Bernard Purdie is a master. The "Purdie Shuffle" on full display here. Such an influential musician- this beat alone had such an impact on so many drummers. John Bonham and Jeff Porcaro to name a few
Don’t pay too much attention to the casual SD fans who know a set number of songs. The dedicated fans know that there is NO FILLER. And this song is the proof - somehow there weren’t many requests for it, and yet the quality is there (again), like it always is.
Great song. Shout out to the drummer, the one, the only Bernard "Pretty" Purdie. He has played with a lot of legendary acts. His "Purdie Shuffle" (as he calls it) is unique to his style. Many copied him. As far as the music itself, Larry Carlton said, we would get to the studio and would be given the sheet notes and he said they were written by Donald. You guys are just scratching the surface with this incredible duo. Enjoying this...
It's a melodica. Fagen plays it. Basically a keyboard flute. Handheld keyboard that you blow into. Many times Fagen switches between that and the strapon keyboard during the same songs.
Such a great Bernard Purdie drum track! The whole tune is so smooth with great jazz/funk elements throughout. Great reaction guys. I'm really enjoying seeing your interactions with this great music, and your appreciation for it. Keep up the great work !
bernard Purdie was the perfect drummer for this track.. He has such great "pop on his toms and his "shuffle" fits nicely with this groove. It sounds like Walter Becker on guitar.. so smooth!
The different sounding instrument is a melodica. It's a wind instrument with a keyboard. Donald Fagan (the vocalist) plays it. Also the band name is from a novel from the beat generation called Naked Lunch. I've never read it but apparently a character in the novel, a woman, owns a dildo she calls "steely dan". It was kind of an underground novel so Don and Walter thought it would be kind of their private joke when they named the band Steely Dan. However people figured it out pretty quickly. It's kind of typical of their style, their lyrics are usually cryptically sly, sarcastic, and offered with a nod and a wink.
Ross -I'm a fellow SD appreciator. The instrument they remarked about in "Home at Last" is an "electronic wind instrument" or Lyricon by name. Donald sometimes plays a Hohner Melodica on stage currently, but Melodicas weren't used in their recordings back in the 70's and 80's. In "Home at last" the soloing instrument demonstrates pitch-bending. This is one of the tell-tale signs of an electronic wind instrument (something like an electronic clarinet) where the pitch or tone can go sharp or flat (bend) depending on the amount of breath going into the device. I own two Melodicas and can assure you that they only play louder or softer depending on how much air pressure goes in. Pitch stays the same. Happy listening.
I actually have read Naked Lunch. To say that it is "out there" is an understatement. And Steely Dan was actually a series of dildos: Steely Dan I, Steely Dan II, Steely Dan III, etc., that the owner wore out and replaced. 😁
@@roundtownKenthank you for the correction that is clearly not a melodica. Although I can swear to you that I saw Jacob collier bend a note on a melodica in a solo on stage with snarky puppy 🤯 EWIs really are incredible though
The metaphors are all from the Greek epic of Ulysses coming home to Penelope and his people. Do the story on this one- and you’ll get to know the drumming genius that is Bernard Purdie who does his famous “ Purdie shuffle” on this. That’s the FUNK you are picking up on! That ending instrument is Don Fagen on the Yamaha P37D Melodica. You blow into it but it has a little keyboard. I’ve seen him play it in concert.
If you have the original vinyl the liner notes on the left side were a faux review written by Becker under the name Michael Phalen, and he makes reference to what you just said, something to the effect "who would have thought at this late date Homer's immortal tale so thoroughly explored by James and elucidate new insights from it". That sentence is not word for word just the best I can recall.
Aja is an album that keeps growing on you. Honestly. I've been listening intently for 40+ years, still I'm finding nuggets in there. Musicianship at its finest! And yes, drummer Purdie drives this song, pulling in the ride cymbal at the end for some more flavor.
Love your channel. Walter Becker, the guitarist, and Donald Fagen, the keys and vocalist, were the foundation of Steely Dan. Every album. I'm 54 and love this band! Walter Becker passed away not too long ago. One of my favorite guitarists in the jazz fusion genre. Phenomenal talent. They are musicians' musicians.
