I got some great feedback from a few of you when I mentioned Steely Dan's album AJA in the 70's thread. So let's devote a thread in their honor. These guys were known for their obscure lyrics(did you know that "Hey Nineteen" is a song about an old man trying to "get" with a 19 year old using weed and the likes). However, musically these guys were in a class by themselves. They would spent 4 hours in the studio perfecting one minute of music. They were very meticulous about the sounds and effects they wanted to achieve througth their music. Let's talk Steely Dan everyone. What are some of your favorite lyrics by them. What are your favorite DAN albums??? What do you think of Larry Carlton's(the great guitarist) work on some of their songs????? Did you like Jeff Baxter's work when he was with the group??? Did you like their long awaited 2000 CD "Two Against Nature" which won them a grammy for album of the year. Hey..isn't Donald Fagen's 1982 solo album "The Nightfly a masterwork for the ages??? Let's talk DAN music until we're TIME OUT OF MIND(LOL)!!!

* Brother 9/15 aka CR3

I love Steely Dan.Their music is complex and mysterious.As you pointed out,MANY of their songs have cryptic lyrics that are not easily understood.But the musicianship is ALWAYS top-notch,and their albums maintain a high standard of excellence.A few of my favorites songs are...


***"Do It Again"(1972)
***"Dirty Work"(1972)
***"Turn That Heartbeat Over Again"(1972)
***"Reeling In The Years"(1974)
***"Rikki Don't Lose That Number"(1974)
***"Peg"(1977)
***"Black Cow"(1977)
***"Time Out Of Mind"(1980)

If you buy their box set 'Citizen Steel',you will get ALL of their albums in one place (except for the recent one 'Two Against Nature' from 2000).These guys are GREAT!!!

While I agree that Steely Dan is a misically talented band, I have never been able to stand more than one or two of their songs in a row. The reason? THEY ALL SOUND THE SAME! Steely Dan and Van Morrison have only written one song each. They just redo it over and over again. Just my opinion.

OUCH!

Steely Dan rules. Two Against Nature was just as classic as their 70s albums. One of my favorite CDs of all time though was Donald Fagen's "Kamakiriad" from '93. What a relaxing fun album!

Amongst my favorite Steely songs are Turn that Heartbeat Over Again, Parker's Band, Kid Charlemagne, Sign in Stranger, Black Cow, Peg, Deacon Blues, FM, Hey Nineteen, Babylon Sisters, Time Out of Mind, Gaslighting Abbie, What a Shame about Me, and Jack of Speed. I'm dying to get a DVD player for my birthday so I can get that behind the scenes on the AJA album thing, and maybe one of their live concert DVDs.

My god, my tiny avatar now exists! Now everyone can enjoy the fact that someone who looks so much like a young Hank Hill can also be a Prince fan.

Here's mine:

** FM

** Deacon Blues

** Babylon Sisters

** Hey Nineteen (Hey Nineteen, That's Aretha Franklin!)

** Do It Again

** Rikki Don't Lose That Number

** Jack Of Speed

** Cousin Dupree

If u got a chance 2 see them on VH1's Storytellers, it was very cool. Nice explanations of their meanings behind the songs. I love chillin' 2 these guys when I'm BBQ'n or just hangin' by the pool. A glass of wine and some Steely Dan...ah, so nice.

Rosie Vela album's Zazu, produced by D Fagen, is one of my fav album ever

gmcb said:

LOL it's not a very well-though out one either!

While I agree there a somewhat stifling quality to their work, that's more a reflection of their meticulous post-produciton work. Their songs don't really reflect a pop-hit mentality full of hooks. Their biggest fault in their heyday was that they were a studio band and lacked the resources to perform live. This all changed in 1995 when Fagen and Becker reunited for a series of live dates, as heard on the disc ALIVE IN AMERICA.
[This message was edited Thu Mar 14 15:15:44 PST 2002 by PFunkjazz]
[This message was edited Thu Mar 14 15:16:19 PST 2002 by PFunkjazz]

Wow. So much to say, so little time (at the moment). But I'll be back.

