Gaucho is the only song on Gaucho that I liked besides Time Out of Mind. Walter Becker handles the guitar solo. Kings ( lovely guitar solo) Lots of people love Deacon Blues, but I think you’re the only other person to mention Gaucho so far? How are ratings calculated? Thanks for writing in! I also have a soft spot for the live album that catalysed the re-union. I could easily make a superlative top ten out of the leftovers – maybe ‘Do It Again’, ‘Bodhisattva’, ‘Pretzel Logic’, ‘The Caves of Altamira’, ‘Don’t Take Me Alive’, ‘The Royal Scam’, ‘Aja’, ‘Peg’, ‘FM’, and ‘Babylon Sisters’. Steely Dan’s music is typically classified as ‘jazz rock’, but the genius of Fagen and Becker was to fuse these two elements with funk rhythms and a pop sensibility evident in the hits Do It Again, Reelin’ In The Years and Rikki Don’t Lose That Number. Yet, when I think back, i can remember just one of my music loving friends playing Steely Dan records. It’s cool you have those records on vinyl – the only Steely Dan album I have a physical copy of is a 1993 compilation named Remastered – I never saw physical copies around really. Metacritic Music Reviews, Two Against Nature by Steely Dan, The duo of Walter Becker and Donald Fagen return after a 20-year hiatus, with this Grammy-winning comeback album … “Don’t make me do it without the fez on”. Wu’ was later covered by The Minutemen, on their 1984 magnum opus Double Nickels on the Dime. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Wu’ that someone else is a dope habit personified as Doctor Wu.” ‘Dr. I like Dirty Work. They are only just a rock band, taking much from jazz and R&B, and even their smoothest tunes have sharp little bones. Fagen pounds out a jazzy vamp on piano while the backing singers repeat “You go to Lost Wages, Lost Wages.” Rick Derringer plays slide guitar, while Welsh band Super Furry Animals sampled the song’s most memorable line for their single ‘The Man Don’t Give a F***’. Perhaps that’s because I was in the audience in Frankfurt and have an original copy of the set list, begged from the Aussie who was manning the sound board! I changed it to put for you! Deacon Blues seems like it would probably win a fan poll for best song – almost everyone’s mentioned that one. Citizen Steely Dan is a lump sum of all their studio albums from 1972 debut till 1980 Gaucho that marked the end of that period of their work. Steely Dan entered the ’80s with something elegant and arid—immaculately conceived malaise-age bachelor-pad music. ( Log Out /  Denny Dias and Jeff Baxter solo. Supertramp, Al Stewart, Bowie (I love the LP Young Americans even if Bowie fans don’t), Foreigner (Jr. Walker, Cleo’s Mood, great tune), Pink Floyd, Roxy, Gerry Rafferty. Great Jeff Baxter solo It took me a while to warm up to the sophisticated LA grooves of Steely Dan. 4.1 out of 5 stars. There are so many A songs by this band, but my favorite might be “Your Gold Teeth II,” from Katy Lied, which has a beautiful jazzy melody and one of the loveliest guitar solos, by Denny Dias, ever recorded. –1990s It’s funny how one can be so familiar with artists and songs and then something will cause you to think of them in an entirely new manner. There isn’t one weak track on there, IMHO! They’re great songs that could have easily had piano or sax solos. A great place to start if you're a Dan newbie without access to a greatest hits album. I just started following you on spotify. Michael McDonald is among the ensemble of backing vocalists, while Paul Griffin plays the electric clavinet. Steely Dan - Katy Lied review: Steely Dan's . Saxophone saw a fair bit of use in the 1970s and 1980s – it’s quite possible that it was besmirched by Kenny G (and Bill Clinton) in the early 1990s, and had to lie low for a while. I don’t know enough to really comment. ( Log Out /  A wildly underrated player. by Steely Dan. 4.1 out of 5. Am I correct in concluding that they have always had a strong following, but amongst a limited number of devotees? John Klemmer, big in the ’70s, plays the sax beautifully. My deep track would be “Chain Lightning.” Since guitar is my thang, I’ve made some comments on those solos, only one of which is not the gee-tar: -Kid Charlemagne –  A great song. For the record, that’s my list of