You’ve now got to hear “Can’t Buy a Thrill” Jim, so you can hear the incredible contrast between it and this. They’re light years apart, and really shows the evolution of this band.
AS a teen-twenty-something who spent way too much money on stereo equipment back in the late 70's and early 80's, I used Steely Dan as my my primary "system test" when shopping for new or upgraded components. Even copied from vinyl onto a (high-quality) cassette tape, the production is so clear and clean that it was by far the best tool I could find to decide between different speakers, amps, equalizers, etc.
This is one of the biggest classic albums, it’s been dissected and analysed by musicians for decades and rightly so. There’s a great documentary on the making of this album which is well worth a look.
Everyone seems to have their favorite album but they will also say that every album is good and has its charms. There’s only one solution: listen to them all 😅.
I have a couple favorites as a teen in the 70’s, yet fully enjoyed to the max other bands. I know this whole album-Awesome backdrop on this mornings’ walk 💃Thank You and have an amazing day ☀️
Oh and I know I know I love you better and that riff ......surely everyone knows that...been hearing that since birth.....the kind of section of a song that sticks like glue to the collective consciousness...! It's class
Well worth checking out 'Countdown to Ecstasy" their amazing 2nd album. All their albums are great as the weave a magic that's absolutely captivating. 'Countdown' is a terrific example of their more grittier guitar based music with less of the smooth jazz funk but still features their amazing use of augmented chords and jazz inflected melodies.
Loved your reaction to both sides! Steely Dan are legendary in their songwriting, arrangements, musicianship, and recording - as you just discovered. Keep going down this rabbit hole and I'm sure you won't be disappointed as nearly every song they recorded is an out-of-this-world banger!
I was a junior in high school when the 1st SD album came out. I never appreciated them until I started getting high in '74 and then WOW it was a whole different band! They have many many great songs such as The Boston Rag, Chained Lightning, Don't Take Me Alive, Third World Man, Hey Nineteen to name a few of my favorites. Listening to "The Dan" always puts me in a good mood!
"I Got the News" somehow slipped from my memory's pocket, but hearing it again reminds me of how groovy the band can get. "Gold Teeth II" is similarly fun. I assume you know by now that Steely Dan was the name of a godemiche in William Burrough's horse-written "Naked Lunch". For country music fans, a godemiche is a dildo. Better steely than detumescent. Flaccid Dan just doesn't have the same ring...so to speak.
Love this album...." Home At Last" is my all time favorite SD song , and that's saying a lot. They're so good. Most of this album got airplay in the states in the late 70s , and they are were a staple of classic rock stations in the 80s and 90s.....glad you enjoyed this. I knew you'd get it.....
I was in the air force in the 70's and getting transferred in 77 was fantastic because all the music that I recorded on cassettes from my collection of vinyl which kept me company going cross-country. Steely Dan, Led Zeppelin, Yes, Santana, the Who and many more...jazz fusion, rock, jazz, country rock, folk, and the classical...the road was paved with music...
Really happy you got to hear this, this is considered by many to be the most extraordinarily produced album in history - and I'm sorry if that's a "letdown" but in general almost everything the Dan did and the 5 amazing Donald Fagan solo albums are equally brilliant. So please continue on your journey, you will love every minute.
First!☺️ Ive had a few goes at this band Jim and have to say Pretzel Logic is my fave. Listening with you Jim im reminded of what i originally thought of Aja back when i first heard it couple of years ago...heres what i wrote.... Aja - my first impression ever listen to S.D. full album (turns out I knew I know I love you better from a distance) and Black Cow makes me feel Stevie Wonder meets Squeeze doing Jazz. the production is flawless...sounds like it was recorded yesterday. So good in fact it's music without sharp edges for me...lift music in places...I need sharp edges... after hearing this I'm scared of becoming nice...help it's too damn nice🏳️🏳️🏳️🏳️🏳️ I think i still agree with my review but i say that with the caveat that the quality of sound does indeed shine through as sizzling warming hot bath niiiiiiiice even more on the vinyl version and im enjoying it in a lovely afternoon nap kind a fashion....im guessing im not the only one drifting off....😅....i also hear soul and sprinkles of 70s tv funk! Basically I've been Jimmed and like it more now.... Oh and Steeleye Span do funny songs....massive Terry Pratchett fans....like myself...will be at least a little familiar with them👍
Jim, for American kids growing up in the 70's Steely Dan was like mother's milk. There wasn't a time when a song from one of their albums wasn't on the radio. This is their most successful album -- at least in terms of radio play -- and almost every song got radio play, and is STILL being played somewhere. I know the UK went through a sort of smooth pop period in the mid 80's with people like Sade, Sting and Everything But The Girl, and I have to believe they were all influenced by Steely Dan. This album, the previous and the next were their jazziest. Before that there was more of an equal mix of jazz, rock, funk, and pop with dashes of everything from reggae to ragtime to gospel. One thing you're also hearing on this side of the album are the velvet pipes of Michael MacDonald on backing vocals. He was with the Doobie Brothers at this time (another band to check out if you like this kind of music) and who went on to a big solo career in the 80's.
