Steely Dan - Gaucho CD

Gaucho songs This represents the pinnacle of Steely Dan's gradual transition from rock band to their own brand of jazz-influenced white soul. Guitars were replaced by keyboards, and saxophones became more common. Walter Becker and Donald Fagen were only interested in spending time in the recording studios, while the fans pined and waited. The result set new standards in recorded excellence, and is regularly used as a hi-fi shop demonstration. The ambitious title track was deemed too difficult for radio play and only the two overtly accessible tracks `Josie' and `Peg', gave them valuable exposure. Additional personnel includes: Larry Carlton, Lee Ritenour, Dean Parks (guitar); Tom Scott (tenor saxophone, lyricon); Wayne Shorter, Pete Christlieb (tenor saxophone); Plas Johnson (horns); Victor Feldman (keyboards, vibraphone, percussion); Joe Sample, Michael Omartian (keyboards); Chuck Rainey (bass); Paul Humphrey, Bernard Purdie, Steve Gadd (drums); Tim Schmit, Clydie King, Michael McDonald (background vocals). All tracks have been digitally remastered. Recorded at Village Recorders, Los Angeles, California; Producer's Workshop, Warner Brothers North Hollywood Recording Studios, ABC Recording Studios, Sound Labs, Hollywood, California; A&R Studios, New York, New York. Includes liner notes by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen. Engineers include: Roger Nichols, Elliot Scheiner, ...

Gaucho album for sale This is the album that introduced Donald Fagen and Walter Becker's unique, idiosyncratic, and highly polished craftsmanship. Although CAN'T BUY A THRILL lacks the overtly jazzy tendencies that would define albums like AJA, it distinguishes itself from nearly all of the mainstream pop and rock of the era with its smooth, lounge-y feel, catchy hooks, and immaculate studio polish. They were played alongside the Doobie Brothers and the Eagles on '70s FM radio, but Steely Dan's sound was more self-conscious and sophisticated than its peers: this was postmodern R&B, dressed up in a tuxedo, and holding an advanced degree. The album's hit single "Do It Again" is textbook Dan, with its slinky, Latin-touched groove, expansive, minor key melody, and shimmering veneer. Fagen's quirky vocals grace the track, and the record's other hit, the chugging "Reeling In the Years," with its memorable looping guitar riff, but several cuts here feature the vocals of David Palmer, whose sincere, straightforward pop-soul approach seems at odds with the band's aesthetic. Even so, CAN'T BUY A THRILL sparkles, and is the first impressive notch for a band whose output would continue to improve. Audio Remasterer: Roger Nichols . Liner Note Authors: Donald Fagen; Walter Becker; Tristan Fabriani. Recording information: The Village Recorder, Los Angeles, CA; Village Recorder, Los Angeles, CA. Steely Dan: Jeff Baxter (pedal steel guitar); Walter Becker (bass instrument); Jim Hodder (background vocals); David Palmer , Donald Fagen, Denny Dias. Personnel: Walter Becker (vocals, guitar, electric bass, bass guitar); Donald Fagen (vocals, piano, electric piano, organ, keyboards); David Palmer (vocals, keyboards); Jim Hodder (vocals, drums, percussion); Clydie King, Sherlie Matthews, Venetta Fields (vocals, background vocals); Jeff Baxter (guitar, steel guitar, Spanish guitar); Denny Dias (guitar, sitar, electric sitar); Elliot Randall, Elliott Randall, Denny Diaz (guitar); Jerome Richardson (saxophone, tenor saxophone); Snooky Young (flugelhorn, horns); Victor Feldman (keyboards, percussion); David Paich (keyboards); Shirley Matthews (background vocals). Additional personnel: Victor Feldman, Clydie King, Elliott Randall, Jerome Richardson, Snooky Young, Venetta Fields, Shirley Matthews. Remastered