My favorite from this album. Steely Dan is one of the greatest bands of all times. When I was in my concert going heyday, they never toured because they felt that live concerts would diminish their studio recording. Too bad too, cuz I was in my 20s in the 80s and I swear that I saw "Everybody". Sometimes more than once. You do well to appreciate this. I think it was a guitar that made the whistling that you ask about. Walter Becker and Donald Fagan are the main players.
When I was younger, they had hi fi stereo department stores. Each one had a room with a leather chair in the middle where they had their top tier equipment set up to demonstrate the finest turntable, speakers, etc. And they always picked a great album to showcase the system. Almost without fail, the Aja album was what they played.
They wrote their songs but they let their session musicians work out their own details, such as chords. Yes they did use a lot of artists but they also used most of them over and over. They had regulars that appeared on most albums like Larry Carlton on guitar. He came up with most of those interesting chords. Donald Fagen played keyboards and sang lead vocals. Walter Becker played guitar and co-wrote with Fagen. They are the core of the band. Also they had many different musicians that played with them on the road. The guys in the studio usually didn't want to do the tour thing anymore thus were studio session players. Not all of those same people were available at the same time AND when they had time reserved at the studio, so they had a list of preferred players and got the best they could for each session. This is why some of them appear on some songs and not others. Time schedules would sometimes conflict. Yes, Fagan and Becker would have their songs written before going to NYC to record them but collaboration was still a thing and they didn't micro-manage their band.
This is my favorite song on what I think is a perfect album. Sure, there’s catchier rhythms and beats on it, but this track is just so sleek and sophisticated-even poetic: “She serves the smooth retsina/ She keeps me safe and warm/ It’s just the calm before the storm.” Beautiful ;)
We can ALL agree they Are Bad to the Bone... and there is No One...like the Dan~ And their music and talent has and will continue to stand the test of time...
The groove is the thing with this tune - you're right. When you watch the "Classic Albums" show where they go track-by-track... you'll get to see the interview with Bernard Purdie (the drummer) and he talks about using the "Purdie Shuffle" on this track. He breaks it down nicely. I guess now that you've done Aja and some of The Royal Scam - you know you're starting quite the journey.... and you're going to love it. I have heard all these songs probably a thousand time each and I never get sick of them and I still hear new things. You can't loose with The Dan.
That's Donald Fagen, the lead singer and co-writer with Walter Becker, playing synthesizer. "Home at Last" Donald Fagen - lead vocals, synthesizer, backing vocals Bernard Purdie - drums Chuck Rainey - bass guitar Larry Carlton - guitar Walter Becker - guitar solo Victor Feldman - piano, vibraphone Tim Schmit - backing vocals
The “consistent sound” you note throughout Aja, (and elsewhere), despite the use of different musicians, is one of Becker and Fagen’s genius talent; you might say they “play” their amazing songs on their primary “instrument”....*the recording studio*. And as Engineer Roger Nichols notes (in the Aja documentary), throughout all the musical chairs and arrangement choices, *they* could always hear in their heads what they wanted and how it was all gonna turn out...and only after it was done could Nichols hear it....”but *they* knew all along”. ruclips.net/video/SPy4AL_vTUk/видео.html
This is one of my three favorite songs on the album along with Aja and Deacon Blues. You guys do a great job I can tell you love music and understand it on more than an on the surface level .
I sure hope you guys go back and listen to the Steely Dan albums from the beginning, starting with " Can't Buy A Thrill". If you don't, you'll be missing out on a TON of incredible music! Keep up the good listening!
I think the lyrics and concept are fantastic, with a subtlety that rewards attention. It's a play on the story of Ulysses, who--in order to return home--had to sail past the Sirens, who sang so seductively that they lured men to jump overboard to die on the rocks. Ulysses wanted to hear them, so he had his crew plug their own ears and tie him to the mast--where he could listen but was unable to jump to his death. So our narrator speaks of living at sea/highway, and how you think you've heard this story before. But, unlike Ulysses, he doesn't yearn to return home, but decides that living on the road, "tied to the mast" Is the life for him Safe from the Sirens who lure him to stay--after all, their appeal is just the calm before the storm.
I prefer this song to Josie, also a great song. Donald Fagen's vocals are seriously under appreciated. The Aja album is great. Royal Scam is very different, yet, also great. The same can be said for the Gaucho album. You'll get to that later, I'm sure. I'm particularly interested in seeing you react to the rest of Royal Scam. Donald Fagen and Walter Becker are the core members of Steely Dan. Great reaction guys.
