How Steely Dan Composes A Song
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 7 фев 2025
- GET MY BOOK: amzn.to/3ymfQPV
Support Nerdwriter videos: / nerdwriter
Subscribe: bit.ly/SubNerdw...
Facebook: / the-nerdwriter-3141415...
Twitter: / theenerdwriter
SOURCES AND FURTHER READING:
Howard Wright, “Steely Dan: The Mu Major Chord” 2011
www.hakwright.c...
Marc Myers, “How Steely Dan Created Deacon Blues” (via The Wall Street Journal)
www.wsj.com/art...
Howard Wright, “The Birth of the Mu Major Chord” (via Mizar6)
www.writingaffa...
Dylan Jones, “Icon: Donald Fagen” (via GQ) 2014
www.gq-magazine...
Steely Dan, Deacon Blues sheet music (via musicnotes.com)
www.musicnotes....
Roger Nichols, Steely Dan Producer quote:
forum.cockos.co...
Saxophonist Pete Christlieb Discusses His 'Deacon Blues' Solo on Steely Dan's 'Aja' Album
• Saxophonist Pete Chris...
Ryan Reed, “36 Years Ago: Steely Dan Release ‘Aja’” (via Ultimate Classic Rock)
ultimateclassic...
Classic Albums: Steely Dan's Aja - Deacon Blues
• Classic Albums: Steely...
Steely Dan is one of the bands I would listen to the whole discography in one sitting.
yeah same! we are playing josie in our big band, and after rehearsal i went to my room and listened to four records in a row
im hooked
I'd be down for that. Same for Pink Floyd. Never done either, but would definitely do so!
I have done just that one day, and would do it again and again!
I loaded up my ipod classic(yes, it's old but, hey, it still works!) with a Steely Dan playlist of all their stuff in chronological order and listen to it all day long at work! I do that with all of the bands that I enjoy. We are required to wear earplugs at my job so, I bought a set of "AfterShokz" bone-inducting headwear(which actually sound better with earplugs in) and I get to spend all day not listening to the crap my younger team members listen to!!!
Yes indeed with my dad in a wood paneled room
They were genius at every level. From hand selecting Purdie, Porcaro, Carlton and the other perfect studio players to the meticulous production and cryptic lyrics- Steely Dan is perfection.
Absolutely 100% agree with you.
And Gadd :)
Are they really named after a huge dildo , if so that’s hilarious
What amazes me is they were like 29 when they made this.
As a non-musician who doesn't know the first thing about music theory, I love it when people break down music like this. Kudos!
Check out Rick Beato's channel! He does that to a looooooot of tracks and it's really fun!
@@marcelosena8955 Rick Beato is OP
This is just wonderful. There are two types of people in the world: those who don't get Steely Dan, and those who do. There's is the ultimate expression of quality music in every respect. We will never see their likes again.
Michael McIntosh nice this year again they say
2 types indeed. Two against nature!
I'm lucky my parents owned their albums when i was a kid... I'd be honored if some Steely Dan fans would take a listen to my live keyboard & vocal performances of HOME AT LAST and JOSIE on my YT channel in tribute to the great Walter Becker and the Aja album. Live acoustic with no digital editing. Thanks and peace.
Steely Dan is a realm of its own. Should u just close your eyes, u arrive at its doorstep.
Michael McIntosh so true
Don’t forget the amazing backup vocals. They really make the song, I like how the “I” in “I play just what I feel comes in just before Fagen. Cool timing. Anyway nice vid, thx
Walter and Donald did cross that fine line.
Thank you Walter & Donald....you've made this planet better.
+MrGandharva108 Did they ever! :-)
*Hear Hear. 😀
Great video, +Nerdwriter1! Thanks for the shout-out.
I love you!
+Wisecrack /ship/
+Wisecrack Found you through an earlier video on this channel
Can we get an crossover/collaboration project in the works? Nerdcrack? Wisenerd?
