Gaucho [Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered, Import]

I could not dissagree more with your second review, the sound from this SACD is absolutely fantastic. I have been a passionate HI-FI fan before this album was even in conception and on my current system it achieves levels of clarity I have rarely heard, this coupled with a 1st class musical performance rates as one of my all time favourite albums-a must for any fans !!!

Admittedly i am only 16 but i do know good music when i hear it and this album is the perfect example of good music. The whole albums laid back feel is so wonderful and i rate it very highly. The song 'Babylon Sisters' has a horn section that is absolutely beautiful and the brass is what makes the song really amazing. 'Hey Nineteen' always makes me smile just because i love the harmonies created by the backing vocalists and also the guitar part in the background of the song is just to die for and i find myself playing it all the time when i pick up my guitar. It is just a catchy song that has a lot of feeling in it. 'Glamour Profession' i always think is too long but it doesnt matter because the chord progression and keyboards are so lovely to listen to that it wont bother most people anyway. The piano that plays at certain points in the song is only made better by the guitar licks and superb drum beat. 'Gaucho' has the best intro on the album in my opinion and i love the run with the horns. However, the verse, although absolutely captivating does get a bit tiring after the 5th listen. The end of the verse though is the best part of the song and the chorus is just sung so soothingly with harmonies between Donald Fagen, Leslie Miller, Valerie Simpson and Patti Austin i believe. This song reminds me of the song which Michael Mcdonald sang on the album Aja by Steely Dan. 'Time Out Of Mind' starts with a cool drum beat and then some awesome guitar licks come in. The lyrics i always rememeber from this song are 'Tonight when i chase the dragon' not because of its lyrical content but the lyrics suddenly kick in and i just love that part of the song. Absolutely brilliant. 'My Rival' i quite often pass by for some reason even though i absolutely adore the song. I just like all the different instruments that are used in this cleverly crafted song. Very cool. Lastly the album finishes with one of the best songs ever made...EVER. A cool riff starts off the song 'Third World Man' and then the song only gets better and better. Beautifully composed chord progressions are found dotted around this whole song. I cannot find any part of this song which i dislike. When the solo kicks in i just sit in amazement because it is so simple but the feelings and emotions that people experience differ and occur at different points. The song just affects people in an inexplicable way and its a great way to finish off one of my favorite albums. If anyone could recommend any other bands like Steely Dan please email me because id love to hear them. Everyone can love this album if they are feeling down or even incredibly happy. It can pick you up or bring you down but despite that im sure you will love this album whatever.

Another example of why Fagen & Becker are/were the masters of the sound studio. The SACD remix of Gaucho is spectacular. No fancy surround sound gymnastics here. Just a rich blend of fullsome sounds, especially the use of wide horn sections and backing vocals. The original producer/engineer, Elliot Scheiner (guru of the surround sound world), who also remixed this new version of Gaucho should be applauded for this masterpiece of remixing. The DVD-A releases of SD's recent albums are very good, but this blast from their past outshines them both. Great songs, great musicians, great album. Lets hope they can find all the original master tapes of Aja, and rework their magic again.