favorites but not necessarily because of the guitar solos. I had a listen to Two Against Nature to make sure I wasn’t missing anything for the list. Don’t Take me Alive Later on, Home At Last can bring a tear to my eye and Black Cow is another great little scene: a jealous confrontation in a bar, and even later, What A Shame About Me puts you face to face with a slightly crazy ex-student colleague who wants to take you to her hotel room to do who-knows-what or old times’ sake. I liked the scene where they had Purdie and Rainey jamming with them twenty years later. But good list. Larry Carlton’s two solos are legendary –2000s The title track on Pretzel Logic is my all-time favorite Steely Dan track, with the menacing keyboard intro and guitar riffing, with the triple bizarro jazz-pop classic of “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number,” “Any Major Dude Will Tell You,” and “Barrytown” close behind. from Aja, 1977This slinky and concise pop-rocker comes from a time where Steely Dan’s material was becoming more esoteric. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen it but there’s a “Making of” Aja thing on YouTube. This show is the first in the UK since the death of singer Donald Fagen’s songwriting partner Walter Becker; an empty mic stand is poignantly set up. One of my all-time favorites is “Reelin’ in the Years”. Also, in addition to “Deacon Blues” (my favorite Dan tune) and “Josie” (yes, that bass line is friggin’ cool! . Around half is drawn from their biggest record, the frictionless Aja, and its successor, the luxuriant, bloodless Gaucho. Kid Charlemagne is the rightful number 1. Haitian Divorce This box set, released in 1993 during Steely Dan's original comeback tour, collects every original album track released during the first phase of the group's career (1972-1980), in chronological and album order on 4 CDs/cassettes, plus various non-album rarities scattered throughout. Reeling in the Years Steely Dan / Aja (1977/MCA) So many stellar albums by Fagen and Becker in the 70′s but this one is timeless. I tend to prefer the mid-1970s, where they delved right into a jazz-rock synthesis. from Pretzel Logic, 1974An uncharacteristically warm song from the Dan, ‘Any Major Dude Will Tell You’ offers words of comfort. Do It Again Theband's popularity peaked inthelate 1970s, with the release of seven albums blending elements ofjazz, rock, funk, R&B, and pop. –1960s 1977, 9.5/10 Beloved by audiophiles, Steely Dan’s sixth album was a further progression towards a pristine studio sound. It’s great, even though the line “She prays like a Roman/With her eyes on fire” is an unusual central hook for a pop song. It was also Gaucho’s 40th anniversary this week. 🙂 The ‘final’ album, ‘Everything Must Go’, is similarly solid if not exceptional. As usual I pretty well like them all. Barrytown’s a good one – XTC kind of recycled it twenty five years later. I did think about doing a list of best Steely Dan songs from the perspective of best guitar solos. from The Royal Scam, 1976A fez is a type of Middle Eastern hat, but here it’s seemingly used as a metaphor for safe sex. BluesFest, O2 Arena, London Donald Fagen, now sole founding member after the … Aja might well have been 11th if I’d had another spot. The title track and ‘Things I miss the most’ are both very good. Deacon Blues The brief, poignant exception is when he refers obliquely to Becker’s death: “I gotta live with it.” Now there’s a motto for Steely Dan Man. 5 star 64% 4 star 11% 3 star 7% 2 star 11% 1 star 7% The Best of Steely Dan. Jeff ‘Skunk’ Baxter plays the free-ranging guitar solo. As I’d struggle to list “Ten Steely Dan songs I Really Don’t Like”, further comments would be a bit irrelevant! the only album I own is Aja. You’l see why Becker and Fagen were so beloved as people. Steely Dan's debut album, "Can't Buy a Thrill", was released in 1972, and was the least jazzy of what they would sound like by the end of their career. Blog Posts Rikki Don’t Lose That Number Time Out of Mind Tonight’s set leans heavily towards the later work, when they were no longer a group but a pair of perfectionist song-crafters in a studio teeming with session players. Album Review: Steely Dan - Gaucho Speaking about Steely Dan’s sixth album