+Bobby Mauger 2nded
"Every instrument has its own life" - YES!!! This is one of the things about SD that I love the most. Thank you for putting into words what I've always known.
You can never go wrong litening to Steely Dan. Nothing else like them.
I’m 21, and fell in love with this song a couple months ago. I didn’t even care what the lyrics said, the sounds alone drew me in. Now I love it even more because of this video
That's very cool to hear - I am 65 and I fell in love with this song 46 years ago. I was 19.
Glad you discovered it - here's to you enjoying at 65 as well :).
I fell in love with it when I was a 10 yr old kid in my parents car and they just bought a brand new CD OF STEELY DAN - GOLD ! A collection of some of their hits. They had his albums on Vinyl but now they wanted to hear it on cd. The song came on ! Hooked.
few albums can flash me back to the place I was in 1977 like Aja. It's greatness makes me cry
Norman Buffett I was four in 1978...and I can go back to that remember where I was as a little girl, listening to the Peg on radio console. I remember everything about that song, the weather that day...etc. it was just that good
shut the fuck up boomer
That year 1977 I graduated high school. The world has been plummeting ever faster into hell ever since
Baroo 182 that comment was so dumb and toxic it’s not even funny
I got into Steely Dan a couple of months ago because of this video (big fan of your stuff, Evan). So... coming back to pay my respects. RIP Walter Becker, one of the greats.
I'd be honored if some Steely Dan fans would give a listen to my acoustic piano & vocal performances of JOSIE and HOME AT LAST on my YT channel in tribute to the Aja album - one of the greatest artistic works of the 20th century. Live acoustic with no autotune or digital editing. Thanks and keep on grooving.
Nayo Aragón Olascuaga - you must be young. I’ve been grooving since 1973
Amen RIP and keep making music
Nayo Aragón Olascuaga I’ve been hearing steely dan since I was born ,but didnt start LISTENING till 1989 .
Started listening to Steely Dan in 1976, my 18th year of life and never stopped. I turned on so many to this band. It warms my heart that college students today appreciate them even now. ✌🏻🧡
I saw Steely Dan in Portland, OR in the late 90’s. They were magical. I have always loved their music because of the precision.
Like everyone else, I grew up hearing the radio tunes like “Reelin’ in the years” and “Dirty Work” countless times. However, I still remember being 15, working the dish tank at a restaurant and hearing “Deacon Blues” through a beat-up old chili-caked boom-box for the first time. I stopped what I was doing and just sat there with my jaw on the floor for the duration of the song. Just a kid realizing that rock n’ roll, and music in general, can be so much more. Another 15 years later, and I can thank that moment for bringing me into the larger world of jazz. Also, Larry Carlton is a god among men, and Steely Dan would have not had that extra 3000% to push them over the edge in some of their greatest tracks without him. Even my four year old son says, “Daddy, ‘Kid Charlemagne’ is the bam.”
“Yes, Son. Yes it is.”
The outro of KC is one of my earliest musical memories.
Good stuff - The Dan is my favorite all-time band.
And the song Good Stuff is one of Fagens best solo compositions. Off of the Sunken Condos release from October of 2012.
mine too
I can remember being about 6-7 yrs old in the 70's, and I'd sit with my back against one of the speakers of my parents' Hi-Fi. I liked Steely Dan so much I wanted to feel the music go _through_ me.
+1. If I only had one "Desert Island Disc," it would be a Steely Dan album. But which one?
"A suburbanite in crisis fantasizing about becoming an alcoholic saxophone player"
maybe he just poured booze down the saxophone and hid the bottles in the drum kit
John Paradise - yep. Ya gotta be sophisticated to understand that
Saxophone player come gambler....die behind the wheel i.e. roulette wheel...
an alcoholic saxophone player? Oh you mean a regular saxhophone player
jk don't get salty
awesome!
Woah, didnt know vulfpeck was a nerdwriter fan! Love your music
I knew that Vulf were Steely Dan fans, cant wait for Oct17!!