Ps, Van Morrison wrote one song during his entire career???? Sounds like someone isn't familiar with enough of Van's catalogue. And The Dan do have a distinctive sound, as do most longtime musicians/bands.

The Dan's genius was getting the best from the studio musicians they employed. Bernard Purdie, Steve Gadd, Jeff Porcaro...

I'll be back.

Yah mon! Steely Dan's Aja is incredible, I rememeber lovin it from when I was a kid and hrd adults play it, recently picker it up cuz I saw it in Bass Player's Book of "Bass Albums You Must Buy To Learn" Aja bring one of em!

peace!

* Peg

* Rikki Don't Lose That Number

* Josie

* Do It Again

* Bodhisattva

* Deacon Blues

* FM

* Reelin' In The Years

"You've been tellin' me you're a genius since you were seventeen
In all the time I've known you I still don't know what you mean
The weekend at the college didn't turn out like you'd planned
The things that pass for knowledge I can't understand"

LOVE those lyrics...

gmcb said:

damn.

This is sort of long.

For anyone that thinks all Steely Dan songs sound the same I challenge you to listen to these and find out how wrong you are:


Dirty Work
Kings
Midnite Cruiser
Only A Fool Would Say That
Reelin' In The Years
Fire In The Hole
Brooklyn (Owes The Charmer Under Me)
Change Of The Guard
Turn That Heartbeat Over Again
Bodhisattva
Razor Boy
The Boston Rag
Your Gold Teeth
King Of The World
Pearl Of The Quarter
Night By Night
Barrytown
Parker's Band
With A Gun
Charlie Freak
Monkey In Your Soul
Black Friday
Rose Darling
Daddy Don't Live In New York City No More
Everyone's Gone To The Movies (and the demo of the same song on their box set)
Haitian Divorce

Of course I'm not saying Steely Dan doesn't have a distinct sound that you immediate recognize, but that's different. Every long-running group or artist usually has a recognizable sound. I think Steely Dan had a more keyboard dominated sound toward the middle part and late in their career, and although they've always had jazzy elements in their music, earlier in their career they were a wee bit more rock oriented, especially LIVE. If you've ever heard the live version of "Bodhisattva" from their box set you'd know what I'm talking about - they stopped touring after their first few albums and eventually the group dwindled down to basically the duo of Becker and Fagen. And of course when you hear Donald Fagen's voice (a voice that doesn't vary much at all - but that doesn't bother me if the music is good) you're going to KNOW it's Steely Dan. Having said all that, my favorite albums by them are:

Katy Lied, Aja, and The Royal Scam. I find myself listening to Aja more than any other Dan album because of the musicianship. Back when it was released some said it was overproduced. I never thought so, but I do think Two Against Nature which they won a Grammy for Album of the Year is overproduced. And it's by no means their best album (not that it's terrible). But that's the way Grammy voters usually do things: they think they're making up for ignoring certain artists for so long during their heyday (see Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt and others). I also think Ricky Lawson's drumming isn't so great.

Some of my faves from them:

Show Biz Kids

My Old School

Rickie Don't Lose That Number (ever notice the piano phrase is lifted from Horace Silver's "Song For My Father"?)

Any Major Dude ("I never seen you looking so bad my funky one")

Monkey In Your Soul ("Won't you turn that bebop down, I can't hear my heart beat. Where's that fatback chord I found?)

Chain Lightning ("Some turnout, a hundred grand. Get with it, we'll shake his hand. Don't bother to understand. Don't question the little man. Be part of the brotherhood. Yes it's chain lightning, it feels so good")

Your Gold Teeth II ("Who are these strangers who pass through the door? Who cover your action and go you one more? If you're feeling lucky you best not refuse. It's your game the rules are your own win or lose") Gotta love Jeff Porcaro's drumming on this song.

Throw Back The Little Ones ("Throw back the little ones and pan-fry the big ones. Use tact, poise and reason. And gently squeeze them")

Kid Charlemagne ("Clean this mess up else we'll all end up in jail. Those test tubes and the scale. Just get them all out of here. Is there gas in the car? Yes, there's gas in the car. I think the people down the hall. Know who you are") - A song about a drug dealer. Bernard Purdie's drumming is ALWAYS in the pocket!

