Steely Dan

[Go Pokes 979]

Seriously. I searched and could not find. There must be a SD thread. Smoked a bowl and I’m waist deep in some Steely Dan.

[TexArcher 37836]

Great band.  

[davidg 4038]

 

[Upgrayedd 5813]

51 minutes ago, TexArcher said:

Great band.  

Great?  Yes.  Were they a “band” though?  

[tigol 2398]

Well, every dildo deserves a name.

[WhatTheBuck 28783]

11 minutes ago, Upgrayedd said:

Great?  Yes.  Were they a “band” though?  

Of course they were. I know what you’re alluding to but if you try to argue that they weren’t a band then I would respond by saying they were twice the band that King Crimson was and if you want to argue that King Crimson wasn’t a band then you can go straight to hell.

[noharleyyet 2838]

[jimmyjazz 45963]

13 hours ago, Go Pokes said:

 

Seriously. I searched and could not find. There must be a SD thread. Smoked a bowl and I’m waist waste deep in some Steely Dan.

 

Fixed it.

Love the Dan.  Never understood the hate, usually expressed by far worse musicians.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

53 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

Fixed it.

Love the Dan.  Never understood the hate, usually expressed by far worse musicians.people with no musical taste

It's this.

[DougO 5250]

Love Steely Dan, but contrary to popular opinion, I prefer the Skunk era and the earlier albums over Aja. Killer gems that never got airplay.

[phdhorn 6224]

11 hours ago, Upgrayedd said:

Great?  Yes.  Were they a “band” though?  

Sort of.  In fact, legally Steely Dan was only Becker and Fagen.  They were structurally pretty much like the Mothers of Invention.  Were they a band?  Sure, why not.  Did people come and go like a crowd at a soccer stampede?  Hell yes - their "after touring" years were consciously the two of them and then a rotating horde of session players.  But even two guys can be a band.  So sure.

I love everything with Denny Dias.  I think he was the best pure musician in the lineup.  It was Dias who put the original ad in the paper, and spearheaded their (him, Fagen, and Becker) move to L.A., without which it's not certain they would have broken out.  Fagen and Becker liked jazz, but Dias played it first, and really influenced the latter two when putting together arrangements.  If you listen to their pre-L.A. stuff, it's bare-bones and actually not all that great.  After Dias' influence, the other two started writing complex stuff and they were off and running.

I'm by far an early fan, too.  However, I'm also a big fan of Fagen's Nightfly album, which is for him kinda late.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

27 minutes ago, DougO said:

Love Steely Dan, but contrary to popular opinion, I prefer the Skunk era and the earlier albums over Aja. Killer gems that never got airplay.

Aja was the end of their great run in my opinion.  Gaucho was pop, jazz, drivel.

[billfromlaketravis 11489]

Can't Buy a Thrill is my favorite Steely Dan album. More hits than Aja, and more nostalgic. 

I watched most of the documentary Classic Albums : Aja. Becker and Fagen firing their band and using studio musicians on their albums was a...choice. I'm sure they saved a ton of money, but they ceased being a relevant band after 1977. 

Edited April 25, 2021 by billfromlaketravis

[qwertyu1234 496]

I'm really indifferent to the band as it was before my time and this is the first thing I think of when I think of Steely Dan.

 

[dcbc 14487]

Countdown to Ecstasy is fantastic.  /signed

[DougO 5250]

Katy Lied is my favorite. The first six are all pretty close, but Katy stands out the most for me, with Countdown and Pretzel Logic a virtual tie for my second faves.

[WhatTheBuck 28783]

There’s not a bad song on their first six albums. I felt Glamour Profession on Gaucho was their first song that didn’t hold up to the standards established by all their previous work. I’m also not crazy about Third World Man. It’s not like I skip them when I play the album or anything. They’re just my least favorites out of their first seven albums which really isn’t much of a slight. I also can’t say I’m in love with Time Out Of Mind and My Rival, not that there’s really anything wrong with them. But those are the only four songs off their first seven albums that I’d ever play on a jukebox or put on a mix disc. (Or I guess a “playlist” as the kids are calling it these days but they’re streaming MP3’s and are missing out on the good quality audio anyway so I just feel sorry for them.)

If I had to pick a favorite it would probably be Do It Again. 