So are you.
Wow, Vulfpeck commenting on a video about Steely Dan. There can only be so much great music concentrated in one place.
Was this the inspiration for hero town? given the mu chord and all
Aja on earphones equals paradise
3:10 IMO, this part of the video explains the unique sound of Steely Dan. Most other bands production sound as if the instruments are further away and you don’t hear as much separation between instruments. With every Steely Dan album, the instruments sound thick and up close.
It's incredible how you can grab our interest for about 10 minutes with every video you make! Great video!!
the visual of orange text over snow falling is amazing, pretty editorial
I had a buddy once whose hobby it was on Saturdays to take his Steely Dan tapes to high end audio stores under the guise of looking to make a big purchase when all he wanted to do was just hear Steely Dan on a high end audio system. He's even bring his own headphones.
I worked in a Hi Fi Shop in the early 80's. Gaucho was my Closer Album. Customers always bought after hearing it on high end gear.
@@stevenroland7472 sounds like Wendel should have gotten a kickback from some of those sales, LOL
i listen to Aja every day. Black Cow and Deacon Blues are some of my favorite songs of all time
have the double greatest hits always ready for play in my truck sometimes I gotta pullover it gets to me just how wonderful it is.
I was a senior in high school in 1973, Reeling in the years was popular at that time, years went by and I forgot about that popular song, many many years later I heard a song on the radio that I thought was Steely Dan so I bought the latest album, Aja. well the song I was looking for was not on there, but what I heard blew….me…out…of…my chair, I began to buy all their older albums….what a national treasure these guys are. Their music NEVER gets old.
Aja is as close to a perfect album as it gets.
I'm glad I found your channel to keep me busy while I wait for Every Frame A Paintings uploads.
You've introduced me to Steely Dan, thank you ever so kindly.
+Fer Silva whhhaaaattttt.......
+Fer Silva Have you at least heard... Reelin' in the Years? Or of them at all?
better late than never, player!
I'm a young latino kid from the Bronx, currently living in Mexico, so no.
Fer Silva I don't know what that has to do with not having heard "the classics", but I guess it would also have to depend on your definition of "young" haha. But I guess I get what you're saying. I was certainly raised on this sorta thang, but I can't be much older than you (I'm 22 btw).
My all time favorite Steely Dan song. ( among tons of great songs ) I just love them. This musical-analysis and visual-imagery were phenomenal. Really enjoyed it.
Yep, it's totally awesome!
The Medieval people never understood why that was such a big hit song and crossed over so many categories
Whether you never lose touch or come back to them, Steely Dan is a timeless example of musical inspiration, education, and joy. Great vid! 🎧🎼
Aja is one of my favorite albums and Deacon Blues is the best song from it. Thank you so much for this. The video was an amazing analysis of a truly wonderful song. I learned a lot and it made me think about how other music is composed. Job well done sir, job well done.
Home at last is my fav
Am I the only peg guy?
@@armandomorales3809 My ex-boss was a Peg guy, if that helps.
@@lehacarpenter7773 i just think its a lot better composed than a lot of there songs.
@@armandomorales3809 Peg is a great radio hit that's impossible to not dance to. I mean, it got me and countless others into Steely Dan, and for that alone it's legendary. But because it's (shockingly!) by far the most basic on Aja as far as chord progression, melodies, and structure go, some fans find it not quite *as* challenging or rewarding on repeat listens as something like Deacon Blues, Aja, or Home At Last.
Almost everything in music is subjective, so far be it from me to tell people what songs they should enjoy most from an album. But if you were wondering why most hardcore Steely Dan fans prefer other tracks, it's because they play more to what's so alluring about the band in the first place. That's not to say I don't sing along when "Reelin' In The Years" comes on at the grocery store, just that it's not quite as close to my heart as "Doctor Wu" or " The Caves of Altamira".
Touching~! You hit home hard with this one. Excellent work putting this one together. I'm off to go rediscover Steely Dan.
