STEELY DAN — Gaucho (review)

STEELY DAN — Gaucho album cover Album · 1980 · RnB Buy this album from MMA partners
4.5/5 ·
FunkFreak75
Can a band get too glitzy?--it's music over textured, over-produced, too layered. I would argue that with 1980's Gaucho Steely Dan fell into this trap. After the world-wide adored Aja, the band had resources and swag. The album opens with three great songs--three of the band's best songs--but then takes a dive from there. Yes, listening to Side One brings back such an intensely strong feeling of nostalgia. What a year, what an era. Could life ever be better . . . . As to why Side Two never seemed to match up to the level of Aja or Side One, I think it was the jazzy, less-pop or dance nature of these songs. All three songs on Side One--"Babylon Sisters," "Hey Nineteen," and "A Glamour Profession"--were dance floor favorites--even among women. Even the Mark Knofler-manned, piano paced minor hit, "Time Out of Mind" suffers from a little too much dullness and monotony. Sound production and precision engineering has never been better than this, but the music just misses a little.

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Jazz Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

JMA TOP 5 Jazz ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
A Love Supreme Post Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
Kind of Blue Cool Jazz
MILES DAVIS
Buy this album from our partners
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady Progressive Big Band
CHARLES MINGUS
Buy this album from our partners
Blue Train Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
My Favorite Things Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners

New Jazz Artists

New Jazz Releases

Dibango 82 African Fusion
MANU DIBANGO
Buy this album from MMA partners
Jed Levy Quartet : Faces & Places Post Bop
JED LEVY
Buy this album from MMA partners
Übercode Œuvre Jazz Related Rock
PANZERBALLETT
Buy this album from MMA partners
Quartet (England) 1985 Avant-Garde Jazz
ANTHONY BRAXTON
Buy this album from MMA partners
3.0 Live Pop/Art Song/Folk
STING
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Jazz Online Videos

Willie Nelson, Rodney Crowell - Oh What A Beautiful World
WILLIE NELSON
snobb· 18 hours ago
Yene Felagote
UKANDANZ
snobb· 5 days ago
"Ainda Preciso do Sol" Official Music Video - Adrian Younge
ADRIAN YOUNGE
js· 6 days ago
Slawek Jaskulke - The Royal Symphonic Jazz Suite
SŁAWEK JASKUŁKE
snobb· 6 days ago
PEDRITO MARTINEZ ?? ALEXANDER ABREU ?? YOMIL= ILUSIÓN ÓPTICA (Official Video)
PEDRITO MARTINEZ
js· 7 days ago
More videos

New JMA Jazz Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Jazz News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed