my grandmother doesn’t really remember movies, and it just last weekend had me talking about the movie ‘The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’…i think i could do it for films (with a big long list in at least ten places-but i couldn’t do it with music: lovers would disappear, poof 💨 as well as all of the times in cars, looking at beautiful things-i would be carving out South America, India, (train sleepers were the best!) and i just subtracted from my movie erasure…Kubrick movies, Quincy Jones, Duke Ellington scored Anatomy of a Murder, but there’s everything they slipped into those 70’s films and onward. okay, i’m going to keep it all. -thanks for sharing, you helped me unravel my impossible to prove point (although if you ever want to get a conversation started…this does the trick!🤣 )
It's only for those who really listen to music. Steely Dan are the musician's musician for a reason. When music is just something for you to dance/party to or fill up the background...then it's not your cup of tea.
We are hearing it for the first time thanks to these folks doing reaction vids. They are commenting on certain parts that pull us into the individual parts stuffed into the layers of the songs that we hadn’t ever quite noticed. Decades go by and I still find myself discovering new fragrances. It’s like reading the Bible over one’s life, same thing…
When I first started listening to steely Dan back in the early 2000s I couldn't quite relate to the vibe... Now that I'm in my 40s, I feel like these songs we are somewhat apocryphal 😅 hey 19...
This sax player is the great Pete Christlieb. (He's also on FM.). Christlieb has played with EVERYONE but is probably best known for playing lead tenor in Doc Severinsen's band on Carson's Tonight Show for decades.
He said he showed up to the studio from another gig and did this solo in one take and then left all within about 30 mins. He said his life connected with lyrics of the song too. Awesome story behind the perfect solo on an all-time great song.
The people singing back up on this album include Mike McDonald, Luther Vandross, Shirley Mathews, Vanneta Fields, and Clydie King, Timothy B. Smith. Greatness on parade.
Timeless music! They were so far ahead of their time that music still hasn't caught up! 46 years ago and it sounds like they could have laid this down yesterday!
When asked about the line, "They call Alabama the Crimson Tide, call me Deacon Blues," Donald Fagen told Rolling Stone magazine: "Walter and I had been working on that song at a house in Malibu. I played him that line, and he said, 'You mean it's like, 'They call these cracker a--holes this grandiose name like the Crimson Tide, and I'm this loser, so they call me this other grandiose name, Deacon Blues?' and I said 'Yeah!' He said, 'Cool, let's finish it.'"
The lyric "die behind the wheel" is not to be taken literally...in fact most of Steely Dan lyrics are symbolic interpretations of overall theme. From my pov, Deacon Blues tells of a man finally following his passion. "Die behind the wheel" is about, at long last, taking control of his life and his music. He's willing to BE his truth and will live and die by his control. He's behind the wheel. Powerful, liberating stuff. Enjoy the Steely Dan journey.
I thought the die behind the wheels was about the roulette tables as the story is of a saxophonist playing in a casino. He's looking in from the outside into a world that he wants to be in (It seems like only yesterday I gazed through the glass At ramblers, wild gamblers That's all in the past) but how to get there... learn to work the saxophone... Although having said that, the analogy of taking control of his life and his music is a good one. Dunno if it was what Fagan was thinking though....
I'll add a bit to this. Your interpretation is close to mine... but I think 'Die behind the wheel' means he could die right now, after doing what he loves, and he'd be ok.
The song is an hommage to (Black) Jazz and Blues players. I bought this album in 1977 and picked up on that instantly. Knowing how much they loved Jazz, Blues and R&B. Having grown up on all three.
My wife and I just saw Steely Dan (Donald sans Walter of course) back up the Eagles at the Forum in LA. Incredible sound, every song a known masterpiece and the level of musicianship was amazing. The Eagles were pretty good too 🙂
If they play this when I pass, my daughter will be a puddle. 😢 I used to play it solo acoustic, skipping the solo sections for this and 'Kid Charlemagne'. Everyone, especially musos, loved it. 😎🤙🏼🎶❤️✨️🕊
Same here, and listen to the most vile, neck snapping death metal I can find, I've always loved Steely Dan. I tend to switch up between Death Metal and Jazz.
They had Bernard Purdie, Jeff Porcaro, Kiltner and 5 other drummers....Michael McDonald, Boz Scaggs.....every badass musician who is now a household name....
I'm 65 year old musician...love you guys ....when I was your age peg was rocking on the radio!!.. Great era...makes my day watching you guys groove to this deep ass music!!!!!
The golden age of music…I mean real music, I am down with rap and hip hop, but a beat and urban angst can only get me so far…I need melody, harmony, orchestration and brilliant solos
I heard Steely Dan twice in concert before Walter Becker passed away. I was amazed by the band's level of musicianship and the fresh takes they could give these intricate songs live.
This is my favorite of all Steely Dan songs. Full of emotionally touching "mu major" chords. The pinnacle of their "gentleman loser" theme songs. "I cried when I wrote this song. Sue me if I play too long."