Green Earrings ("Green earrings. I remember the rings of rare design")

Haitian Divorce - The Dan gets a little reggae in their groove.

The Aja album just has some fierce drumming all over it. From Steve Gadd on the title track (did it in 2 takes), to Purdie's pocket swing on "Home At Last", to Ed Greene's tight rhythm and tom tom accents on "I Got The News", to Jim Keltner's ghost strokes on the bridge of "Josie", if you like drums and excellent overall musicianship this is one of those albums you have to have.

I love all the lyrics on this album, the bass playing by Chuck Rainey, the sax solo by Wayne Shorter, the piano and keys work by Fagen, Joe Sample, Victor Feldman, Paul Griffin, Michael Omartian, et. al., the guitar playing by Becker, Larry Carlton, Lee Ritenour, Steve Khan, Dean Parks, etc. It's ALL good. Even with the remastered version of the cd I hear some minor glitches. No matter. One critic called the song "Josie" "a tribute to a troublemaker". I like that.

And what about "Babylon Sisters" from the Gaucho album? Lord, I love that song. Valerie Simpson from Ashford & Simpson is one of the background singers on this gem. I think Cheryl Lynn is too, but I'm not 100% sure I'd have to check the credits. And there's a live version from either '93 or '94 where Dennis Chambers is playing it. I wish I knew what drummer played the studio version.

Patti Austin is also singing background vocals on the 'Gaucho' album.She appears on the track "Time Out Of Mind" and I think "Babylon Sisters".

Wow, a thread dedicated to my beloved Steely Dan! These guys are the best! I just love the musicianship displayed on their albums, and I love the lyrics even more.

I love their sophisticated sound, I love the guitar by Larry Carlton on their albums.

My favorite albums are Katy Lied, The Royal Scam, Aja and Gaucho. But the other ones have their gems too.

I think Prince might be listening to these guys as well. Listen to Family Name for example, I could just hear Doanld Fagen's voice come in at the "Mirror, mirror"-part (not in falsetto of course, but anyway...). The musicianship on that particular track is as tight as any Steely Dan track!

Good Morning Everyone,

GMCB, I disagred with you on them sounding alike. You said they all sound alike, I can name two DAN songs right off the bat that sound nothing like the other one.....

* Haitian Divorce and Pretzel Logic.....Haitian Divorce is a strong reggae inflected song, while "Pretzel Logic" in essence is a blues number. Here are some of my favorite Dan tracks....

* Do It Again

* Pretzel Logic

* Doctor Wu- Love Fagen's piano on the track. This song has such a beautiful melody. Very sophisticated jazz-inflected track. A CLASSIC!!!

* Black Friday

* Peg- Classic DAN track. Michael McDonald sings background on this one This was a top 5 Billboard song.

* Josie- Some more sleek elegant playing from Donald and Walter and some of the smartest musicians the world over.

* Green Earrings- Surely one of my favorite Dan tracks. Funky upbeat number. Nice keyboard riffs on this tracks.A CLASSIC!!!!

* The Fez- A song about safe sex in the 70's???---"I'm never gonna do it without THE FEZ on....oh no....That's what I am...please understand....I want to be your holy man"

* Brother 9/15 aka CR3

FYI....there is a great DVD for the album "Aja". Its pretty much a documentary about how they made the album and shows many good behind the scene tidbits and Steely Dan fan should enjoy.

.
[This message was edited Wed Oct 2 12:55:22 PDT 2002 by suomynona]

codshort said:

Cool I saw that didn't know if it was worth $15 bucks. My favorite Prince Steely Dan track is "Money Don't Matter" sounds like Steely Dan and I love it!

I'm very happy that you did post on Steely Dan.
I just love the guys, I've got all the albums...
I do love all the songs you mentionned plus Barrytown,
Almost gothic, Black cow, Everyone's gone to the movie, Brooklyn, Doctor Wu...so many...
Nightfly is a masterpiece and even the Walter Becker solo album had some cool songs.
Heard that they were voted in the R&R hall of fame last year... about time !!!!
You know it's funny cause I really hear some Steely Dan stuff in the beginning of TRC (the song)

Take your big black cow and get out of here...

