GAUCHO

"Living hard will take its toll"

Aja was huge and the Dan were a success, big time success. The analogy that Gaucho is the hangover from Aja's party may be a weak one but it seems to work. For as good as the album is, with all of the quality playing and extreme polish, Gaucho sounds like the work of a less-inspired Dan than the previous two albums. In the extensive liner notes of the re-issue, buried within a wild and lengthy story of an adventure had by our heroes, they mention that the making of Gaucho was a bit painful and the resulting album "somewhat problematic." The album epitomizes the "smooth" sound of Steely Dan's later albums, beautifully constructed, oozing class, and without the bite of earlier albums. It's an album that will no doubt divide some fans with the over-polished approach and mellower vibe. "Babylon Sisters" and "Hey Nineteen" are the two radio-played tracks and are closest to the previous Aja vibe, having a bit of a funky pulse and some punch. The sound is very crisp and rich for the time, in fact Gaucho is an album I will use to test speakers because the sound is so refined and clear. After "Hey Nineteen" a different mood settles in to the balance of the album. I almost see these last 5 tracks as one long piece, the "Gaucho suite" if you will. Extraordinarily nuanced, sophisticated, deliberate, nothing left to chance. The tracks move along with relatively static beats creating a hypnotic effect, slowing down your heart rate, where you can be injected with the overly mature horn and guitar solos that come and go. The playing is first rate of course and across the board seems lighter on the touch, whereas Royal Scam projected some muscle in the sound, Gaucho feels like the inside of a china shop. All the time Fagen's vocal remains present for the storytelling, punctuated again by the perfect female backing vocals. It seems the desire here is to leave immediacy behind and let everything stretch out: for some listeners this will be an approach that bores and for others it will be right up their alley. It's a more subtle approach at the least. I would rate the album in the middle of the Dan pack in overall success. It certainly solidifies yet another side of this unique, classic American songwriting duo. Recommended to jazz-loving rock fans though not where a newbie should start. With Steely Dan as with many groups, start at the beginning and enjoy the various transformations.

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