My husband turned me on to Steely Dan years ago. He was a professional drummer, percussionist and percussion teacher and he lived for music. Jim used to sing and play the drums on this tune in a club house band, where we first met. I lost him in 2021 after 38 years together. This song brings back so many sweet memories. Thanks for reacting to it.
📻 I feel so old knowing that FM radio only came into true being when I was a young teen. Before, we listened to all the hits of the day (mid 60's to very early 70's) on AM on our 9V transistor radios and car radios, full of static and Mono sound. FM changed Everything!!! And in Stereo! 🎛🎧
I remember being a kid and riding in the back seat while my parents listened to FM on the radio at night. Those are my memories of this, Pink Floyd, Alan Parsons Project, and all that smooth silky AOR sound, Born in 1970 so I don't remmber the change but I do remember the difference being clear between the car radio and the little kitchen transistor!
"no static at all" had two meanings: first, that FM radio disnt have as much audio interference as AM radio. But it was also an idiomatic expression of the time: "no static at all" means everything is going well, everything is smooth, "copacetic", eveything is just exactly as you want it to be.
“FM” was indeed recorded during the sessions for Aja. But it was written specifically for the movie, so it was never intended to be included on the finished Aja album. There’s a fan mix available on RUclips that adds the alternate fade out with Walter Becker’s epic guitar work, seamlessly followed by the sax fade out you heard here. 🙂🎼
Edited:Walter Becker's guitar solo outro is on Side A. Peter Christlieb sax solo outro (or Reprise) is on Side B. FM was released as a single in 1978. Roger (not Mike) Nichols who did the engineering won a Grammy for both FM and FM Reprise the following year in 1979.
The tv show WKRP in Cincinnati, which debuted in the fall of 1978, was reportedly inspired by the 1978 movie FM, also about a radio station. Apparently the show’s creator had WKRP in development and was afraid the movie would eclipse the tv show; however, the movie wasn’t a huge success at the time.
I've heard the WB outro now and definitely love that version best. You get all that juicy sax earlier and some pretty smooth guitar from Walter to close it out. He was such a classy player. Never showy. Not afraid to leave space. Took his time picking just the right notes.
i am 65 and have listened to them since 1973,,they have created an overall body of work equal to anyone[any genre} this is my favorite by them though,even over peg,josie,glamour profession,hey nineteen...no static at all
I was born in the 50s, so baby boomers , and generations before us have witnessed so many life innovations. The two that stick out to me is tv, and radio. We watched shows through snow, then came cable! We listen to music through static, then came another choice other than am, FM! The quality on both were mind blowing!!!
Somewhere on RUclips there is a version that splices together the sax solo and the guitar solo so you can hear them both .... On a song never you never want to end
No static at all! From the radio or the girls! Great jam! Steely Dan, baby! You knew you'd love it before you heard it, right? Keep doing your thing gents.
On the 50th anniversary of the installation of the FM antenna atop the Empire State Building.... a drone was flown around it late at night....& this song was blasted. Red, white & blue lights were synched up to to the music. The video's on RUclips.
Thru the 6-'s and early 70's, AM radio was about all you got. Check out some of them vintage cars back then, if still stock antiques, and the radio only had an AM dial. Then, at mostly college towns, the local FM radio format started, not playing pop, but deep cuts and underground music (that appealed to college aged). FM radio was born, and this song captured the mood, feel, awakening, happening perfectly! No static STEREO music!
I the 50s and most of the 60s AM radio was dominate, The high watts sent radio waves over numerous states. A person in Louisiana could listen to a Chicago or Cleveland station..and a majority of those songs were 3 minutes long.. FM became popular in early 70's , shorter radio waves less power, very local..drive 2 counties away the signal went. However, local DJ"s didn't have to confirm to mainstream , 3 minute, music's. THEY started to play 7 minute , unedited songs..THE WHO, DOORS,, STONES, ZEPPELIN...ETC. and , there was No static at all!! 😂
There is another version of this by them, that has an incredible guitar solo at the end instead of the sax. The guitar solo is by Walter Becker, and is brilliant and soulful.. You should give that a go.