Aja, guitarist Dean Parks said of Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, “perfection is not what they’re after, they’re after something that you wanna listen to.”No other quote encapsulates the music of Steely Dan better. I find it strangely romantic Blending elements of rock, jazz, latin music, R&B, blues and sophisticated studio production with cryptic and ironic lyrics, the band enjoyed critical and commercial success starting from the early 1970s until breaking up in 1981. Glenn Frey admits it on Yacht Rock episode 10: Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Graydon, like so many of the Dan’s musicians is/was a studio guy who has some other credits and even some Grammys. Becker steps out on guitar. Only A fool Would Say That from Gaucho, 1980Jazz pianist Keith Jarrett is credited as a co-writer on the title track from the band’s 1980 album. I think those two are amongst the strongest songs on Two Against Nature. If you are unable to attend the new date, you will be able to request a refund. One of Jimmy Page’s favorites A lot of your choices were on my list of runners up at the top of my post, so we have a lot of crossover. Royal Scam is my second favourite Dan record (after Aja) and it’s very well represented on your list. Genesis Albums: Ranked from Worst to Best, Matt P (movingtheriver.com, soundsofsurprise.com), New Music Reviews: Cleo Sol, Chloe x Halle, and Wobbler, New Music Reviews: Ela Minus, Sault, Róisín Murphy. I do hope you enjoyed the process and discovered some further Dan gems (enough for the Top 40 songs!). Remember, this glossy bop-pop was the indifferent aristocracy to punk rock's stone-throwing in the late 70's. Steely Dan's fourth album is the weakest of their classic 7, trapped between the authentic character of the first three and the class of the latter three. I find Reelin’ in the Years a tiny bit cheesy but I love the guitar solo. One of my favorites of their is “FM”. The acoustic guitars and warm electric pianos anchor the track – David Paich and Fagen are both credited on keys, while Jim Gordon is on drums. Amazing stuff. Throughout, Fagen remains mischievously amused – much as he has, in his own sardonic way, through Steely Dan’s career. Very surprising but kind of interesting to see the inclusion of ‘Black Friday’, ‘Josie’ and ‘Gaucho’ (btw, I’m not sure I agree with you on your interpretation of that as a drugs song – I think it’s fairly ‘on the nose’ in terms of being about a homosexual three-way love affair). I also learned that I’ve been pronouncing Aja wrong all this time. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. His manner, behind dark glasses and keyboard, is so reminiscent of Ray Charles that it almost feels like a skit (he calls the female backing singers the “Dan-ettes”). However, if I must, in order of their release: They were fantastic from the get-go. Steely Dan is an American rock band founded in 1972 by core members Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). I could easily make a superlative top ten out of the leftovers – maybe ‘Do It Again’, ‘Bodhisattva’, ‘Pretzel Logic’, ‘The Caves of … Oooo, good list! Peg Steely Dan Jazz Rock/Fusion. So does that mean the more volatile character of Walter Becker was responsible? tricot I do recall coveting a poster for the tour (featuring the CD cover image) that I tried to work out how to liberate from its display case on a bridge in Frankfurt! OF the very early stuff, I love the evocative story of The Boston Rag, nd i spent many hours stoned and daydreaming to Turn That Heartbeat. AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine Can't Buy a Thrill became an unexpected hit, and as a response, Donald Fagen became the group's full-time lead vocalist, and he and Walter Becker acted like Steely Dan was a rock & roll band for the group's second album, Countdown to Ecstasy . The Best of Steely Dan › Customer reviews; Customer reviews. I’ve never heard of Jay Graydon – is that his big claim to fame? Play the first two and then the last two albums of the band’s initial continuous run and, as with Roxy Music, you might think you’re hearing two different bands linked by writing and sensibility. Walter Becker played the song’s solo on Denny Dias’ guitar. -Reelin’ in the