Set Lists

1980

Gaucho  review

Gaucho is Steely Dan's follow-up to their best album, Aja. Clearly matching the brilliance of it is no easy task. Notwithstanding, Gaucho has its charm and strengths. 

Gaucho is an elegant album, with an emphasis on jazz fusion and pop. If you are looking for the rock 'n roll tone of "Reelin' in the Year" or "Rikki Don't Lose That Number," you will not find it here. Instead, Gaucho places heavy emphasis on balance. The instrumentals do not focus on constructing guitar or saxophone solos that jam and build a peak.  Instead they tend to be composed of as a group effort using a multitude of  instruments and even vocals. So rather than a long guitar solo,  they take a riff approach where they'll start with a guitar riff that will be followed trumpet, keyboards, saxophone, background vocals, etc. The success is partly a result of orchestration, and partly due to superb musicianship - the interaction is  particularly tight. A perfect example is the jazz fusion oriented "Glamour Profession," one of Dan's longer tracks at over seven and a half minutes.

Gaucho also focuses heavily on the use of background vocals that are superbly incorporated into the compositions. Their hit "Hey Nineteen" demonstrates this as Michael McDonald's vocal contributions really help to define the song. While the song has an overall good beat, catchy melody, and strong soloing, the tone of the keyboards is a bit too synthesized for my taste.  The title track is noteworthy for the interlocking of the piano and guitar.  

Gaucho's overall flow is superb from start to finish. If you are enjoy mellow jazz pop with excellent guitar, horns, keyboards, and background vocals, sharing the spotlight you'll enjoy this one. by Barry Small ©
Grade  A - 

1. Babylon Sisters (Becker / Fagen) - 5:50
2. Hey Nineteen (Becker / Fagen) - 5:07
3. Glamour Profession (Becker / Fagen) - 7:29
4. Gaucho (Becker / Fagen) - 5:32
5. Time Out of Mind (Becker/Fagen) - 4:13
6. My Rival (Becker / Fagen) - 4:31
7. Third World Man (Becker / Fagen) - 5:13

Donald Fagen - Keyboards, Vocals 
Walter Becker - Bass 

Additional Musicians:  
Guitar - Steve Kahn, Hugh McCracken, Hiram Bullock, Larry Carlton, Mark Knopfler, Rick Derringer
Bass - Anthony Jackson, Chuck Rainey
Piano - Rob Mounsey, Don Grolnick, Patrick Rebillot, Joe Sample
Synthsizers - Rob Mounsey
Percussian - Crusher Bennett, Victor Feldman, Steve Gadd, Ralph McDonald
Drums - Steve Gadd, Rick Marotta, Jeff Porcaro, Bernard Purdie