston - The First Three in Japanese Pressings

BOSTON - When the first album came out, there just hadn't been anything sounding like it before. Even that "better music through science" campaign couldn't obscure the fact that this was just great rock. This one's in mini-LP format, and they've used the best remaster (Tom Scholz's own 2006 version) for this great Japanese pressing.



DON'T LOOK BACK - Not as cohesive an album as the first, but there's still some great stuff on here. Again, this is the mini-LP format.



THIRD STAGE - It was a long wait for this one--largely due to legal hassles, and only marginally worth it. This one's one of those great SHM-CD issues, and sounds simply fantastic.

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ON ANOTHER NOTE...
I wanted to bring this one up before someone else does. I named this blog Rock Import not only because I specialize in them, but to emphasize the import of rock. There'll be times I post U.S. pressings or bootlegs, simply because they're interesting, hard to find, or both. I think you'll like what's offered.

Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon Toshiba Black Triangle

Often called the Holy Grail of the Pink Floyd Universe, this early Japanese pressing does sound simply fantastic. I compared it in a side-by-side, track-for-track way using foobar2000 without enhancements such as equalizers, and this version sounded at least twice as good as the most recent Japanese SACD hybrid--and I did the comparison using the SACD version at 24-bit - 96kHz.

This one isn't one of my rips, so I really can't answer any more questions than those in the file. I will tell you this--no matter how many copies of DSotM you have, you will want this one.

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The Doobie Brothers - Eight Japanese Pressings Plus

THE DOOBIE BROTHERS - This one's the first Doobie's album, and while, as a whole, it doesn't stand up to what comes after, there are some flashes of brilliance here, such as "Nobody". This whole series (all are in mini-LP format, except TOULOUSE STREET and STAMPEDE) sound much better than the U.S. pressings. I'd be buying the SHM-CD versions right now, if I didn't already have these.



TOULOUSE STREET - Often called the "first true Doobie album", there's some excellent songs on this one, including "Listen To the Music", "Rockin' Down the Highway" and "Jesus Is Just Alright".



THE CAPTAIN AND ME - This album shows the Doobies truly coming into their own. Tracks such as "Long Train Runnin'", "China Grove", "Without You" and "South City Midnight Lady" stud this tour de force.



WHAT ONCE WERE VICES ARE NOW HABITS - This is still the only early Doobie album I listen to all the way through. "Black Water", "Eyes of Silver", "Road Angel", "Another Park, Another Sunday", and, well, just about every tune in here is worth the time.



STAMPEDE - A little lighter on the hits, and a little heavier on the contents. "I Cheat the Hangman" is not to be missed!



TAKIN' IT TO THE STREETS - While many consider the advent of Michael McDonald as a force in the Doobies to be a harbringer of their downfall, I always viewed this cross-pollination with Steely Dan-type music as a plus, at least until things got just too damned popish.



LIVIN' ON THE FAULT LINE - This one went even more into a Dan-ish vein, playing up jazz more than rock. Still great stuff, though.



ONE STEP CLOSER - Really, I always considered this album "One Step Too Far". Not my favorite.



MINUTE BY MINUTE - The last listenable Doobie Brothers album, I don't have this one in a Japanese pressing, so I've inserted the Audio Fidelity gold disc HDCD in its place. I really love "Steamer Lan Breakdown".

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Rush Japanese SHM-CD's

FLY BY NIGHT - Rush's second album, and the first with Neil Peart. Here, we get the first reference to philosopher/writer Ayn Rand ("Anthem"), and the shift towards more esoteric material (as well as, strangely enough, more commercial material) is well under way.




CARESS OF STEEL - Bringing out a bit more of the Canadian side, and exploring longer pieces. Just a breath of what they'd do with their next album.



2112 - Some say this one was their masterpiece. It certainly grabbed my attention back when it first came out. This is probably the best sounding version you've ever heard. (We'll discuss SHM-CD tech another time.)



A FAREWELL TO KINGS - The first half of what's essentially one concept album, this shows the boys gettin' good...really good.



HEMISPHERES - Pretty much the second half to the last album. Some great stuff here.



PERMANENT WAVES - Sophistication is starting to creep in, along with top-40 singles.



MOVING PICTURES - Definitely not to be missed. Beats the MFSL version hands down.



SIGNALS - When it came out, I thought this was one of the greatest albums, ever. I still think it's good, but my passion has cooled over the years.



GRACE UNDER PRESSURE - Great songs, a more mature *Sold Out!* sound... What more could you want?



POWER WINDOWS - Ditto the above.

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