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

Steely Dan was a huge part of the soundtrack of my HS days.  All of their albums were released when I was in Jr. High.  I remember hearing Aja for the first time sitting in the back seat of a car heading up to the mountains to go spelunking with some of my jr high science class buds. The "cool" HS kids were driving, and one of them popped the Aja cassette in the stereo.  I was hooked by the second track.

 

Not a bad track on any of them, except maybe  East st. Louis 42 street toodaloo, never dug that one.

Edited April 26, 2021 by Onboard 2.0

[TexPx 2323]

Steely Dan was a huge part of the soundtrack of my HS days.  All of their albums were released when I was in Jr. High.  I remember hearing Aja for the first time sitting in the back seat of a car heading up to the mountains to go spelunking with some of my jr high science classmates, and the "cool" HS kids driving.  I was hooked by the second track.
 
Not a bad track on any of them, except maybe  East st. Louis 42 street toodaloo, never dug that one.

I like The Royal Scam a little better than Aja I think. Not as cinematic but a bit grittier and more guitar oriented.

Had tickets in hand for the Aja tour and they cancelled. Finally got to see them before Becker passed. Wasn’t sure what to expect but it was very good. Becker was funny and engaging and impressive on guitar.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

1 minute ago, TexPx said:

I like The Royal Scam a little better than Aja I think. Not as cinematic but a bit grittier and more guitar oriented.

Had tickets in hand for the Aja tour and they cancelled. Finally got to see them before Becker passed. Wasn’t sure what to expect but it was very good. Becker was funny and engaging and impressive on guitar.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Yeah, I love Aja, but dig the earlier stuff a bit more, but it's close.  Aja is such a chill, groovy album.

[stc 1462]

countdown to ecstasy is my personal favorite. concert at moody got postponed until june 2022 recently...original tickets were for december 2019, don't think i've ever waited this long for a concert. i half expect fagan to die before then. 

[smwhorn 482]

Great musicians.  Although I have tried and tried (really, I have), I just can't get into Donald Fagan's voice.  Don't know why and I suppose I'm in the minority as most people seem to like their music.  Mr. Fagan would prob say the same thing about my voice so no hard feelings Donald.

[WhatTheBuck 28783]

52 minutes ago, smwhorn said:

Great musicians.  Although I have tried and tried (really, I have), I just can't get into Donald Fagan's voice.  Don't know why and I suppose I'm in the minority as most people seem to like their music.  Mr. Fagan would prob say the same thing about my voice so no hard feelings Donald.

Do you prefer Walter Becker’s voice?

 

[noharleyyet 2838]

Fagan certainly wrung everything he could out of his voice and had the smarts to hire superb backups. I was hooked from the first time I heard Reelin In the Years. Our little garage band didn't even try to cover em.... 

[Upgrayedd 5813]

On 4/24/2021 at 11:23 PM, WhatTheBuck said:

Of course they were. I know what you’re alluding to but if you try to argue that they weren’t a band then I would respond by saying they were twice the band that King Crimson was and if you want to argue that King Crimson wasn’t a band then you can go straight to hell.

 

21 hours ago, phdhorn said:

Sort of.  In fact, legally Steely Dan was only Becker and Fagen.  They were structurally pretty much like the Mothers of Invention.  Were they a band?  Sure, why not.  Did people come and go like a crowd at a soccer stampede?  Hell yes - their "after touring" years were consciously the two of them and then a rotating horde of session players.  But even two guys can be a band.  So sure.

I love everything with Denny Dias.  I think he was the best pure musician in the lineup.  It was Dias who put the original ad in the paper, and spearheaded their (him, Fagen, and Becker) move to L.A., without which it's not certain they would have broken out.  Fagen and Becker liked jazz, but Dias played it first, and really influenced the latter two when putting together arrangements.  If you listen to their pre-L.A. stuff, it's bare-bones and actually not all that great.  After Dias' influence, the other two started writing complex stuff and they were off and running.

I'm by far an early fan, too.  However, I'm also a big fan of Fagen's Nightfly album, which is for him kinda late.

Ok ok ok.  Point taken.

[noharleyyet 2838]

I see/saw Becker and Fagan a musical brain trust with Chuck Berry business savvy. 

[jimmyjazz 45963]

4 hours ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Steely Dan was a huge part of the soundtrack of my HS days.  All of their albums were released when I was in Jr. High.

You were in Junior High for 31 years?