Smart, smart, smart. Well thought out, well researched and fascinating. Worth spending 10 minutes of your life watching . Thanks for a superb effort.....
Excellent analysis. I've been listening to this song ever since I got the album, the same month it came out. And now I try to tease it out from the audiopixels and into my piano-playing fingers-not such an easy task, since I don't read music and do everything by ear. But this, while not being a tutorial, is a great explanation of the hows and the whys and even the wherefores-but I wish that it were expanded into an hour-long analysis of every single part of it-the history of it, the stories of the players on it, the analysis of just the bass/guitars/horns/vocals-I know that Steely Dan themselves *kind of* do this on Classic Albums/Making of Aja but they do it in a cursory, deprecatory way rather than a behind-the-scenes overview of the tune-something you've almost achieved here.
I think Donald Fagen, bless his pointed little head, would himself never manage to give any serious account of it because, in his own words he can't be serious about anything-he'd laugh too hard-so it becomes the task of people like you to do it.
Like I say, almost the whole album, and several others like it from the Steely Dan canon, would be incredibly well served to be taken apart, note by note, line by line, minute by minute, by some astute journeyman like your good self, and proles like my lazy self would be incredibly motivated to shell out many $$ to see/hear/read an expanded analysis like this on a whole bunch of Dan tunes . . . so you might entertain the thought, and by doing so, entertain us.
Bravo!
One of my favorite songs of all time. Makes me wanna cry every time I think too hard on it
My favorite song of all time. Makes me wanna' cry.
Experiencing soft tears in a hard core man.
MrJungleWarrior You're not alone. My exact feelings
MrJungleWarrior Kinda one of those wistfully sad songs...
I bet most people don’t realize just how many Steely Dan songs they actually know.
HaHa! Good one - ruling
I crawl like a viper through these suburban streets.
They call Alabama the crimson tide, Call me Deacon Blues.
Just saw this today in my recommended feed and am sitting here, stunned, speechless and in awe of your analysis of my favorite song of all time. Thank you so much for choosing Deacon Blues! Great song and brilliant work on your part.
As a very young drummer in middle school many many years ago I was captivated by this band and still love steely dan as a now 50 something year old man. GREAT MUSIC
Lyrics are great, music is great, production is great, musicians are world class. What's not to like? Stunning stuff. Imo.
I remember calling my cable provider for service and I was playing this song in the background and they were telling me how much they loved the song. One of my favorites from a legendary group 👍🏼
Oh man, you're such a great fit to be a TED speaker, congratulations!
Gave me goosebumps man........... I was playing the Dan at WLFC Findlay College Radio back in the early-mid 1970s fell in LOVE with their music. So unique, so persistent in their pursuit of perfection. And with that, I compliment you on your excellent analysis with historical reference. While not a particularly adept student of music, my genes are filled with 'em... I'll look forward to more work from you on Steely Dan - thank you!
This is one of the most convincing little pieces of music crit I've seen in a bit. Lovely. Thanks for making this and enhancing my appreciation of this song.
This is as good a video as I have ever seen on RUclips. Here's the part where a RUclips commenter strokes his ego and tells you about your inadequacies, how you've come up short here and here and here and how I am so much better because of this knowledge or that experience. The fact is .. I've never seen the subject matter ever covered any better and I don't know how you could compose or perform something superior to this.
Simply the best I have ever seen.
Can't believe sometimes that I played in a band that covered Steely Dan tunes back in the late 70s. Yes, we even did "Peg," and except for the guitar solo, I'd say we pretty much killed it. Sacrilegious, I know, but we were just kids, and we LOVED Steely Dan. And I still do. Best American band of the last few decades.
The most sophisticated music to every hit the pop charts, as a jazz Snob I love this period of popular music.
This is one of the most thorough breakdowns/explanations for their sound I’ve seen. Musical and technical
Great angle... Seen a lot of Steely Dan song reviews but your's is quite original. Lot of references just like Steely Dan music :-)
Show me a Dan hater and I'll show you someone that has never played music.