I was in college when this was released. We were so proud about it. Steely Dan was already well known, well respected and known as "good taste" music. All the college hipsters dug it. Then this came out. Just unbelievable. They took it to another level when we thought there was no place left to go. They left the planet.
This song highlights all the outstanding aspects of SD musicianship. The lyrics are top notch too! Thanks for reacting to my favourite song from AJA. All the best!
I've known and talked to the drummer, Bernard Purdie. He's a pleasant person to talk to and one of the greatest drummer ever. Many drummers tried to imitate his shuffle, but his is unique. This album Is one of my favourite of all time, but pethaps I prefer to it the incredible and perfect The Royal Scam!
We’ve just started reacting to the Royal scam. We are going to do the whole album just like we did with Aja. We did Kid Charlemagne to start. Check it out.
My favorite on the album. Bernard purdie and the purdie shuffle is just driving.. great groove. Glad you included this. You should check out Weather report. Maybe "elegant people"
I had Aja on vinyl, played through an awesome sound system (thank goodness!), immediately after its release. A Marantz system with tri-axial stereo speakers - 15 in. woofers - BIG cabinets and superb sound. I would sit in the triangulated position and just absorb and learn.
Your Steely Dan reactions make my day; thanks guys. There’s one group happening today whose music is a lot more pop than SD but they are some MONSTER musicians: Dirty Loops. The funkiest, baddest musicians on the planet. I believe they’re under Quincy Jones’ wing. There’s nobody else like them. I’d recommend starting with “Next To You” or “Follow The Light” (Cory Wong and Dirty Loops). Trust this musician, you will be in awe.
Steely Dan does not let up, from Can't Buy A Thrill till Gaucho hey just don't let up, from the first Track on any Album till the Last Track, they just grab you by the throat and NEVER let go till the end Note of the Last Track!
Hey guys. I have so many great memories of this song! Sang it many times in cover bands and let me tell you it was not an easy song to sing. Keep on reacting to all this great music. Peace.
That weird solo sound is a synthesizer (electronic keyboard) played with a breath controller. You play the notes on the keyboard while blowing through a mouthpiece, and you can shape the notes and make them louder or softer by how hard you blow, like a horn or a harmonica. A similar setup is used to play tue opening keyboard hook of "You Are" by Lionel Richie. When I was a kid, I saw him and his band play that song on SNL back in the day, and when that keyboard line came in and I saw the keyboard player blowing through a mouthpiece with a cord hanging off it, it blew my little mind.
Oh this song.. When I first discovered it, I had it on all my playlists for a year straight. The drummer on the track is absolutely iconic, the legendary Bernard "Pretty" Purdie with his signature Purdie Shuffle. There's a fantastic video on YT where he "splains" his creation, you'll see what that is supposed to mean :) I gotta say, I love your guys' chemistry, clearly you've been listening to music together for years and it shows in a positive way. Here's the link to the Legendary Purdie Shuffle ruclips.net/video/T1j1_aeK6WA/видео.html
This is real music not this auto tuned , sampled crap that's passing for pop music these days. Aja is simply the gold standard for sound and engineering perfection
Ok guys if you like the vocalist, Donald Fagan has at least 4 solo albums. After you're done with the 'Dan albums you should check his out. As impressive as the band. And thank you for letting me rehearing this bass line. Damn they could write and produce. Welcome to the 'Danaverse!
Listen to the Hoops McCann Band soon as you are looking for the instrumental versions of so many of these great tunes! You will not be disappointed. Thanks for the great reactions to SD!
Walter Becker guitarist RIP and Donald Fagin lyrics, started the band and we're perfectionist, were totally a studio band and hired the best studio players in the business to record with, I believe they thought they could not duplicate that unmatched sound they had live maybe because they really we're perfectionist so they never toured. I'm from Philly and saw them live at Camden yards across the river and they were perfect.I mean they had Michael McDonald from the Doobie brothers there to sing rather small back up parts, and McDonald was a HUGE star in his own right, it shows the respect that these guys got.They are your favorite bands favorite band. Mark Cherry 🍒
Bernard 'Pretty' Purdie on drums, same guy who plays on 'Deacon Blues'. This beat here is his famous groove known as 'The Purdie Shuffle'. You'll also hear Bernard playing this same Funky, Laid Back, Half Time groove on Steely Dan's classic 'Babylon Sisters', from their 1980 release 'Gaucho'. 5:15 -I say it's a synthesiser keyboard doing a harmonica type sound, `a la Steve Wonder in 'Isn''t She Lovely'. PS: you guys will enjoy 'The Royal Scam' too, a very funky, big bass and drums sounds record.
