God! I love Steely Dan.

Dr_Necessiter · September 2023

Nitefly said:

duotone said:

Aja is their album I have listened to most. Love the level of musicianship on all of their stuff, Steve Gadd & Bernard Purdie’s drumming is a real highlight for me.

Favourite song = Deacon Blues (from the Aja album)

You, sir, are a gentleman of obvious taste and discernment.

This ^^^. I find it a mixed bag once I'm beyond the "greatest hits". The best stuff is amazing but beyond that I'm left a bit ambivalent. Love "The Fez", "Bad Sneakers" and "Dr Wu".

west · September 2023

My desert island band , disagree about the jazz sensibilities especially the later period they even invented the Mu Major Chord

too many faves to wittle it down , I know its not a competition but you can stick yer beatles and stones high in the clusterdome , The Dans the band for me ....

MikeP · September 2023

Listening to can't but a thrill for the first time in a long time. Song writing is really good and guitar breaks really melodic and memorable.

theatreanchor · September 2023

distressed said:

Love their first few albums, but I do find their later output pretty self-indulgent. Albini was right.

Love Albini, but on matters of the Dan, we disagree. It took me long time to 'get' them - I thought they were awful when I first heard them. Weird how it happens.

ROOG · September 2023

I discovered them a little while back, probably around 2018 when I was looking for some new loudspeakers for my stereo, and the LP Aja cropped up during listening. Steely Dan's mixes seemed very HiFi and I enjoyed the music. Asides from Aja I probably play 'everything must go' the most.

guyinlyon · September 2023

"God! I love Steely Dan."

That's what she said.

west · September 2023

exocet said:

Guilty as charged. I love Steely Dan and bands that are tinged with a touch of The 'Dan such as this:

Thanks for that Dude very cool and Arto Mäkelä is a great player ! id never heard of him before ....

CHRISB50 · September 2023

Another Steely Dan fan here.

Can't Buy a Thrill is in my top 5 albums of all time.

It has become a tradition to listen to it when a best mate and I get together, most Fridays. Never fails to put us in a good mood.

west · September 2023

As i drink kirschwasser ( no cherries ) from a shell (no shell ) this for your delectation ...

Nitefly · September 2023

You gotta shake it baby!

equalsql · September 2023

west said:

As i drink kirschwasser ( no cherries ) from a shell (no shell ) this for your delectation ...

For me, this stuff is peerless. Truly wonderful music.

equalsql · September 2023

Dr_Necessiter said:

Nitefly said:

duotone said:

Aja is their album I have listened to most. Love the level of musicianship on all of their stuff, Steve Gadd & Bernard Purdie’s drumming is a real highlight for me.

Favourite song = Deacon Blues (from the Aja album)

You, sir, are a gentleman of obvious taste and discernment.

,
This ^^^. I find it a mixed bag once I'm beyond the "greatest hits". The best stuff is amazing but beyond that I'm left a bit ambivalent. Love "The Fez", "Bad Sneakers" and "Dr Wu".

I remember buying their Greatest Hits double album in the late 1970s when I was a teenager and being absolutely floored by how great their music was. One of those life changing moments it was for me.
I should also mention that I was starting out on guitar back then and trying to solo over their complex tracks with ever changing keys and time signatures, helped me to develop a good ear for music. I've landed a fair few gigs cos I was able to solo over tracks I'd not heard before.

richardhomer · September 2023

west said:

As i drink kirschwasser ( no cherries ) from a shell (no shell ) this for your delectation ...

Love that album.

Whitecat · September 2023

Love most all Steely Dan - I even love Two Against Nature - Everything Must Go was a slight step too far IMO, but I let the songs slide in playlists/artist radio on streaming...

Might pop over to the States this autumn sometime to see them open for the Eagles... I was lucky enough to see one gig while Walter was still alive, if I do catch them this year it will be my third Steely Fagen show I think... incredibly tight band, like, biblically... perfection & grace... Donald's voice isn't always on but when it is it still works just fine for the music.

DefaultM · September 2023

Relearned the Kid Charlemagne solo today, started on Peg. Thought I'd got it done but then watched the Tim Pierce thing with him and I've worked it out the way he says "a lot of guys do" but it's wrong haha.

DrCornelius · September 2023

west said:

My desert island band , disagree about the jazz sensibilities especially the later period they even invented the Mu Major Chord too many faves to wittle it down , I know its not a competition but you can stick yer beatles and stones high in the clusterdome , The Dans the band for me ....

I’m a fan (Pretzel Logic my fave album) but the above track is what I don’t like about them on occasion. . The melody isn’t strong enough , it just meanders which bores me a bit tbh

Kebabkid · September 2023

I've seen them live a few times, both with Becker and without and with Wayne Krantz and Jon Herrington. Whilst I didn't get to see them when they came back and had Drew Zingg in the mid-90s, he's my favourite and more like Larry Carlton in approach and sound.

On all occasions, they were ok and as has been said, Fagen's voice wasn't quite there. In fact the last time was a double-header with The Doobies and they blew Fagan & Co away. As such, I now prefer to go see the Dan tribute bands like Simply Dan and Stanley Dee who do a great job and have fine players but for quite a few years, I used to go watch Nearly Dan.

