Well, you may be high-falutin', but man, what a completely fascinating, riveting, and profoundly deep discussion of this wonderful masterpiece! NO ONE, and I mean *NO ONE* does this like you do Tim. This truly is the University of Vinyl, what a frigg'n appropriate name. Thanks kindly for such an informative and enjoyable video! To be completely honest, I am not the Steely Dan fan you are, and this is really the only album by them that I like through and through, and feel that it is indeed a work of art. Not to say their other stuff is not also of high quality, but this is the only one that really grabs me by the nuptials and shakes me about 😁
Great video Tim. I absolutely share your obsession about this piece of art. Although the recording conditions sounded a bit like a nightmare. Thank you ;-)
Tim- I agree with the high praise here. Your detailed, professional and enlightening assessment of this masterpiece was spot on. Incredibly, this LP came out the same time as John Lennon's Double Fantasy- Nov. 1980. I have both the US Masterdisk/RL and a beautiful Japanese pressing. The extreme detail/polish that Becker/Fagan invested in this LP is so obvious from the very first drum hit on "Babylon Sisters" right through to the end, and it's not surprising that they took a long hiatus afterward. These type of videos are one area where you really shine- the work and time you put into these is obvious and for me, appreciated. Nice work!
Tim: Your terrific review prompted me to listen to my OG RL RDP pressing that I acquired 7.5 years ago but had not listened to since around that time and a major improvement in my turntable/mc cartridge/phono stage afterward - wow! It's perfection! It is inconceivable to me how even an UHQR could improve this pressing. I am free to consider other listening investments. Congrats on another insightful video on one of America's foremost bands. As always, much appreciated.
Tim - just purchased the remaining OG Steely Dan pressings off Discogs - all based on your recommendations. I also have the Steely Dan 2 LP greatest hits with RL in the deadwax and just recently stumbled upon a mint Nightfly with RL for $10. Thanks for the pressing tips - I really feel these Steely Dan disks are worth the effort. It was really the desire to find best Aja pressing that reignited my desire to have audiophile pressings (turns out I had the correct copy all along out of the dollar bin!). Thanks again.
I just found a NM Aja (AB-1006) Terre Haute that is now my "forever" copy and just listed one of my old copies on Discogs yesterday. Constantly looking for upgrades....
I have to check the matrix numbers of my copy to make sure the RL is there and the small a and b I dont remember. But I agree with all you said Tim. Always learn something from you. I really enjoy how you have a down to earth way of teaching without making your viewers feel stupid. Keep it up love your channel
Hey Tim, Another fine dissertation about Steely Dan. Thanks to your previous Steely Dan vids I’ve acquired a good number of their LPs. I have a Gloverville reissue of Gaucho picked up at a thrift store and a CD copy. The UHQR of Gaucho is slated for December 1st and Aja ships next week, October 27th. I preordered both. Looking forward to your review of the Gaucho UHQR👍👍
Thanks for this Tim, really enjoyed it. From the moment I bought this album back in 1980 it became my favourite SD album & remains so to this day. Mine’s a UK OG so not an RL cut (Bilbo in dead wax so Denis Blackham) but is still a fantastic sounding pressing. As you say the forthcoming UHQR is going to have to go some to beat the OGs but if it does it will be astonishing.
I was once critical of a review you did that was factually inaccurate I'm so pleased to listen to this . Great work , well researched and your own personal takes are very interesting and I think extremely good Thanks ..
Great video Tim. Your appreciation of all things Dan has been a real highlight for the vinyl community. I have 2 RL pressings of Gaucho and will probably pull the trigger on the UHQR and the UME. Not to be critical but I would have added to the narrative the erasing of the Second Arrangment which by all accounts was a favourite of Donald and Walter. (I wonder if Gaucho could have had Glamour Profession AND Second Arrangment;) and its replacement Were You Blind That Day which became Third World Man. I agree completely that Gaucho has a sense of closure and we know that Donald was working on the Nightfly in 1980 so clearly a solo album was Donald's next move. I hope he is OK after his illness and we get one final solo album. What a fantastic body of work. Looking forward to your UHQR review of AJA and Gaucho!