The streak with Pretzel Logic, Katy Lied and The Royal Scam are my Big favourites. It’s borderline slick here for my taste. The next is pure smooth jazz. I liked them when They were more like a rock band, even though there are plenty of studio musicians on the above mentioned too. Probably best American band ever.
45 years old but I still consider it as one of the 'later' Steely Dan albums. Probably just me. No-one seems to be telling you that De La Soul sampled Peg, mixed it with Sitting on the Dock of the Bay and ended up with a big hit single, so I will! I prefer this side - less sax - but I still can't love it.
When you get some of the best musicians around to back you up something special comes out. As I said before the recording is flawless. The bass line on these songs is amazing, and the drumming some of the best ever recorded. Becker's guitar work is tasteful as always but on closer listen his solos are very fine. I Got the News also features background vocals by the great Michael McDonald.
Hi Jim, thanks again for taking a trip to Danville. Yes, the album is smooth as the proverbial baby’s backside but this was the result of their evolution as a band. The hard edges come from the lyrics which are wry, sardonic and usually drug, sex or human condition related. Even their most funky and radio friendly songs had this in common which is why their music demands repeated listenings. This was 360 degrees from their first album, Can’t Buy a Thrill, released in late 1972. Donald and Walter always wanted to take the band in this direction since jazz, funk, blues were their major influences, particularly the West Coast Be Bop of the late 50’s/early 60’s. As an aside, the band is named after a prosthetic phallus in William S. Burroughs's novel Naked Lunch). I am glad that you enjoyed it and that you appreciated the technical and audio perfection of the album. It’s a standard that few, if any bands since, have ever been able to achieve. 😀
Steelers Wheel big hit was STUCK IN THE MIDDLE WITH YOU, by Steve Miller. Steel Eye Spam was indeed a folksy Band...can't think of a big hit. They were sort of like a faded copy of The Greatful Dead. Steely Dan, was a stupendous Jazz Fusion Band driven by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker with excellent musical quality and there very own sound...nothing like the other two bands you mentioned. And they were named alter a giant dildo, for some reason. Being an old codger at 65 years old, Steely Dan was the background music for most of my life. Thank You very much for playing them. And, you are fun to listen to. (That should be good for another two hits...ha) Keep up the good work. Speaking of Funk, Have you listened to Tower of Power?
Sorry, early dementia man. What I was about to say before my hands did the Parkinson's shuffle, I don't usually do requests because it requires too much from my brain pan. My favorite albums from the Dan are Katy Lied, and the Royal Scam!
"How did they get such great sounds?" The best engineer's on the planet. It's so much more than that, though. There's a great video of just how this album was made, told by the writers, players and techs. ruclips.net/video/PH3l4mjh2y8/видео.html Donald and Walter were something the music industry had never seen and haven't since. They would work on a song for a week or more. Each day they would bring in a totally different group of musicians, the best in the world. Day after day an entire new ensemble. In the end it was all to find the right drum track. They were beyond perfectionists.
Another comment and it’s off topic but I wonder how you would do with Kate Bush? Any album would do. Although maybe she doesn’t fit on this channel. Hmm.
This is not pop and never was. It is pure genius with a bit of jazz, blues, reggae, and an undefined unique quality never before or after achieved by any other artist!Their production is second to none.By the way that is Michael MCDONALD singing background vocals on a couple of tunes on this album. I offense to you or that band but Pink Floyd could not hold a candle to these 2 geniuses!
33% Lyrics, 33% Composition, 33% Musicianship, 1% the magic wand of universal love magic.
You’ve now got to hear “Can’t Buy a Thrill” Jim, so you can hear the incredible contrast between it and this. They’re light years apart, and really shows the evolution of this band.
I would say every American black, white, green and purple have had Steely Dan in their lives at some point, It's our everyday music. 🎼🎼
Oh yes.
AS a teen-twenty-something who spent way too much money on stereo equipment back in the late 70's and early 80's, I used Steely Dan as my my primary "system test" when shopping for new or upgraded components. Even copied from vinyl onto a (high-quality) cassette tape, the production is so clear and clean that it was by far the best tool I could find to decide between different speakers, amps, equalizers, etc.
The album after Aja is Gaucho and it is also excellent.
This is one of the biggest classic albums, it’s been dissected and analysed by musicians for decades and rightly so. There’s a great documentary on the making of this album which is well worth a look.
My favorite band of all time. The Dan can do NO wrong ❤
Everyone seems to have their favorite album but they will also say that every album is good and has its charms.
There’s only one solution: listen to them all 😅.