Gaucho CD music Digitally remastered by Roger Nichols (Digital Atomics, Miami, Florida). It was the year of America's bicentennial celebration, but on 1976's THE ROYAL SCAM, Steely Dan masterminds Fagen and Becker did not share in the exultant spirit of the times. The title track--a vision of fallen America from the point of view of immigrants--has a mock-celebratory chorus: "See the glory of the Royal Scam," which typifies SCAM's heartfelt cynicism. In their next two releases (their last), Steely Dan's sound would smoothen and incorporate less rock. This is perhaps their darkest record, and for a band known for its arch mixture of L.A. cool and ennui, that's saying something. Guitar heroes were roundly worshipped in the '70s, and two of the record's standout tracks, "Kid Charlemagne" and "Don't Take Me Alive," feature incendiary axe work by Larry Carlton. Interestingly, both glorify outsiders: The former tells the story of legendary drug chemist Owsley Stanley, and the latter is a first-person account of a murderer on the lam. Other highlights: the crisp "Green Earrings" the lounge-chair funk of "Haitian Divorce" and the inscrutable "Fez," whose principal lyric is "I'm never gonna do it without the fez on/don't make me do it without the fez on." All tracks have been digitally remastered. Recorded at ABC Studios, Los Angeles, California and A&R Studios, New York, New York. Includes liner notes by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen. Steely Dan: Donald Fagen (vocals, keyboards); Walter Becker (guitar, bass). Additional personnel: Larry Carlton, Elliot Randall, Dean Parks, Dennis Dias (guitar); Chuck Findley, Bob Findley, Slyde Hyde, Jim Horn, Plas Johnson, John Klemmer (horns); Victor Feldman (keyboards, percussion); Paul Griffin, Don Grolnick (keyboards); Chuck Rainey (bass); Bernard Purdie, Rick Marotta (drums); Gary Coleman (percussion); Venetta Fields, Clydie KIng, Sherlie Matthews, Tim Schmit, Michael McDonald (background vocals).

Gaucho buy CD music Steely Dan holds the title as one of the most quietly subversive pop bands of the 20th century. They managed--on their first two albums and, especially, on PRETZEL LOGIC--to combine breezy, ear-pleasing accessibility with an immensely sophisticated sensibility that upended most pop conventions. On PRETZEL LOGIC that combination is perfected, even as band masterminds Donald Fagen and Walter Becker moved deeper into jazz-influenced territory. "Rikki Don't Lose That Number," the album's lead off track, is a case in point. A sinuous slice of jazz-pop that merges piano balladry with a samba-esque groove, the song became a Top Ten hit. Though Fagen and Becker write the material and handle vocals/keyboards and bass, respectively, their recording process increasingly involved a rotating cast of session musicians, honing their studio-cobbled sound to a flawless perfection. The bar is raised in terms of musicianship here, as evidenced by the sassy cover of Duke Ellington's "East St. Louis Toodle-Oo and the bop atheleticism of "Parker's Band," a tribute to Charlie Parker. Yet Steely Dan blend their colors ever more effectively here, writing shorter, sharper compositions packed with harmonies, instrumental interplay, witty wordplay, and satisfying hooks. PRETZEL LOGIC ranks alongside AJA as one of the band's finest achievements. Liner Note Authors: Donald Fagen; Walter Becker. Recording information: The Village recorder, West Los Angeles, CA; Village Recorder, West Los Angeles, CA; West Recorder, West L.A., CA. Photographer: Ed Caraeff. Unknown Contributor Roles: Dean Parks; Victor Feldman; Michael Omartian; Chuck Rainey; Jim Gordon ; Jeff Porcaro; David Paich; Ernie Watts; Tubby Bruce; Tubby Burce; Jerome Richardson; Plas Johnson ; Wilton Felder; Ollie Mitchell; Ben Benay; Lew McCreary. Steely Dan: Denny Dias (guitar); Walter Becker (bass instrument); Donald Fagen, Jeff Baxter. Personnel: Walter Becker (vocals, guitar); Donald Fagen (vocals, keyboards); Timothy B. Schmit (vocals); Dean Parks, Denny Diaz, Jeff Baxter, Ben Benay (guitar); Ernie Watts, Jerome Richardson, Plas Johnson (saxophone); Ollie Mitchell (trumpet); Lew McCreary (horns); Victor Feldman (keyboards, percussion); David Paich, Michael Omartian (keyboards); Jeff Porcaro, Jim Gordon , Jim Hodder (drums). Additional personnel: Victor Feldman, Timothy B. Schmit (marimba); Chuck Rainey (bass instrument); Dean Parks, Jeff Porcaro, Jim Gordon , Michael Omartian. Re-Issue