Years – I never get tired of this one. Aja 🙂. Definitely with you on ‘Dr Wu’, ‘Deacon Blues’ and ‘Any Major Dude’. Steely Dan, and these are all great picks, Graham! My Top Ten Dan was posted a while ago, here . This is a band I keep having recommended to me, and I keep saying yeah yeah I’ll get there, but I only own a Hits set thus far. Review Summary: Steely Dan's "jack of all trades" album, Katy has a little something to please everyone, even if she is a horrible liar. My Rival? But there was still that jazz edge to it, and it … The Royal Scam -Black Friday –  A great bluesy solo. For some reason I already made a list of Steely Dan songs elsewhere on your blog , so I just had to copy and paste. Did I miss your favourite Steely Dan song? Deacon Blues is often a fan favourite. I really like Fagen’s debut, The Nightfly. Pretzel Logic, Royal Scam, and Aja are my three favourites. We have exactly two tunes in common. A crisp drumming performance by a teenaged Jeff Porcaro anchors the track, which is punctuated by horns, clavinet, and rhythm guitar. Steely Dan have stowed away a lot of time since their debut album Can't Buy A Thrill in 1972. “Night by Night” is a great deep track. Oh, and the ‘Two Against Nature’ live DVD is excellent! Wu’ as “kind of a love-dope triangle… in ‘Dr. Wu’ as “kind of a love-dope triangle… in ‘Dr. Pretty complex stuff that takes a few listens to absorb, but there’s nothing really else like it. Did you see them on the 1993-1994 tour? Steely Dan review – smooth tunes with sharp little bones 3 out of 5 stars. Have you heard the reunion albums? If Bruce Springsteen, in his own wry summation, avoided honest labour by writing about it, then Steely Dan have made a roaring success of narrating failure. There’s a fun episode of Yacht Rock about it too. They are not good old boys innocuously celebrating life’s elemental joys. At one point – and it may be standalone as well – you see Messrs. Becker and Fagen listening to – and sometimes mocking – the “Peg” guitar solos that didn’t make the grade. Their first two albums are only represented on this list by ‘Show Biz Kids’. It has David Palmer singing on it, so it’s a little different – his voice is a lot sweeter than Fagen’s. I was collecting vinyl in high school when it was still uncommon to do so, and Steely Dan was high on my list of favorite artists to listen to. SD have been a part of my musical life since I was 23. Steely Dan released seven albums in their initial tenure between 1972 and 1980, and two reunion albums in the early 21st century. I would have put Haitian Divorce, My Old School, Barrytown and Midnite Cruiser in there. I wrote about it years ago but forgot… you don’t hear it as much as the songs you mentioned that were the radio hits. Fans with tickets to the previously announced 2020 dates are encouraged to hold on to their tickets as they will be honored for the new dates. A pretty solid list Graham. lost wages” over and over. They were well-reviewed. I feel somehow, though, that starting in on that band would be a slippery slope and I’d disappear for a while…. ‘The Fez’ was sampled by girl group All Saints for their debut single and #4 UK hit ‘I Know Where It’s At’. Becker again.  -Peg – Famously, every guitar player in town took a crack at the solo. After I posted I had a couple more thoughts. I can’t remember if I’ve seen the documentary before, but I checked out some of it now. Good idea. Great list. Came on board early and stayed throughout most of the ride. Links to Other Music Blogs, Gene Clark It made me sad at the end of the book, now that Walter is gone, as the writer lamented for another Steely Dan record. Donald Fagen described ‘Dr. Wu’ that someone else is a dope habit personified as Doctor Wu.” ‘Dr. Jack of Speed and Cousin Dupress jumped out at first listen, but Fagen’s vocals were tough going. from The Royal Scam, 1976Steely Dan used a vast array of session musicians, but my favourites are featured on ‘Kid Charlemagne’ – Bernard Purdie on drums, Chuck Rainey on bass, and Larry Carlton playing the dazzling guitar solo. –1970s Hadn’t thought of framing. Gaucho is a weird one because Keith Jarrett essentially wrote the music – it’s atypical. -Bad Sneakers – My favorite Becker solo ever The lyrics are inspired by the exploits of LSD chemist Owsley Stanley – the line “Is there gas in the car?