Steely Dan

Steely Dan is one of my favorite bands. They had a perfect way of blending rock and jazz that makes you want to jump out of your chair and dance. Donald Fagen's voice was the perfect level of strange and unique. Walter Becker (guitar) and self-proclaimed nerd Fagen (piano, vocals) teamed up perfectly in every record they made from Can't Buy A Thrill to Gaucho. They met in the late '60's and played in various groups (one of which had Chevy Chase on drums, no joke). They immersed themselves in a beatnik lifestyle and Fagen said it was "probably the only time in my life that I actually had friends." They named themselves Steely Dan, after a strap-on dildo in William S. Burroughs' "Naked Lunch". They signed to ABC records and were told that Fagen's voice was not "commercial" enough. They were reluctant to play shows because Fagen had serious stage fright. But, they released Can't Buy A Thrill in '72 and not long after they released Countdown to Ecstasy. Perhaps because of Fagen's stage fright and/or because Becker and Fagen wanted to focus strictly on studio recording, they only toured from '72-'74. They released Pretzel Logic in '74 and had a huge hit with "Rikki Don't Lose That Number". They stole the piano riff in the beginning of "Rikki..." from a Horace Silver song called "Song For My Father" and considered themselves jazz musicians as opposed to rock musicians and it shows it the cleanliness and difficulty of their songs. After Pretzel Logic they released four more great records in Katy Lied, The Royal Scam, Aja, and Gaucho. The fact that they could blend rock and jazz so nicely and Fagen's unique voice is why this band still resonates with people today.

They started touring again in 1993. I saw them a few years ago at Verizon Wireless in Irvine, CA and they were awesome. They sound just like they did on their studio recordings with some fun lines and riffs thrown in. They played the show with Michael McDonald as the opener. Many people don't know that McDonald was a back-up singer for Steely Dan for most of their records. When they played "Do It Again" they brought McDonald out with them to play piano and sing back-ups and Fagen said something like "Here's Michael McDonald. We used him as a back-up singer for years and got more than we bargained for. Here's what 'Do It Again' would have sounded like in 1974." Amazing.

Tracks:

Do It Again (from Can't Buy A Thrill)
Only A Fool Would Say That (from Can't Buy A Thrill)
Reelin' In The Years (from Can't Buy A Thrill)
Bodhisattva (from Countdown to Ecstasy)
My Old School (from Countdown to Ecstasy)
Show Biz Kids (from Countdown to Ecstasy)
Rikki Don't Lose That Number (from Pretzel Logic)
Any Major Dude Will Tell You (from Pretzel Logic)
Black Friday (from Katy Lied)
Rose Darling (from Katy Lied)
Your Gold Teeth II (from Katy Lied)
Any World (That I'm Welcome To) (from Katy Lied)
Kid Charlemagne (from The Royal Scam)
Sign In Stranger (from The Royal Scam)
The Royal Scam (from The Royal Scam)
Aja (from Aja)
Deacon Blues (from Aja)
Peg (from Aja)
FM
Hey Nineteen (from Gaucho)
Time Out of Mind (from Gaucho)

Steely Dan Mix