If you learn 'Steely Dan chords', you'll probably have chords for life!

bacchanalian · September 2023

After a 20 year hiatus from electric guitar, I bought an electric and and an amp for the sole purpose of learning the Kid Charlemagne solo.
The difficulty I have with learning Dan songs is that I have forgotten the chords at the start by the time I have worked out the chords at the end.

Also like Donald's solo albums. Kamakiriad makes a great sound track for J. G. Ballard's 'Vermillion Sands'

prowla · September 2023

They're alright, apart from the music.

distressed · September 2023

Kebabkid said:

On all occasions, they were ok and as has been said, Fagen's voice wasn't quite there. In fact the last time was a double-header with The Doobies and they blew Fagan & Co away.

That's interesting, I've always perceived them as perfectionists who deliver every time.

rlw · September 2023

I don't get Steely Dan. Never have. Never will. Great musicianship etc etc but the songs are all bollocks and do nothing for me.

SRich · September 2023

rlw said:

I don't get Steely Dan. Never have. Never will. Great musicianship etc etc but the songs are all bollocks and do nothing for me.

Jazz isn't for everyone................most folks yeah.......but not everyone................

guitars4you · September 2023

Kebabkid said:

I've seen them live a few times, both with Becker and without and with Wayne Krantz and Jon Herrington. Whilst I didn't get to see them when they came back and had Drew Zingg in the mid-90s, he's my favourite and more like Larry Carlton in approach and sound.

On all occasions, they were ok and as has been said, Fagen's voice wasn't quite there. In fact the last time was a double-header with The Doobies and they blew Fagan & Co away. As such, I now prefer to go see the Dan tribute bands like Simply Dan and Stanley Dee who do a great job and have fine players but for quite a few years, I used to go watch Nearly Dan.

If you learn 'Steely Dan chords', you'll probably have chords for life!

Never seen Nearly Dan - Surprised in many ways as a) I've heard they are very good and b) Rob, the guitar player is a regular customer of mine

guitars4you · September 2023

Whitecat said:

Love most all Steely Dan - I even love Two Against Nature - Everything Must Go was a slight step too far IMO, but I let the songs slide in playlists/artist radio on streaming...

Might pop over to the States this autumn sometime to see them open for the Eagles... I was lucky enough to see one gig while Walter was still alive, if I do catch them this year it will be my third Steely Fagen show I think... incredibly tight band, like, biblically... perfection & grace... Donald's voice isn't always on but when it is it still works just fine for the music.

Don't tell me things like that - Jealous as f*ck - 2 of my fav bands on one show - As @Kebabkid mentions above about the UK tour with The Doobie Bros - I wanted to see that show but it clashed with something else (can't recall what) so I missed it

Zoolooter · September 2023

rlw said:

I don't get Steely Dan. Never have. Never will. Great musicianship etc etc but the songs are all bollocks and do nothing for me.

Totally agree, just bollocks as you say. Holiday Inn lounge music as one critic described it.

EricTheWeary · September 2023

SRich said:

rlw said:

I don't get Steely Dan. Never have. Never will. Great musicianship etc etc but the songs are all bollocks and do nothing for me.

Jazz isn't for everyone................most folks yeah.......but not everyone................

Are they jazz? Not that I could define jazz but I'd suggest SD are just jazzy (complex chord changes,etc). Rock music with a beret on.

TheBigDipper · September 2023

At their best, Steely Dan recordings are fantastic songs with witty lyrics - despite some of the production choices consistent with that era. At their worst, they're well-played but don't speak to me personally. Most of the time, it's the former.

I think they're the sort of band that comes with "pre-baggage" that means some people can't give them a fair go even if they wanted to. They probably don't like the Jaco/Metheny era Joni Mitchell, either. Never mind, there's plenty of other music for them to love, so why worry?

digitalkettle · September 2023

I remember radio play for tracks like Haitian Divorce, Rikki, Do It Again, and Reelin' from when I was a kid...just sounded so unusual and it seeped in. A few years later, an early CD purchase was 'A Decade of Steely Dan'.

Since then I've always focused on Royal Scam, Aja, and Gaucho but this thread has inspired me to start working through all the albums.

Surely one of the all-time great bands?

SRich · September 2023

guitars4you said:

Don't tell me things like that - Jealous as f*ck - 2 of my fav bands on one show - As @Kebabkid mentions above about the UK tour with The Doobie Bros - I wanted to see that show but it clashed with something else (can't recall what) so I missed it

I similarly caught Steely Dan and Steve Winwood at the Birmingham Resorts 'Custerdome' / shed (Feb 2019).......I was really excited to see Steve Winwood but the set was lacklustre and very 'by the numbers' - Donald Fagen was on form and in great voice - Jon Herington was on the right side of deference and imagination. My fourth time seeing them over the years.....not enough.

I'm a big fan of Nearly Dan - I love their sense of fun that they inject into SD's catalogue but they are reverential enough to the music - don't tour enough sadly.

SRich · September 2023

EricTheWeary said:

Rock music with a beret on.

Raspberry?.......................surely not

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God! I love Steely Dan.

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