/Yes, there’s gas in the car” foreshadows Stanley’s arrest when his car ran out of petrol. Genesis (added trio years). I know I played this disc but I can’t remember it well – is that a bad sign? I l.o.v.e. Only three of the songs you list are on it (at a glance). Don’t forget to watch the “Peg” thing. Just love that slow, jazzy guitar. -Caves of Altamira – This whole song just flows together. I would find it impossible to compile a top ten list; as soon as I thought “that’s it, done” I would think of a couple more that deserve to be included. Through With Buzz? I think it’s hard to go far too wrong in that 1972-1980 era – only a few weaker tracks in those 7 albums. Their songs are largely concerned with what you could call Steely Dan Man: a figure out of time, place and step, who is baffled by women, overtaken by events and puts the best gloss he can on a maladroit existence. Graham Fyfe is fascinated by pop music, and he may be the only blogger in the world to cover Neil Diamond and Ariana Grande. Then I thought a little more. They kind of change from a sophisticated pop-rock band to a smooth jazz operation. They had airplay and singles success. Fagen later admitted that he lifted ideas from Jarrett’s 1974 piece ”Long As You Know You’re Living Yours’. I’d put in strong claims for ‘Glamour Profession’, ‘FM’, ‘Here At The Western World’, ‘Aja’, ‘Don’t Take Me Alive’, ‘Bad Sneakers’ and ‘Babylon Sisters’. -Pretzel Logic-  Just a cool song. This is a terrific list, and I tend to favor Pretzel Logic, Katy Lied, and Aja the most out of all their albums. If a person is hearing a SD song for the first time she/he would have no idea where any song was headed. –2010s -Bodhisattva – Rocks out like mad. But with the exception of “Gaucho” on which I’m lukewarm, I love all the tunes you posted. That would be for about 47 years. Steely Dan released seven albums in their initial tenure between 1972 and 1980, and two reunion albums in the early 21st century. The sax/drum interplay by Wayne Shorter and Steve Gadd never fails to stir me Steely Dan review – smooth tunes with sharp little bones 3 / 5 stars 3 out of 5 stars. Find album reviews, stream songs, credits and award information for Pretzel Logic - Steely Dan on AllMusic - 1974 - Countdown to Ecstasy wasn't half the hit that… Ditto on Elliott Randall’s solos. Aja. Tons of great, unexpected solos too – you’re totally correct. –1980s This is almost as hard as choosing your top 10 Beatles songs, so I’m not going to comment on your choices, just suggest a few of my own favorites. Your post on Steely Fan earlier in the week gave me the idea actually. Always top notch music. That’s pretty cool. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. BTW, “FM” is another great deep cut. Review by TCat Special Collaborator Eclectic / Prog Metal / Heavy Prog Team. On Katy Lied, my favorite tracks are without a doubt “Black Friday,” “Daddy Don’t Live In That New York City Anymore,” and “Doctor Wu,” and on Aja, the entire first side is a classic, with “Peg” and “Josie” serving as terrific classic bookends on the second side. Almost from their debut Steely Dan have been my favourite band whose name doesn’t begin with a “B”, Although I always enjoy Can’t Buy a Thrill, the two in the middle, Katy Lied and The Royal Scam are the two that I play most. I also like Gaslighting Abby. Pretty much anything through to Gaucho in 1980 is worth getting. Write a review. Change ), Album Reviews ), I think you could pretty much add all remaining songs from the “Aja” album. ‘Gaucho’ is cryptic, seemingly addressing a destructive drug habit that caused the creative partnership between Becker and Fagen to go on hiatus after this record. Steely Dan’s lightweight music flaunted a dark heart and beat Patrick Bateman to the synthesis by decades. Like Jim S, I would find a place for Chain Lightning, one of the coolest songs ever recorded. There’s two different versions of that song, I think. Dirty Work I’m with Jim here and never get tired of this one. from Katy Lied, 1975Steely Dan’s fourth album Katy Lied marks their first with Becker and Fagen as the only official members, augmented by session musicians. In these