Too bad it was prolifically played in dentists offices and elevators....Kinda ruins it for me today
...or listened to it for that matter
@@robertmaybeth3434 Go on...
Or they don’t realize what they’re hearing ~
@@bilbobaggins4710 I can't say that I don't know what you mean. I was at my grocery store about a year ago and I heard Ozzy playing as if he were shopping music. I like Ozzy but not while I'm shopping for Veal.
This is an analysis worth listening to. Very informative and insightful. Thanks.
So I'm 19 and I grew up listening to some of Steely Dan with my dad who died a year ago, and I loved them then and still do. Now because of this video I have resurfaced a love for music and got tons of nostalgia from their fantastic collection. But sometimes hearing popular radio songs today physically hurts me, since I will never see bands like Steely Dan again.
The band that keeps on giving. What I mean is you can listen to their music on so many levels. Their sophistication is amazing. The musicianship simply stunning. A bit of history - back in 1972 I used to go to the Union Rowing Club alongside the Nottingham Forest football ground by the River Trent. They used to host discos every Thurs/Saturday/Sunday night with their legendary DJ Petal. This guy was really into his funk and fusion and Steely Dan featured prominently in his sets. Eminently danceable tracks which personified the ‘coolest’ club in Nottingham! Here I am more than 40 years later still listening and appreciating their music. Less obvious tracks which I may have passed over at the time now seem like classics. These guys were very clever musicians. If the songs don’t get you first time don’t give up. Like so much great music it challenges you to unlock its beauty and when you know the tracks they get better with every listen. BTW, I think we should all welcome the diversity of comments. All viewpoints should be valued. These are my comments which some of you may agree with but if you don’t it’s still really cool. Just explain why you disagree as that’s also interesting. My God, if we all felt the same way about everything the world would be so boring!!
One of my favorite songs of all time! I have noticed their early albums used as demos in high end audio shops over the years. I currently have their DECADE OF STEELY DAN cd downloaded to my FIIO X1 player and listening to SENNHEISER HD 202 headphones , great for my long train commute daily to and from work. Great detail and great video!
Captains Log: Star Date 17: proof of intelligent life forms on planet youtube...
I concur
@@blueshorecreative3146 I retort
Fascinating captain
Never knew what it was about their sound of music that sent me to where I’d never been before. Thanks for this.
Black Cow (and FM) was my introduction to Steely Dan, both got a lot of airplay when I was a teenager. I love Deacon Blues, but my favourite of Steely Dan is Hey Nineteen. Fantastic on good headphones.
Mike Davey Do it again is my fav. It just is so truthful and honest
Yes. Hey Nineteen is one of the best sounding songs to play on a new set of speakers.
I’m 42. And Steely Dan IS my favorite band! I can’t explain it. My parents didn’t listen to them, and I can’t recall a childhood memory of hearing them.
I discovered them in my late teens.
I got to see them preform 4 months before Becker passed. And I follow the cover band in SD and LA!
This video KICKS ASS!!!
I come back to this video often... brilliant content!
Whoah! How so lucid, your descriptions? About sonic, verbal, philosophical angles. I'm impressed! And slight surprised. Subscribed, subscribed, and kudos lauded.
I started learning this song in the early 90s. It took years for me to finally get it into a presentable form. After that I took on Aja. It took me nearly as long. It seems silly to spend so much time and effort on a single tune. But in retrospect these two songs had a great deal to do with making me the player I became.
There's a lot to learn about Steely Dan's work.
True story. The system of harmonic thought that underlies their work never seems to be talked about or taught, despite its later ubiquity in pop.