Pete Christlieb’s sax solo is to die for. For sure you should listen to the alternate take with Walter’s phenomenal guitar outro. I always thought of FM as the lost Aja track, just as you said. A banger from SD. Great job guys! 🔥
It is the only time that Becker (bass and guitar) and Fagen (piano) handled most of a song's instrumental work themselves. Engineer Roger Nichols won that year's Grammy Award for Best Engineered Recording, Non-Classical for his work on "FM." They were accompanied by musicians who had played with the band on their Aja sessions. Jeff Porcaro, who had then also recently helped form Toto, plays the drums. Jazz musician Pete Christlieb, who also features on the band's previous single, "Deacon Blues", plays the tenor saxophone solo. Timothy B. Schmit, who had recently left Poco, was joined by his new bandmates in the Eagles, Glenn Frey and Don Henley, in singing backing vocals. "Johnny Mandel came in and did the string chart," Fagen recalled to American Songwriter. "It was fun to meet [him]." Roger Nichols, who had been the engineer for the Aja sessions, did the same for "FM", with help from Al Schmitt.
This is why the 1970’s produced so much great music that still holds even now in the 21st century.So many great artists....many are gone now,but their music remains.
One of my favs. Loving your channel, playing all the music I grew up with. In my opinion some of the greatist music ever came out of these years. Great reaction guys
so glad you got to this. Steely Dan is just the greatest band of their kind. Thier music is comforting, strange, soothing, familiar and different all at the same time. Their earlier take on this particular influence of music is from the Katy Lied album called "Daddy Don't Live In That New York City No More". Like I said, if you like FM, you've got to check out the funk of DDLITNYCNM. It's also guitarist Larry Carlton's fisrt apearance on a Steely Dan album(Kid Charlemange/Don't Take Me Alive). Check it.
Daddy a great tune, reminded me of the Temptations Papa Was a Rolling Stone, maybe purposely? I saw Becker sing lead on that in a SD tour circa 2012-15, a very funky version.
Steely Dan =Musical Perfection!!!!! I could literally name 25 songs that are all top notch; Steely Dan is my stuck on a deserted island and can only listen to one duo/group/artist; they would be it.
Walter Becker played both the lead guitar parts and the bass line on this one. Some of his best work. Pete Christlieb on sax and the incomparable Jeff Porcaro on drums.
I like watching SD reaction videos in general, because the music is so good and when the reactors know what they're hearing it's super fun to watch. I especially love watching you guys because you so clearly get it. I have been a Dan fan since Aja came out when I was 15. The band instantly became a family favorite (my late father was a musician - so I knew if he was digging it we were on the right track). The music sounds just as fresh 45 years later. The journey you guys are on is great. In retrospect, you might have wished you started from the beginning - but you're doing it the same way I did - starting with Aja. There are zero duds anywhere in the catalog - I promise. As you work your way forward from Can't Buy A Thrill, you might consider going back through Royal Scam and Aja - that way you'll hear the thread that connects it all. Then you'll jump off to Gaucho - which is a masterpiece - but maybe not everyone's favorite. (you find most Dan fan have 1-2 records which are their favorites (I like the Aja / Gaucho pairing) - but there's something for everyone. And don't stop at Gaucho - do the later records as well - plus Fagen's solo work (which is brilliant) - and you'll be amazed at the evolution of the sound. Have fun (I now you are!).
@@AirplayBeats I'm not entirely certain, but I think this version was included on their Decade of Steely Dan release. I'm not even sure how there came to be two versions, perhaps something to do with it being for a soundtrack. It's something that I didn't even catch on to until years later.
@@AirplayBeats I may even have the two versions mixed up, hearing this on (no pun intended) the radio most of my life, the ending was often masked over by the next song or commercial. It looks like some of the commenters have gotten it right though. You've got some great subscribers here that know their stuff.
FM was done shortly after the Aja sessions. Don Henley, Glenn Fry and Tim Schmidt from the Eagles doing background vocals. Pete Christlieb (Deacon Blues) on tenor sax.
Everything is so perfect with them not just sonically but every note every bar is like exactly how you would want it to go if you had a lifetime to listen to it
I could be wrong, but I think that’s a real string section on there, too, not just synth strings. It was certainly the time when pop albums would bring in 12 or 24 string players, to boost the sound of their albums. String players and flute players were in such demand on pop albums in the 70’s that they would have several gigs lined up in one day, and have a car waiting for them at the studio door, so they could just go from studio to studio recording their parts. Those were good days for gigging musicians!