Kevin, you nailed it exactly. I’ve always found this a recurring theme lyrically, and one I’ve never tired of, because the storytelling is so good. The music speaks for itself. 🤘😎
Me too. There are others I rank right there too, but if I ever find myself in a conversation about Steely Dan, or chord progressions in general, I always cite this one to be in my opinion the best chord progression ever written.
Beautiful song yes. My fav, maybe. I see it as a song about (self) redemption. " I cried when I wrote this song, sue me if I play too long" it doesn't get much better than that.
My youngest brother's favorite song. He didn't die behind the wheel like even he thought he would...instead it was on a helicopter ride to a bigger hospital after the ER punctured his alcoholic liver and couldn't stop the bleeding. He always said "call me deacon blues"!
Deacon Blues….it’s about a musician who made the decision to change his style of music. He’s going to learn the sax to transition into the sound he wants, the “expanding man.” Whatever it takes to bring his sound out there…”drink scotch whiskey, all night long.” Even if it takes “die behind the wheel” Going from club to club, drinking to much, selling his sound as much as it takes. “ Cover ever game in town.”
Pete Christlieb on tenor sax. Christlieb also played on Steely Dan's "FM," the them and single from the movie of the same name. It's epic and worth checking out.
Yes. He was the tenor player in the Tonight Show band when Johnny Carson was still hosting and you used to hear him playing killer solos coming out of commercials. That's where Fagan and Becker first heard him and he came to mind for the solo on this song. He says when they contacted him he had never really heard much of their stuff, but when he heard the "Drink scotch whiskey all night long and die behind the wheel" lyric, he was in.
I've seen in a couple places where he said he showed up to the studio from another gig and did the solo that winds up on the record on the first take. Said he was in and out in around 30 mins.
The reason you "heard" Earth Wind & Flame is because both groups are pop, groove, jazz ensembles that wrote vocal parts like Ellington and Basie big band arrangements. This blending of genres was fully realized in the 70s when record companies were still owned by people that liked records...
Well said, and very true. Both Maurice White and Fagen &Becker strived for musical sophistication and perfection. The production, arrangements, musicianship writting and sophistication set them way apart and ahead of their peers.
“This brother is free, I’ll be what I want to be.” Probably one of the best lyrical lines ever. Definitely my favorite. This album is perfection. Check out the song FM next.
The Dan were consistently amazing. Far beyond most recording artists, before and since, they managed to meld rock, jazz, and pop, along with some weird kind of inexplicable, individual, flavor, that has managed to stand out regardless of the current accepted style.
Donald Fagen and Walter Becker (Steely Dan), used a core group of musicians on the Aja LP, but mixed a few for the various tracks. They knew what they wanted from each musician for different songs and actually auditioned specific musicians for their music. In some cases it was the musician playing something that caught their ear. Production and musicianship always top notch. Stay on Steely! Love your takes and energy...
One of my greatest regrets, not seeing them WHOLE when they had their residency Las Vegas. It must be strange to see Steely Dan now with the half of the legends gone.
I've been on my Steely journey forty years now. Incredible vocals and instrumental arrangement, off the charts. I've heard the transformation of many Heart and Soul Groups. Steely Dan is Tops
Nothing but exquisite musicianship with Steely Dan. Every album is so solid. Picking one as your favorite is no easy task. For me, Royal Scam is it. Great guitar work is featured on every Steely Dan song, but Royal Scam has guitar work in spades.
If there could be anything close to being a favourite Steely song this would be it. 'I cried when I wrote this song'. You could cry at the beauty of it. On to Peg and Josie and Home at Last..
Steely Dan was my favorite band when I was a teen in the 80s. My friends thought I was a weirdo because Steely Dan was out of style, aside from a few hit songs played on "classic rock" stations. But with time, people have come around to appreciating Steely Dan's greatness musically and lyrically.
I saw Steely Dan in Mt. Pleasant MI in 1975(?). Best concert I ever saw. They did three encores and later showed up at the local 24/7 pancake joint on Monument Blvd. I was so pissed I missed them.
@@AirplayBeats btw…a lot of crossover with hip hop/Steely Dan fans. I’m 50, had Rappers Delight on wax, fan of The Native Tongue…Tribe, De La etc and SD is in my top 5 bands. Especially, if you’re a fan of 90’s NY hip hop, you’re prob a SD fan. Sampled to death There’s a whole vid of Talib Kwali talking about SD and it’s influence on hip hop.
got this cassette in 78, drove my MG drop down late night side one, turned around side 2 many a lonely ride , saved my life, thanks for reacting , welcome to the SD rabbit hole
I think this has to be one of the greatest produced albums ever. Aja is a masterpiece. Steely Dan has one of the most incredible body of work. Have been one of my favorite bands since 70 . Everything is so amazing
Yes! Don't Take Me Alive! If I could only listen to just ONE artist's/band's music for the rest of my life, it would be Steely Dan. And I was raised in the '60-'70's, I am a LOVER of ALL genres, so that's saying a lot.