.
[This message was edited Wed Oct 2 12:54:39 PDT 2002 by suomynona]

suomynona said:[quote]

codshort said:

This Prince fan owns all of Steely Dan's albums. Except the live one from the early 90s.

I don't know HOW I missed this thread before..

I am a HUGE Steely Dan Fan!
I dug their songs before I actually knew who they were.

Like many have already said, their maticulous musicianship is SECOND TO NONE, & I have always been seduced by their quirky, often "abstract" lyrics...
I think that what I like most about their songs is that Donald & Walter are SO GOOD at setting a mood with their music.. for me (at the risk of sounding totally cliché) it's like I'm actually in that bar or town or circumstance that they're describing in the song. 2 classic examples of this for me are "Babylon Sisters" (shake it!) & "On The Dunes" from "Kamakiriad," as well as "True Companion"- I really go into another (oceanic?) world when I hear that 1..

My favorite album might be their 1st.. "Can't Buy A Thrill" with "Midnite Cruiser" & "Reelin' In The Years" & "Dirty Work" (even Donald didn't sing lead on the album version,)
followed closely by "Katy Lied" & "Royal Scam"
I love "Aja" like any other fan, but it's so great I sort of take it for granted.

The "weakest" release in my opinion would be "The Nightfly." I mainly like "The Goodbye Look" & "The New Frontier" but overall, I think this album is REALLY overproduced, even by Dan standards.

2vN was a great return for Fagen & Becker, keeping most of their peerless musicianship in tact. My absolute favorite song on that album-
probably my ALL TIME FAVORITE SD song:

"Janie Runaway"

the sax in particular, the horns in general..
TOO PHAT!!!!!


In terms of favorite SD lyrics..
THERE ARE SO MANY!

"well you wouldn't even know a diamond if you held it in your hand, the things you think are precious I don't understand"

"A woman's voice reminds me to serve & not to speak.. am I myself or just another freak?"

"Any major dude with half a heart surely will tell you my friend.. any modern world that breaks apart falls together again"

"your fortune is your roving eye, your mouth & legs, your gift for the runaround.. torture is the main attraction, I don't need that kind of action.."

"clean this mess up else we'll all end up in jail, those test tubes & the scale, just get it all out of here"

"you zombie, be born again my friend, won't you sign in stranger"

"double helix in the sky tonight, throw out the hardware, let's do it right.."

"I'll rise when the sun goes down, cover every game in town.. a world of my own, I'll make it my home sweet home.."

"off to Barbados, just for the ride.."

"well I should know by now that it's just a spasm, like a Sunday in TJ, that it's cheap but it's not free, that I'm not what I used to be, & that love's not a game for free"

"what'd I tell you back down the line? I'll scratch your back you can scratch mine"

"the wind was driving in my face, the smell of prickly pear"
(EXCELLENT!)

"our town is just like any other, we're grilling burgers on the back lawn.. some time goes by, we fall asleep with the tv on.."

"at nervous time, we roll downtown.."

"Alan owns a chain of steamer heavens, & Barry is the software king.."

I could go ON & ON & ON & ON & ON!!!!!


The 1 song I really don't like is "Show Biz Kids".. I just never got into that 1, & the music for "Third World Man" is so desolate & depressing..

otherwise... I LOVE ALL OF THEIR ALBUMS, & 97% of their songs.

I REALLY regret that I was living in Toulouse when they did their 2vN tour in 2000..


THE DAN IS MY FAVORITE GROUP, HANDS DOWN.


Who makes the traffic interesting?
Rescues a dreary Sunday?
Who makes me feel like painting again...

honey, it's STEELY DAN!

JUST to move this thread "back to the front"..


with Prince's ALLEDGED "move" towards "jazz"..
he would do WELL to take a page from Donald & Walter.
For example:

1. DISREGARD what comes out, what's "happening" on pop radio
2. focus on the MUSIC & the MUSICIANSHIP of the songs/album
3. have a more "distorted" &/or "cynical" view of "society"


Still, the Dan puts out albums now like once every 4 or more years.. something Prince is hardly known for..