Steely has been a great band in my life a drummer who's played around the world but in me was a songwriter and jazz influenced guitar player, thanks to my jazz loving crazy parents. I heard the muu cord, the major and minor 7ths but not until I left the city put away my drums picked up my ES 335 and started taking lessons and writing did I find what I had been looking for.The song you analyzed is me in many ways, great job my friend keep it up. Johnny Cardinali
2019 and Aja is still one of my most played and favorite albums. When it came out, my brother had me listen to the whole thing and then broke it down for me with chord progressions. We have both been musicians since we were little kids and this is still one of the most distinct recordings I've ever heard.
i have to thumbs up someone who appreciates how beautiful their music is. awesome vid
Sometimes you read negative comments about Steely Dan here and there about how they suck, "I hate Steely Dan," blah blah blah. I don't understand it. Their music is interesting and complex, their lyrics thought provoking. Maybe it's because they are so calculated and polished...the haters think they're pretentious or something. Oh well...haters gonna hate I guess. Doesn't stop me from liking them.
It took me a good 25 years to warm up to them. I bought the Citizen Dan box so I'm getting into it. I never doubted that the music was layered and thought out rather well with not just the same ole lyrics.
The appeal of the Dan is almost entirely cerebral while some people really only engage with music that hits them viscerally. Personally, I find different bands for different moods, and there are plenty of moods that fit with Steely Dan.
they're haters, nothing more to say.
@@EFFbriskethead Don't Take Em Alive,🧟
Right on. "The band is the most sonically sophisticated (sic) pop acts of the 21st century ...."
OMG! I love Jazz Fusion, please make more videos about music. A Bob Dylan video would be amazing and a video about the Blues would be great.
As You Were Reading My Very Long Username I Stole Your Sandwich he's done one on all along the watchtower.
This is my favorite album of all time. When I was in university in Sydney in the 80s, I would play this album over and over on my turntable. It was my inspiration.
That was an outstanding video, 9 and a half minutes well-spent for me. Thanks for the hours and hours you put into this, delving into this iconic song.
I love hearing the stories behind the music , more entertaining than reading any book..
One of the best sounding bands ever. Every instrument sounds like it's own band.
"Donald Fagen (Speaker): A mu chord - and now I’m getting technical - is a major triad with an added second. It was very popular in the mid-sixties."
The horns and sax in the long outro makes me cry.. this song is so beautiful
I was lucky enough to grow up in the 70’s. There were such a huge number of great musical artists during that decade, that I think some of us took it for granted. We probably thought this music might last forever. It didn’t. Most good things don’t. But as I’ve gotten older, my appreciation for the music has grown deeper.
Hands down my favorite Steely Dan song is Deacon Blues. I’m not a musician but the blending of the instruments is just amazing to my ears. There are certain songs I can listen to and put on repeat numerous times. I could easily listen to Deacon Blues for an hour straight or longer.
I used to play the Aja album on cassette in my car going to and from work in Seattle for months on end. It would pass the time and make the traffic more manageable. Not one bad song. You can’t say that about many albums. Fagan & Becker were musical perfectionists from what I heard, and it was definitely reflected in their music.
My wife and I just recently saw Steely Dan with Donald Fagan open for the Eagles in Phoenix earlier this year. It was like two concerts for the price of one.
this video is the best thing i've ever seen on the internet
Damn this is brilliant!! Has a kind of Anthony Bourdain feel to it. Well written, well researched, well done!
Well-stated and presented. Not your average RUclips video.
Loved the video. You've expressed my own sentiments when breaking down songs, yet you were able to elucidate your points in a broader more comprehensive manner giving the listener of both the classroom environment and the personal/familiar vernacular. I look forward to more of these videos.
RIP Becker. You gave us some incredible music.
The Mu Major chord, is really only an 'add9' chord.
+nerkoids
Is it, though? The distinguishing part of the mu major is that the second is directly next to the root, rather than an octave above.
I think it is just a specific voicing of a major 9 chord. I don't see why it would need its own name though, it is really not particularly interesting sounding, considering the other complex chords they play ALL the time
Their name for it was given tongue in cheek.