Can't pull myself away from your channel. So many great songs you guys have reviewed. I thank God for patience. Without it, one can't hear music such as this. One of you said that you hear every aspect of this song. That's patience. Maturity. Like a movie that doesn't have a lot of action, but every line spoken means something. Every LOOK means something. And every movement. You are engrossed in the movie because it is telling a story -- not because guns and bombs are going off. Nor because a lot of T & A are flashing across the screen. No. The story has it's hooks in you, and you have to continue watching. A la Steely Dan, and other great bands -- because you are patient, the story the music is telling you isn't fast or slow -- it is simply marvelous. It is good. You hear what the music is telling you. And you want more. Aja has a few songs that are lengthy and mellow, yet masterful and full of groove, funk and all-around hypnotic melody . Peg and Josie got this youngster skipping around as a teen, acting like he could dance. I couldn't be still when listening to these 2 pulse raisers , so dancer or not, I was all over my bedroom floor, movin' to the groovin' . No doubt Steely Dan is right up there with The Beatles and other classic rock icons. By classic rock, I mean all of the music that came out around the 70's -- from the late 60's to the early 80's. Of course great music is in every generation. Come on, man -- Big Band music; B. B. King and all of the Blues Brothers from way back [ not Belushi or Aykroyd ]; Traditional Country; the Crooners Crosby and Torme; Disco; the Hair Bands; Grunge ... you all know where I am coming from. But the 70's had something special, man. This is undeniable. And Steely Dan is a major cog in the Musical Wheel of the 70's.
Steely Dan actually consists of only two guys,Walter Becker (NY) and Donald Fagen (NJ) who met in college. Fagen does most of the lead singing on the album. For this particular album the two men hired 40+ leading session musicians to play on different songs on the album, that's why you hear different instruments being introduced throughout the album. The Aja album won a Grammy Award for Best Engineered Recording-Non Classical in 1978. It also received a nomination for Album Of the Year, but lost. The name Steely Dan was named after a strap-on, the guys had a sense of humor.
that’s pretty hilarious. rubbery Dan just doesn’t work as well. i read that ‘Steely Dan’ was an kitchen appliance from a William Burroughs novel or story…i really need to brush up on my beat-reading, of course! it sounds pretty damn Burroughs to me, and the fact that it’s not a typewriter, in consideration of the film ‘Naked Lunch’, is in and of itself a relief. either way, i agree with you on their having an excellent sense of humor.
One of SD great songs, Deacon Blues, cryptic lyrics. Deacon came from, Deacon Jones, NFL football player and the song relates to Alabama "the crimson Tide" which apparently fagen and Becker found amusing. This song is as autobiographical, about Fagen and Becker, as a triple loser who wants to be a sax player who wants to be remembered in a grandiose way. Sophisticated, mastercraft excellence and just a great song. Thank you for the excellent reaction Guys!
I remember this from years ago ,down at the river sandbar with friends ,stoned , with a few drinks great car sound ---- didn't realise at the time , but that was heaven
Hi guys I just subscribed today I live Steely Dan,the Dobbie Brothers, Michael McDonald plus so much more from the 60’s,70’s,80’s I’m 73 and still playing all this great music. I was very fortunate growing up during all this fantastic music.
Every time I listen to SD I get put in a good vibe and get lost in it. You guys are my favorite SD reactors, so much insight and deep observations but still groove to it.
Steely Dan’s AJA, was the first album that I ever bought. I played it so much, I wore it out. Watching you gentlemen listen to the album & reacting to it, is like hearing it for the first time myself.
AJA is a masterpiece of sound , imagery and feelings ... you hear the pain , the regret and the don't give a fuck attitude ... they will win on their schedule and party while doing it BIG TIME !!
I lost my virginity to this song when 20 to a 45 yo man. I bought the CD for him, well he asked me to choose him a few CDs for him to buy...my love language(along with David Brubecks Take Five and The Greatest Hits of Antonio Jobim aka the man that performed Girl From Ipanema), I'm particularlyobsessed with rock and jazz from a early age., I probably found it on vinyl in my early teens or sooner. It is my jam. Edit: It is Aja! ALL of their albums are AMAZING. Even the relative dud after Two Against Nature. That's a great album BTW.
The tenor sax solo was by Pete Christleib who was the lead tenor player on the Tonight Show band for years. Truly a memorable solo that’s stood the test of time
@@subversivelysurreal3645 That’s what Pete said in a interview and I’m sure it happened that way. I’m sure he got normal Union pay for that gig, no residuals. What a deal for the band.