@@TheDivayenta Could be, live on stage I believe Donald does indeed play the melodica, not so sure he did it here for the studio version. Gotta check the liner notes on the albums...
I'm pretty sure Donald Fagen is playing the melodica. A small portable keyboard you blow into. I've seen them live and I never knew that existed. Thanks for this stuff. Check out Countdown to Ecstacy (2nd album). Sooo underrated and incredibly eclectic.
That sound that you guys were trying to figure out was an attachment to a keyboard that was played by blowing air through it with the mouth, much like playing a harmonica. Stevie Wonder made this tool very popular in the mid-1970s. I can't remember what's it's called.
The BASS BABY!! Listen to that thump!!
Bernard Purdie is a master. The "Purdie Shuffle" on full display here. Such an influential musician- this beat alone had such an impact on so many drummers. John Bonham and Jeff Porcaro to name a few
This is my favorite song on Aja. Totally underrated.
I totally agree! ❤
Could not agree more. Flawless fusion, in the best sense of the word.
@@anavasquez8950
Me tooooo
I always thought that as well
For my ears, it’s the best thing ever recorded.
What I personally like about you two cats is your appreciation for fine and tasteful music and that's exactly what you get with Steely Dan.
Thank You!!
I am 66. I am going to buy the Aja. T-shirt and tell everyone this is the best band ever.
Many people believe that this is musically perfect song🔥✌🤘
Many people might be right.
I so agree. I've probably listened to Home at Last a few thousand times since 1977.
Home at Last is gorgeous. This duo were so before their time !!!!! Once I found them, it was all I could listen to !!!! My FAVORITE ALBUM ….😘
Don’t pay too much attention to the casual SD fans who know a set number of songs. The dedicated fans know that there is NO FILLER. And this song is the proof - somehow there weren’t many requests for it, and yet the quality is there (again), like it always is.
Steely Dan brings me so muxh joy, it brings tears to my eyes to see others enjoy it with me.
Steely Dan soothes my soul!
Great song. Shout out to the drummer, the one, the only Bernard "Pretty" Purdie. He has played with a lot of legendary acts. His "Purdie Shuffle" (as he calls it) is unique to his style. Many copied him. As far as the music itself, Larry Carlton said, we would get to the studio and would be given the sheet notes and he said they were written by Donald. You guys are just scratching the surface with this incredible duo. Enjoying this...
John Bonham’s drum pattern in Fool in the Rain was influenced by Bernard Purdy’s shuffle
Bernard is my hero, what a great drummer.
RIP Bernard "The Hit Maker" Purdie
I believe that Mr Purdie is still with us, thankfully.
@@mikewoodrow5878 Jeff Porcaro based his drum part on Rosanna as his version of the Purdy Shuffle
It's a melodica. Fagen plays it. Basically a keyboard flute. Handheld keyboard that you blow into. Many times Fagen switches between that and the strapon keyboard during the same songs.
that groove is relentless
Such a great Bernard Purdie drum track! The whole tune is so smooth with great jazz/funk elements throughout. Great reaction guys. I'm really enjoying seeing your interactions with this great music, and your appreciation for it. Keep up the great work !
bernard Purdie was the perfect drummer for this track.. He has such great "pop on his toms and his "shuffle" fits nicely with this groove. It sounds like Walter Becker on guitar.. so smooth!
"She serve me smooth retsina, she keep me safe and warm, it's just the calm before the storm" has gotta be one of the best lines in music. Only SD.
Ah, Penelope!
Odysseus and the sirens.
College memories.
When the horns come you automatically know this is a beautiful piece of heaven
The Brecker Brothers!
I had just returned from part of my travels , 78-79 , 64 years old now & still enjoying this staple of music 🎶🎵
Absolutely love Home at last. Grooving Bass. Thank you Guys for excellent reaction!
