Brother, I'll tell you again, you're doing yourself a DISSERVICE by not using high quality headphones while listening to the Dan. TRUST ME. It'll change the game.
I prefer the unconstrained sonic ambience of a nice set of speakers with the appropriate tweeters, mids and bass speakers filling the room, swirling around your head. With a good buzz on 😊
I completely second this it really bothers me especially if you try to listen to highly produced music like this or Pink Floyd having earbuds or low quality cans or basic speakers is just stupid You're missing so much depth I really hope you upgrades it's almost a disservice to the people you're trying to react to who know the quality of this when you're only getting it partially kind of sad dude really expect you to step up the plate and invest in some quality cans please
"I crawl like a viper, down these suburban streets. Make love to these women, languid and bittersweet." What a verse. Only Steely Dan could write that.
When I bought AJA from the record store, I brought it to a party. I didn't even socialize. I placed it on the host's turntable and laid on my stomach in front of a huge speaker....hearing it for my first time...completely immersed. To hell with all the party folk in the next room.
Aja took the Grammy for best engineered album, non-classical, in 1978, Roger Nichols was the engineer. The album is still the gold standard, imaculate production. Welcome to Dandom. Those of your kind.
This album, Aja, won a Grammy for Best Engineering. Can't wait til you get some headphones or even earbuds. Growing up in the 70's, this was my favorite band. They produced 7 stellar albums between 1972 and 1980, each with its own unique personality, yet unmistakably Steely Dan. There's no fatigue factor with SD - their music remains fresh and essential. Been fortunate enough to see them perform live with their 13 piece band 19 times between '94 & 2002. You've got about 70 tracks to explore, some very very good, some great, all worthy - they never miss. So many to choose from, but for a complete change of pace, try some tracks from The Royal Scam, 1976. Caves of Altamira, Haitian Divorce. Why are you on crutches?
Back-up singer Clydie King was an in-demand session singer, and worked with Venetta Fields and Sherlie Matthews and recorded with B.B. King, The Rolling Stones, Steely Dan, Barbra Streisand, Bob Dylan, Linda Ronstadt, Joe Cocker, Dickey Betts, Joe Walsh, and many others. She was a member of The Blackberries with Fields and Matthews and sang on Joe Cocker's Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour, which became a feature film. She sang background for Ray Charles in The Raelettes from 1965 to 1968. She died on January 7, 2019, in a Monrovia, California hospital at the age of 75 from complications of a blood infection. - Wikipedia
"This is the night, of the expanding man. I take one last drag, as I approach the stand. I cried when I wrote this song...sue me if I play too long. This brother is free..." No one writes lyrics like that. NO ONE.
It's Steely Dan. Like some other major creative bands, they are their own genre. How else can you describe bands like Pink Floyd, The Moody Blues, Renaissance, Alan Parsons Project and others? They defy catagories. Enjoy them, they are the best that there is.
When this song came out I'd listen to this with my headphones. Mostly heard on FM radio, headphones on and lights out. Mesmerizing. Had a corner group (L shape twin beds) and there was a record player with radio FM/AM on the table portion. Ahhh, the 1970's.
“Sue me if I play too long.” Your reaction is exactly how we all felt the first time we heard this song. We still feel it today that’s why we are here. Great reaction.
Please do KID CHARLEMAGNE, next, from Steely Dan's Royal Scam album. All their music is top notch, but I think you will really enjoy the funkiness of this album!
Watching you discover this band - the way you enjoy hearing these songs for the first time - it's like hearing these masterpieces that I've heard a thousand times for the first time again myself. Your joy is palpable. Keep them coming.
MMBxMOB! Steely Dan is basically a fusion band, which has elements of Rock, Funk, Pop, R&B and Jazz! Melded into a musical gumbo if you will for the discerning tastes of their fans, which you are now a part of! So enjoy this glorious ride my brother! Great reaction with Love, Peace & Blessings!!!
My favorite story is how crazy Perfectionist they were in the studio regardless of cost. When they couldn't get the sound with top studio musicians, they would bring in more top studio players to get it right. Also herd once, the "Deacon" in the Blues refers to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, who were at the time in a long losing streak and about the exact opposite of Alabama.