This song was an integral part of the soundtrack of people's lives in the 70s. Of my life, anyway. The lyrics are so heavy and paint such a vivid picture of the night world the singer inhabits. He says "I'll make it this time" but we don't have a lot of confidence in that and it doesn't feel like the singer has much faith in that either. It feels like a bad ending of some sort is pretty much inevitable but he's going to own that world and life and throw himself into it and make it his own.
Y’all are spot on! Steely Dan is musical perfection. Jazz/rock/funk fusion. Becker and Fagan truly were “perfectionists”. I’ve been a fan since the early 70’s, love them.
Love them! I’m an old lady and remember when they (Steely Dan)1st came out. I think the 1st album of theirs I bought was Pretzel Logic. My fav’s of their music are: FM, My Old School, Time Out Of Mind. Great 70’s Band that has stood the test of time!❤️❤️❤️
I remember reading that they used different musicians from one track to the next. They were very specific about what sound they were looking for in each track and tailored the band to each set. Geniuses pure and simple. I grew up listening to these guys, but my mature self appreciates them so much more today.
Love it! You young people getting it that we all took for granted that the FM dial would bring along with Billboard hit tunes. Different day but real music will always play. ONLY, by you youngsters keeping it fed, can it go on. Think end of Deacon Blues sax solo was Tom Scott, btw. Check out LA Express, his band and work with Joni. Love your stuff!
Hey guys, you’re actually correct. They switched up session musicians even on the same album. It wasn’t unusual for Fagen and Becker to have a dozen different guitarists play on a song until they found what they liked. They didn’t always know exactly what they were looking for but they knew it when they heard it. Case and point, Jay Braydon’s solo on Peg.
I can't get enough of watching people succumb to that Steely Dan magic, I wish I could hear all their songs for the first time again.
my grandmother doesn’t really remember movies, and it just last weekend had me talking about the movie ‘The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’…i think i could do it for films (with a big long list in at least ten places-but i couldn’t do it with music: lovers would disappear, poof 💨 as well as all of the times in cars, looking at beautiful things-i would be carving out South America, India, (train sleepers were the best!) and i just subtracted from my movie erasure…Kubrick movies, Quincy Jones, Duke Ellington scored Anatomy of a Murder, but there’s everything they slipped into those 70’s films and onward. okay, i’m going to keep it all. -thanks for sharing, you helped me unravel my impossible to prove point (although if you ever want to get a conversation started…this does the trick!🤣 )
Perfectly said because that's exactly what happens even if you didn't want to
It's only for those who really listen to music. Steely Dan are the musician's musician for a reason. When music is just something for you to dance/party to or fill up the background...then it's not your cup of tea.
We are hearing it for the first time thanks to these folks doing reaction vids. They are commenting on certain parts that pull us into the individual parts stuffed into the layers of the songs that we hadn’t ever quite noticed. Decades go by and I still find myself discovering new fragrances. It’s like reading the Bible over one’s life, same thing…
When I first started listening to steely Dan back in the early 2000s I couldn't quite relate to the vibe...
Now that I'm in my 40s, I feel like these songs we are somewhat apocryphal 😅
hey 19...
This sax player is the great Pete Christlieb. (He's also on FM.). Christlieb has played with EVERYONE but is probably best known for playing lead tenor in Doc Severinsen's band on Carson's Tonight Show for decades.
He said he showed up to the studio from another gig and did this solo in one take and then left all within about 30 mins. He said his life connected with lyrics of the song too. Awesome story behind the perfect solo on an all-time great song.
That's wild..that means that I must of seen him hundreds times then...
'I want a name when I lose'
Song can be summed up with the last line
" This brother is free. I'll be what I want to be"
absolutely
The people singing back up on this album include Mike McDonald, Luther Vandross, Shirley Mathews, Vanneta Fields, and Clydie King, Timothy B. Smith. Greatness on parade.
Timeless music! They were so far ahead of their time that music still hasn't caught up! 46 years ago and it sounds like they could have laid this down yesterday!
Well said and absolute truth!
Spot on.
Or maybe 30 or so years prior to when they made it
Amen.
@@rollotomassi623230 years prior with sensibilities and production from the future.
When asked about the line, "They call Alabama the Crimson Tide, call me Deacon Blues," Donald Fagen told Rolling Stone magazine: "Walter and I had been working on that song at a house in Malibu. I played him that line, and he said, 'You mean it's like, 'They call these cracker a--holes this grandiose name like the Crimson Tide, and I'm this loser, so they call me this other grandiose name, Deacon Blues?' and I said 'Yeah!' He said, 'Cool, let's finish it.'"
Wow
"I cried when I wrote this song...excuse me if I play too long"
My favorite line
"Sue me..."
The lyric "die behind the wheel" is not to be taken literally...in fact most of Steely Dan lyrics are symbolic interpretations of overall theme. From my pov, Deacon Blues tells of a man finally following his passion. "Die behind the wheel" is about, at long last, taking control of his life and his music. He's willing to BE his truth and will live and die by his control. He's behind the wheel. Powerful, liberating stuff. Enjoy the Steely Dan journey.
