I pulled a Walter Becker circa 1979 and got hit by a car so I made this little video about my favorite Steely Dan song. It ain't that deep and I don't want this to be considered a video essay but if people like it I may make more!
People often brush off Steely Dan as "yacht rock" simply because of the crystal sounds of Aja as well as its blissful subjects. It is such an album, yes, however Steely Dan has always been much more sardonic than to play such a concept straight. Which is why when Gaucho rolls around, though the sound is just as crystal, it feels like the yacht got set on fire, the ship sunk, and now everyone is on the lifeboats waiting. It's a wonderfully dark take on what came before and made for a more than fitting end to their catalogue until the reunion. Babylon Sisters is a perfect opener for this, but every next track follows suit even more perfectly.
I appreciated Steely Dan a lot more after Nightfly. Went back to listen to more of their less popular music… also gained an appreciation for Brubeck and 60’s jazz.
“Everything Must Go” in 2003 was the true end of their catalog now that Walter has died. It didn’t receive nearly the same amount of recognition as “Two Against Nature” but in my opinion (and the opinion of most Steely Dan superfans) it’s easily as good as “Two Against Nature” and remains the most underrated album in their history. The songs on EMG are more carefully crafted and concise than on TAN, the playing is of course equally as good just like with anything these guys release, but it also has some edge to it that I feel TAN was lacking. It also saw a return of Becker and Fagen being more involved in the actual playing on the album whereas on Aja and Gaucho and to a lesser extent Two Against Nature, they were both perfectly happy to put down their instruments and have a seasoned studio pro or jazz player track the parts. The song in this video, “Babylon Sisters” is a perfect example because if you look at the credits, neither Becker or Fagen play an instrument on the song. They wrote it of course but other than Donald’s vocals they don’t participate. On “Everything Must Go” Walter plays bass on every song, something he hadn’t done on a Steely Dan album since the very first one way back in ‘72. He also plays all of the guitar solos on the songs that have one and even makes his debut as a lead vocalist on one tune. Donald participates in every song playing a wide variety of keyboards (organs, acoustic and electric pianos, etc) and takes of ton of solos himself, all on synthesizers. He’s even credited with percussion on a few tracks and he also arranged the horns on the album, a task that was usually left to a pro arranger like Tom Scott, Michael Omartian, or Rob Mounsey on all of the previous albums. I’m not sure what the impetus was for them wanting to be more involved with the playing but whatever the reason, it resulted in a really great album that not enough people seem to dive into. Sorry for the long post, I got on a roll there and just kept going
Their composition skills are simply jaw dropping. I sometimes forget to even listen to the lyrics so amazed at the progressions and melodies just rolling out from their recordings. Their music will live a long, long time, likely taking its rightful place in the great American songbook. Just timeless and brilliant.
Although I suspect they're a lot harder to play than most Great American Songbook tunes: not so many of those easy, convenient ii - V7 - I changes or hummable melodies. Or, for that matter, any straightahead "I love you" lyrics at all. For Don + Walt, I think, it was always more about Beat Poetry set to the Great American Real Book than anything in the Great American Songbook.
Out the corner of my eye I saw you in Rudy's you were very high you were high I know it's the album Aja from earlier but it's just a great example of seemingly simple lyrics that convey so much emotion and so much cynicism yet so artistic and such a catchy beat. Walter Becker you are sorely missed and we will never forget you.
I met Bernard Purdie and heard him play live at my friend’s jazz club in New Bern North Carolina. At 84, Mr Purdie is still the master of the drums! Such a cool guy too.
Nobody else like The Dan. Never has been,never will be. Its own class and level of music . Led Zeppelin opened up the world of hard rock to the masses and Steely Dan brought us..... well,brought us what they brought us. Awesome amazing musicians, minds and personalities Danism
I always thought that the middle age loser was trying to stay relevant by hooking up with wild younger chicks (so fine, so young). He was trying to prove to himself and to his friends that he still had it in him even though his friends didn't "go for that cotton candy" (sweet sticky thangs). His friends warn him "son your playing with fire" but he goes for it anyway despite the danger. As he and the girls are driving west down Sunset Blvd. to their rendezvous point, he feels a generation gap (like in Hey 19) with their taste in music when (like the old man that he's become) asks them to "turn that jungle music down just until they're outta town." He prefers that smooth, easy music like the song itself we are hearing. Then to show us just how deep of a mess our protagonist has gotten himself into, multiple women sing in harmony and plead with him to "Tell me I'm the only one." "Now he watches his bridges burn, to the point of no return..."