@@danielmccann8325 Well done him, that's for sure! I'll have to check out his other orchestrations and compositions. It gives the song such a classy, hollywood, sheen. I love it.
I could be wrong about this, but “FM” might well be the only Steely Dan track that does feature a traditional string section. And what an arrangement it is! Worthy of Thom Bell’s Philly International sound, or Barry White’s Love Unlimited Orchestra. ❤
@@danielmccann8325 I just went Googling SD songs with strings just for kicks before I saw your response. Listening to Through With Buzz right now. I've certainly heard it before, but I didn't recognize it from the title. It's no surprise to me that I love it too! What a crazy chord progression in the first bar: C, G/B Ab7! Brilliant ear candy surprise that even early on they were pretty genius at, and keeps me listening over and over.
They famously took a long time to write songs but supposedly when they were asked to write this song for the eponymous movie they had it done in a few days. Agree with Becker's outro being cooler than the sax one. Also you're right about the bass line, basic blues shuffle, Chuck Berry used it a lot, and SD used it on several songs as well.
The video montage of 70's album covers -- I had just about every one of the albums shown. I ain't braggin' or nuthin ... ok -- I am . I had quite the collection back in my teen years. What memories. What sound. What talent.
@@AirplayBeats I agree wholeheartedly. Every album is a gem and worth listening to many times. All of the artists are musical genius'.. You've started well with Allman Brothers, Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and Steely Dan. Joni Mitchell, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young (super group, each a great solo artist) Van Morrison's album "Astral Weeks" is a great jazzy sleeper. Bob Dylan, The Beatles (all of their last five albums), Santana, War, Rolling Stones; "Sticky Fingers" album, Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours"...those were the one's I remember seeing at the end there. And you're still working your way through Zep and SD...so much more to go. 🙂
Reminds me of a time my friend and I we’re putting a system in my car. Cranking this tune in his garage. His old man came out and I thought we were in trouble He said “y’all listen to Steely Dan!” “Turn that shit up!!”
YES. The Quintessential Steely Dan song. I know you're going to love it! The guitar outtro is the Original. The sax solo cam much later on one of the greatest hits. Not Decade.
Another song was released in the movie. Life's Been Good. The whole soundtrack is great. AM had static sometimes. With FM, you either received or not. In stereo.
That bass line was played by Walter Becker is unique to FM did not exist before- no where else. I play bass. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FM_(No_Static_at_All)
What's gentlemen, Imagine not knowing how to speak English, and hearing this for the first time, and loving the music, many years later, understanding English, and putting the music with the lyrics. 😆😆🤩🤩
Steely Dan often referenced a part from a song that they were influenced or inspired by, like the intro on Rickie Don’t Lose That Number starts with a bass line almost identical to jazz legend Horace Silver’s classic hit, Song for My Father. The the bass intro to this one is very much like PapaWas A Rollin Stone by The Temptations. During the grooves of the song the bass was similar to the Blondie hit that as sort of a goofy nod to the rap craze called Rapture, with Debbie Harry on lead vocal & silly rap bars.
ok You had me when I saw your Os hat! I was going down the “song reactions” rabbit hole on Steely Dan. This group has been around for over 50 years, as you probably know. Without knowing your background, I can tell you’re pretty well versed on their discography and how they cross all musical genres. Glad to hear that you appreciated this one. Now, tell this Baltimore lady if you are an Orioles fan or just like the hat!
Bass line is very similar to "Josie." Also, you must listen to the other versions of this song as the guitar version sounds much like David Gilmour (it's not).
@@kirkhassett8726 I’ve often heard the Gilmour/Becker connection. First IMO is basic instrument *tone* (subtracting out PF’s echos etc). They also share appreciation of white space and sparseness, and both often employ a unique and very rhythmic, spiked attack ...sprinkled with non-cliched high-note bends....etc.
I do remember a time before the clarity of FM radio was a thing. Steely Dan always my favorite and apparently you guys love them also! Y'all keep on Rocking!
One of my favorites. There are several versions of this out there. This one, with the "un-huh" at 4:27, was the one I grew up knowing. Now when I hear a version that seems identical but is missing "uh-huh", I feel cheated. Haha!
