Does Steely Dan sound bright to you?

No. I have a MoFi copy of Aja that Ricker mastered - its got his SR/2 on the inner grooves - in any case, one of my fav albums for both sound and the music.  Gaucho is another one of my favs - its a 1/2 speed master by Bob Ludwig. I love both for the sound and music. Playing thru VPI Prime, DECWARE phono pre-amp and DECWARE Torii Jr Amp with DECWARE 8" open baffle speakers. 

No other recordings for me that sound unnaturally bright.

Good questions. Thanks

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.