LikeWiseLikeYou:Remarkable when you can see all the work & thought that goes into creating a song & then to have it become a smash hit & a classic. All we fans hear & groove to is the finished product.That's the magic of music;so many diverse ideas coming together & jelling into something catchy & cool. It can start off with something like a simple blues variation & suddenly, boom!You got a catchy opening,a theme you can sing & bob your head to & finally a musical story you can hang on to for years.
Cryptic,sardonic, coruscating geniuses.Finely honing the feel and structure of the songs, practicing and practicing until they become second nature and allowing the musicians playing to imbue their own characteristics whilst remaining faithful to the original intent. Once-in-a-lifetime musicians. From the age of 17 they were easily (and still are) my favourite band. At least once a month I have to get my fix my listening to Aja in its entirety
Yes, eloquently indeed -- and someone who knows the word coruscating. I love it. That's exactly what some Steely Dan tunes often are. PEG is an example. It just sparkles and glitters like a star, which I suspect is the effect they were going for. Boy, does it work.
He's a little more than competent. His knowledge of the history and theory behind this stuff is clearly very advanced. Added to that is the fact that he's able to utilize that knowledge by writing songs like New Frontier and Maxine makes him a genius in my book.
Fagen was/is the musical genius. Becker, as well as being a great writing partner, guitarist and bass player, gave the lyrics their cynical edge. It was the perfect match, probably never to be repeated again.
Always amazing to watch two musicians converse (verbally and musically) when both are so completely knowledgeable about their instrument, music theory in general, and also music history in the sense of knowing what riffs, chords, modes, etc. come from what sources.
the major triads he throws over the minor/modal baseline creates the tensions that he resolves and then resets. this plays with your emotional cortex in ways you don't consciously process
man a musician can learn a ton from this. very cool applications of jazz and blues so nicely working together on a really sweet lick when compared to the full cut with everyone playing. even better to hear it all explained too.
this is what happens when you have someone who is classically trained that just loves and wants to play music! We really need music back in elementary schools again!
How do you know they have an IQ of 80? Not many people have their IQ properly tested by a professional. A professional has to do it. Most of them are quite smart, like so many natural born Americans. I'm speaking of attracting a new cultural energy from beyond our borders that continues to make America greater, rather than us stagnating, smelling our own farts.
Another brilliant post that should lay to waste all the naysayers who think Becker and Fagen were "nothing" without their studio musicians - thanks for sharing!
Eight thumbs down? Who could give this a thumbs down? Steely Dan is one of the absolute greats of modern music. Fagen and Becker wrote some major gems right up there with The Beatles.
Aja was, is (and I hate it when people do this) for me 1 of the 20 best pieces of work ever done. I had a girlfriend that said, "Aja (song) is such a beautiful love song", she was speechless when I explained it was about China White heroin.......kinda of ruined her love buzz.
Absolutely incredible to hear him describing music, describing the "space". I feel like being in the studio with him and everyone else when they were creating like this would have been a religious experience.
Passion personified. The talent Becker and Fagen laid on the music world set the bar for future generations. Stunning. Sublime. Soulful all at once. Watch and learn kids. Master at work right here!
He really is all that and then some....can not even imagine the world without his genius writing skills,not to mention his singing & playing talent! He & the entire band are amazing...You are so right pwkpilot!
What I find strange is the fact that they are playing this song in D minor but on the record and live it's in E minor. That means Donald can play this, not so simple song, in two different keys.
this is a true artist being kind enough to let us into the process. what amazing sounds paintings they made for the future. wow. sooooooo beautiful........
A master class in song structure and composition by one of the all time masters/greats/what-have-you, thank you so much for posting this video I learned a lot.
+Duncan lobley Ever hear of a couple dudes named Lennon & McCartney? How 'bout Page & Plant, Waters & Gilmore, or Jagger & Richards? Calm down superfan.
Duncan lobley Steely Dan set such a high bar for anyone moving from rock to jazz that few cover their songs and "yacht rock" performers (late Doobie Brothers, Michael Franks, Christopher Cross) aped the smoothness and solos but without the complexity. Other songwriters were far more influential.
There's a hint of Mike Myers' (Dr. Evil), in some of Don Fagen's mannerism's. It in no way diminishes his musical genius or prowess however. In fact, I find it an enhancement.
this tells those people who think that guys like DF are merely unschooled guys who put the gang together and banged away. There are a lot of music sheets and direction involved here.