Ya know I use to DJ in the 80s and collected albums all through the 70s 80s 90s and still have all the music you guys react to setting in my closet and each album is like brand new....I use to play the song aja for dinner music...love these boys seen them multiple times in concert
Love the video paying homage to the great albums of the height of the FM era. I’ve heard 3 versions of FM, all interesting to be sure. Btw, one of the great live covers from the movie, was Linda Ronstadt doing “Tumbling Dice” by the Stones. A must for any rock fan. Keep em’ coming guys.🤘😎
Love this song. It reminds me of being a kid and we only had an FM radio in mom’s car. Dad’s truck only had AM and every time you went under a bridge the radio would lose the signal. Always when your favorite part would come on.
Back in the day, the static on AM radio was a real thing. When FM came along, it was a revelation how clear the fidelity was.
This was the Chuck Rainey days..Ernie Watts on sax from the Johnny Carson band
My husband turned me on to Steely Dan years ago. He was a professional drummer, percussionist and percussion teacher and he lived for music. Jim used to sing and play the drums on this tune in a club house band, where we first met. I lost him in 2021 after 38 years together. This song brings back so many sweet memories. Thanks for reacting to it.
Lord be with you and your family. ❤
Steely got the best sax solos ever. Great song and video. Thanks guys.
Pete Christlieb on tenor sax
The backing vocals were from Eagles members Don Henley,Glenn Frey and Timothy B.Schmidt
Wow, didn't know that. Learn something new everyday.
Timothy B. Schmit
📻 I feel so old knowing that FM radio only came into true being when I was a young teen. Before, we listened to all the hits of the day (mid 60's to very early 70's) on AM on our 9V transistor radios and car radios, full of static and Mono sound.
FM changed Everything!!! And in Stereo! 🎛🎧
Yup 👍🏻 same here... Very static-y 😂
Truth. AM was it till around 1975
I remember being a kid and riding in the back seat while my parents listened to FM on the radio at night. Those are my memories of this, Pink Floyd, Alan Parsons Project, and all that smooth silky AOR sound, Born in 1970 so I don't remmber the change but I do remember the difference being clear between the car radio and the little kitchen transistor!
SAX on this cut wickedly...FLAMIN HOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think that Pete Christlieb is on saxophone 😮❤
Slinky as hell!
"no static at all" had two meanings: first, that FM radio disnt have as much audio interference as AM radio. But it was also an idiomatic expression of the time: "no static at all" means everything is going well, everything is smooth, "copacetic", eveything is just exactly as you want it to be.
After the First Chorus, the guitar sounds a lot like Pink Floyd..just such genius
This is the soundtrack of my childhood growing up in Hollywood
The movie was so big that it was the inspiration for a TV SHOW WKRP in Cincinnati
This is what happens when you learn to work the saxophone
But please do not drink Scotch Whiskey all night long and die behind the wheel.
They gotta name for the winners in the world….
…and play just what you feel 😎
@@swinde Agreed. That will cut the sax playing career short quick
String arrangments mixed in was genius.
The great Johnny Mandel.
Yeah, FM radio back when it first came out with cool rock music was called 'underground'. Most people listened to am radio. Miss those days.
“FM” was indeed recorded during the sessions for Aja. But it was written specifically for the movie, so it was never intended to be included on the finished Aja album. There’s a fan mix available on RUclips that adds the alternate fade out with Walter Becker’s epic guitar work, seamlessly followed by the sax fade out you heard here. 🙂🎼
Feels and sounds like the Aja sessions, like an extra cut from that classic album which is cool
Edited:Walter Becker's guitar solo outro is on Side A. Peter Christlieb sax solo outro (or Reprise) is on Side B. FM was released as a single in 1978. Roger (not Mike) Nichols who did the engineering won a Grammy for both FM and FM Reprise the following year in 1979.
I think it was too similar to "Josie" for them to include it on the Aja album. Regardless, what a great song
The tv show WKRP in Cincinnati, which debuted in the fall of 1978, was reportedly inspired by the 1978 movie FM, also about a radio station. Apparently the show’s creator had WKRP in development and was afraid the movie would eclipse the tv show; however, the movie wasn’t a huge success at the time.
I've heard the WB outro now and definitely love that version best. You get all that juicy sax earlier and some pretty smooth guitar from Walter to close it out. He was such a classy player. Never showy. Not afraid to leave space. Took his time picking just the right notes.
i am 65 and have listened to them since 1973,,they have created an overall body of work equal to anyone[any genre} this is my favorite by them though,even over peg,josie,glamour profession,hey nineteen...no static at all
Me too.