I thought the die behind the wheels was about the roulette tables as the story is of a saxophonist playing in a casino. He's looking in from the outside into a world that he wants to be in (It seems like only yesterday I gazed through the glass At ramblers, wild gamblers That's all in the past) but how to get there... learn to work the saxophone...
Although having said that, the analogy of taking control of his life and his music is a good one. Dunno if it was what Fagan was thinking though....
@@stevem-h3562 that's what I love about Steely Dan. They leave so much to unpack for the listener...plus the music production is on point!
I'll add a bit to this. Your interpretation is close to mine... but I think 'Die behind the wheel' means he could die right now, after doing what he loves, and he'd be ok.
@@xhighoneI agree. This is about a person who found his path and can die happy if that's how it goes. He's just living man. L I V I N. ;)
I agree. " Die behind the Wheel " means taking some big chances to achieve " The Big Goal."
You can't forget the wonderful backup singers Steely Dan always has. They add so much texture and depth the music.
Nobody generally acknowledges how brilliant Donald's vocals are. He's the toppest notch.
Valarie Simpson from Ashford & Simpson
@@sparkymcplumpthepolydactyl2079 Patti Austin too
Carolyn Leonhart has been with them for years. In addition a fantastic voice perfect for Steely Dan backup, she’s also drop dead gorgeous.
On the original recordings in the 1970s, it was generally Clydie King, Venetta Fields, and Shirlie Matthews that you were hearing. ❤❤❤
The song is an hommage to (Black) Jazz and Blues players. I bought this album in 1977 and picked up on that instantly. Knowing how much they loved Jazz, Blues and R&B. Having grown up on all three.
People will appreciate this album 100 years from now the same way we appreciate Bach and Beethoven
And the Beatles don't forget.
My wife and I just saw Steely Dan (Donald sans Walter of course) back up the Eagles at the Forum in LA. Incredible sound, every song a known masterpiece and the level of musicianship was amazing. The Eagles were pretty good too 🙂
I'm so happy I was a teen that grew up on Steely Dan. I credit them with helping me survive those years.
Amen!
I can SOOO relate!!!
This song is basically a description of the life of a Jazz musician.
I love how they write songs.
A friend chose this song to be played at his funeral. Not a dry eye in the church. Still makes me think of him.
If they play this when I pass, my daughter will be a puddle. 😢
I used to play it solo acoustic, skipping the solo sections for this and 'Kid Charlemagne'. Everyone, especially musos, loved it.
😎🤙🏼🎶❤️✨️🕊
One of the Greatest LPs Ever made.
And I'm a Hard Rock fan.☕🌞😎
Same here, and listen to the most vile, neck snapping death metal I can find, I've always loved Steely Dan. I tend to switch up between Death Metal and Jazz.
Absolutely. If it were a painting, it would be a Picasso.
Perfection start to finish
Hardrock, Progressive Rock, Jazz and Dan…
I'm a huge music fan in general, each genre has its time and place to be heard and enjoyed.
Masters of their craft, good enough ain't an option, perfection is the standard.
They had Bernard Purdie, Jeff Porcaro, Kiltner and 5 other drummers....Michael McDonald, Boz Scaggs.....every badass musician who is now a household name....
I'm 65 year old musician...love you guys ....when I was your age peg was rocking on the radio!!..
Great era...makes my day watching you guys groove to this deep ass music!!!!!
The golden age of music…I mean real music, I am down with rap and hip hop, but a beat and urban angst can only get me so far…I need melody, harmony, orchestration and brilliant solos
I heard Steely Dan twice in concert before Walter Becker passed away. I was amazed by the band's level of musicianship and the fresh takes they could give these intricate songs live.
Magnificent!
This is my favorite of all Steely Dan songs. Full of emotionally touching "mu major" chords. The pinnacle of their "gentleman loser" theme songs.
"I cried when I wrote this song.
Sue me if I play too long."
This Brother is for real....🤠
@mark totton I'll drink McCallan's all night long to that song
Always been my favourite. Just love that jazz rock.
Kevin, you nailed it exactly. I’ve always found this a recurring theme lyrically, and one I’ve never tired of, because the storytelling is so good. The music speaks for itself. 🤘😎
Me too. There are others I rank right there too, but if I ever find myself in a conversation about Steely Dan, or chord progressions in general, I always cite this one to be in my opinion the best chord progression ever written.
Beautiful song yes. My fav, maybe. I see it as a song about (self) redemption. " I cried when I wrote this song, sue me if I play too long" it doesn't get much better than that.
My youngest brother's favorite song. He didn't die behind the wheel like even he thought he would...instead it was on a helicopter ride to a bigger hospital after the ER punctured his alcoholic liver and couldn't stop the bleeding. He always said "call me deacon blues"!