Speaking of the mixes, it's strange to think that I remember when it was such a new sound, and I think we're coming up on the 50-year mark from when these trackings, mixings, and initial masterings were done. And that these songs were performed. Half a century. It kind of blows my mind.
I think of them as a sort of jazz-rock fusion but the truth is, there’s no need to categorize them. They take every genre, put it in a blender and come out with something is uniquely Steely Dan.
When I was in college (graduated in '78) this was the go to album for evaluating stereo equipment (& where I went to school, MIT, we had some serious hardware).
This is the first album anyone spent more than a million dollars on production costs and it shows it's the LP or tape or reel to reel that any high-end audio place used to use to show off their equipment back in the day..
I think this one is in the style of a samba? I fell in love with Steely Dan the first moment I ever heard them, which was probably "Do It Again" in my very youth, way back in 1972. Great catch on the Crimson Tide line here on first listen! That is a thing from this particular song that I only figured out in the last decade or so, because Donald Fagen slurs the word Alabama, and I have no sports awareness.
They set the bar for all jazz fusion projects to come. You’re starting to understand where it started and what it was that Fagan and Becker were doing. The musicians they brought on board were their fellow elite studio musicians. A collaboration never matched again.
Dude needs quality headphones for sure You can't listen to steely Dan without headphones Without headphones they're just great With headphones A whole another new A whole another Level
No remaster here, this is the original mix and it is incredible! Deacon Blues was the personal anthem of a generation of people who were the artists, musicians, and poets of our time. Anyone outside the box looking in.
I saw Steely in St. Petersburg when they finally toured in the very early 1990s. When they did Deacon Blues EVERYBODY SANG, IN KEY, AND KNEW EVERY WORD. Of course, I was singing my ass off, too. I was proud of the crowd. For me my top three bands are Beatles, Allman Brothers, and Steely Dan. When I saw them Becjer was still going strong. When I saw the ABB, Duane was alive too . Steely is jazzy R&B. Superb. Deacon Blues has Larry Carlton AND Lee Ritenaur on guitars. Steely brought in the best studio talent like Jeff Skunk Baxter.
This tune…the horns are warm and buttery. The music track drips of soft and sensual undertones. When the question comes up about what song would you listen to over and over if stuck on a desert island, Deacon Blues is always the answer.
Good catch with the engineering! I remember when I was a kid, they used to use this record to demo the stereos at the electronics stores because the production was so good on this LP.
I think a lot of their songs, especially a lot of the later ones, fit into multiple categories, but they definitely feel like they're modern R&B as well.
You are on to it talking about the vocals and production. Fagan said in the doc for Making of AJA that he sought perfection in sound. Then he would intentionality make some aspect imperfect to give it a human feel and not sterile.
You cant say this of many bands, but Steely Dan cant be boxed in to any one genre. Any 5 genres! They were unique in their sound, and with the rotating collection of top notch studio musicians they brought to the world some AMAZING music. My favorite is the album "Aja", every song on it is a winner.
Their 76 to 80 phase is peak jazz rock funk soul fusion. ❤ this song sits in the middle of that phase. Only thing left after this is 70s prog rock and jazz fusion itself. Then back deeper into jazz.
I...WE love this song so much. As always everything is exquisite, absolute perfection, the chord changes, the playing, the lyrics. Miss playing this, even if only solo acoustic. Always went over extremely well, particularly with other musicians. My daughter too loved it on first hearing. 🖖🏼😎🎶❤️🍁❤️✨️🕊
Listen to FM off of the Show BIZ KIds compilation best of for that Black Cow funk sound. Then go back to AJA with JOSIE. Then hit DR WU from Katy Lied, which gives you the AJA template.
The smoothest, chill song on the Aja album is “Home at Last.” The word that best describes it is “sophistication.” Give it a reaction. But give every song on Aja a listen. It’s a perfect album.
@@jimmoore8951 I hear you, brother. I actually have a couple of items signed by Steve Gadd. This is my favorite by him: ruclips.net/video/IrBL09KTEoQ/видео.html A snare- bass roll. Amazing!