@@bobburroughs6241 Me Three 😊
I think Fagen was inspired by Kurt Weill on this one.
Same age as you and got into them in the same year. Too funny. How many people like us?
If I wrote down what you have said I would be just repeating you.
Steely Dan - Favorite band
FM - Favorite song
Thanks for reacting to this!
I remember the 1st time I heard this. Pure gold
I was born in the 50s, so baby boomers , and generations before us have witnessed so many life innovations. The two that stick out to me is tv, and radio. We watched shows through snow, then came cable! We listen to music through static, then came another choice other than am, FM! The quality on both were mind blowing!!!
Can't say I've ever heard this version with the sax outro. Album version has the guitar solo. It was a pleasant surprise.
Somewhere on RUclips there is a version that splices together the sax solo and the guitar solo so you can hear them both .... On a song never you never want to end
No static at all! From the radio or the girls! Great jam! Steely Dan, baby! You knew you'd love it before you heard it, right? Keep doing your thing gents.
The guitar response to "No Static at all" . is just the sexiest.
On the 50th anniversary of the installation of the FM antenna atop the Empire State Building.... a drone was flown around it late at night....& this song was blasted. Red, white & blue lights were synched up to to the music. The video's on RUclips.
Wowza!
Steely Dan’s bass lines are always so good!!
Guys this song never gets old! Is just an amazing show of talent…beautiful sound
Thru the 6-'s and early 70's, AM radio was about all you got. Check out some of them vintage cars back then, if still stock antiques, and the radio only had an AM dial. Then, at mostly college towns, the local FM radio format started, not playing pop, but deep cuts and underground music (that appealed to college aged). FM radio was born, and this song captured the mood, feel, awakening, happening perfectly! No static STEREO music!
I the 50s and most of the 60s AM radio was dominate, The high watts sent radio waves over numerous states. A person in Louisiana could listen to a Chicago or Cleveland station..and a majority of those songs were 3 minutes long..
FM became popular in early 70's , shorter radio waves less power, very local..drive 2 counties away the signal went. However, local DJ"s didn't have to confirm to mainstream , 3 minute, music's. THEY started to play 7 minute , unedited songs..THE WHO, DOORS,, STONES, ZEPPELIN...ETC.
and , there was No static at all!! 😂
Babylon Sisters and Third World Man are absolutely sublime! From their last album of this era (and my personal favorite) 1980's Gaucho 🔥🔥🔥
Third World Man is one of their greatest ever songs.
@@garymcghee2249 Agreed!
Thank you for keeping the (our) music alive
There is another version of this by them, that has an incredible guitar solo at the end instead of the sax. The guitar solo is by Walter Becker, and is brilliant and soulful.. You should give that a go.
I think we are going to have to go back and do the Walter Becker version for sure. We didn’t know there were 2 versions.
@@AirplayBeats You'll love it.
It’s one of Becker’s best solos, he approaches David Gilmour territory in it…👍🏻
@@kirkhassett8726 That's a good way of looking at it, but while still keeping that jazzy hook to it.
This is one of the few Steely Dan tunes where Donald (piano) and Walter (bass, guitar) are both main players musician wise.
You guys have renewed my faith in your generation's taste in music !!! You guys are TRUE Musicologists !!! 😎🎸🔥
I love how an essentially Steely Dan song folds into a Hollywood vibe with the lush strings.
Pete Christlieb’s sax solo is to die for. For sure you should listen to the alternate take with Walter’s phenomenal guitar outro. I always thought of FM as the lost Aja track, just as you said. A banger from SD. Great job guys! 🔥
The guitar outtro is the ORIGINAL.
It is the only time that Becker (bass and guitar) and Fagen (piano) handled most of a song's instrumental work themselves. Engineer Roger Nichols won that year's Grammy Award for Best Engineered Recording, Non-Classical for his work on "FM."