@@thehypnoticdog6682uh, that’s why Becker/Fagen are songwriters who paints imaginary characters with their lyrics. No one seriously believes JR Tolkien was writing about himself with LOTR and Hobbit, right? Unless you’re listening to what they say is a autobiographical work (eg Becker’s solo album, “11 tracks of whack”, which also has fantasy characters (Hat Too Flat), but mostly features personal episodes in his life, eg Surf &/or Die, a lyric based on a family friend who died in a hang gliding accident in HI. Little Kawai, Cringemaker, This Moody Bastard, Junky Girl, Down at the Bottom, are also more personal, if not self-reflective).
Babylon Sisters and The Royal Scam are my favourite Dan lyrics. I especially love this passage: Well, I should know by now That it's just a spasm Like a Sunday in T.J. That it's cheap but it's not free That I'm not what I used to be And that love's not a game for three.
That was my first Dan album and _is_ indeed a perfect record. 👍 Yet it's more of a spectator piece that I stand in awe of; it doesn't have a distinctive "feel" to me the way the considerably flawed _Can't Buy A Thrill_ does. It haunts me _days_ after hearing.
I bought Gaucho when I was in college in 1980. I moved to LA in 1989. Only when I moved to LA, actually drove "west on Sunset to the sea...", and experienced those "Santa Ana winds again" did I truly understand this masterpiece.
Aja is Steely Dan at their most optimistic.. Black Cow is one of the few examples of a narrator in a SD track making decisions to improve and make a positive change in his/her life - the narrator leaving the person who’s mess they have been cleaning up for too long. He/she is breaking the cycle, they can’t cry anymore. Compare that to Babylon Sisters, where the narrator doubles down on his destructive behaviour, caught in an indefinite loop of pursuing shallow hedonism. To the point of no return.
A few years ago I was in LA driving down sunset and decided to drive it to the sea (a long winding drive) and I pulled up this song and cranked it up over and over. Great time.
Sounds amazing. I, however, find myself cranking up the Dan either on my 40 minute drive to work or home, through corn and soybeans, in North Central Indiana. Not nearly as glorious a drive as Sunset to the Sea, but the music is still phenomenal!
@@raywalsh9152 I hear ya, I actually live in western Ohio surrounded by corn and soybeans. I was stationed close to LA in the 80's, have a son that lives out there so I visit a lot. Nice place to visit but I don't miss living there.
I grew up just a mile north of Sunset (West of the 405), so ‘West on Sunset’ was the way to get to Jr. High, High School, or snag a ride to the beach. 60’s West L.A. was pretty awesome. Much different these days…
I had to do the very same thing when I was last in LA. From Sunset Boulevard at UCLA to the ocean. The languid feel of the song with an almost reggae back beat perfectly complements the snake like shimmying following the winding road down. Have loved SD from the mid 70s. The langu
This commentary is exceptionally insightful. By 1980 Steely Dan had indeed come to the end of the line in LA and they pretty much skewered the place in this song as their farewell. Many listeners don't fully grasp the subtlety of their message, but their musicianship and production standards come through with the usual Steely Dan brilliance. A real masterpiece.
See, I always thought cotton candy was younger girls. "Son, you're playing with fire" always caught me at that point. That's interesting. Very good take on this, though. Thanks!
My favorite song from this album. So much to like: rich, haunting Rhodes, lush horns, the dark poetry of the lyrics, and on and on. Enjoyed your analysis - thanks. Good luck with your recovery!