Hi Lloyd! Thanks! I actually had notes to do a short segment about the Second Arrangement plus the reported other 6 songs or about. Apparently there were initial discussions about making Gaucho a double LP but I think the Second Arrangement debacle and Walter's downward spiral ended those thoughts and many of those songs were never fully completed. However, some demos have emerged in various YT videos. Notably, The Bear sounds amazing. Cheers, Tim
Hi Tim. My first Gaucho LP was from Peru where I am from. Not have that LP anymore. I moved to Canada in 2006 and bought the 2008 Back to Black version which is pretty good. I bought also a Canadian copy and and a Near Mint US version with the Masterdisk logo and RL.A few years back I was visiting NY and managed to get a US promo copy in a Chelsea Market store (VG+ copy with the same Masterdisk and RL on the dead wax). This year I remember from one of your videos / reviews that you mentioned records with Export Only - For Sale Outside Continental United States Only....well...I managed to get a Gaucho Sealed copy with this Export Only stamp on the back cover. It is still sealed! I think I will wait until the UHQR is released and will do the comparison between this two. I think it will be really hard to beat the original Gaucho vinyl.
Great video. Thanks Tim. If you are Copenhagen end February or start March, you will have chance to hear and see Danish National Radio's Big Band with Hamish Stuart (Average White Band) on vocals perform Steely Dan songs.
must admit... i've only played 'Katy Lied'... and can't wait to make the time to hear more. 'Katy Lied' is AWESOME. i'll go for 'Gaucho' next with your recommendation. might take time though 🤝
Another fine installment. I didn't know the Keith Jarrett reference, only the Horace Silver intro to Rikki. At least when the boys borrow they stick the landing. There must be a formula for plagiarism in music that counts the bars or something. I don't know how you get around giving credit to your influences before someone sues you. Paul Simon famously thought that he had stolen a melody until he was convinced that it was his alone. Gaucho goes off in such a different direction it must be considered a respectful nod to Keith.
Thanks Tim another great video . Great insight & information throughout. Tim like me it’s my favourite Steely record. I therefore urge you to seek out the original Uk cut by Bilbo Denis Blackham Sounds incredible,cut very hot. Would love your opinion. All the best 👌
Who is the Gaucho Amigo? Definitely my favorite Dan. It is also my go to reference when i want to test a new equipment because it just sounds so good. I am always surprised at how much i love "Third world man" Now i am going to go put it on and spend some time out of mind.
"Gaucho" is a good album. If "Seconnd Arrangment" survived and ended up being on the album, it would had been a perfect album just like "Aja" & "The Nightfly".
On first hearing this album in late '80 I found it dull and listless. After a few listens, though, I started to 'get' what Becker and Fagan were conveying with the whole feel of the record: the jaded L.A./Hollywood/music biz world of shallow social contacts, easy meaningless sexual trysts (more often than not with somebody else's mate), endless takes, blasé studio muscians and their hangers-on, and of course waaaaaaay too much cocaine. They nailed it. You have to hear the SACD 5.1 mix of this: pure ear candy.
hi Stephen, Gaucho was all analog and recorded to tape. I think you're probably thinking of The Nightfly which was either the first or second all digital recording back in '82.
Because it was so important to me at the time, 'Can't Buy a Thrill' will always be my first choice, but there's no other Steely Dan album that I go back to more than 'The Royal Scam'. If it doesn't already get enough love then it deserves it. Great album!
Why all this sudden Steely Dan mania?? Is it just because of the UHQRs that have been released?? Nobody was talking about them before all these releases They were okay but nothing mind blowing
Great video Tim. Love this album. But it's got to be said...250 mixes of Babylon Sisters is nothing to be admired ...it's to be laughed at...clearly they didn't know what they wanted...or they were incredibly anal..either way if you can't get a great mix after 10 mixes....you need to check your head. Looking forward to your next video.
Er um Er um Er um, ramble, err, no true script obviously, err er .... couldn't listen to it as it became so rambling and pointless. Also the speaker placement behind wound me up being so tight against the wall!