On Gaucho Mark Knopfler is playing guitar on "Time Out of Mind". While you're at Steely, Glamour Profession from Gaucho. Ah hell, just ALL OF GAUCHO. AJA. CAN'T BUY A THRILL. PRETZEL LOGIC, THEY'RE ALL GREAT. BODHISATVA ROCKS LIKE ALL GET OUT. GET STEELY DAN "GOLD" AND GET THE SAX VERSION OF FM.
Production costs for Aja was north of $1 million. This was in 76 or so. And I would stick to Aja as you welcome yourself to their music for the first time.
As I sit here drinking a dry red wine, I can tell you, Black Cow is one of my favorites. Check out Babylon Sisters. Also, the recording of a couple of albums from Steely Dan are used to evaluate audio equipment. Still considered some of the best recordings ever. I am a metalhead now and still love SD. I grew up listening to SD in the 70s. They played them on Rock stations. I would say they are a mix of several genre. Jazz, funk, R&B, Blues, Rock etc. They created their own genre.
I remember when this song came out. One of our friends stood on top of a neighbors roof and sang the opening lines to this song, “This is the day of the expanding man”. This group, this song, was fire in my neighborhood. I would love for you to react to Donald Fagen’s Mary Shut The Garden Door.
I love the SD solos of all kinds. Master musicians that don't need to show off. They just add impeccable touches when t's their time. Babylon Sisters rivals Black Cow for funkiness.
Walter said this was an anthem to "looserdom." Alabama has always been a winner. The Demon Deacons of Wake Forest, not so much. Hence the metaphor. This is about a guy who dream of becoming a great sax player, yet he realizes the lifestyle will be tragic.
This ain't R & B....This is Steely Dan - end of story; thanks for the deep dive into this incredible band - this is "just good music, man"
Brother, I'll tell you again, you're doing yourself a DISSERVICE by not using high quality headphones while listening to the Dan. TRUST ME. It'll change the game.
I prefer the unconstrained sonic ambience of a nice set of speakers with the appropriate tweeters, mids and bass speakers filling the room, swirling around your head. With a good buzz on 😊
I completely second this it really bothers me especially if you try to listen to highly produced music like this or Pink Floyd having earbuds or low quality cans or basic speakers is just stupid You're missing so much depth I really hope you upgrades it's almost a disservice to the people you're trying to react to who know the quality of this when you're only getting it partially kind of sad dude really expect you to step up the plate and invest in some quality cans please
Headphones make a big difference in the full spectrum of the instrumentation .
I agree. Some songs are made to be listened by headphones! I mentioned it before when he reacted to "I'm Not In Love" by 10cc.
@@texashookem22
Which headphones would u recommend?
The "Aja" album is still the standard for fidelity. It's been used to test high end audio equipment since it came out in 1977 (47 years).
"I crawl like a viper, down these suburban streets. Make love to these women, languid and bittersweet."
What a verse. Only Steely Dan could write that.
When I bought AJA from the record store, I brought it to a party. I didn't even socialize. I placed it on the host's turntable and laid on my stomach in front of a huge speaker....hearing it for my first time...completely immersed. To hell with all the party folk in the next room.
Aja took the Grammy for best engineered album, non-classical, in 1978, Roger Nichols was the engineer. The album is still the gold standard, imaculate production.
Welcome to Dandom. Those of your kind.
Steely Dan is the epitome of headphone music...the best!
Steely Dan was what ever the hell they wanted to be.
One of my favorite choruses of all time. So hard not to sing along with it.
Steely Dan IS a genre
This album, Aja, won a Grammy for Best Engineering. Can't wait til you get some headphones or even earbuds. Growing up in the 70's, this was my favorite band. They produced 7 stellar albums between 1972 and 1980, each with its own unique personality, yet unmistakably Steely Dan. There's no fatigue factor with SD - their music remains fresh and essential. Been fortunate enough to see them perform live with their 13 piece band 19 times between '94 & 2002. You've got about 70 tracks to explore, some very very good, some great, all worthy - they never miss. So many to choose from, but for a complete change of pace, try some tracks from The Royal Scam, 1976. Caves of Altamira, Haitian Divorce. Why are you on crutches?
Steely Dan are their OWN genre...
It was all rock to us in the 70s.