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

6 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

You were in Junior High for 31 years?

Found them in 77 started HS in 78.

[Jive Turkey 12609]

seen them live several times.  when i decided i needed to see a show at Red Rocks, i picked Steely Dan for my maiden voyage.

i'm sad i never saw them in NYC when they did their album shows.  i wanted to go to see them perform The Royal Scam in its entirety.  that's my favorite album of theirs.

[Cheeseweasel 26438]

I celebrate their entire lineup / albums.  Especially when you listen to how they "create" songs.

 

[phdhorn 6224]

6 hours ago, smwhorn said:

Great musicians.  Although I have tried and tried (really, I have), I just can't get into Donald Fagan's voice.  Don't know why and I suppose I'm in the minority as most people seem to like their music.  Mr. Fagan would prob say the same thing about my voice so no hard feelings Donald.

He couldn't either.  He thought he sounded so shitty they hired David Palmer for their early stint to sing.  I agree you have to kind of get used to it.  But he did what most smart guys who have a so-so voice do - he did a lot of harmonies in their mid-late stuff.  He sounds pretty good buried into a 3-4 voice counterpoint or homophony.

[jimmyjazz 45963]

1 hour ago, phdhorn said:

homophony.

NTTIAWWT

[Bama Llama 1450]

This YouTube is excellent.  Love that backing vocalist Carol Leonhart, mmmm-hmmm!  BabylonnN sisstahhhh, SHAKE IT!

Kind of stung when I first read that their reference to my football team in Deacon Blues was a snarky put down of "a bunch of crackers using a grandiose name," but I don't give a shit.  Steely Dan forever, dudes.

 

[DougO 5250]

I really dig Fagen's voice. It is certainly unique and has a certain clarity and tone that I find far more appealing that many singer-songwriters who's require some getting used to. He seems like the perfect singer for his songs, and really not a bad on at all. His accent and dynamics really suit the performance and blends with the band perfectly.

i also really like the song "Dirty Work," sung by the other dude on the album, one single that stays in regular rotation in my batch of random car tunes.

[WhatTheBuck 28783]

22 hours ago, Cheeseweasel said:

I celebrate their entire lineup / albums.  Especially when you listen to how they "create" songs.

 

That’s just part of the documentary on the making of Aja, which was a masterpiece.

 

[noharleyyet 2838]

Popularity has everything to do with business and nothing to do with music.

Donald Fagan

[oSuJeff97 3435]

Fuck yeah.

Picked up "Can't Buy a Thrill" on vinyl like a year ago at my local Josey Records.  

I always liked Steely Dan, but never had any of their full albums.

That record is now one of my 5 favorite I own.

"Dirty Work" is such fucking bad ass song.

[Go Pokes 979]

On 4/25/2021 at 9:40 AM, jimmyjazz said:

Fixed it.

Love the Dan.  Never understood the hate, usually expressed by far worse musicians.

Is it really "waste" and not "waist" deep?  I can see how both work, but waist deep seems more logical to me.  I don't even remember starting this thread so that must have been a good night.  

[Al_4_ISU 12464]

On 4/25/2021 at 12:47 PM, DougO said:

Love Steely Dan, but contrary to popular opinion, I prefer the Skunk era and the earlier albums over Aja. Killer gems that never got airplay.

I didn't realize this was an unpopular opinion.  I prefer Can't Buy a Thrill and Pretzel Logic to Aja, and would put Royal Scam and Katy Lied in the same tier.  Skunk is such a fucking monster of a lead guitar player.

Maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but I think Aja is about the end of my interest in the band.  Gaucho doesn't do a lot for me.

[jimmyjazz 45963]

8 minutes ago, Go Pokes said:

Is it really "waste" and not "waist" deep?  I can see how both work, but waist deep seems more logical to me.  I don't even remember starting this thread so that must have been a good night.  

I was just making a (not) funny on your "smoked a bowl" reference.

[Al_4_ISU 12464]

It's weird, my old man is a big Dan fan and I grew up inundated by their music, but was basically neutral to it until last summer.  I went on a big kick and kind of heard everything with fresh ears for the first time in my life as a 35 year old.