One of my favorite songs by one of my favorite bands. Thanks for the backstory. It was really interesting. And will make all future listening that much more fun
I remember clearly the afternoon when I was visiting a friend (in NZ) and we sat down and listened to this record shortly after its release. Still my favourite Steely Dan record, the songs pretty much all have a sort of 'film noir' undercurrent and the arrangements and playing are impeccable. I can certainly 'feel' the cynicism that true blue New Yorkers might feel towards LA running thru it - of the 2 cities (that I have only visited a couple of times albeit for a good few weeks each time connecting with studios, record companies and so on) I loved NY and LA left me completely cold - shallow and vacuous . . . you picked my fave song to comment on!
I agree with you! LA was very underwhelming when I visited. And wow what a great story, always love hearing from people what it was like when the music was first released. Great to share those memories!
@@15centsmedia85 Cheers! It was Sept. 1981 first time round. I managed to visit the studio where Gaucho was recorded and had a nice chat with the engineer who was in there - lovely room!
I arrived in the LA basin just as Donald and Walter were fixin' to leave. Understanding their take on it helped me to keep from falling so deep into the basin I couldn't get out. I left California for good after about 20 years of it, so I'm not squeaky clean -- fifteen years in Santa Barbara, a distillation of LA that looks prettier and is a lot meaner because of how much more it fools you into believing you want to stay. Your commentary is sharp and witty, and you picked one of my Dan favorites to highlight.
@@danieljulian4676 I moved there a week out of High School in '71. Parents had a furniture store there for many years. We lived across the street from Sam Basttistone. Even helped out at his place down by Stearns wharf. (Sambo's)
@@tixximmi1 That Sambo's may even have still been there when I first got to SB, but it was gone by the time I left. During my days, there was a great breakfast spot, The Cajun Kitchen, with several restaurants around the area. Top notch chile verde 'n' eggs with flour tortilla. It may still be a thing, there.
Always felt like The Dan grew up with me, rather than the other way around. They were never my favorite band, but always right up there, making incredible indelible music that has certainly stood the test of time.
That was a great retrospective on this song. I really like the narration and how you offered your take on what the lyrics may have been about, particularly about Los Angeles.
Thank you. The great thing about their songwriting is how the lyrics could be perceived in many different ways. Just my take on it but I’m glad people have responded warmly to it.
I’ve loved and followed SD since the 70’s, many of my friends just didn’t “get them” and unfortunately still don’t. The complaint was usually they couldn’t classify what kind of music it was; Was it Rock n Roll, or Smooth Jazz, or just what was it? I think that’s the beauty of their music, it’s just really complex, yet masterful arrangements. The sounds Fagen and Becker put together are beautiful technical music that still wow me today when I listen to their music from 50 years ago! I’m sad that I will never again see Walter and Don on the same stage, but so glad they got to do what they loved. They’re a one of a kind band and at least in my opinion, their music will live forever.
Great review, i completely agree. Having bought every Dan album the day it was released in the UK and playing them continuously, Goucho and Royal Scam are standouts for me. Caves of Altameira never gets old. Thank you!
I can remember back in the '70s being in high school trying to figure out what the songs meant fast forward a couple of decades and they released two against nature which is probably my favorite steely Dan album ever and the first time I heard it I was listening to the words trying to figure out what they mean and it occurred to me I've been doing this for 50 years
My favorite SD song. It just occurred to me that for at least a year, my homemade SD CD has been the only CD in my car, and every time I drive somewhere, I choose track 13, and listen to that opening Perdie groove.
I got to see them perform at Desert Sky Pavilion in Phoenix in '93 - YES! 🤩 - and when they did this song, every time they sang "Shake It" the guy sitting next to me would stand up and shake his booty! The whole event was surreal to me because, like many, I have been a Dan fan since a pretty young age. Seeing them perform live was literally a dream-come-true. Maybe it was partly an effect of my own euphoria but the booty-shaking neighbor sent me into a case of the giggles and hard as I tried I couldn't stop laughing. So unfortunately, I missed a great deal of seeing Steely Dan perform Babylon Sisters live...just the same, it was certainly one of the most unforgettable experiences of my life! To 15CentsMedia: Thanks for the video, brought back such great memories! My only critique - and it's really just nitpicking! - maybe turn down the music volume just a tad more when you are speaking so we can more easily hear your commentary - which was excellent! I just found myself straining a bit at times to catch it all, but then I'm old - could just be I'm going deaf? 😝 I do hope you will do more, and again, a big thanks for the time you put into creating and sharing this with the Dan Fam! Hope you are healing up well!!