I didn't get hung up on labeling music back then only if I liked it.
The ironic thing was hearing this album played on rock, pop, soul, and jazz stations. FM radio didn’t even know what to do with the Dan in 1977
Back-up singer Clydie King was an in-demand session singer, and worked with Venetta Fields and Sherlie Matthews and recorded with B.B. King, The Rolling Stones, Steely Dan, Barbra Streisand, Bob Dylan, Linda Ronstadt, Joe Cocker, Dickey Betts, Joe Walsh, and many others. She was a member of The Blackberries with Fields and Matthews and sang on Joe Cocker's Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour, which became a feature film. She sang background for Ray Charles in The Raelettes from 1965 to 1968.
She died on January 7, 2019, in a Monrovia, California hospital at the age of 75 from complications of a blood infection. - Wikipedia
The Steely Dan genre: a fusion of jazz, rock, pop, R&B, soul and rock. Whatever is best from these, they use it.
"This is the night, of the expanding man. I take one last drag, as I approach the stand. I cried when I wrote this song...sue me if I play too long. This brother is free..." No one writes lyrics like that. NO ONE.
Steely Dan is difficult to categorize, but easy to be mesmerized by.
It's Steely Dan. Like some other major creative bands, they are their own genre. How else can you describe bands like Pink Floyd, The Moody Blues, Renaissance, Alan Parsons Project and others? They defy catagories. Enjoy them, they are the best that there is.
When this song came out I'd listen to this with my headphones. Mostly heard on FM radio, headphones on and lights out. Mesmerizing. Had a corner group (L shape twin beds) and there was a record player with radio FM/AM on the table portion. Ahhh, the 1970's.
If you ever find their song Hey Nineteen you’ll probably have to loop it for a while 🔥
The Fez, Green Earrings, Haitian Divorce, Don't Take Me Alive, My Old School, Bodhisattva, the list goes on and on and on....
The 1970s were a golden cornucopia of musical goodness
“Sue me if I play too long.”
Your reaction is exactly how we all felt the first time we heard this song. We still feel it today that’s why we are here. Great reaction.
Please do KID CHARLEMAGNE, next, from Steely Dan's Royal Scam album. All their music is top notch, but I think you will really enjoy the funkiness of this album!
Watching you discover this band - the way you enjoy hearing these songs for the first time - it's like hearing these masterpieces that I've heard a thousand times for the first time again myself. Your joy is palpable. Keep them coming.
Well said!
MMBxMOB! Steely Dan is basically a fusion band, which has elements of Rock, Funk, Pop, R&B and Jazz! Melded into a musical gumbo if you will for the discerning tastes of their fans, which you are now a part of! So enjoy this glorious ride my brother! Great reaction with Love, Peace & Blessings!!!
My favorite story is how crazy Perfectionist they were in the studio regardless of cost. When they couldn't get the sound with top studio musicians, they would bring in more top studio players to get it right. Also herd once, the "Deacon" in the Blues refers to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, who were at the time in a long losing streak and about the exact opposite of Alabama.
They were their own genre.
Speaking of the mixes, it's strange to think that I remember when it was such a new sound, and I think we're coming up on the 50-year mark from when these trackings, mixings, and initial masterings were done. And that these songs were performed. Half a century. It kind of blows my mind.
I think of them as a sort of jazz-rock fusion but the truth is, there’s no need to categorize them. They take every genre, put it in a blender and come out with something is uniquely Steely Dan.
When I was in college (graduated in '78) this was the go to album for evaluating stereo equipment (& where I went to school, MIT, we had some serious hardware).
So glad you are shouting out the backing vocals and the horns and so forth. And I just absolutely love that killer bass guitar line.
This is the first album anyone spent more than a million dollars on production costs and it shows it's the LP or tape or reel to reel that any high-end audio place used to use to show off their equipment back in the day..
I think this one is in the style of a samba? I fell in love with Steely Dan the first moment I ever heard them, which was probably "Do It Again" in my very youth, way back in 1972. Great catch on the Crimson Tide line here on first listen! That is a thing from this particular song that I only figured out in the last decade or so, because Donald Fagen slurs the word Alabama, and I have no sports awareness.