I had never paid that much attention to guitar work.  The solo on Rikki blew my mind, and I've probably heard that song 1,000 times prior to that.  It's crazy how things like that work.  Anyways, I'm a team Skunk kind of guy.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

7 minutes ago, Al_4_ISU said:

I didn't realize this was an unpopular opinion.  I prefer Can't Buy a Thrill and Pretzel Logic to Aja, and would put Royal Scam and Katy Lied in the same tier.  Skunk is such a fucking monster of a lead guitar player.

Maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but I think Aja is about the end of my interest in the band.  Gaucho doesn't do a lot for me.

Aja was the culmination of their previous work. I have never liked Gaucho either. It's just way to poppy, easy jazz, jumped the shark for my taste, Hey 19 is OK, but just OK.  

Can't buy a thrill may be my favorite SD album, but Aja is a gott damned masterpiece.  It's the album that got me started on my Steely Dan love affair.

[Al_4_ISU 12464]

21 minutes ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Aja was the culmination of their previous work. I have never liked Gaucho either. It's just way to poppy, easy jazz, jumped the shark for my taste, Hey 19 is OK, but just OK.  

Can't buy a thrill may be my favorite SD album, but Aja is a gott damned masterpiece.  It's the album that got me started on my Steely Dan love affair.

Yeah, I get why people put Aja at the top.  I think there's a little more grit in the earlier stuff, and that's usually what draws me to music.  

That said, "They name got a name for the winners in the world, and I want a name when I lose" might be my favorite Steely Dan lyric.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

21 minutes ago, Al_4_ISU said:

Yeah, I get why people put Aja at the top.  I think there's a little more grit in the earlier stuff, and that's usually what draws me to music.  

That said, "They name got a name for the winners in the world, and I want a name when I lose" might be my favorite Steely Dan lyric.

Yep, I'd agree.   I like grit in my music, but that album is just so damn well done.

[jimmyjazz 45963]

I think "Home At Last" is such a superb piece of music, it elevates Aja all on its own.  The keys, the drums (Bernard!), the lyrics (ancient Greek poem?  Why not!), the stellar recording, everything.

[noharleyyet 2838]

Met Fagan in Denver at the hotel bar 4-5 years back, before a Red Rocks Show...cordial enough (actually very), every bit the rock star.

Could not have made a living as a model...no doubt one of the most recognizable icons in the business. 

Edited May 3, 2021 by noharleyyet

[Go Pokes 979]

Aja was the culmination of their previous work. I have never liked Gaucho either. It's just way to poppy, easy jazz, jumped the shark for my taste, Hey 19 is OK, but just OK.  
Can't buy a thrill may be my favorite SD album, but Aja is a gott damned masterpiece.  It's the album that got me started on my Steely Dan love affair.

Exactly my thoughts. All of it. Kid Charlemagne may be my favorite song of theirs, but I don’t really love the album it’s on either. Maybe that’s why it’s the first track.

[Beantown Express 2.0 6559]

5 hours ago, Go Pokes said:

Exactly my thoughts. All of it. Kid Charlemagne may be my favorite song of theirs, but I don’t really love the album it’s on either. Maybe that’s why it’s the first track.

Kid Charlemagne is one of my favorites of theirs also and the guitar solos on that track are some of the best ever.  Larry Carlton just kills it on the middle solo and the end solo.  The musicianship and production on their albums is just a step above most bands.  Aja to me is their best album and I don’t know why but Peg is one of the few songs by any artist I can listen to over and over again and it doesn’t get old.  They have such a long list of great songs that all sound different it’s kind of ridiculous. Fagen’s voice sounds the same in all their songs but Dirty Work, Reeling in the Years, Peg, Old School, Deacon Blues, Kid Charlemagne all have a really different sound to me which I don’t think you always get from one band.

[Carl Spackler 3483]

Necro-bump simply because I happened across a Schlitz beer jingle from the early 1970's that the Steely Dan boys did for the money.  Between SD extolling the virtues of shitty beer in their inimitable way and the Mad Men-style marketing, it's fascinating.

 

[HouTex 1877]

7 minutes ago, Carl Spackler said:

Necro-bump simply because I happened across a Schlitz beer jingle from the early 1970's that the Steely Dan boys did for the money.  Between SD extolling the virtues of shitty beer in their inimitable way and the Mad Men-style marketing, it's fascinating.

 

Shitty beer?  Schlitz beer until around 1978 or so was fantastic.  They fucked with the recipe, and had some terrible ads, and it basically died.  I don’t remember the Steely Dan ad.