Becker and Fagan were such great writers, their songs had true meaning and I'm still listening to them today. BTW I'm 65 and grew up on them.
Deacon Blues….it’s about a musician who made the decision to change his style of music. He’s going to learn the sax to transition into the sound he wants, the “expanding man.” Whatever it takes to bring his sound out there…”drink scotch whiskey, all night long.” Even if it takes “die behind the wheel” Going from club to club, drinking to much, selling his sound as much as it takes. “ Cover ever game in town.”
Pete Christlieb on tenor sax. Christlieb also played on Steely Dan's "FM," the them and single from the movie of the same name. It's epic and worth checking out.
Yes. He was the tenor player in the Tonight Show band when Johnny Carson was still hosting and you used to hear him playing killer solos coming out of commercials. That's where Fagan and Becker first heard him and he came to mind for the solo on this song. He says when they contacted him he had never really heard much of their stuff, but when he heard the "Drink scotch whiskey all night long and die behind the wheel" lyric, he was in.
@Mark H he also joked in an interview that the song could be his life story.
I've seen in a couple places where he said he showed up to the studio from another gig and did the solo that winds up on the record on the first take. Said he was in and out in around 30 mins.
The reason you "heard" Earth Wind & Flame is because both groups are pop, groove, jazz ensembles that wrote vocal parts like Ellington and Basie big band arrangements. This blending of genres was fully realized in the 70s when record companies were still owned by people that liked records...
Truth bro’
Well said, and very true.
Both Maurice White and Fagen &Becker strived for musical sophistication and perfection.
The production, arrangements, musicianship writting and sophistication set them way apart and ahead of their peers.
I thought EWF’s “Way of the World” album was the best LP ever… until I heard Aja.
@@jimmoore8951 Aja, I Am, Songs in the Key of Life, Silk Degrees, Rumors, Hotel California!
@@robmorrison1043 ok I meant my favorite… we had a lot of great music then, don’t we?
Steely Dan can be mesmerizing with their jazz/blues fusion that you never want to end.
They say "This is your favorite bands favorite band"
“This brother is free, I’ll be what I want to be.” Probably one of the best lyrical lines ever. Definitely my favorite. This album is perfection. Check out the song FM next.
The Dan were consistently amazing. Far beyond most recording artists, before and since, they managed to meld rock, jazz, and pop, along with some weird kind of inexplicable, individual, flavor, that has managed to stand out regardless of the current accepted style.
Donald Fagen and Walter Becker (Steely Dan), used a core group of musicians on the Aja LP, but mixed a few for the various tracks. They knew what they wanted from each musician for different songs and actually auditioned specific musicians for their music. In some cases it was the musician playing something that caught their ear. Production and musicianship always top notch. Stay on Steely!
Love your takes and energy...
One of my greatest regrets, not seeing them WHOLE when they had their residency Las Vegas. It must be strange to see Steely Dan now with the half of the legends gone.
I've been on my Steely journey forty years now. Incredible vocals and instrumental arrangement, off the charts. I've heard the transformation of many Heart and Soul Groups. Steely Dan is Tops
Nothing but exquisite musicianship with Steely Dan. Every album is so solid. Picking one as your favorite is no easy task. For me, Royal Scam is it. Great guitar work is featured on every Steely Dan song, but Royal Scam has guitar work in spades.
It’s the go to album if I feel like shit
Love me some Steely Dan from the time I was a teenager in the 70's! 🔥🔥🔥
It doesn't matter which path you're following - if you're into jazz and trying to learn... you *will* eventually find yourself deep into Steely Dan.
Being from Alabama and a big Crimson Tide fan, this song was huge back in the day. I think I was 17 when Aja dropped.
Our dad is from Mobile, AL.
If there could be anything close to being a favourite Steely song this would be it. 'I cried when I wrote this song'. You could cry at the beauty of it. On to Peg and Josie and Home at Last..
You guys are the best reactors on RUclips I have been watching many for years! You feel the music like it’s supposed to be felt! Much respect!❤
Thank you so much!!
Steely Dan was my favorite band when I was a teen in the 80s. My friends thought I was a weirdo because Steely Dan was out of style, aside from a few hit songs played on "classic rock" stations. But with time, people have come around to appreciating Steely Dan's greatness musically and lyrically.
22 different musician,7 songs,11 million dollars,1977
You had me at Steely Dan ❤🔥😎
I saw Steely Dan in Mt. Pleasant MI in 1975(?). Best concert I ever saw. They did three encores and later showed up at the local 24/7 pancake joint on Monument Blvd. I was so pissed I missed them.
The Aja album has always been on my Desert Island list . Always. Sheer perfection
You guys are gonna fall over backwards right out of your chairs when you listen to "FM", "Home At Last", "Haitian Divorce", and "Jack Of Speed".
You take me back to 1977 in my room with my headphones on and hearing this for the first time. Great band!!!!
