Ships in original shipping container.

Mastered from the Original Master Tapes with Mobile Fidelity's One-Step Process: The Nightfly UD1S 45RPM Box Set Is the Ultimate Analog Version of Donald Fagen's 1982 Landmark Debut  

Lavish Packaging Includes Opulent Box and Special Foil-Stamped Jackets: Deluxe Audiophile Pressing Strictly Limited to 6000 Numbered Copies (Limit Two Per Customer)

Cinema for the Ears: The Nightly Remains One of the Best-Sounding Albums Ever Made with Reference Production, Standout Playing, and Jazz-Like Arrangements That Embody Timeless Cool

Donald Fagen's largely autobiographical The Nightflyremains one of the best-sounding albums ever made. Revered by audiophiles, the Steely Dan co-founder's 1982 set immediately became a demonstration disc at audio salons and hi-fi shows the world over. It also quickly emerged as an irreplaceable monitor-evaluating tool for recording-studio engineers and front-of-the-house testing device for concert-venue soundboard engineers who continue to use it today. Painstakingly recorded over eight months by producer Gary Katz and engineers Roger Nichols and Elliot Scheiner, The Nightfly endures as a rare trifecta of superlative performance, consummate songwriting, and crisp, benchmark production. Mobile Fidelity is honored to give this seminal effort unsurpassed treatment befitting the most serious music connoisseurs.

Fagen's solo debut reaches three-dimensional sonic and emotional heights never before attained on Mobile Fidelity's opulent UD1S (UltraDisc One-Step) box set. Strictly limited to 6,000 numbered copies, this ultra-hi-fi collector's editionliterally and figuratively brings you closer to music that picks up where Steely Dan's Gaucho leaves off. You'll enjoy deep-black backgrounds, boundless soundstaging, pointillist details, staggering dynamics, and arguably, the most lifelike tonalities and nuances ever committed to vinyl. Experienced via UD1S, The Nightflyplaces Fagen and his session pros in your listening room. Every note, breath, and movement is reproduced with exquisite accuracy, wowing clarity, and impeccable balance. Consider this edition your new go-to reference.

The lavish packaging and beautiful presentation of Mobile Fidelity's The Nightfly pressing befit its extremely select status. Housed in a deluxe box, this UD1S version contains special foil-stamped jackets and faithful-to-the-original graphics that illuminate the splendor of the recording. No expense has been spared. Aurally and visually, this reissue of The Nightfly is a curatorial artifact meant to be preserved, poured over, touched, and examined. It is made for discerning listeners that prize sound quality and creativity, and who desire to fully immerse themselves in the art – and everything involved with the album, from the images to the textures and liner notes.

Nominated for seven Grammy Awards, The Nightfly "represent[s] 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, i.e., one of my general height, weight, and build," pens Fagen in the liner notes, revealing the work's thematic thrust and wistful, nostalgic appeal. At their core, songs look at the world via an optimistic, mindfully innocent lens and through the eyes of an adolescent holed up in his bedroom with his ear to a radio whose exciting transmissions inspire thoughts of futuristic cities, late-night deejays, otherworldly hopes, and Cold War romances. Cinema for the ears, The Nightfly comes on like a film transferred to wax – its stories filled with relatable vulnerability, ambition, and warmth.

It is also timelessly cool, with everything from the iconic album cover – complete with Fagen in the role of a cigarette-smoking disk jockey spinning a Sonny Rollinsalbum on an RCA turntable at 4:09 in the morning – to the flawless playing honoring the laid-back, hip, stylish jazz pedigree of the arrangements. Indeed, The Nightfly's fame owes as much to the stunning contributions by stellar musicians – saxophonist Michael Brecker, trumpeter Randy Brecker, guitarist Larry Carlton, drummer Steve Jordan, bassist Marcus Miller, drummer Jeff Porcaro, and "Harmonica Frank" Floyd included – as it does the particulars behind its creation, which involved cutting-edge technology, novel microphone techniques, and pioneering recording methods that gave Fagen exactly what he demanded. His insistence on dialing in exacting drum sounds is by itself the stuff of legend.