The different sounding instrument is a melodica. It's a wind instrument with a keyboard. Donald Fagan (the vocalist) plays it. Also the band name is from a novel from the beat generation called Naked Lunch. I've never read it but apparently a character in the novel, a woman, owns a dildo she calls "steely dan". It was kind of an underground novel so Don and Walter thought it would be kind of their private joke when they named the band Steely Dan. However people figured it out pretty quickly. It's kind of typical of their style, their lyrics are usually cryptically sly, sarcastic, and offered with a nod and a wink.
Ross -I'm a fellow SD appreciator. The instrument they remarked about in "Home at Last" is an "electronic wind instrument" or Lyricon by name. Donald sometimes plays a Hohner Melodica on stage currently, but Melodicas weren't used in their recordings back in the 70's and 80's. In "Home at last" the soloing instrument demonstrates pitch-bending. This is one of the tell-tale signs of an electronic wind instrument (something like an electronic clarinet) where the pitch or tone can go sharp or flat (bend) depending on the amount of breath going into the device. I own two Melodicas and can assure you that they only play louder or softer depending on how much air pressure goes in. Pitch stays the same. Happy listening.
I actually have read Naked Lunch. To say that it is "out there" is an understatement. And Steely Dan was actually a series of dildos: Steely Dan I, Steely Dan II, Steely Dan III, etc., that the owner wore out and replaced. 😁
@@roundtownKenthank you for the correction that is clearly not a melodica. Although I can swear to you that I saw Jacob collier bend a note on a melodica in a solo on stage with snarky puppy 🤯 EWIs really are incredible though
The metaphors are all from the Greek epic of Ulysses coming home to Penelope and his people.
Do the story on this one- and you’ll get to know the drumming genius that is Bernard Purdie who does his famous “ Purdie shuffle” on this. That’s the FUNK you are picking up on!
That ending instrument is Don Fagen on the Yamaha P37D Melodica. You blow into it but it has a little keyboard. I’ve seen him play it in concert.
If you have the original vinyl the liner notes on the left side were a faux review written by Becker under the name Michael Phalen, and he makes reference to what you just said, something to the effect "who would have thought at this late date Homer's immortal tale so thoroughly explored by James and elucidate new insights from it". That sentence is not word for word just the best I can recall.
@@stevemd6488great minds! 😂
Aja is an album that keeps growing on you. Honestly. I've been listening intently for 40+ years, still I'm finding nuggets in there. Musicianship at its finest! And yes, drummer Purdie drives this song, pulling in the ride cymbal at the end for some more flavor.
This song is the most underrated on this album and I have no idea why. Honestly there isn’t a bad song in this whole album.
I Got The News is pretty cheesy though......
@@joeherz735 yeah I agree, that’s my least favorite. So yeah all of them are good but that one I skip lol
Then it's settled👍🏻
@@joeherz735agreed. I never want to finish it. Rest of disc? 70s Perfection.
This underdog has aged like the best red wine.
It's official. Aja is a perfect record. We all just skip 1 track.
It's a Melodica. You plow into it like a horn or a recorder, and you play the notes on a little keyboard, like a sax but with keys
So good, I had to listen twice.
Love your channel. Walter Becker, the guitarist, and Donald Fagen, the keys and vocalist, were the foundation of Steely Dan. Every album. I'm 54 and love this band! Walter Becker passed away not too long ago. One of my favorite guitarists in the jazz fusion genre. Phenomenal talent. They are musicians' musicians.
One of my favorite Guitarist .
100% seen them in England a few times top top music 🎵
One word...... Elite.
Steely Dan just doesn't miss.
I'm subbed
I love the groove on this one
Bernard Purdy on the drums with a monumental track
this is one SOLID JAM
Steely Dan! Keep it going!
My favorite from this album. Steely Dan is one of the greatest bands of all times. When I was in my concert going heyday, they never toured because they felt that live concerts would diminish their studio recording. Too bad too, cuz I was in my 20s in the 80s and I swear that I saw "Everybody". Sometimes more than once. You do well to appreciate this. I think it was a guitar that made the whistling that you ask about. Walter Becker and Donald Fagan are the main players.
You have officially entered, the Purdie Shuffle.💯🥁♥
7 songs made in 1977, cost?.................
