The Cuervo Gold, the fine Colombian, the slickest Steely Dan album. 1980’s Gaucho, named after an Argentinian Cowboy, was released three years after Aja and took about two years to record due partially to Fagan’s and Becker’s perfectionism and personal problems. Becker was hit by a taxi in NYC and remained in a wheelchair during the recording of the album and became addicted to drugs, contributing to a strained relationship with Fagan. The next Steely Dan album would be released 20 years later, and would win a Grammy for best album.
Gaucho is a great album, overproduced, but full of excellent songs that you’d expect from the group. Side A starts with Babylon Sisters and Hey Nineteen, and subsequently every song after doesn’t reach the same high, but it’s still so much better than so much music that it’s among the Steely Dan albums that you should listen to if you like the group.
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