Customer Reviews

Gaucho (Dts)

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'll have to take issue with the previous review written by Greg Ulbrich. Greg called me at work to tell me how taken aback he was by the results of this new remastering of "Gaucho" (which is just about my favorite Steely Dan effort). So I thought, "How bad could it be? " After work I went home, and we listened to it together. Sorry to disagree, sweetheart, but this CD is totally BOSS. Sure, the bass is a little pumped up, but if you have the equipment to play this little baby, you can adjust it to your heart's content. As for the relegation of the backing vocals to the rear channels, I'll admit it was a bit disorienting at first, but we're so used to simple stereo that any recording in this format is likely to be a little jarring. THIS IS THE FUTURE OF RECORDED MUSIC. Get used to it! Oh, how I love "Gaucho." "The Glamour Profession" has got to be one of the coolest, slickest tracks of all time. Greg, I'll bet you'll be giving this recording FIVE STARS a year from now!

Excellent music, excellently mastered. This is a 5.1 channel DTS CD. It is playable on any A/V system that can decode DTS and has a digital line back to a CD or DVD player (even ones that can't play DTS movies).

The surround mix has been critisized for having the horns in the rear channels. However, the mix is consistent in the location of the instruments (no flying trumpets), so I really like the use of the surround channels. The bass is punchy and well defined.

Overall this disc is highly recommanded and I still use it to show up what an A/V system can do (even with DVD-Audio discs available).

If you're looking to purchase a DTS music CD, this should be your first! " hey ninteen,time out of mind & my favorite, third world man" is a music lovers smorgasborg! the 3D sound is so life like, you might feel you're at the recording studio. all music CD,s should be made this way!

I don't write reviews often, but after I heard this disc on my system, I was so impressed that I dashed off to write a review to strongly support it (and hopefully spur sales to get more Steely Dan material transferred. Hey, what's in it for me, right?) Seriously though, I am a audio technophile (and, yes, a Steely Dan fan too) and this may be the best sounding material I have ever heard eminating from any stero system I have ever heard. Honestly, it brings chills to my spine and I would only describe my current stereo system as good, but not extraordinary. "Hey Nineteen" is the highlight if you ask me, especially once the bongos get going out of the left surround and the "washboard" out of the right surround. And with the vocals taken care of by the center channel, it adds tremendously to the "normal" stereo separation of the main channels (I swear the horn player is standing right between my left main and surround speakers.) And the separate subwoofer channel blends the low frequencies of the main speakers with the subwoofer output much better than the crossovers produce on my system with stereo discs.

Steely Dan is the perfect material to show off the capabilities of DTS and my expectations for this disc, which were very high, were met. Hope to see more of this. If you have a DTS capable sytem, then buy it. If you are a Steely Dan fan, then get a DTS capable system...

Hyperbole cannot do justice to this recording, but let's give it a shot: To me, this is the finest pop/rock effort ever -- by anyone. Apart from the technical sound quality, which is incredibly rich, Gaucho is a musical masterpiece. The musicianship is sublime and emotional, the arrangements awe-inspiring, and the melodies gorgeous. Donald Fagen's reedy vocals somehow bring it all together.

I was 18 when this "album" was released. Couldn't get enough of "AJA" and couldn't wait to spin THIS one on the old TT. Definitely a city-boy's record. Polar opposite from 'AJA', but then Fagen was ready for a solo effort which one will find this LP to be the genesis of "THE NIGHTFLY"... precise but absolutely beautiful in it's lyrical content and production. 20 years later, I read a review of the DTS version and now that I've got equipment to repro this amazing recording (arguably the best DTS available), I'll take it to my grave. With enough surround tweaking, I swear it's like again listing to QUADROPHONIC! The re-engineering brings the bkgd vocals of BABYLON SISTERS out front WHEW! (actually rear) IN YOUR FACE! Fagen in front, multi-instrumentals and backround vocals at rear and front! Nothing comes close! Further tweaking gives a different mix alltogther with GIANT SAX, GIANT PERCUSSION (beat for beat) and almost eerie raw vocal qualities that'll tear the ears right outta anyone who knows this album note-for-note. If you make one sonic investment in your life, make it this one! FIVE STAR PLUS PRODUCTION!!

This format has ten times the musical involvement than stereo. My little 5.1 setup costs way under $2M. Yet the 5.1 Dan blows away my stereo costing 5 times that. The ability to have one speaker for vocals only alone makes this format incomparable. I too would have liked the lead guitar left for the front speakers; big deal! The clarity possible by limiting the function of each speaker to only a few instruments is unimaginable. You should see the look on guests faces when they hear the female voices on "Babylon Sisters" come out of the rear speakers. One note; to fully enjoy this format, you need full-sized rear speakers; small "surround sound" speakers will not work. The rear has full fidelity, as opposed to some discs where it is just echo/ambience. Also (one more note) setting up the receiver and player correctly can make a world of difference.

This masterpiece of sonic excellence is absolutely the most awesome recording I have ever experienced. As a discerning audiophile for over 18 years, I have heard many excellent recordings on excellent equipment. This is by far, the finest example of audio engineering genius ever presented to my ear... a truly paramount eargasm.

First thing i did after buying my new DTS receiver was to find a DTS encoded music cd. The store i went to only had Gaucho. I never had a steely dan CD before, so i was a bit reluctant, but then decided to go for it. The music: - "Hey ninteen" and "Babylon sisters" are great but "Gaucho" is certainly the best title. The DTS mix: Amazing! I have other DTS CDs (Sting,Brand new day and Clapton,461 Blvd) but this one sound the most natural to me. The music just seems to come from the right places! On certain titles you'll hear sound travelling around you, Backing vocals coming from the back and a lot of surprises.. As i said: If you're exploring DTS - buy this!

A must have for any Steely Dan fan with a home theater speaker setup.

The skill with which this was mixed into 5 channels is bar-setting. Sitting in my listening room and hearing background horn sections and vocal harmonies textured into the surround speakers is an amazing experience. It makes a huge difference as compared to the wall of sound that comes from 2 speakers. What's really cool is that if a vocalist or horn player has a part among the background texture that is meant to stand out a little (maybe just a vocalist throwing in a quick diva lick), that part is mixed into the mains so that it stands out a little more. You've got to hear it on a good system to believe.

I jumped through some hoops to get my HTPC to work with DVD-Audio, which has become a bit of an obscure format. It was WELL worth the effort.