If there is no 7th, then it is not a 9th. It is a 2nd - regardless of octave. I have always just called and written this as a ' 2 ' chord.. Great video!
"add2" is a more accurate description of what is specifically going on, but yes you're correct.
Appreciate the breakdown, good job. I was hooked when Can't Buy A Thrill came out. They seemed to get better and better. I saw The Doobie Bros 3 times in early seventies and the Dan twice together. Now in 2018 bucket list to see The Living Dangerously Tour. A lot of the players have passed, but it will be like driving a classic muscle car again.
A beautiful tribute to one of the world's most remarkable songs, produced by one of the world's most remarkable bands. RIP Walter Becker.
Man, so glad to see there's a video about Deacon Blues. It's my favourite song of theirs and I constantly catch myself humming the lyrics.
Steely Dan! One of the best bands ever, for all the reasons you point out in this video.
awesome! I played in a soul cover band years ago, and we did our own version of Peg... easiest verses ever, most difficult chorus ever.
Please do one of these on Pink Floyd, or if you're up to the challenge, Frank Zappa!
+Leajiaure Damn right! Floyd's production was off the charts. Speaking of production, IF you're into this electronic stuff at all, check out Tipper, or Pretty Lights. I'd love to see a nerdwriter1 video on either of those folks.
Have a good one!
i think a breakdown of the effects of dark side of the moon would be interesting to watch
Hell yeah! That would be very, very interesting!
nabruh and pet sounds
Wisecrack
WOW! This is an amazing overview and analysis of a great piece of music. Every word! Totally fitting of a perfect piece of music. BTW, Deacon (dee-kaa-on) in Hebrew means a depressed mindset!
After 30 years as a major DS fan, I'm still in awe by the way Fagen/Becker "built" songs!
David Wieland ritE?
Oh, wow! What a great treasure trove of info I’ve stumbled upon here.
I love Steely Dan sooo much...and to run into this video that breaks down one of their most iconic songs (in a way nobody else has) makes me love “Deacon Blues” even more. Thank you!!
(And such classy, unique video, I’m a new sub!)
Ever since Rikki Don't Lose Than Number...I've been hooked! Easily my most favorite artists. Sad Becker is gone.
Christ there ain't no better lyrics than the Dan. Let's face it they are not only catchy but they make you think. They raised the bar for many bands and people who still struggle to play this type of music and hit those notes and phrases. A true musicians music but with pop appeal - amazing.
Agree 100%, the balancing act between complexity (both musical and lyrical) and pop hooks sets them apart from most other bands.
You like Steely Dan too? Good job dude! I don't know what to say. I'm speechless! It's 4:40 am! I just want to commend you for making a video about Steely Dan!
+John Paradise For this reason, when the bridge comes and the saxophone solo happens......
Ted L. And....
+John Paradise Click on your 4:40 link JP, it's virtual numerology working its mysterious magic.
Ted L. At 4:40 these very words occur: "for this reason...etc. Is it magic or design?
+John Paradise Ah, so you're a mute, saxophone-playing bridge builder. Got it!
I have been a HUGE Dan Fan since day one...Fagen and Backer combined and solo get major rotation in my playlist, so, here I thought I was a "Steely Dan Know-it-all". After watching your video, I now have an even greater appreciation (which seemed impossible) for this classic.
With all the commotion since Walter Becker's death, I went in search of some deeper meaning to his art.
You have NAILED it on this song! I hope to watch many more of these videos from you as you have really gotten to the depths of this one.
As a side note, I have always felt that the album Aja was the culmination of perfection for Steely Dan...not the proceeding or later albums weren't great or stood out...but, Aja is a masterpiece, each song is of itself perfection, no filler, each unique.
As another side note, "11 Tracks of Wack" and "Two Against Nature" being more recent work, I feel, round out nicely a complete, stellar career for both. Perhaps Walters passing will inspire Donald Fagen to even more genius work.
Thank you for your part helping us fans explore this song.
