Donald Fagen – The Nightfly – Yesteryear Vinyl

Another classic yesteryear album from my wife’s extensive collection of well used vinyl! This 1982 Warner Brothers release, 92.3696-1, was mastered by Masterdisc, NYC. It was recorded and mixed entirely on 3M digital 32 track and 4 track machines at Soundworks Digital Audio/Video Recording Studios, N.Y, Village Recorders, L.A. and Automated Sound, N.Y. It was pressed by Specialty Records Corporation from metal stampers made by Sheffield Lab Matrix. Now thats quite a pedigree. Lets see if it holds up to scrutiny.

Nominated for seven Grammy Awards, the songs on this album represent certain fantasies that might have been entertained by a young man growing up in the remote suburbs of a northeastern city during the late fifties and early sixties………..

Tracks:

Side A

• I.G.Y
• Green Flower Street
• Ruby Baby
• Maxine

Side B

• New Frontier
• The Nightfly
• The Goodbye Look
• Walk Between Raindrops

WOW! This album is truly amazing, it could have been made as a direct cut by Sheffield Lab, it’s that good. In fact it sounded better than a good number of my direct cuts. Which is even more amazing considering that it was MASS produced and MASS stamped in 1982. I now see why MoFi decided to take the master tapes and remaster this album using their latest state of the art techniques. Their newly mastered pressing must have sounded awesome.

Neither technically nor musically is there anything  to crticise this album for. This 140gram vinyl is in stellar condition, looks like new and is very quite, rating a 5-. There were no pops and clicks to be heard. The musicianship and vocals were first rate with a band that just seemed to be whole heartedly enjoying themselves and were just o so tight.

All tracks were very open with very good delineation between all instruments. Stereo imaging was first rate and there was a reasonable sense of depth that was supported by moderate reverb that brought the whole studio sound to life. Vocals were tremendous, full and clean, no sibilance, excellent stereo imaging and rock solid placement across the stereo image.

With only four tracks per side dynamics were first rate with what I felt was only the kick drum feeling “just a little” compressed. The bass line was solid, clean and deep and well integrated with the pushy and deep kick drum that carried a solid beater sound. Guitars, keyboards and organ were dynamic and bright with a punchy brass section and great sax, trumpet and piano solos. Percussive instruments like xylophones, wood blocks and cow bells sounded wonderfully natural and dynamic while the cymbals, hi-hats and snare had ample detail and clarity being nice and bright and providing a wonderfully open clean sound.

You would not have known that this album hadn’t just been recorded and produced in 2020 with some of the best engineers, mastering services and pressing plants that are available for audiophile albums. Sorry, it got all that attention in 1982!

If jazz is your cup of tea then you really need to add this album to your collection. When my wife originally purchased this album in the UK it cost £5.29, about $9.00 dollars then. What terrific value.

Without a doubt this 1982 album rates as audiophile and is highly recommended.

This album was considered to be of such merit that it was re-mastered from the original stereo tapes by MoFi as a limited edition boxed, 180gram, 45RPM, double album, originally selling for $125.00. Total copies 6000.

Find it here at Discogs.

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