The Nightfly by Donald Fagen (UD1S Vinyl, Nov-2017, MFSL) - New/Sealed

$

199

Mastered from the Original Master Tapes with Mobile Fidelity's One-Step Process: TheNightfly (Numbered Limited Edition UltraDisc UD1S)45RPM Box Set Is the Ultimate Analog Version of Donald Fagen's 1982 LandmarkDebut.

LavishPackaging Includes Opulent Box and Special Foil-Stamped Jackets: DeluxeAudiophile Pressing Strictly Limited to 6000 Numbered Copies. S/N 1469/6000.

Cinemafor the Ears: The Nightly Remains One of the Best-Sounding Albums Ever Madewith Reference Production, Standout Playing, and Jazz-Like Arrangements ThatEmbody Timeless Cool.

Donald Fagen's largelyautobiographical The Nightfly remains one of the best-sounding albums evermade. Revered by audiophiles, the Steely Dan co-founder's 1982 set immediatelybecame a demonstration disc at audio salons and hi-fi shows the world over. Italso quickly emerged as an irreplaceable monitor-evaluating tool forrecording-studio engineers and front-of-the-house testing device forconcert-venue soundboard engineers who continue to use it today. Painstakinglyrecorded over eight months by producer Gary Katz and engineers Roger Nicholsand Elliot Scheiner, The Nightfly endures as a rare trifecta of superlativeperformance, consummate songwriting, and crisp, benchmark production. MobileFidelity is honored to give this seminal effort unsurpassed treatment befittingthe most serious music connoisseurs.

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

The lavish packaging andbeautiful presentation of Mobile Fidelity's The Nightfly pressing befit its extremelyselect status. Housed in a deluxe box, this UD1S version contains specialfoil-stamped jackets and faithful-to-the-original graphics that illuminate thesplendor 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 thatprize sound quality and creativity, and who desire to fully immerse themselvesin the art – and everything involved with the album, from the images to thetextures and liner notes.

Nominated for seven GrammyAwards, The Nightfly "represent[s] certain fantasies that might have beenentertained by a young man growing up in the remote suburbs of a northeasterncity 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'sthematic thrust and wistful, nostalgic appeal. At their core, songs look at theworld via an optimistic, mindfully innocent lens and through the eyes of anadolescent holed up in his bedroom with his ear to a radio whose excitingtransmissions inspire thoughts of futuristic cities, late-night deejays,otherworldly hopes, and Cold War romances. Cinema for the ears, The Nightflycomes on like a film transferred to wax – its stories filled with relatablevulnerability, ambition, and warmth.

It is also timelessly cool,with everything from the iconic album cover – complete with Fagen in the roleof a cigarette-smoking disk jockey spinning a Sonny Rollins album on an RCAturntable at 4:09 in the morning – to the flawless playing honoring thelaid-back, hip, stylish jazz pedigree of the arrangements. Indeed, TheNightfly's fame owes as much to the stunning contributions by stellar musicians– saxophonist Michael Brecker, trumpeter Randy Brecker, guitarist LarryCarlton, drummer Steve Jordan, bassist Marcus Miller, drummer Jeff Porcaro, and"Harmonica Frank" Floyd included – as it does the particulars behindits creation, which involved cutting-edge technology, novel microphonetechniques, and pioneering recording methods that gave Fagen exactly what hedemanded. His insistence on dialing in exacting drum sounds is by itself thestuff of legend.

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

1.    I.G.Y

2.    Green Flower Street

3.    Ruby Baby

4.    Maxine

5.    New Frontier

6.    The Nightfly

7.    The Goodbye Look

8.    Walk Between Raindrops