Sax player (Pete Christlieb) also played on Quincy Jones’ Q’s Jook Joint. If you know, you know. 💜💜💜
The sax at the end they got from Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show. Just for that certain sound. He came over and knocked it out in 30 min.
Great reaction. One of my favs
You got “Josie” coming up. Looking forward to it.
Thanks. Josie on the way!!
@@AirplayBeats btw…a lot of crossover with hip hop/Steely Dan fans.
I’m 50, had Rappers Delight on wax, fan of The Native Tongue…Tribe, De La etc and SD is in my top 5 bands.
Especially, if you’re a fan of 90’s NY hip hop, you’re prob a SD fan.
Sampled to death
There’s a whole vid of Talib Kwali talking about SD and it’s influence on hip hop.
We are big 90s hip hop fans. I’ve got to look up that Talib Kwali video about Steely. That is right up my alley!!
I think it's a Greatest rock-blues song ever recorded. I love it.
got this cassette in 78, drove my MG drop down late night side one, turned around side 2 many a lonely ride , saved my life, thanks for reacting , welcome to the SD rabbit hole
Best weekend morning groove, ever....
These songs make me cry. too many memories...growing up with the ZEP and the DAN. timeless music. Love you guys.. your both cool dudes!
I love their song 'King of the World's. It's an up-tempo tune.
King of the World. (hate auto correct)
I think this has to be one of the greatest produced albums ever. Aja is a masterpiece. Steely Dan has one of the most incredible body of work. Have been one of my favorite bands since 70 . Everything is so amazing
Yes! Don't Take Me Alive! If I could only listen to just ONE artist's/band's music for the rest of my life, it would be Steely Dan. And I was raised in the '60-'70's, I am a LOVER of ALL genres, so that's saying a lot.
I've been listening to this since it first came out. Never gets tired or dated. Superb music.
Every track has different musicians. All are the best session players in the world.
Can't pull myself away from your channel.
So many great songs you guys have reviewed.
I thank God for patience. Without it, one can't hear music such as this. One of you said that you hear every aspect of this song. That's patience.
Maturity. Like a movie that doesn't have a lot of action, but every line spoken means something.
Every LOOK means something. And every movement. You are engrossed in the movie because it is telling a story -- not because guns and bombs are going off. Nor because a lot of
T & A are flashing across the screen.
No. The story has it's hooks in you, and you have to continue watching. A la Steely Dan, and other great bands -- because you are patient, the story the music is telling you isn't fast or slow -- it is simply marvelous. It is good. You hear what the music is telling you. And you want more.
Aja has a few songs that are lengthy and mellow, yet masterful and full of groove, funk and all-around hypnotic melody . Peg and Josie got this youngster skipping around as a teen, acting like he could dance. I couldn't be still when listening to these 2 pulse raisers , so dancer or not, I was all over my bedroom floor, movin' to the groovin' . No doubt Steely Dan is right up there with The Beatles and other classic rock icons.
By classic rock, I mean all of the music that came out around the 70's -- from the late 60's to the early 80's. Of course great music is in every generation. Come on, man -- Big Band music;
B. B. King and all of the Blues Brothers from way back [ not Belushi or Aykroyd ]; Traditional Country; the Crooners Crosby and Torme; Disco;
the Hair Bands; Grunge ...
you all know where I am coming from.
But the 70's had something special, man.
This is undeniable. And Steely Dan is a major cog in the Musical Wheel of the 70's.
Steely Dan actually consists of only two guys,Walter Becker (NY) and Donald Fagen (NJ) who met in college. Fagen does most of the lead singing on the album. For this particular album the two men hired 40+ leading session musicians to play on different songs on the album, that's why you hear different instruments being introduced throughout the album. The Aja album won a Grammy Award for Best Engineered Recording-Non Classical in 1978. It also received a nomination for Album Of the Year, but lost. The name Steely Dan was named after a strap-on, the guys had a sense of humor.
that’s pretty hilarious. rubbery Dan just doesn’t work as well. i read that ‘Steely Dan’ was an kitchen appliance from a William Burroughs novel or story…i really need to brush up on my beat-reading, of course! it sounds pretty damn Burroughs to me, and the fact that it’s not a typewriter, in consideration of the film ‘Naked Lunch’, is in and of itself a relief. either way, i agree with you on their having an excellent sense of humor.
Steely Dan...your favorite band's favorite band!
One of SD great songs, Deacon Blues, cryptic lyrics. Deacon came from, Deacon Jones, NFL football player and the song relates to Alabama "the crimson Tide" which apparently fagen and Becker found amusing. This song is as autobiographical, about Fagen and Becker, as a triple loser who wants to be a sax player who wants to be remembered in a grandiose way. Sophisticated, mastercraft excellence and just a great song. Thank you for the excellent reaction Guys!