They set the bar for all jazz fusion projects to come. You’re starting to understand where it started and what it was that
Fagan and Becker were doing. The musicians they brought on board were their fellow elite studio musicians. A collaboration never matched again.
Dude needs quality headphones for sure You can't listen to steely Dan without headphones Without headphones they're just great With headphones A whole another new A whole another Level
No remaster here, this is the original mix and it is incredible! Deacon Blues was the personal anthem of a generation of people who were the artists, musicians, and poets of our time. Anyone outside the box looking in.
I saw Steely in St. Petersburg when they finally toured in the very early 1990s.
When they did Deacon Blues EVERYBODY SANG, IN KEY, AND KNEW EVERY WORD.
Of course, I was singing my ass off, too. I was proud of the crowd.
For me my top three bands are Beatles, Allman Brothers, and Steely Dan.
When I saw them Becjer was still going strong. When I saw the ABB, Duane was alive too .
Steely is jazzy R&B. Superb. Deacon Blues has Larry Carlton AND Lee Ritenaur on guitars. Steely brought in the best studio talent like Jeff Skunk Baxter.
Love Deacon Blues, now do Hey Nineteen.
The day you listen to Steely Dan with a headset will be like when dorothy opens the door into Oz.
This tune…the horns are warm and buttery. The music track drips of soft and sensual undertones.
When the question comes up about what song would you listen to over and over if stuck on a desert island, Deacon Blues is always the answer.
My second favorite SD song. FM is number one for me. Thanks for your reactions to Steely Dan!
"TIME OUT OF MIND"
(Do it!! Do it!!)
"TIME OUT OF MIND"
(I love it so much.)
Good catch with the engineering! I remember when I was a kid, they used to use this record to demo the stereos at the electronics stores because the production was so good on this LP.
I think a lot of their songs, especially a lot of the later ones, fit into multiple categories, but they definitely feel like they're modern R&B as well.
You are on to it talking about the vocals and production. Fagan said in the doc for Making of AJA that he sought perfection in sound. Then he would intentionality make some aspect imperfect to give it a human feel and not sterile.
You need to react to LOWDOWN by BOZ SCAGGS I KNOW YOU WILL LOVE IT EVERYBODY DOES !!
You should check out Dr Wu from the album Katy Lied, or Home at Last off of Aja, both are gems and just as high quality
Lots more to dive into "The Dan"! React to "Pretzel logic" and "Rikki, Don't Lose That Number". Thanks.
"HEY NINETEEN"
(Do it!! Do it!!)"
"HEY NINETEEN"
(You won't regret it. This band, man.)
You cant say this of many bands, but Steely Dan cant be boxed in to any one genre. Any 5 genres! They were unique in their sound, and with the rotating collection of top notch studio musicians they brought to the world some AMAZING music. My favorite is the album "Aja", every song on it is a winner.
Dude, you have a LONG way to go... don't stop.
I’d call this Jazz with a Rock backer. lol
Finally! Their best track IMO!
You gotta remember R&B in the 60s and 70s is not to what they consider it now. Check out the Royal Scam, Pretzel Logic, or Katy Lied albums
Just dam good
This is my favorite of theirs.
I have been WAITING for you to make your way to this one!
If you haven't already done it , check out Kid Charlemagne. Nice funky groove. And yes , their production was that good back in the 70's.
They are every Genre. Keep going brother.
This is my favorite Steely Dan song.
Their 76 to 80 phase is peak jazz rock funk soul fusion. ❤ this song sits in the middle of that phase.
Only thing left after this is 70s prog rock and jazz fusion itself. Then back deeper into jazz.
FM, Josie, Babylon Sisters, Hey Nineteen, Time Out of Mind.
Great list! Time Out of Mind is one of my favorites!
all of Gaucho needs to be done
The genre for Steely Dan is called So Damn Smooth.
Steely Dan
Rikki Don't Lose That Number
I...WE love this song so much. As always everything is exquisite, absolute perfection, the chord changes, the playing, the lyrics.
Miss playing this, even if only solo acoustic. Always went over extremely well, particularly with other musicians. My daughter too loved it on first hearing.
🖖🏼😎🎶❤️🍁❤️✨️🕊
Steely Dan is a Rock band!