They were accompanied by musicians who had played with the band on their Aja sessions. Jeff Porcaro, who had then also recently helped form Toto, plays the drums. Jazz musician Pete Christlieb, who also features on the band's previous single, "Deacon Blues", plays the tenor saxophone solo. Timothy B. Schmit, who had recently left Poco, was joined by his new bandmates in the Eagles, Glenn Frey and Don Henley, in singing backing vocals. "Johnny Mandel came in and did the string chart," Fagen recalled to American Songwriter. "It was fun to meet [him]." Roger Nichols, who had been the engineer for the Aja sessions, did the same for "FM", with help from Al Schmitt.
You two are nuts love your reacrions mate. It is FUNK,,, Deffo Jazz 1st FUNK
This is why the 1970’s produced so much great music that still holds even now in the 21st century.So many great artists....many are gone now,but their music remains.
It’s all in the bass line, what a groove
One of my favs. Loving your channel, playing all the music I grew up with. In my opinion some of the greatist music ever came out of these years. Great reaction guys
so glad you got to this. Steely Dan is just the greatest band of their kind. Thier music is comforting, strange, soothing, familiar and different all at the same time. Their earlier take on this particular influence of music is from the Katy Lied album called "Daddy Don't Live In That New York City No More". Like I said, if you like FM, you've got to check out the funk of DDLITNYCNM. It's also guitarist Larry Carlton's fisrt apearance on a Steely Dan album(Kid Charlemange/Don't Take Me Alive). Check it.
Daddy a great tune, reminded me of the Temptations Papa Was a Rolling Stone, maybe purposely?
I saw Becker sing lead on that in a SD tour circa 2012-15, a very funky version.
Steely Dan =Musical Perfection!!!!! I could literally name 25 songs that are all top notch; Steely Dan is my stuck on a deserted island and can only listen to one duo/group/artist; they would be it.
Steely Dan is like the best buffet in town! ✌️
You can't go wrong with Steely Dan.
Walter Becker played both the lead guitar parts and the bass line on this one. Some of his best work. Pete Christlieb on sax and the incomparable Jeff Porcaro on drums.
The creepin’ bass line identifies this for me. 💜💜💜
I like watching SD reaction videos in general, because the music is so good and when the reactors know what they're hearing it's super fun to watch. I especially love watching you guys because you so clearly get it. I have been a Dan fan since Aja came out when I was 15. The band instantly became a family favorite (my late father was a musician - so I knew if he was digging it we were on the right track). The music sounds just as fresh 45 years later.
The journey you guys are on is great. In retrospect, you might have wished you started from the beginning - but you're doing it the same way I did - starting with Aja. There are zero duds anywhere in the catalog - I promise. As you work your way forward from Can't Buy A Thrill, you might consider going back through Royal Scam and Aja - that way you'll hear the thread that connects it all. Then you'll jump off to Gaucho - which is a masterpiece - but maybe not everyone's favorite. (you find most Dan fan have 1-2 records which are their favorites (I like the Aja / Gaucho pairing) - but there's something for everyone.
And don't stop at Gaucho - do the later records as well - plus Fagen's solo work (which is brilliant) - and you'll be amazed at the evolution of the sound. Have fun (I now you are!).
In all of the years I've heard this song, I've never heard this version! Thanks! You gentlemen know your music!
This song is so smooth and on my regular playlist, it's just perfection. Right on guys.
Do you have this version or the version with Walter Becker at the end?
@@AirplayBeats I'm not entirely certain, but I think this version was included on their Decade of Steely Dan release. I'm not even sure how there came to be two versions, perhaps something to do with it being for a soundtrack. It's something that I didn't even catch on to until years later.
@@AirplayBeats I may even have the two versions mixed up, hearing this on (no pun intended) the radio most of my life, the ending was often masked over by the next song or commercial. It looks like some of the commenters have gotten it right though. You've got some great subscribers here that know their stuff.
I'm used to the version with Walter Becker's guitar solo at the end. Sheer poetry is what it is.
FM was done shortly after the Aja sessions. Don Henley, Glenn Fry and Tim Schmidt from the Eagles doing background vocals. Pete Christlieb (Deacon Blues) on tenor sax.
Everything is so perfect with them not just sonically but every note every bar is like exactly how you would want it to go if you had a lifetime to listen to it
My favorite version with the sax outro. Just so tasty and jazzy. I could listen to that sax forever.
There is another version of this ...identical except the fade out is a sweet guitar solo instead of the sax.