The results of the meticulous sessions transcend eras and generations – part of its very design. Virtually every track connects with classic 50s and 60s styles. "Green Flower Street" doubles as an homage to the jazz standard "On Green Dolphin Street." The title track draws imagery from blues pioneer Charley Patton. "Ruby Baby" references soul greats the Drifters. "Maxine" nods to harmonies perfected by big-band vocal quartets like the Four Freshmen. "The Goodbye Look" acknowledges the bossa-nova craze of Fagen's youth. In all respects, The Nightfly rules the airwaves.

More About Mobile Fidelity UltraDisc One-Step and Why It Is Superior 
Instead of utilizing the industry-standard three-step lacquer process, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab's new UltraDisc One-Step (UD1S) uses only one step, bypassing two processes of generational loss. While three-step processing is designed for optimum yield and efficiency, UD1S is created for the ultimate in sound quality. Just as Mobile Fidelity pioneered the UHQR (Ultra High-Quality Record) with JVC in the 1980s, UD1S again represents another state-of-the-art advance in the record-manufacturing process. MFSL engineers begin with the original master tapes and meticulously cut a set of lacquers. These lacquers are used to create a very fragile, pristine UD1S stamper called a "convert." Delicate "converts" are then formed into the actual record stampers, producing a final product that literally and figuratively brings you closer to the music. By skipping the additional steps of pulling another positive and an additional negative, as done in the three-step process used in standard pressings, UD1S produces a final LP with the lowest noise floor possible today. The removal of the additional two steps of generational loss in the plating process reveals tremendous amounts of extra musical detail and dynamics, which are otherwise lost due to the standard copying process. The exclusive nature of these very limited pressings guarantees that every UD1S pressing serves as an immaculate replica of the lacquer sourced directly from the original master tape. Every conceivable aspect of vinyl production is optimized to produce the most perfect record album available today.  Donald Fagen ?– The Nightfly Label:Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab ?– UD1S 2-003 Series:UltraDisc One-Step – , Original Master Recording – Format:2 × Vinyl, 12", 45 RPM, Album, Limited Edition, Numbered, Reissue, Remastered  Box Set  Country:US Released: 20 Oct 2017 Genre:Jazz, Rock Style:Fusion, Pop Rock Tracklist
A1 I. G. Y. (International Geophysical Year) Alto Saxophone – Dave Tofani Backing Vocals – Frank Floyd, Gordon Grody, Valerie Simpson, Zack Sanders* Baritone Saxophone – Ronnie Cuber Bass – Anthony Jackson Drums – James Gadson Drums [Additional] – Jeff Porcaro Electric Piano – Greg Phillinganes Guitar – Hugh McCracken Percussion – Roger Nichols, Starz Vanderlocket Synth [Blues Harp] – Donald Fagen Synthesizer – Donald Fagen, Rob Mounsey Tenor Saxophone – Michael Brecker Trombone – Dave Bargeron Trumpet – Randy Brecker 6:05
A2 Green Flower Street Backing Vocals – Daniel Lazerus, Frank Floyd, Valerie Simpson, Zack Sanders* Bass – Chuck Rainey Drums – Jeff Porcaro Electric Piano, Clavinet – Greg Phillinganes Guitar – Dean Parks, Rick Derringer Lead Guitar – Larry Carlton Percussion – Starz Vanderlocket Synthesizer – Donald Fagen, Rob Mounsey 3:40
B1 Ruby Baby Backing Vocals – Donald Fagen, Valerie Simpson Bass – Anthony Jackson Drums – Jeff Porcaro Drums [Additional] – James Gadson Electric Piano, Organ, Synthesizer – Donald Fagen Guitar – Hugh McCracken Lead Guitar – Larry Carlton Piano – Michael Omartian Soloist, Piano – Greg Phillinganes Tenor Saxophone – Michael Brecker Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Randy Brecker 5:38