Thank you SO much for this lesson about "Deacon Blues",...probably my favorite Steely Dan song. I particularly like the line "they've got a name for the winners of the world, I, I want a name when I lose",...breaks my heart. I cry when I hear that line. Thank you again. And a P.S.,.....I also like the Ramones very much. It's OK to like different stuff or a variety of music. Let's throw a little JS Bach in there too. I could go on and on.
How do you manage to create videos that feel so familiar? Love it ❤️ Will definately check out this band.
I kinda cried watching this?
I love Steely Dan. I know the words to practically every song. I was one of the few to see them live in the early 70s. They've been my favorite band ever since. I also like Fagan's solo work (Becker's, um no). I saw them twice on their '93 reunion tour and it was like a religious gathering of devotees both times. Then saw them again last year (2015) and it was as if Houston was under a hurricane evacuation and used Woodlands Pavilion. as a staging area for nursing home residents. I know that Fagan and Becker were pretentious assholes in their smug twenties. I know the story of Jerome Aniton, their erstwhile truck driver who they made emcee because he was a drunk and kept crashing the truck. I know they hijacked an existing band then starved out the others who could perform but could not write and they preferred only the latter knowing full well what they were doing. Of course I know the dildo thing.
And yet after 40 years as an ardent fan I discover, just now in fact, that I don't know dick about the meanings of their songs. I swear to God I thought this song was about a guy who was already a drunk sax player, defiant against traditional roles, and refused to acquiese. I saw myself that way and would sing "CALL ME DEACON BLUES" at the top of my lungs in solidarity with the cavalier attitude. I'm sure I told others much the same thing when the tune was playing in my car and we were passing a joint around in route to yet another club.
I thought "Everyone's Gone to the Movies" was about a creepy pedophile neighbor and that "Cousin Dupree" was his cross town equal. I thought "Daddy Don't Live In that New York City" was the sequel to "Deacon Blues" even though it was written earlier, ya know like Star Wars Films. I thought "Haitian Divorce" was about a Haitian Divorce and that "Do It Again" was about the curse of having a dick.
Yet, I'm reminded about the couple of times I've read their lyrics off the back of an album just to pass time and some other band was performing background noise duty while i waited on my girlfriend to render herself as "fuck me pretty" as she could get for Fri/Sat nights on the town. This odd feeling came over me because I couldn't relate to the words I was reading without the context of the music. The lyrics seemed trite, amateurish even. It was a disquieting feeling and one I've never shared until just now. But, apparently, it wasn't them, it was me, the clever dullard, the Steely Dan Fan Wannabe. That is something I never would have thought possible.
~sigh~
Thanks for ruining my lfe.
cseeger1 this ain't Dan, but, nevertheless, brilliant, it is
If I'm not mistaken, Book of Liars is a Becker solo song; that's a good tune.
cseeger1 I’ve been a fan since I was a teenager and I think with the Dan THEY know the meaning, but it’s WE the listeners who take what they’re singing and figure it out for ourselves. That’s the cryptic nature of the group...They’re going to stick it to you but they’re going to be assholes about it by making you think. So you may think Haitian Divorce is about a quick annulment, but what it’s really about is how a chick gets knocked up by a Haitian and Hence the divorce. That’s what makes them classic
cseeger1 I too saw the Dan just a few months ago. I’m 44, and at that concert felt like I was at Seniors day at the MN state fair.
And SD’s The Bear, wonderful tune if you can find it. ..... Just finished Fagen’s Eminent Hipsters for the 4th time. Like SD’s music, this crazy little autobiography just gets more & more interesting ....sweet salty an dry. The dusty insights are free
Probably my most favorite Steely Dan songs...and what a GREAT in-depth look at it, thanks!!!
Thank you for your in-depth critique of Steely Dan's music and lyrics . I have absolutely no music background, but have been listening to Steely Dan ever since my high school days in the '70's. This makes me appreciate and understand them more, besides learning more about jazz and music along the way too.