Does Steely Dan sound bright to you?

They sound the way Steely Dan wants (ed) them to sound. Excellent. Some bands care more than others about SQ. Some don't. I think they are at the top of the list.

My MFSL Aja jacket is a disaster. Record itself is perfectly clean. Been played more than any record I own. The sound on the song Aja is so unique.

Can't Buy a Thrill on Speakers Corner is incredible (and SD really screwed with the chords/timing on Fire in the Hole) - wish the licensing permitted them to press Pretzel, Countdown, Royal, Katy (even though I have that on MFSL that sounds like crap), and the ones that were never released here on vinyl (Kamakiriad, Everything Must Go, Morph the Cat). Check out Sunken Condos on clear vinyl - sounds amazing. I was lucky to get the Nightfly and Gaucho on Japanese Pressings and they are the best. Wish I had gotten the early ones on them, but live and learn. I was in college and didn't know how hard it would be to get them later on.

Can't say bright or not bright....perfect.

@sokogear You make a powerful case to this SD fan for a turntable!

Since I don't have one, the "they" in your comment is unfortunately very hard to get stabilized, as the thread below details. Many masterings, releases, etc. moot the genuine interest of my question. I'm amazed at how many responses this thread continues to get. I wish I could retitle the thread, "Post if you like SD" because that's now the fire-giving ember.

I have never cared much for later Steely Dan (SD), and certainly not for Fagen & Nightfly.  Earlier stuff is to my liking, as they were more of a band.  For me, later SD was not a band, it was a conglomerate.  This is classic Type A listening - listening for the sonics, not as much as the music.

Much the same for the highly and widely aclaimed Beach Boys' Pet Sounds.  The Beach Boys were not a band at the time, they were a ton of session musicians creating a soundscape.

This is why I love LIVE music and LIVE Recordings.  By and Large they are bands playing as bands.  Some did lots of overdubs (Zappa anyone), but these is where music is really made, Live and in person.

If you are into music creating complex soundscapes, whether digital or analog, by overlapping instrumental passages, cool.  There is a place for that.  Hell, who could deny Bitches Brew, Tribute To Jack Johnson, or In A Silent Way.  I own multiple copies of those but Miles did have a BAND that he worked with.

Enough of my Bias! 

I do own a SACD copy of Aja just for testing systems, and I don't find it bright, but it ain't like a good blues band either.

No, all top notch recordings. They were known for that. 

Hey pgaulke60 - ALL SD should is good (mostly great) and should be appreciated.

As far as not being a band, I guess you have never seen them in concert this century. They've had minimal personnel changes in like 20 years and they tour pretty much every year. Listening for the sonics? Are you nuts? How early are you talking? They stopped touring in the early 70s when "they stopped being a band" and restarted around 2000.

They are the best sounding live band anywhere. I've heard critics say they are too perfect. They create the complex soundscapes just fine live in concert. Check out Alive in America (unfortunately only available on CD). Nice disc.

Yes you are biased. Very, just like a friend of mine who doesn't like SD because Sirius has them in heavy rotation on their Yacht Rock channel, just like Boz Scaggs, another favorite of mine. 

Fagen said he only played 40 records growing up - Miles and Trane heavy in the rotation.