That stuff he did initially, I heard Ray Charles so deep. Love how Walter (Becker) being bass player factored in to their genius. Steely Dan will never have an equal, they haven’t since 1973- RIP Walter
+Andrey Gaganov Hard to explain without some music theory: he's referring to a kind of mix of chord structure from Gregorian chant (search for that) and "Delta" (Louisiana delta) blues (search for that). He also explicitly refers to "modal" music, which Gregorian chant is an example of, coming, as it did, before Bach basically shoved the "well-tempered scale" (eliminating modes) down the throat of western music. The big takeaway, whether you follow this or not, is that Donald Fagen's music theory background is quite good, and since he's an artist, he knows you have to know the rules before you can break them.
Dude is a blues and jazz genius who learned from music he heard growing up. Becker and he were these out of time masters of their art. They stood out because nobody but them played like that, and they shunned the live scenes for decades. Bohemian hipsters before hipsters were hipsters.
This is why this music has lasted for generations. It's crafted by musicians. Unlike computer generated sampling and loops from current disposable pop "stars".
What a freaking genius! So glad my dad showed me this music growing up. I took guitar lessons throughout my entire childhood up until college, and learned a (I thought) decent amount of theory along the way. But watching this makes me understand how little I actually know. Now I produce music electronically which, contrary to popular belief, requires a great deal of not only music theory knowledge (if you want it to sound good), but also synthesis and sound design. This video really inspires me to dig deeper into music theory.
You do realize I am being tongue in cheek. I consider it a great privilege to listen to Walter explain what would otherwise be a mystery to me and business as usual to him/in his mind. Isn't WB and utube grand!?
Donald & Walt are some of my favorite song writers, true masters of the craft. They also use this same device of device of 'illuminating' a minor blues progression by inserting Maj 7/9 chords, on the song 'Don't take me Alive" from "The Royal Scam".
Have you ever notice how Steely Dan's imitators, like Rupert Holmes, Christopher Cross, Ambrosia, etc. became known decades later as Yacht Rock, but not Steely Dan. They're their own genre.
Walter and Donald took the essence of blues, soul and jazz-rock and polished it with super tasty inversions and arrangements, then dirtied it up just a little so it doesn't sound mechanical or robotic. Organic with no autotune, no hiding behind effects, no smoke and mirrors.
Speaking as an on air jock who played their tracks during the time when they were not yet "oldies," , I simply enjoyed this group of works like a fine meal, without fully understanding the depth of experience and understanding of the chef for all of the ingredients he was using. This set of vids gives me some of that missing insight, and I now have a much deeper appreciation of what was going on to put this meal together. I now feel like a foodie who wants to learn more about making meals like this myself, or at least have some of that understanding as a yeoman, if not a master.
Haitian Divorce, The Caves of Altamira and Dont Take Me Alive... The Royal Scam will always be my favorite SD recording, even though Aja is one of the best recorded and produced records of all time, right there with Dark Side of the Moon...
Notice how Fagen's talking voice is way different from his singing voice.Sometimes with other vocalists,it's the other way around.He is a very knowledgeable musician.
Yeah, just slap a little Gregorian swampy intro on it and you get this....lol, piece of cake. Just one of the most iconic intro's in the history of modern music.
I try so hard to listen to and respect what passes for popular music today and it is REALLY HARD. Most of what I hear sounds like it was created by some kind of algorithm devoid of a human pulse. Go read Never a Dull Moment about 1971. That was a golden age and I was fortunate to be there.
I will most miss Walter. RIP. You did a lot for the music world. And for those 18 thumbs down, I say you are a disgusting set of human-beings. Why where you on this channel anyway. This is for adult musicians. Walter, your music will last for ever. Thanks.
The real genius, he takes something familiar and morphs it just a little bit with a different type of vibe and then it sounds like a while new thing. Like Steely Dan. Brilliant.
I just saw a clip about this on IG that brought me to find this video. I just noticed the intro walk up is different in this video than it is on the original recording. They start the half step walk up on the recording on F and on this video, they start it on Eb. It still works to get into the song but it threw me off for a sec.
Donald F Is my All time Favorite All Around Tune Guy ! Along with The Eagles gang !" Complexity ,Versitility Classic, Multitudes of Everythimg & Anythimg blended from past to presemt of knowledge of & in Music thru half a Century ! Gemiuses of their Crafts !"
Steely Dan had a chemistry musicianship and wrote interesting great songs! Every once in a while a band comes out that has a total mojo! Its rare and slipping out of the people. I think bands like EWF, Stevie Wonder, Steely Dan, Beatles etc had it. Not to be confused with certain arrangements that use musical instruments to promote hair follicle excitement and projecting certain attitudes that have less to do with creating harmonies.
thx very much for this. I saw Steely Dan in concert some years back. while there was nothing wrong with it, frankly it had a "mailed it in" feel which was disappointing...I'd much rather have had an hour or more of listening to stuff like this...in fact this video could've been 10 hrs long and I would have happily sat here soaking up every minute.