B2 Maxine Alto Saxophone – Dave Tofani Baritone Saxophone – Ronnie Cuber Bass – Marcus Miller Drums – Ed Green* Electric Piano, Organ – Donald Fagen Euphonium – Dave Bargeron Flugelhorn – Randy Brecker Tenor Saxophone – Michael Brecker 3:50
C1 New Frontier Backing Vocals – Donald Fagen, Starz Vanderlocket Bass – Abraham Laboriel Drums – Ed Green* Harmonica – Hugh McCracken Lead Guitar – Larry Carlton Percussion – Starz Vanderlocket Piano, Electric Piano – Michael Omartian 6:23
C2 The Nightfly Backing Vocals – Donald Fagen, Frank Floyd, Valerie Simpson, Zack Sanders* Bass – Marcus Miller Drums – Jeff Porcaro Electric Piano – Michael Omartian Guitar – Hugh McCracken, Rick Derringer Lead Guitar – Larry Carlton Piano – Donald Fagen Synthesizer – Donald Fagen, Rob Mounsey 5:45 D1 The Goodbye Look Acoustic Guitar – Steve Khan Backing Vocals – Donald Fagen, Valerie Simpson Bass – Marcus Miller Drums – Jeff Porcaro Electric Piano, Synthesizer – Greg Phillinganes Guitar – Dean Parks Lead Guitar – Larry Carlton Percussion – Starz Vanderlocket 4:47
D2 Walk Between Raindrops Backing Vocals – Donald Fagen, Leslie Miller Bass – Will Lee Drums – Steve Jordan Electric Piano, Organ, Synthesizer – Donald Fagen Guitar – Larry Carlton Synthesizer [Bass] – Greg Phillinganes 2:38 Companies, etc. Record Company – Warner Music Group Phonographic Copyright (p) – Warner Bros. Records Inc. Licensed From – Warner Bros. Records Inc. Manufactured By – Rhino Entertainment Company Distributed By – Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, Inc. Copyright (c) – Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, Inc. Remastered At – Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab Lacquer Cut At – Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab Recorded At – Soundworks Digital Audio/Video Studios Recorded At – The Village Recorder Recorded At – Automated Sound Studios Mixed At – Soundworks Digital Audio/Video Studios Mixed At – The Village Recorder Mixed At – Automated Sound Studios Pressed By – Record Technology Incorporated – 28391 Pressed By – Record Technology Incorporated – 28393 Pressed By – Record Technology Incorporated – 28394 Credits Arranged By – Donald Fagen Arranged By [Horns] – Donald Fagen, Rob Mounsey Art Direction – George Delmerico Composed By – Donald Fagen (tracks: A1, A2, B2 to D2), Jerry Leiber And Mike Stoller* (tracks: B1) Engineer [Assistant] – Cheryl Smith, Mike Morengell*, Robin Lane*, Wayne Yurgelun* Engineer [Chief] – Roger Nichols Engineer [Overdub] – Daniel Lazerus Lacquer Cut By – KW* Photography By – James Hamilton (5) Producer – Gary Katz Remastered By – Krieg Wunderlich Sequenced By, Percussion, Effects [Special Effects] – Roger Nichols, Wendel II Set Designer [And Construction] – Gale Sasson, Vern Yenor Technician [Digital Maintenance, 3M] – Bill Roach, Jiri Donovsky Technician [Digital Maintenance, Soundworks] – Mike Morongell*, Wayne Yurgelun* Tracking By, Mixed By [Mixdown] – Elliot Scheiner Notes Mastered from the Original Master Tapes with Mobile Fidelity's One-Step Process Mastered on the Gain 2 Ultra Analog System Comes with fold-out card thickness insert with lyrics and album cover photo. Originally 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.  ? + © 1982 Warner Bros. Records Inc. for the US & WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the U.S. Limited to 6 000 hand numbered copies.

Sealed Record Policy 
The sealed records we sell are sold as collectibles and their premium pricing is based on the fact that they are still sealed. Please consider this carefully before you open up a sealed record.    We can therefore not be responsible for pressing defects, warps or any other factory errors. We except no returns of opened product under any circumstances.