Thank you so much for your wonderful story and advice. I also count myself as one of the lucky ones to have seen Babylon sisters live but had I experienced what you did I probably would’ve missed some of it too! And as to more videos about the Dan… well I guess to that I’ll say I may have to Do It Again
Yeah, very good. I still have my original copy, and put it on late at night. Listen to any track and it's a masterpiece (my personal favourite is Glamour Profession, for it's driving beat and sound in space). 😎
when i first herd Glamour Profession it reminded me of that HOLLYWOOD ERA rediscoverd again by the La hippies in mid 70s. here in Phx az. it gave an excuse mostly women to go Babylon and get into the film and modeling but most of them got stuck slinging hash or being ask to do porn. Yes such a dreamy tune, yet we still no glamure existed only for the lucky few even in the 70s.
This is pretty good. One of my favorites as well. You might take a listen to "only a fool would say that". Lyrically, they apprehend the working class rejection of progressive idealism we are witnessing today. "Kid Charlemagne" has been done well by others already.
Steely Dan is more of a jazz band from back in the 50s like Monk or Trane's bands with Becker and Fagan being the constants. You can also see that in how they were the studio perfectionists, it was in the arrangement of the song and album order. Rush & Pink Floyd both being other "album bands" but from different genres. When you have 4 or 6 different studio guys playing guitar on your album because each one of them is a super tight fit for a single track or section of a song.
Excellent! I am reading Quantum Criminals last night page193 about Babylon Sister to try to get some understanding about the song. It was very informative but complicated (didn't help that I kept playing Babylon Sisters over and over while reading it) But needless to say: Your presentation was so much more easy to understand, Thank You! Make More........
You can't listen to the music while reading, QC. There is too much to be distracted by. The music, story in the song, text of analysis, and contemplating the images in the song. It's too much for the mind.
If you're saying Babylon Sisters doesn't have complex chord changes, you're not listening. It's hardly a 3 or 4 chord special. The song is harmonically dense, there are quite a few chords, and it moves thru a number of key changes. It's not that different from many other Dan tunes in that regard. Maybe just a little more sneaky in the way it snakes thru the progressions propelled by that seductive half time groove, with a nice hint of chucka chucka reggae rhythm guitar. As for the lyrics, I always thought it was about a white guy's fascination with getting it on with young women of colour. Babylon being a Rastafarian cum Biblical reference to the black diaspora, created by the slave trade. And "Don't go for that cotton candy" does not seem to be a drug reference, but a warning from friends to not mess around with these kind of girls (is the cotton candy a reference to their hair texture?) as it will probably not end well. That's my take anyway.
First time I ever heard those guys, the first line of the song goes "In the morning you go gunning for the man who stole your water" (Do It Again). Love at the first WTF.
What a trip bands of talents collected by Becker n Fagen over centuries of time have made the sound so damn good with selection of worlds talent musicians,u just can’t get it all in one session you’ll have ta fumble through yrs to really get the piece your hung on then they’ll put up something better to attach to ,then it’s gone or at least half , Please RIP Walter you’ll have an after life forever through tones of gray sound to bright skyline tunes
5:40: I’ve heard it said that perhaps the Babylon Sisters are the cities of L.A. and San Francisco. Both earthquake-prone (shake it!), and that the multitude of pursuits in the song could apply equally to both cities
Absolutely love this idea as well. I hope in my video I don’t come across as selling my interpretation as the right one. The songwriting is so rich that there are so many ways to take it.