11 MILLION DOLLARS, 22 different musicians, one of the finest albums ever made
This could almost sound like an American Express commercial. Just make the last line, "the results? Priceless".
When I was younger, they had hi fi stereo department stores. Each one had a room with a leather chair in the middle where they had their top tier equipment set up to demonstrate the finest turntable, speakers, etc. And they always picked a great album to showcase the system. Almost without fail, the Aja album was what they played.
They wrote their songs but they let their session musicians work out their own details, such as chords. Yes they did use a lot of artists but they also used most of them over and over. They had regulars that appeared on most albums like Larry Carlton on guitar. He came up with most of those interesting chords.
Donald Fagen played keyboards and sang lead vocals. Walter Becker played guitar and co-wrote with Fagen. They are the core of the band. Also they had many different musicians that played with them on the road. The guys in the studio usually didn't want to do the tour thing anymore thus were studio session players. Not all of those same people were available at the same time AND when they had time reserved at the studio, so they had a list of preferred players and got the best they could for each session. This is why some of them appear on some songs and not others. Time schedules would sometimes conflict.
Yes, Fagan and Becker would have their songs written before going to NYC to record them but collaboration was still a thing and they didn't micro-manage their band.
FM 🔝🔝🔝🔝🔝🔝
God I love this song.
This is my favorite song on what I think is a perfect album. Sure, there’s catchier rhythms and beats on it, but this track is just so sleek and sophisticated-even poetic:
“She serves the smooth retsina/ She keeps me safe and warm/ It’s just the calm before the storm.”
Beautiful ;)
The legendary Bernard Purdie on drums, featuring the Purdie Shuffle Groove.
We can ALL agree they Are Bad to the Bone... and there is No One...like the Dan~ And their music and talent has and will continue to stand the test of time...
The groove is the thing with this tune - you're right. When you watch the "Classic Albums" show where they go track-by-track... you'll get to see the interview with Bernard Purdie (the drummer) and he talks about using the "Purdie Shuffle" on this track. He breaks it down nicely. I guess now that you've done Aja and some of The Royal Scam - you know you're starting quite the journey.... and you're going to love it. I have heard all these songs probably a thousand time each and I never get sick of them and I still hear new things. You can't loose with The Dan.
Yes, driving, window down singing our hearts out and enjoying the trip! Also of course later on the couch with a drink or 2, etc
God DAMN that Purdy shuffle!
I pre-ordered this album on UHQR vinyl from Analogue Productions for $150.00, can’t wait to hear this song on it😎👌
The cymbal bell in the last section gets me every time. Something about it just sets that groove so nicely. It's harsh and direct and funky.
That's Donald Fagen, the lead singer and co-writer with Walter Becker, playing synthesizer.
"Home at Last"
Donald Fagen - lead vocals, synthesizer, backing vocals
Bernard Purdie - drums
Chuck Rainey - bass guitar
Larry Carlton - guitar
Walter Becker - guitar solo
Victor Feldman - piano, vibraphone
Tim Schmit - backing vocals
Undeniable pulse .
"Got it" in layers .
Mr Purdie holds this all together and the horns are off the charts coupled with some great guitar work.
The “consistent sound” you note throughout Aja, (and elsewhere), despite the use of different musicians, is one of Becker and Fagen’s genius talent; you might say they “play” their amazing songs on their primary “instrument”....*the recording studio*. And as Engineer Roger Nichols notes (in the Aja documentary), throughout all the musical chairs and arrangement choices, *they* could always hear in their heads what they wanted and how it was all gonna turn out...and only after it was done could Nichols hear it....”but *they* knew all along”.
ruclips.net/video/SPy4AL_vTUk/видео.html
This is one of my three favorite songs on the album along with Aja and Deacon Blues. You guys do a great job I can tell you love music and understand it on more than an on the surface level .
Thank you so much. My 3 favs on this album are peg, deacon blues and probably Aja.
I sure hope you guys go back and listen to the Steely Dan albums from the beginning, starting with " Can't Buy A Thrill". If you don't, you'll be missing out on a TON of incredible music! Keep up the good listening!
I think the lyrics and concept are fantastic, with a subtlety that rewards attention.
It's a play on the story of Ulysses, who--in order to return home--had to sail past the Sirens, who sang so seductively that they lured men to jump overboard to die on the rocks. Ulysses wanted to hear them, so he had his crew plug their own ears and tie him to the mast--where he could listen but was unable to jump to his death.