I could be wrong, but I think that’s a real string section on there, too, not just synth strings. It was certainly the time when pop albums would bring in 12 or 24 string players, to boost the sound of their albums. String players and flute players were in such demand on pop albums in the 70’s that they would have several gigs lined up in one day, and have a car waiting for them at the studio door, so they could just go from studio to studio recording their parts. Those were good days for gigging musicians!
I read that famed orchestator Johnny Mandel composed/conducted the string part.
@@danielmccann8325 Well done him, that's for sure! I'll have to check out his other orchestrations and compositions. It gives the song such a classy, hollywood, sheen. I love it.
I could be wrong about this, but “FM” might well be the only Steely Dan track that does feature a traditional string section. And what an arrangement it is! Worthy of Thom Bell’s Philly International sound, or Barry White’s Love Unlimited Orchestra. ❤
@@kirkhassett8726 Check out Through with buzz, there is a string section on that song
@@danielmccann8325 I just went Googling SD songs with strings just for kicks before I saw your response. Listening to Through With Buzz right now. I've certainly heard it before, but I didn't recognize it from the title. It's no surprise to me that I love it too! What a crazy chord progression in the first bar: C, G/B Ab7! Brilliant ear candy surprise that even early on they were pretty genius at, and keeps me listening over and over.
NICE Guys 👍 I haven't listened to Steely or this song in a minute....I had forgotten how much I love them!!! Thank you!!! 😊
They famously took a long time to write songs but supposedly when they were asked to write this song for the eponymous movie they had it done in a few days. Agree with Becker's outro being cooler than the sax one. Also you're right about the bass line, basic blues shuffle, Chuck Berry used it a lot, and SD used it on several songs as well.
Becker on bass as well
@@annbeguity5932 Right. That guitar solo on the outtro, though.
@@jml-rj5re 👍
The bass line has nothing to do with being a "blues shuffle".
@@44thenazz Other than they are the exact same 3 notes in your basic shuffle, yes I agree
My mom had Aja and the soundtrack for FM on vinyl, one of my fave songs since I was a kid, that groove is perfect
The video montage of 70's album covers -- I had just about every one of the albums shown.
I ain't braggin' or nuthin ... ok -- I am .
I had quite the collection back in my teen years.
What memories. What sound. What talent.
You had an awesome collection
Doesn't seem possible a band could nail it down every single time, but they do.
Every album displayed near the end of that video is worthy of review. What a list!
I was thinking the same thing.
@@AirplayBeats I agree wholeheartedly. Every album is a gem and worth listening to many times. All of the artists are musical genius'.. You've started well with Allman Brothers, Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and Steely Dan. Joni Mitchell, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young (super group, each a great solo artist) Van Morrison's album "Astral Weeks" is a great jazzy sleeper. Bob Dylan, The Beatles (all of their last five albums), Santana, War, Rolling Stones; "Sticky Fingers" album, Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours"...those were the one's I remember seeing at the end there.
And you're still working your way through Zep and SD...so much more to go. 🙂
The are 2 versions of this song
1 ending is the guitar solo
And the other from the gold album is sax
Reminds me of a time my friend and I we’re putting a system in my car. Cranking this tune in his garage. His old man came out and I thought we were in trouble He said “y’all listen to Steely Dan!” “Turn that shit up!!”
YES. The Quintessential Steely Dan song. I know you're going to love it!
The guitar outtro is the Original. The sax solo cam much later on one of the greatest hits. Not Decade.
Another song was released in the movie. Life's Been Good. The whole soundtrack is great.
AM had static sometimes. With FM, you either received or not. In stereo.
That bass line was played by Walter Becker is unique to FM did not exist before- no where else. I play bass. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FM_(No_Static_at_All)
This track was made during the recording and mixing of the Aja album as SD was asked to fo the FM soundtrack...
One of the best bands ever...
In the day, fine Columbian most likely referred to one of several Columbian weed strains. Check out Santa Marta Gold, for example.
This is their lushest song. Not sure if they beefed it up for the screen but it is absolutely velvety.
Yes, they added the strings conducted by Johnny Mandel because "we knew it would sound good coming out of theater speakers" Fagen said.
Yep, totally Dope.
Most of Steely Dan's songs especially this was played on Black 📻 radio channels..including Savannah, GA
Backing vocals provided by Timothy B. Schmit, Don Henley, and Glenn Frey of The Eagles
This played behind closing credits of movie. Everybody stayed in their seats.