I never work to a script. I have actually pulled the Cornwalls off the wall a bit further though since this video. not sure if you're aware though...original marketing material and intention of Klipsch Cornwalls was to be placed in the corners of your listening space...against the wall. In any event, thanks for weighing in!
I am from the state of Rio Grande do Sul and people who are born here are called "gauchos" (pronounced /gah.ooh.sho/ stress on the second silable). Countries that share our borders such as Argentina and Uruguay also have the gaucho culture (there the pronunciation is close the one used by you, since the language spoken is Spanish). I was lucky to find a copy of 'Gaucho' in a used record store and paid very little. It was before the Steely Dan craze that now makes the prices ridiculously high here in Brasil. Thanks for your video about this wonderful album. Next month, I will acquire 'Countdown To Ecstasy', it'll be my fifth Steely Dan album. I'll have to import it, of course.
Well, you may be high-falutin', but man, what a completely fascinating, riveting, and profoundly deep discussion of this wonderful masterpiece! NO ONE, and I mean *NO ONE* does this like you do Tim. This truly is the University of Vinyl, what a frigg'n appropriate name. Thanks kindly for such an informative and enjoyable video! To be completely honest, I am not the Steely Dan fan you are, and this is really the only album by them that I like through and through, and feel that it is indeed a work of art. Not to say their other stuff is not also of high quality, but this is the only one that really grabs me by the nuptials and shakes me about 😁
High praise 🥰
Another great video.
Thanks for creating, organizing & presenting this vid Tim. Great job!
Great band.
Great record.
Great video.
Excellent stuff.
👍
Good stuff. Nice detail. I've viewed this vid a few times. Believe I've echoed your sentiments last year on Gaucho. Thanks for your regular efforts.💪
Thanks for watching!
“Ricki don’t lose that number” begins with the opening riff of Horace Silver’s “Song for my father”.
Great video Tim. I absolutely share your obsession about this piece of art. Although the recording conditions sounded a bit like a nightmare. Thank you ;-)
Great vintage 80's video footage of LA
Tim you are an unbelievable interesting man on all things Steely Dan. Long may you continue for yourself and us fans.👍
I appreciate that
Tim- I agree with the high praise here. Your detailed, professional and enlightening assessment of this masterpiece was spot on. Incredibly, this LP came out the same time as John Lennon's Double Fantasy- Nov. 1980. I have both the US Masterdisk/RL and a beautiful Japanese pressing. The extreme detail/polish that Becker/Fagan invested in this LP is so obvious from the very first drum hit on "Babylon Sisters" right through to the end, and it's not surprising that they took a long hiatus afterward. These type of videos are one area where you really shine- the work and time you put into these is obvious and for me, appreciated. Nice work!
Tim: Your terrific review prompted me to listen to my OG RL RDP pressing that I acquired 7.5 years ago but had not listened to since around that time and a major improvement in my turntable/mc cartridge/phono stage afterward - wow! It's perfection! It is inconceivable to me how even an UHQR could improve this pressing. I am free to consider other listening investments. Congrats on another insightful video on one of America's foremost bands. As always, much appreciated.
Thanks for watching and appreciate your comment ✌🏻
Tim - just purchased the remaining OG Steely Dan pressings off Discogs - all based on your recommendations. I also have the Steely Dan 2 LP greatest hits with RL in the deadwax and just recently stumbled upon a mint Nightfly with RL for $10. Thanks for the pressing tips - I really feel these Steely Dan disks are worth the effort. It was really the desire to find best Aja pressing that reignited my desire to have audiophile pressings (turns out I had the correct copy all along out of the dollar bin!). Thanks again.
I just found a NM Aja (AB-1006) Terre Haute that is now my "forever" copy and just listed one of my old copies on Discogs yesterday. Constantly looking for upgrades....
Great analysis of a great album, thanks Tim!
I have to check the matrix numbers of my copy to make sure the RL is there and the small a and b I dont remember. But I agree with all you said Tim. Always learn something from you. I really enjoy how you have a down to earth way of teaching without making your viewers feel stupid. Keep it up love your channel
Thanks much 👍🏻
Hey Tim,
Another fine dissertation about Steely Dan. Thanks to your previous Steely Dan vids I’ve acquired a good number of their LPs.