So our narrator speaks of living at sea/highway, and how you think you've heard this story before. But, unlike Ulysses, he doesn't yearn to return home, but decides that living on the road, "tied to the mast" Is the life for him Safe from the Sirens who lure him to stay--after all, their appeal is just the calm before the storm.
Beautiful!!!❤
@@TheDivayentaThank you! That means more to me than you know. ❤
You have finally gotten to the best track on the best album ever in my humble opinion 👊
👊🏿
A longtime favourite. And dig Purdy's masterful drumming.
Glad you’re on the Steely Dan trip, their compositions are truly genius !
I prefer this song to Josie, also a great song. Donald Fagen's vocals are seriously under appreciated. The Aja album is great. Royal Scam is very different, yet, also great. The same can be said for the Gaucho album. You'll get to that later, I'm sure. I'm particularly interested in seeing you react to the rest of Royal Scam. Donald Fagen and Walter Becker are the core members of Steely Dan. Great reaction guys.
I've always felt Josie is the weakest track on Aja.
Chuck Rainey (I think) provides a definite reggae feel with the bass line. One of my fave bands ever. So glad you guys are enjoying these tracks!
I thought then and still think this is their greatest song. Perfection.
I think that instrument is one of those little keyboards that you blow into. I forget what its called.
best dan song
This is simply magic and nerve-tingling every time - another favourite from this album. Yeah, the Greek epic, 'I remain tied to the mast'.
My favorite SD song! The funk is undeniable .
I was in college when this was released. We were so proud about it. Steely Dan was already well known, well respected and known as "good taste" music. All the college hipsters dug it. Then this came out. Just unbelievable. They took it to another level when we thought there was no place left to go. They left the planet.
This song highlights all the outstanding aspects of SD musicianship. The lyrics are top notch too! Thanks for reacting to my favourite song from AJA. All the best!
"Purdie Shuffle" is "turned up to 11" on this cut.
Love this song!
I've known and talked to the drummer, Bernard Purdie. He's a pleasant person to talk to and one of the greatest drummer ever. Many drummers tried to imitate his shuffle, but his is unique. This album Is one of my favourite of all time, but pethaps I prefer to it the incredible and perfect The Royal Scam!
We’ve just started reacting to the Royal scam. We are going to do the whole album just like we did with Aja. We did Kid Charlemagne to start. Check it out.
My favorite on the album. Bernard purdie and the purdie shuffle is just driving.. great groove. Glad you included this. You should check out Weather report. Maybe "elegant people"
I had Aja on vinyl, played through an awesome sound system (thank goodness!), immediately after its release.
A Marantz system with tri-axial stereo speakers - 15 in. woofers - BIG cabinets and superb sound. I would sit in the triangulated position and just absorb and learn.
...love that "Purdy Shuffle" on the skins.....SD still stands up after 50 yrs....I think that was a "melodian" a short keyboard that is blown into....
That is the famous “Purdie Shuffle” by The hit master Bernard Purdie
Your Steely Dan reactions make my day; thanks guys. There’s one group happening today whose music is a lot more pop than SD but they are some MONSTER musicians: Dirty Loops. The funkiest, baddest musicians on the planet. I believe they’re under Quincy Jones’ wing. There’s nobody else like them. I’d recommend starting with “Next To You” or “Follow The Light” (Cory Wong and Dirty Loops). Trust this musician, you will be in awe.
Steely Dan does not let up, from Can't Buy A Thrill till Gaucho hey just don't let up, from the first Track on any Album till the Last Track, they just grab you by the throat and NEVER let go till the end Note of the Last Track!
I want this played in my honour when I die because I will be Home At Last.
Me too
this is by far SDs greatest song imo just KILLS it 🤯😁
Hey guys. I have so many great memories of this song! Sang it many times in cover bands and let me tell you it was not an easy song to sing. Keep on reacting to all this great music. Peace.
Thanks for watching!!
You were talking about that incredible-sounding harmonica, Guys.
my favorite from the album, followed by I GOT THE NEWS.