Please do Dr. John, Right Place, Wrong Time. That's a song I think y'all would love, I believe his is Louisiana funk.
What's gentlemen, Imagine not knowing how to speak English, and hearing this for the first time, and loving the music, many years later, understanding English, and putting the music with the lyrics. 😆😆🤩🤩
The extended sax cut. Nice. Try the supercut. They follow that sax finish with Walter's extended guitar to finish. So GD clean.
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Unique.Sooooooooooooooo GOOD ! Steely Dan, yes bye..................Peace and Love
1978, recorded just after Aja and before the first Gaucho tracks were recorded.
Loved this BAND SINCE THE FIRST ALBUM 1973 CAN'T BUY A THRILL
For the record:
This is an extended version!
Glamour Profession next
Steely Dan often referenced a part from a song that they were influenced or inspired by, like the intro on Rickie Don’t Lose That Number starts with a bass line almost identical to jazz legend Horace Silver’s classic hit, Song for My Father. The the bass intro to this one is very much like PapaWas A Rollin Stone by The Temptations. During the grooves of the song the bass was similar to the Blondie hit that as sort of a goofy nod to the rap craze called Rapture, with Debbie Harry on lead vocal & silly rap bars.
ok You had me when I saw your Os hat! I was going down the “song reactions” rabbit hole on Steely Dan. This group has been around for over 50 years, as you probably know. Without knowing your background, I can tell you’re pretty well versed on their discography and how they cross all musical genres. Glad to hear that you appreciated this one.
Now, tell this Baltimore lady if you are an Orioles fan or just like the hat!
Love the channel. I think you would love the title song to Traffic- Low Spark of High Heeled Boys. Hope to see it sometime.
The strings make it float.
You guys have such great natural feedback on the musicianship.
Bass line is very similar to "Josie." Also, you must listen to the other versions of this song as the guitar version sounds much like David Gilmour (it's not).
Glad I’m not the only one who felt Becker was in Gilmour/Pink Floyd waters with his epic solo…
@@kirkhassett8726 I’ve often heard the Gilmour/Becker connection. First IMO is basic instrument *tone* (subtracting out PF’s echos etc). They also share appreciation of white space and sparseness, and both often employ a unique and very rhythmic, spiked attack ...sprinkled with non-cliched high-note bends....etc.
Steely Dan could just do no wrong... Never heard a bad song from them.
I do remember a time before the clarity of FM radio was a thing. Steely Dan always my favorite and apparently you guys love them also! Y'all keep on Rocking!
Exactly, remember listening to most of mymusic on am radio, throug the static! Leave it to Steely Dan to create a song that captures that.
Y'all are hitting my childhood hard... LOVING IT!!! The 70's were the Best years for Funk, everywhere. It was phenomenal.
Happy New Year, guys.💝
Happy New year!!
I'd never heard this extended mix before. Good stuff.
One of my favorites. There are several versions of this out there. This one, with the "un-huh" at 4:27, was the one I grew up knowing. Now when I hear a version that seems identical but is missing "uh-huh", I feel cheated. Haha!
FM and My old School just get me going. But all Steely Dan music is super smooth!
Such a great song.
Hard to pick one but for me all the elements and lyrics blended together is they're best track ever!!!
Ya know I use to DJ in the 80s and collected albums all through the 70s 80s 90s and still have all the music you guys react to setting in my closet and each album is like brand new....I use to play the song aja for dinner music...love these boys seen them multiple times in concert
So many great songs. They put some thought into their lyrics. It's very refreshing.
I love seeing the smile on y’all’s faces when a totally rad chord change or solo comes along 😎🤘
Got to do love reign o’re me by The Who. MASTERPIECE!
That one is actually on our ‘to do’ list
Love the video paying homage to the great albums of the height of the FM era. I’ve heard 3 versions of FM, all interesting to be sure. Btw, one of the great live covers from the movie, was Linda Ronstadt doing “Tumbling Dice” by the Stones. A must for any rock fan. Keep em’ coming guys.🤘😎
Please do "Hey Nineteen" and "Babylon Sisters" if you haven't already.
Love this song. It reminds me of being a kid and we only had an FM radio in mom’s car. Dad’s truck only had AM and every time you went under a bridge the radio would lose the signal. Always when your favorite part would come on.