I have a Gloverville reissue of Gaucho picked up at a thrift store and a CD copy.
The UHQR of Gaucho is slated for December 1st and Aja ships next week, October 27th. I preordered both.
Looking forward to your review of the Gaucho UHQR👍👍
Thanks for this Tim, really enjoyed it. From the moment I bought this album back in 1980 it became my favourite SD album & remains so to this day. Mine’s a UK OG so not an RL cut (Bilbo in dead wax so Denis Blackham) but is still a fantastic sounding pressing. As you say the forthcoming UHQR is going to have to go some to beat the OGs but if it does it will be astonishing.
Can’t get enough of Glamour Profession……
It’s addictive stuff
Agree. One of the greatest songs ever recorded Depicted the LA drug scene in the 70s to perfection.
@@garyolshan4177 Yes. I was there, and LA felt just like that. One of my favorite Dan tracks.
I was once critical of a review you did that was factually inaccurate
I'm so pleased to listen to this . Great work , well researched and your own personal takes are very interesting and I think extremely good
Thanks ..
Thank you kindly!
Listened to it last night, just awesome album.
Great video Tim. Your appreciation of all things Dan has been a real highlight for the vinyl community. I have 2 RL pressings of Gaucho and will probably pull the trigger on the UHQR and the UME. Not to be critical but I would have added to the narrative the erasing of the Second Arrangment which by all accounts was a favourite of Donald and Walter. (I wonder if Gaucho could have had Glamour Profession AND Second Arrangment;) and its replacement Were You Blind That Day which became Third World Man. I agree completely that Gaucho has a sense of closure and we know that Donald was working on the Nightfly in 1980 so clearly a solo album was Donald's next move. I hope he is OK after his illness and we get one final solo album. What a fantastic body of work. Looking forward to your UHQR review of AJA and Gaucho!
Hi Lloyd! Thanks! I actually had notes to do a short segment about the Second Arrangement plus the reported other 6 songs or about. Apparently there were initial discussions about making Gaucho a double LP but I think the Second Arrangement debacle and Walter's downward spiral ended those thoughts and many of those songs were never fully completed. However, some demos have emerged in various YT videos. Notably, The Bear sounds amazing. Cheers, Tim
I have a 1980 Japanese pressing of Gaucho that sounds amazing!
Hi Tim. My first Gaucho LP was from Peru where I am from. Not have that LP anymore. I moved to Canada in 2006 and bought the 2008 Back to Black version which is pretty good. I bought also a Canadian copy and and a Near Mint US version with the Masterdisk logo and RL.A few years back I was visiting NY and managed to get a US promo copy in a Chelsea Market store (VG+ copy with the same Masterdisk and RL on the dead wax). This year I remember from one of your videos / reviews that you mentioned records with Export Only - For Sale Outside Continental United States Only....well...I managed to get a Gaucho Sealed copy with this Export Only stamp on the back cover. It is still sealed! I think I will wait until the UHQR is released and will do the comparison between this two. I think it will be really hard to beat the original Gaucho vinyl.
Very nice! Appreciate your comment. 👍🏻
Great video. Thanks Tim. If you are Copenhagen end February or start March, you will have chance to hear and see Danish National Radio's Big Band with Hamish Stuart (Average White Band) on vocals perform Steely Dan songs.
must admit... i've only played 'Katy Lied'... and can't wait to make the time to hear more. 'Katy Lied' is AWESOME. i'll go for 'Gaucho' next with your recommendation. might take time though 🤝
Nailed it. Again. I know your forte is steely Dan wish you could cover other albums in the same level of detail
Another fine installment. I didn't know the Keith Jarrett reference, only the Horace Silver intro to Rikki. At least when the boys borrow they stick the landing. There must be a formula for plagiarism in music that counts the bars or something. I don't know how you get around giving credit to your influences before someone sues you. Paul Simon famously thought that he had stolen a melody until he was convinced that it was his alone. Gaucho goes off in such a different direction it must be considered a respectful nod to Keith.