Rock music pulls from all genres!!!
Jazz, R&B, Soft Rock, it’s all Steely Dan.
This song is classified as jazz-rock. So take that as you will.
Be sure to check out Donald Fagen’s (the singer) solo stuff on the album “The Nightfly” too. Great stuff.
Listen to FM off of the Show BIZ KIds compilation best of for that Black Cow funk sound. Then go back to AJA with JOSIE. Then hit DR WU from Katy Lied, which gives you the AJA template.
The smoothest, chill song on the Aja album is “Home at Last.” The word that best describes it is “sophistication.” Give it a reaction. But give every song on Aja a listen. It’s a perfect album.
Roulette wheel sir, he’s a gambler!
Pete Christlieb laid more down in one minute than I did in 22 years. DAMN...
Don’t take it personal 😊. Imagine how I felt as a young drummer and listening to Steve Gadd turn my world upside down on Aja…
@@jimmoore8951 I hear you, brother. I actually have a couple of items signed by Steve Gadd. This is my favorite by him: ruclips.net/video/IrBL09KTEoQ/видео.html
A snare- bass roll. Amazing!
Home At Last is my favorite from Them. You'll end up listening to these again when you get a headset.
I'll say this again... three words.
THE ROYAL SCAM.
Press play, and you won't press skip.
If you went into a record store to buy a Steely Dan record, you would find it in the rock section. But Steely Dan comprises several genres
Love to watch you enjoy them! Lets me know I know great music.
Gotta hit "The Fez"!
Time Out of Mind.
Finally we have been begging for decon blues and now next we are begging for hay 19
I always got a jazz vibe from Steely Dan.
The songs Aja and Deacon Blues, and
Hone At Last …. My 3 favorite songs on the album. AJA the BEST ALBUM
EVER !!!!!!!!!!! 🥰😘
On Gaucho Mark Knopfler is playing guitar on "Time Out of Mind".
While you're at Steely, Glamour Profession from Gaucho.
Ah hell, just ALL OF GAUCHO. AJA. CAN'T BUY A THRILL. PRETZEL LOGIC, THEY'RE ALL GREAT.
BODHISATVA ROCKS LIKE ALL GET OUT. GET STEELY DAN "GOLD" AND GET THE SAX VERSION OF FM.
Time for some "FM"..."no static at all"😊
They are their own category🤷🏻♂️ No other way to describe this stuff.
Night By Night!
19-year-old drummer Jeff Porcaro just kills!
Got to Get Dr. Wu in the house.
Production costs for Aja was north of $1 million. This was in 76 or so. And I would stick to Aja as you welcome yourself to their music for the first time.
You are really gonna like “My Old School”
In my top 5 Steely Dan songs!
Love ya man!
As I sit here drinking a dry red wine, I can tell you, Black Cow is one of my favorites. Check out Babylon Sisters.
Also, the recording of a couple of albums from Steely Dan are used to evaluate audio equipment. Still considered some of the best recordings ever.
I am a metalhead now and still love SD. I grew up listening to SD in the 70s. They played them on Rock stations. I would say they are a mix of several genre. Jazz, funk, R&B, Blues, Rock etc.
They created their own genre.
Steely Dan really isn't a band it's more of an aesthetic. They have an idea how they want it to sound then find the right musicians to make it happen.
I remember when this song came out. One of our friends stood on top of a neighbors roof and sang the opening lines to this song, “This is the day of the expanding man”. This group, this song, was fire in my neighborhood. I would love for you to react to Donald Fagen’s Mary Shut The Garden Door.
I love the SD solos of all kinds. Master musicians that don't need to show off. They just add impeccable touches when t's their time. Babylon Sisters rivals Black Cow for funkiness.
Blood Sweat & Tears is another great horn drenched rock band. Ask around, they had a few(slew of) hits🙂
This brother is free, I’ll be what I want to be.
Walter said this was an anthem to "looserdom." Alabama has always been a winner. The Demon Deacons of Wake Forest, not so much. Hence the metaphor. This is about a guy who dream of becoming a great sax player, yet he realizes the lifestyle will be tragic.
There's a video out there of the making of AJA. Super interesting and it'll crack you up too. Check it out!