Again! Steely Dan is your favorite bands favorite band 🔥✌🤘
🥰 a little 🥁 "Purdie Shuffle" going on there! ☺️🐰
That weird solo sound is a synthesizer (electronic keyboard) played with a breath controller. You play the notes on the keyboard while blowing through a mouthpiece, and you can shape the notes and make them louder or softer by how hard you blow, like a horn or a harmonica. A similar setup is used to play tue opening keyboard hook of "You Are" by Lionel Richie. When I was a kid, I saw him and his band play that song on SNL back in the day, and when that keyboard line came in and I saw the keyboard player blowing through a mouthpiece with a cord hanging off it, it blew my little mind.
So glad yall enjoyed Steely Dan so much :)
It’s such fun music to listen to, I hope your videos have exposed even more people to their music
Oh this song.. When I first discovered it, I had it on all my playlists for a year straight. The drummer on the track is absolutely iconic, the legendary Bernard "Pretty" Purdie with his signature Purdie Shuffle. There's a fantastic video on YT where he "splains" his creation, you'll see what that is supposed to mean :) I gotta say, I love your guys' chemistry, clearly you've been listening to music together for years and it shows in a positive way. Here's the link to the Legendary Purdie Shuffle ruclips.net/video/T1j1_aeK6WA/видео.html
I believe the first solo is a vibraphone, played by pianist Vic Feldman.
This is real music not this auto tuned , sampled crap that's passing for pop music these days. Aja is simply the gold standard for sound and engineering perfection
Excellent observations Gentleman 😊
Ok guys if you like the vocalist, Donald Fagan has at least 4 solo albums. After you're done with the 'Dan albums you should check his out. As impressive as the band. And thank you for letting me rehearing this bass line. Damn they could write and produce. Welcome to the 'Danaverse!
Brings me back to driving the jeep up hwy1 n 🌊
My second favorite song by Steely Dan.
Listen to the Hoops McCann Band soon as you are looking for the instrumental versions of so many of these great tunes! You will not be disappointed. Thanks for the great reactions to SD!
Walter Becker guitarist RIP and Donald Fagin lyrics, started the band and we're perfectionist, were totally a studio band and hired the best studio players in the business to record with, I believe they thought they could not duplicate that unmatched sound they had live maybe because they really we're perfectionist so they never toured. I'm from Philly and saw them live at Camden yards across the river and they were perfect.I mean they had Michael McDonald from the Doobie brothers there to sing rather small back up parts, and McDonald was a HUGE star in his own right, it shows the respect that these guys got.They are your favorite bands favorite band. Mark Cherry 🍒
Bernard 'Pretty' Purdie on drums, same guy who plays on 'Deacon Blues'. This beat here is his famous groove known as 'The Purdie Shuffle'. You'll also hear Bernard playing this same Funky, Laid Back, Half Time groove on Steely Dan's classic 'Babylon Sisters', from their 1980 release 'Gaucho'. 5:15 -I say it's a synthesiser keyboard doing a harmonica type sound, `a la Steve Wonder in 'Isn''t She Lovely'. PS: you guys will enjoy 'The Royal Scam' too, a very funky, big bass and drums sounds record.
I think he’s playing a Melodica on this one.
@@TheDivayenta Could be, live on stage I believe Donald does indeed play the melodica, not so sure he did it here for the studio version. Gotta check the liner notes on the albums...
I'm pretty sure Donald Fagen is playing the melodica. A small portable keyboard you blow into. I've seen them live and I never knew that existed.
Thanks for this stuff. Check out Countdown to Ecstacy (2nd album). Sooo underrated and incredibly eclectic.
Jon Batiste is famous for playing the F out of the melodica as well
My favorite song on Aja and definitely one of my top 5 favorite SD songs. Which is saying a lot.
Song about their desire to back home NYC, also a reference to Homer’s Odyssey as a reference to Ulysses tied to the mast!
That sound that you guys were trying to figure out was an attachment to a keyboard that was played by blowing air through it with the mouth, much like playing a harmonica. Stevie Wonder made this tool very popular in the mid-1970s. I can't remember what's it's called.
Definitely gave me stevie vibes.
Melodica
Jon Batiste is a master of the melodica these days
That was Donald Fagen on the synthesizer. Love this song!
How can you leave this one out? Thank you guys! Fine music alright
San Antonio , Texas 🌞😉😀
pure pure musicianship... next eras they will be even better !!