Paul Simon probably stole much of the music for Graceland
Thanks Tim another great video .
Great insight & information throughout.
Tim like me it’s my favourite Steely record.
I therefore urge you to seek out the original Uk cut by Bilbo Denis Blackham
Sounds incredible,cut very hot.
Would love your opinion.
All the best 👌
Thanks for the info!
Tim
You need to cave and buy the Aja UHQR - incredible in every way.
Gaucho - the exotic Brazilian love interest whom the scorned lover’s flat mate brought home. That’s enough details and an expensive kiss off.
Who is the Gaucho Amigo? Definitely my favorite Dan. It is also my go to reference when i want to test a new equipment because it just sounds so good. I am always surprised at how much i love "Third world man" Now i am going to go put it on and spend some time out of mind.
My favorite as well. Got my vg+ RL for 10 bucks.
I have the promo copy from 1980
Nice!
"Gaucho" is a good album. If "Seconnd Arrangment" survived and ended up being on the album, it would had been a perfect album just like "Aja" & "The Nightfly".
On first hearing this album in late '80 I found it dull and listless. After a few listens, though, I started to 'get' what Becker and Fagan were conveying with the whole feel of the record: the jaded L.A./Hollywood/music biz world of shallow social contacts, easy meaningless sexual trysts (more often than not with somebody else's mate), endless takes, blasé studio muscians and their hangers-on, and of course waaaaaaay too much cocaine. They nailed it. You have to hear the SACD 5.1 mix of this: pure ear candy.
I’m not sure, but wasn’t this album one of the first digital recorded albums Tim? Not sure if I heard you mention that.
hi Stephen, Gaucho was all analog and recorded to tape. I think you're probably thinking of The Nightfly which was either the first or second all digital recording back in '82.
An fyi $750,000 in 1980 is equivalent to $2,869,851 today
Am I the only Dan fan who's favorite is The Royal Scam?
Because it was so important to me at the time, 'Can't Buy a Thrill' will always be my first choice, but there's no other Steely Dan album that I go back to more than 'The Royal Scam'. If it doesn't already get enough love then it deserves it. Great album!
Is there a more perfect song depicting the LA drug scene in the 70s than Glamour Profession? Don't think so.
Exactly.
Sadly, I haven't really listened to Gaucho much, because my copy sounds like garbage.
Bottom line is....weed. They smoked alot of weed. And they're geniuses.
Why all this sudden Steely Dan mania?? Is it just because of the UHQRs that have been released?? Nobody was talking about them before all these releases They were okay but nothing mind blowing
Check my other videos, I’m a longtime fan
Great video Tim. Love this album. But it's got to be said...250 mixes of Babylon Sisters is nothing to be admired ...it's to be laughed at...clearly they didn't know what they wanted...or they were incredibly anal..either way if you can't get a great mix after 10 mixes....you need to check your head.
Looking forward to your next video.
Thanks Mark!
Er um Er um Er um, ramble, err, no true script obviously, err er .... couldn't listen to it as it became so rambling and pointless. Also the speaker placement behind wound me up being so tight against the wall!
I never work to a script. I have actually pulled the Cornwalls off the wall a bit further though since this video. not sure if you're aware though...original marketing material and intention of Klipsch Cornwalls was to be placed in the corners of your listening space...against the wall. In any event, thanks for weighing in!
I am from the state of Rio Grande do Sul and people who are born here are called "gauchos" (pronounced /gah.ooh.sho/ stress on the second silable). Countries that share our borders such as Argentina and Uruguay also have the gaucho culture (there the pronunciation is close the one used by you, since the language spoken is Spanish). I was lucky to find a copy of 'Gaucho' in a used record store and paid very little. It was before the Steely Dan craze that now makes the prices ridiculously high here in Brasil. Thanks for your video about this wonderful album. Next month, I will acquire 'Countdown To Ecstasy', it'll be my fifth Steely Dan album. I'll have to import it, of course.
Thanks for watching!