Home At Last! The "Purdie Shuffle" in FULL effect!!!!
I have a couple favorites as a teen in the 70’s, yet fully enjoyed to the max other bands. I know this whole album-Awesome backdrop on this mornings’ walk 💃Thank You and have an amazing day ☀️
Steely Dan have been in my life since Haitian Divorce hit the UK charts in 1976. Love them!
And "The Royal Scam" which it came from is a fantastic album, my personal favourite
Pick any album…this band does not disappoint
Music to listen to in the limo on the way home at 2am after a night of debauchery in Manhattan. 😊
Love your reactions, Jim!
The brass reminds me of Chicago.🤩
Oh and I know I know I love you better and that riff ......surely everyone knows that...been hearing that since birth.....the kind of section of a song that sticks like glue to the collective consciousness...! It's class
It's a nice break from prog when you get some music with a nice groove. 👍😎🎸🗽☕
You got that right!
Loveb this cut and the whole album...❤
Well worth checking out 'Countdown to Ecstasy" their amazing 2nd album. All their albums are great as the weave a magic that's absolutely captivating. 'Countdown' is a terrific example of their more grittier guitar based music with less of the smooth jazz funk but still features their amazing use of augmented chords and jazz inflected melodies.
Loved your reaction to both sides! Steely Dan are legendary in their songwriting, arrangements, musicianship, and recording - as you just discovered. Keep going down this rabbit hole and I'm sure you won't be disappointed as nearly every song they recorded is an out-of-this-world banger!
I was a junior in high school when the 1st SD album came out. I never appreciated them until I started getting high in '74 and then WOW it was a whole different band! They have many many great songs such as The Boston Rag, Chained Lightning, Don't Take Me Alive, Third World Man, Hey Nineteen to name a few of my favorites. Listening to "The Dan" always puts me in a good mood!
"I Got the News" somehow slipped from my memory's pocket, but hearing it again reminds me of how groovy the band can get. "Gold Teeth II" is similarly fun. I assume you know by now that Steely Dan was the name of a godemiche in William Burrough's horse-written "Naked Lunch". For country music fans, a godemiche is a dildo. Better steely than detumescent. Flaccid Dan just doesn't have the same ring...so to speak.
Love this album...." Home At Last" is my all time favorite SD song , and that's saying a lot. They're so good.
Most of this album got airplay in the states in the late 70s , and they are were a staple of classic rock stations in the 80s and 90s.....glad you enjoyed this. I knew you'd get it.....
Thanks Karl.... sorry it took so long but got there in the end!
@@JimNewstead I'm sure it was worth the wait
I agree with the comments in here. "Can't Buy a Thrill" is a must now.
I was in the air force in the 70's and getting transferred in 77 was fantastic because all the music that I recorded on cassettes from my collection of vinyl which kept me company going cross-country. Steely Dan, Led Zeppelin, Yes, Santana, the Who and many more...jazz fusion, rock, jazz, country rock, folk, and the classical...the road was paved with music...
Really happy you got to hear this, this is considered by many to be the most extraordinarily produced album in history - and I'm sorry if that's a "letdown" but in general almost everything the Dan did and the 5 amazing Donald Fagan solo albums are equally brilliant. So please continue on your journey, you will love every minute.
Home At Last is the song that got me into Steely Dan! found it when trying to learn the Purdie Shuffle and it sent me on a deep dive.
fantastic - more steely dan reactions please
First!☺️
Ive had a few goes at this band Jim and have to say Pretzel Logic is my fave. Listening with you Jim im reminded of what i originally thought of Aja back when i first heard it couple of years ago...heres what i wrote....
Aja - my first impression ever listen to S.D. full album (turns out I knew I know I love you better from a distance) and Black Cow makes me feel Stevie Wonder meets Squeeze doing Jazz. the production is flawless...sounds like it was recorded yesterday. So good in fact it's music without sharp edges for me...lift music in places...I need sharp edges... after hearing this I'm scared of becoming nice...help it's too damn nice🏳️🏳️🏳️🏳️🏳️
I think i still agree with my review but i say that with the caveat that the quality of sound does indeed shine through as sizzling warming hot bath niiiiiiiice even more on the vinyl version and im enjoying it in a lovely afternoon nap kind a fashion....im guessing im not the only one drifting off....😅....i also hear soul and sprinkles of 70s tv funk!
Basically I've been Jimmed and like it more now....
Oh and Steeleye Span do funny songs....massive Terry Pratchett fans....like myself...will be at least a little familiar with them👍
Haha... great review. Yes, I think I agree about the sharp edges or needing something gnarly! You can't scratch an itch with velvet!
Steeleye Span do funny songs? Like what? I can't think of any that I would call "funny".
Two recommendations - next Steely Dan album - Countdown to Ecstasy. First Steeleye Span album - Parcel of Rogues. Great albums both.
