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Big Album Bake Off #5: Gaucho Vs The Nightfly

Which is the better album?

  • Total voters
    30
  • Poll closed .
windhoek

windhoek

The Phoolosopher
Okay, shit's about to get real: Gaucho by Steely Dan Vs The Nightfly by Donald Fagen - good luck!
 
Too close to call, a score draw after extra time and may have to go to penalties which would be a pity to have to criticise one for not being the other.
 
On sound quality alone, Gaucho.
However the slightly more uptempo feel of Nightfly means that sometimes I’m in the mood for Gaucho, sometimes Nightfly.
Or Aja, or Countdown, or Pretzel, or.........................
 
Nightfly for me. The bass playing/sound just knocked me out when I first heard it. It was my entry-point into Steely Dan, though when I got to Aja shortly after I realised I’d heard a lot of it already.

I’ve no idea why given it was such an early digital recording, but Nightfly on vinyl sounds astonishingly good. I have a promo-stamped UK 1st press and it regularly comes out for a spin.
 
Like most of the other polls, I've heard neither so haven't voted. I must say it's been a strange selection of albums on the whole.
 
matt j said:
Like most of the other polls, I've heard neither so haven't voted. I must say it's been a strange selection of albums on the whole.
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If you haven't heard many of the albums in the polls that probably explains why my choices seem strange. I'm happy to hand over the selections to anyone else who wants to see how it fares in a poll against another album so please feel free to do so - it could become a regular feature of the music forum :)
 
Tony L said:
Nightfly for me. The bass playing/sound just knocked me out when I first heard it. It was my entry-point into Steely Dan, though when I got to Aja shortly after I realised I’d heard a lot of it already.

I’ve no idea why given it was such an early digital recording, but Nightfly on vinyl sounds astonishingly good. I have a promo-stamped UK 1st press and it regularly comes out for a spin.
Click to expand...

Indeed. I've always been very disappointed in the CD version which is pretty meh...
 
It’s a nigh on impossible call, Gaucho -v- Nightfly.

Nightfly as a whole is damn fine, but side one of Gaucho is sublime.

Give me Aja though!
 
Arkless Electronics said:
Indeed. I've always been very disappointed in the CD version which is pretty meh...
Click to expand...

Which version do you own? There are some very good sounding NF CDs. I had a German target Nightfly CD many years ago which was great on the ear, vinyl has proven to be better but the CD isn't totally shamed.
 
The Nightfly CD is cut very low compared to modern CDs and for my taste lacking a little if the bass warmth/weight of the vinyl, but I’d still rate it as very decent.

I don’t think this one has been remastered aside from the DVD Audio and SACD versions. There is some suggestion that the Japanese and WG ‘targets’ are subtly different, though as I understand it all other copies are the WG ‘target’ minus the label paint job.

I recently ordered the hybrid SACD out of curiosity as a Japanese Amazon seller was doing it at a half-way reasonable price, so I’ll be curious to hear that when it lands. It allegedly sounds more like the vinyl, i.e. warmer/weightier.
 
Tony L said:
The Nightfly CD is cut very low compared to modern CDs and for my taste lacking a little if the bass warmth/weight of the vinyl, but I’d still rate it as very decent.

I don’t think this one has been remastered aside from the DVD Audio and SACD versions. There is some suggestion that the Japanese and WG ‘targets’ are subtly different, though as I understand it all other copies are the WG ‘target’ minus the label paint job.

I recently ordered the hybrid SACD out of curiosity as a Japanese Amazon seller was doing it at a half-way reasonable price, so I’ll be curious to hear that when it lands. It allegedly sounds more like the vinyl, i.e. warmer/weightier.
Click to expand...

The DVD-A sounds much better IMO (bags more presence/weight) compared to the WG Target. The DVD-A is the best digital version I have heard. The difference is quite remarkable and evident from the off.
 
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