First time hearing it was at the end of the decade, in boot camp for the Air Force, on a quiet Sunday when someone's radio was playin, and I hear this song with all these chords jumping all over the place; sounding like IGY on steroids! When it gets tot he chorus, I recognize it as one of those strange titles I had seen on the albums. Yesh, this is perennially them, and like the culmination of where they had gone with Aja
I loved the Dan! I can't imagine what it would be like to be a musician, especially perfectionists like them. Working on the same piece of music for hours and hours and hours and hours. It would drive me mad. After like the fourth take, I'd be like, "f' it, its a wrap!".
Fagen and Becker were Lit Major at Bard College. They present a 2 hour movie in a 5 minute song. Gaucho seemed like a letdown after Aja, but then nothing has surpassed Aja.
@@89Firegod My favorite of their albums is The Royal Scam. If you sort of squint, you can detect a loose concept about the Caribbean on some the songs. My favorite song of all time is on it, "Kid Charlemagne." That being said, Aja is probably their masterpiece. It's funny, but just yesterday I listened to Gaucho all the way through. Steve Kahn's solo on the ending of "Glamour Profession" is fantastic.
the lost it after Pretzel Logic. Gaucho is a classic also. Aja was to polished. No heart. And then by then they were doing 1000's of edits.. which is at that level the same as todays programmed music.
Gaucho is my fave Dan album. I prefer it to Aja. And I actually prefer Royal Scam to Aja. Nothing wrong with Aja, but Gaucho has something extra imo. It was a great way for Fagen and Becker to sign off and take a break for a few years. Even if Becker wasn't all that involved with the album.
I am an honest Fan of Steely Dan . I have some very fond memories pinned to their music . As we recently lost Walter . Love all the Musician's that worked with Donald & Walter. Thank You Donald. I wanted to add . Can you play the entire track that your Talking about ? .
That was because of Roger Nichols, and Ben Schnee. Aja is the finest engineered album ever created on vinyl. It is as close to sound perfection as you can get.
I agree that Babylon Sisters is a hugely cynical and jaded take on life in the late 70s, but to me it’s reflexively the culmination of the mood set in their song Kings. Even with King Richard long gone, the sequence of both Ford and Carter offered no improvement with even Carter pointing out the “malaise” in the country. Optimism was in short supply and The Dan couldn’t offer anything more than hookers and blow, or kirschwasser, although in the most elegant way possible. I love the song and the imagery it evokes.
What is your favorite Steely Dan song, not easy. Better to go with best on each album, yet mine won't be yours. It's why the Dan is so great, it's personal. If I was only given one choice it would have to be Babylon Sisters. A playlist of obscure gems is a listening joy, so here are my 'best of' picks before Gaucho: 'Only a Fool Would Say That', 'Razor Boy', "Any Major Dude Would Tell You', 'Your Gold Teeth II', 'The Caves of Altamira', and finally 'Home at Last'.
Sorry to hear that you got hit by a car. I’m befuddled about your description of Black Cow. I know of no one who would describe it as a bebop song and perhaps more shocking, not even elude to its blatant funkiness.
Interesting review. The song is brilliant - not as empty as it may sound at first glance. I also went to school with Fagen's stepson, so I have a few insights that are not public record. Donald had a thing for very young girls, so "cotton candy" is a double entendre. Think of cotton panties. Essentially it's about "sisters" (JV sisters if memory recalls) and let that take you where it may. 3-way with young girls and all the trappings that come with it (good and bad). Definitely spot-on with the cynicism of LA and that lifestyle in general, but also of his own additions and fetishes.
@@15centsmedia85 I agree that "cotton candy" is not a drug reference, it's about the character's weakness for young women and how it ultimately is bad for him. There is an earlier line about 'love is not a game for three' - I am not sure this means a three-way, to me this implies he is married or in a relationship and he has a problem staying faithful as he is drawn to these younger women like cotton candy. To me, the song takes place as he is driving with a young woman to have an affair at a hotel or perhaps a condo he keeps near the beach. The young woman being naive thinks she 'is the only one', he is trying to convince himself that this is special, not a one night stand, but of course he is wrong and being self-destructive. Perhaps the Santa Ana winds are the self-destructive repercussions of his selfish actions. And that may be a metaphor for the shallow life in LA. Hey Nineteen is also about a middle-aged man drawn to young woman.
