Gaucho

That's what Google AI says.

You know, Steely Dan had a song that was rejected for the Gaucho album called You Don't Know If You've Got The Crabs or The Crabs Got You.

Or You.

[laughs]

As long as the moon is right

Released in November 1980, Gaucho would be Steely Dan's final album before a long break.

The album marked a significant stylistic shift for the band, with more focus on rhythm and atmosphere than their earlier work.

The recording sessions were painstakingly difficult, demonstrating Fagan and Becker's typical obsessive nature and perfectionism.

They used at least 42 different session musicians, spent over a year in the studio, and far exceeded the original monetary advance given by the record label.

Gaucho reached number 9 on the Billboard Top LPs and Tape Chart, and it has been certified platinum by the RIAA.

The single Hey 19 reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.

At the 24th Annual Grammy Awards, Gaucho won Best Engineered Recording, Non-Classical, and was nominated for Album of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

But it does also sort of in many ways prefigure the...

the Dan reformed albums, so don't forget Steely Dan had pretty much come to an end before this record was getting made with Gaucho, that had been such a huge problem to make and that had caused major rifts between him and Walter Becker, who's the bassist and co-writer on everything, pretty much, that Steely Dan ever made.

He had drug problems and they were getting in the way of work and the technology was sort of beyond them.

And there was a sort of maybe, you know, a bit of a sort of sense of on pass after HR, which has been a phenomenal world set, best selling world album.

What do you do? Well, you do Gaucho.

I think Gaucho is a great record.

But anyway, it's a solo record.

And then that was the end of Dan.

Months and months and millions of dollars of studio time to find just the pocket.

Yeah, you're talking about Gaucho.

Gaucho, yeah.

The drum thing.

Yes.

Every note, every cymbal hit, every harmony is sculpted until it gleams like broom.

This is Gaucho, a record born from the obsessive pursuit of sonic purity.

It's the sound of two jazz-minded cynics painting their version of America.

sleek ironic and undeniably precise today we're stepping back into that moment into the velvet groove and strange glamour of stila dan's final album of that era with our special guest izzy stein we'll explore how gaucho became both a farewell and a masterpiece Hi, I'm Dave, and as always, I'm joined by the 80s music muse herself, Kelly.

How are you today, Kelly?

I'm doing great, despite the humidity.

Our guest today is singer-songwriter Izzy Stein, who will help us unpack Gaucho and also share with us a few of her original songs that have caught our ear.

Welcome to It's the Groove, Izzy.