songs, everyone’s alone, or … One of the weirdest arrangements in Steely Dan is the backing vocals in Show Biz Kids – they just sing “Going to lost wages…. Yet when the sour, rollicking glee of My Old School kicks off a concluding troika of earlier cuts, the energy is transformed; it feels as if the most primitive of garage bands has stormed the stage. I was thinking that they were unusual in this. There are a few songs like ‘Rikki Don’t Lose That Number’ where the guitar solo is by far my favourite part. While the two previous Steely Dan albums were dominated by a smooth jazz sound, they featured songs like ‘Black Friday’ and ‘Everything You Did’ that were driven by raw, bluesy guitars, while the group’s lyrics constantly poked at the dark underbelly of society. Fortunately, The Very Best of Steely Dan takes a kitchen-sink approach as it delivers two discs of remarkably precise jazz-rock from the storied outfit. f Bruce Springsteen, in his own wry summation, avoided honest labour by writing about it, then. Ten worst songs (from 1972-1980) probably would have been a more interesting list – With A Gun? The magic of the Dan is that their original catalog is small and tight enough that I’d say “Oooo, good list!” to just about any combination of ten songs culled from it. Steely Dan watched the dream fall apart on its first road trip. Everything works. Donald Fagen described ‘Dr. Doctor Wu At their best, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker imbued their sophisticated and jazz-inflected songcraft with outstanding musicianship from the cream of L.A.’s studio musicians. The term actually originated on 24 September 1869 when gold prices plummeted; the US government intervened to drop the price after speculators cornered the market. I actually heard the Jarrett piece before I heard Gaucho. Lists Maybe the lyrics aren’t quite as interesting or as dark as Steely Dan’s, but still strong. Growing up, classic hits radio played precisely five Steely Dan songs; ‘Do It Again’, ‘Reelin’ In The Years’, ‘Rikki, Don’t Lose That Number’, ‘Hey Nineteen’, and ‘Babylon Sisters’. Considering Steely Dan made quite the name for themselves back in the seventies, with their own fusion of Jazz, funk, and R&B, you'd think that they wouldn't stoop this low. Steely Dan were so expert at fusing genres it’s often hard to say what bit came from where, or exactly which tradition (fusion, R&B, soul, disco, classical) was being mined or reimagined. from Aja, 1977‘Deacon Blues’ was inspired by Fagen’s epiphany that “if a college football team like the University of Alabama could have a grandiose name like the ‘Crimson Tide’ the nerds and losers should be entitled to a grandiose name as well.” It’s a midlife crisis song -despite their success as masters of cynical pop/rock, Becker and Fagen had unfulfilled dreams as jazz musos. Frontman, fulcrum and bandleader Fagen is the only rough element beneath the surface of an immaculate band – the much-needed grit in the oyster, especially when the middle part of the show noodles into soporific virtuosity on Time Out of Mind and Aja’s title track. Becker told Rolling Stone in 2009 that it was the band’s most requested song, while Kanye West sampled ‘Kid Charlemagne’ for his song ‘Champion’. Upon the second track's arrival, titled "The Things I Miss the Most", you'd think that by the second … Future Eagle bassist Timothy B. Schmitt sweetens up the song with his warm harmonies, while Chuck Rainey’s bass is warm and fluid. What an effort, Graham! They were super slick, and this is meant as a compliment. The word “dude” was the group’s effort to assimilate in California. I think their sleek perfectionism has held up really well – in some ways they presaged the 1980s and even more modern music. BluesFest, O2 Arena, LondonDonald Fagen, now sole founding member after the death of Walter Becker, is the vocal grit in the oyster of Steely Dan’s sophisticated, frictionless grooves, Last modified on Thu 26 Mar 2020 08.46 EDT. from Katy Lied, 1975We’re now used to Black Friday defining days of shopping madness. Dan so there was no way I was thinking that they were unusual in.! Group ’ s a good one – XTC kind of recycled it twenty five Years.! 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