I remember this from years ago ,down at the river sandbar with friends ,stoned , with a few drinks great car sound ---- didn't realise at the time , but that was heaven
Hi guys I just subscribed today I live Steely Dan,the Dobbie Brothers, Michael McDonald plus so much more from the 60’s,70’s,80’s I’m 73 and still playing all this great music. I was very fortunate growing up during all this fantastic music.
Bros! Y’all broke your cherry! Welcome to Dan Nation!
Awesome reaction guys. Steely Dan is music perfection - Deacon Blues is a great example of how everything just comes together.
Absolutely
Last time I checked, this wasn’t in the Steely Dan playlist but it pops up for me & saved in my favorites. 💜💜💜
Every time I listen to SD I get put in a good vibe and get lost in it. You guys are my favorite SD reactors, so much insight and deep observations but still groove to it.
Steely Dan’s AJA, was the first album that I ever bought. I played it so much, I wore it out. Watching you gentlemen listen to the album & reacting to it, is like hearing it for the first time myself.
This album reminds me of my childhood. My dad would play his Steely Dan records LOUD in the house.
Steely Dan creeps up and amazes you. Phenomenal band
I mostly listen to heavy metal. But I will happily listen to Steely Dan for hours. Their music is brilliant, genius, pure art.
AJA is a masterpiece of sound , imagery and feelings ... you hear the pain , the regret and the don't give a fuck attitude ... they will win on their schedule and party while doing it BIG TIME !!
I was 16 when this came out. It blew our minds. The crossover album of all time.
Classic album every song
This has been my favorite song since high school. They called me Deacon. Lol
The wheel he dies behind is a roulette wheel guys
I lost my virginity to this song when 20 to a 45 yo man. I bought the CD for him, well he asked me to choose him a few CDs for him to buy...my love language(along with David Brubecks Take Five and The Greatest Hits of Antonio Jobim aka the man that performed Girl From Ipanema), I'm particularlyobsessed with rock and jazz from a early age., I probably found it on vinyl in my early teens or sooner. It is my jam.
Edit: It is Aja! ALL of their albums are AMAZING. Even the relative dud after Two Against Nature. That's a great album BTW.
with steely dan- every instrument is showcased at the same time-amazing mixes, playing and producing
One of the most bitter sweet songs in the modern canon
I’m a metal head and this song is perfection. The production is incredible and the lyrics are impeccable. It’s perfect.
Love your reactions to Steely Dan, fellas! I'm 57 and my older sister put me on to SD when I was a kid. Keep up the great work!
The tenor sax solo was by Pete Christleib who was the lead tenor player on the Tonight Show band for years. Truly a memorable solo that’s stood the test of time
and he walked in and performed two takes and-done.
@@subversivelysurreal3645
That’s what Pete said in a interview and I’m sure it happened that way. I’m sure he got normal Union pay for that gig, no residuals. What a deal for the band.
This song was an integral part of the soundtrack of people's lives in the 70s. Of my life, anyway. The lyrics are so heavy and paint such a vivid picture of the night world the singer inhabits. He says "I'll make it this time" but we don't have a lot of confidence in that and it doesn't feel like the singer has much faith in that either. It feels like a bad ending of some sort is pretty much inevitable but he's going to own that world and life and throw himself into it and make it his own.
Y’all are spot on! Steely Dan is musical perfection. Jazz/rock/funk fusion. Becker and Fagan truly were “perfectionists”. I’ve been a fan since the early 70’s, love them.
We were lucky growing up in the 70s ... we could just turn on our radios and hear quality music like this.
My favorite Steely Dan album !!!! 😘😘😘
Different musicians on the songs !!!
Love them! I’m an old lady and remember when they (Steely Dan)1st came out. I think the 1st album of theirs I bought was Pretzel Logic.
My fav’s of their music are: FM, My Old School, Time Out Of Mind. Great 70’s Band that has stood the test of time!❤️❤️❤️
I remember reading that they used different musicians from one track to the next. They were very specific about what sound they were looking for in each track and tailored the band to each set. Geniuses pure and simple. I grew up listening to these guys, but my mature self appreciates them so much more today.
Many nights partying and playing pool listening to steele Dan. Great times and great music
Love it! You young people getting it that we all took for granted that the FM dial would bring along with Billboard hit tunes. Different day but real music will always play. ONLY, by you youngsters keeping it fed, can it go on.
Think end of Deacon Blues sax solo was Tom Scott, btw. Check out LA Express, his band and work with Joni.
Love your stuff!
It's so cool to see you discover them. Lol they are so good!
Makes me want to uncork a bottle of wine, sit back and enjoy the vino and the Dan on point.
Hey guys, you’re actually correct. They switched up session musicians even on the same album. It wasn’t unusual for Fagen and Becker to have a dozen different guitarists play on a song until they found what they liked. They didn’t always know exactly what they were looking for but they knew it when they heard it. Case and point, Jay Braydon’s solo on Peg.
that dan sound....can't get enough
I'm watching again--comfort food. Thanks guys.