Gaucho songs In 1975 after an extraordinarily successful run of releases which culminated in that "steely" masterpiece, PRETZEL LOGIC, the Dan shifted direction a bit and opened their music up on KATY LIED. The sound is warmer, the already sophisticated harmonies somewhat richer, a little bit closer to combo jazz. It's as if jazz pianist Bill Evans collaborated with Bob Dylan. KATY LIED contains Steely Dan's most emotional, even passionate music up to that point, matched only by the brilliant AJA a few years later. Donald Fagen's acerbic vocals forgoe the double tracking of the previous albums, the sarcasm melting into something close to vulnerability in a song like "Doctor Wu," maybe the greatest single tune Fagen and Becker ever wrote. KATY LIED is also notable for the appearance of vocalist Michael McDonald, whose grainy baritone blends particularly well with Fagen's unique sound. Additional personnel includes: Denny Dias, Rick Derringer, Dean Parks, Elliot Randall, Hugh McCracken, Larry Carlton (guitar); Phil Woods (alto saxophone); Michael Omartian, David Paich (piano, keyboards); Victor Feldman (vibraphone, percussion); Chuck Rainey, Wilton Felder (bass); Jeff Porcaro (drums, dorophone); Hal Blaine (drums); Michael McDonald, Sherlie Matthews, Carolyn Willis, Myrna Matthews (background vocals). Recorded at ABC Recording Studios Inc., Los Angeles, California. Includes liner notes by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. Personnel: Phil Woods (vocals, alto, horns); Walter Becker (vocals, guitar); Donald Fagen (vocals, piano, keyboards); Carolyn Willis, Sherlie Matthews, Michael McDonald , Myrna Matthews (vocals, background vocals); Dean Parks, Elliot Randall, Elliott Randall, Denny Diaz, Hugh McCracken, Larry Carlton, Rick Derringer, Denny Dias (guitar); Jimmie Haskell, Bill Perkins (horns); David Paich, Michael Omartian (piano, keyboards); Victor Feldman (keyboards, vibraphone, percussion); Hal Blaine, Jeff Porcaro (drums); Mike McDonald (background vocals). Liner Note Authors: Donald Fagen; Kenta Hagiwara. Recording information: ABC Recording Studios Inc., Los Angeles, CA. Arranger: Jimmie Haskell. Steely Dan: Donald Fagen (vocals, piano, keyboards); Walter Becker (guitar, bass). Re-Issue

Gaucho album for sale Riding high on the success of their debut CAN'T BUY A THRILL, Steely Dan put together what was, on the surface, their most commercial and straightforward album. "Bodhisattva," for example, which opens the album, works a driving, jump-blues groove that seems at odds with the band's laid-back, jazz inclinations. The heavy, bluesy stomp of "The Boston Rag" and the slinky, edgy boogie of "Show Biz Kids" may make it seem as though Steely Dan was vying for favor with their more roots-oriented pop-rock contemporaries. Nothing could be further from the truth, however. COUNTDOWN TO ECSTACY is more ambitious, complex, and layered than its predecessor, with a heavier dose of jazz fusion, more subtle and textured arrangements, and an even higher level of studio craftsmanship. Both "Razor Boy" and "Your Gold Teeth" demonstrate flashes of Latin flavor-- marimba-driven bop in the former, and salsa-cum-lounge jazz in the latter. The presence of session musicians--drummer Jim Hodder and guitarists Jeff Baxter and Denny Diaz--fleshes out Donald Fagen and Walter Becker's superb songwriting and playing, making for an excellent and overlooked addition to the band's catalogue. Audio Mixer: Denny Dias. Audio Remasterer: Roger Nichols . Liner Note Authors: Donald Fagen; Walter Becker. Recording information: Caribou Ranch, Nederland, CO; Village Recorder, Santa Monica, CA; Village Recorders, Santa Monica, CA. Photographer: Ed Caraeff. Unknown Contributor Role: Denny Dias. Arranger: Jimmie Haskell. Steely Dan: Jeff Baxter (pedal steel guitar); Walter Becker (bass instrument); Jim Hodder (background vocals); Donald Fagen, Denny Dias. Personnel: Walter Becker (vocals, guitar, harmonica, bass guitar); Donald Fagen (vocals, piano, electric piano, keyboards, synthesizer, percussion); David Palmer (vocals, keyboards, background vocals); Jim Hodder (vocals, drums, percussion); Sherlie Matthews, Patricia Hall, Royce Jones, Michael Fennelly, James Rolleston, Myrna Matthews (vocals, background vocals); Ben Benay (guitar, acoustic guitar); Rick Derringer (guitar, slide guitar); Jeff Baxter (guitar, steel guitar); Denny Diaz, Denny Dias (guitar); Ernie Watts, John Rotella, Lanny Morgan, Bill Perkins (saxophone); Victor Feldman (keyboards, vibraphone, marimba, percussion); Sherlie Mathews, Pam Hall (background vocals). Additional personnel: Ray Brown (12-string bass); Victor Feldman, Ernie Watts, John Rotella, Lanny Morgan, Rick Derringer, Bill Perkins, Ben Benay. Remastered