Jim, for American kids growing up in the 70's Steely Dan was like mother's milk. There wasn't a time when a song from one of their albums wasn't on the radio. This is their most successful album -- at least in terms of radio play -- and almost every song got radio play, and is STILL being played somewhere. I know the UK went through a sort of smooth pop period in the mid 80's with people like Sade, Sting and Everything But The Girl, and I have to believe they were all influenced by Steely Dan. This album, the previous and the next were their jazziest. Before that there was more of an equal mix of jazz, rock, funk, and pop with dashes of everything from reggae to ragtime to gospel. One thing you're also hearing on this side of the album are the velvet pipes of Michael MacDonald on backing vocals. He was with the Doobie Brothers at this time (another band to check out if you like this kind of music) and who went on to a big solo career in the 80's.
The streak with Pretzel Logic, Katy Lied and The Royal Scam are my Big favourites. It’s borderline slick here for my taste. The next is pure smooth jazz. I liked them when They were more like a rock band, even though there are plenty of studio musicians on the above mentioned too. Probably best American band ever.
Those 3 were a great run of albums especially the last 2
45 years old but I still consider it as one of the 'later' Steely Dan albums. Probably just me. No-one seems to be telling you that De La Soul sampled Peg, mixed it with Sitting on the Dock of the Bay and ended up with a big hit single, so I will! I prefer this side - less sax - but I still can't love it.
And we have definitely concluded you have very specific ideas on sax! ;-)
When you get some of the best musicians around to back you up something special comes out. As I said before the recording is flawless. The bass line on these songs is amazing, and the drumming some of the best ever recorded. Becker's guitar work is tasteful as always but on closer listen his solos are very fine. I Got the News also features background vocals by the great Michael McDonald.
He's on Peg as well.
Home at Last is my favourite Steely Dan song of all time! It brings tears of joy to my eyes! Great reactions Jim. Thanks for doing this amazing album.
Hi Jim, thanks again for taking a trip to Danville. Yes, the album is smooth as the proverbial baby’s backside but this was the result of their evolution as a band. The hard edges come from the lyrics which are wry, sardonic and usually drug, sex or human condition related. Even their most funky and radio friendly songs had this in common which is why their music demands repeated listenings. This was 360 degrees from their first album, Can’t Buy a Thrill, released in late 1972. Donald and Walter always wanted to take the band in this direction since jazz, funk, blues were their major influences, particularly the West Coast Be Bop of the late 50’s/early 60’s. As an aside, the band is named after a prosthetic phallus in William S. Burroughs's novel Naked Lunch). I am glad that you enjoyed it and that you appreciated the technical and audio perfection of the album. It’s a standard that few, if any bands since, have ever been able to achieve. 😀
Steelers Wheel big hit was STUCK IN THE MIDDLE WITH YOU, by Steve Miller.
Steel Eye Spam was indeed a folksy Band...can't think of a big hit. They were sort of like a faded copy of The Greatful Dead.
Steely Dan, was a stupendous Jazz Fusion Band driven by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker with excellent musical quality and there very own sound...nothing like the other two bands you mentioned. And they were named alter a giant dildo, for some reason.
Being an old codger at 65 years old, Steely Dan was the background music for most of my life. Thank You very much for playing them. And, you are fun to listen to. (That should be good for another two hits...ha) Keep up the good work. Speaking of Funk, Have you listened to Tower of Power?
Power Of Tower…. Nope!
Sorry, early dementia man. What I was about to say before my hands did the Parkinson's shuffle, I don't usually do requests because it requires too much from my brain pan. My favorite albums from the Dan are Katy Lied, and the Royal Scam!
Both fantastic albums 👍🏼
Two against Nature please !
"How did they get such great sounds?" The best engineer's on the planet. It's so much more than that, though. There's a great video of just how this album was made, told by the writers, players and techs. ruclips.net/video/PH3l4mjh2y8/видео.html
Donald and Walter were something the music industry had never seen and haven't since. They would work on a song for a week or more. Each day they would bring in a totally different group of musicians, the best in the world. Day after day an entire new ensemble. In the end it was all to find the right drum track. They were beyond perfectionists.
Another comment and it’s off topic but I wonder how you would do with Kate Bush? Any album would do. Although maybe she doesn’t fit on this channel. Hmm.
I can tell you're already hooked. You're about you're get a musical education my man. I don't usually
This is not pop and never was. It is pure genius with a bit of jazz, blues, reggae, and an undefined unique quality never before or after achieved by any other artist!Their production is second to none.By the way that is Michael MCDONALD singing background vocals on a couple of tunes on this album. I offense to you or that band but Pink Floyd could not hold a candle to these 2 geniuses!
Another Brick In A Wall? I don't hear it at all
I do hear it a bit in the opening bass line. But to be fair, this album was two years before The Wall.