Drummer reacts to "Glamour Profession" by Steely Dan 

The unique thing with Steely Dan is,, If you are having a party/bbq/etc. with all different age groups/ethnicities/etc. & You don't know what music to play,, Just play Steely Dan & Trust me,, There will be no complaints.

This is their Cali album, written when they were in New York. Royal Scam is their New York album, written while in Cali.

Steely Dan had some of the most renowned drummers play on their tracks. Besides Gadd and Bernard Purdie, there was also Jim Keltner, Jeff Porcaro, Hal Blaine and Rick Marotta, among others.

Steely Dan = music perfection. Truth

With all the incredible bass lines in the SD catalog, this one is my favorite. Anthony Jackson laying it down.

Michael Brecker, tenor saxophonist, was in great demand as a soloist, sideman and session musician. He compiled several albums with his brother, trumpeter Randy Brecker, as The Brecker Brothers. Additionally, he performed with bands whose styles ranged from mainstream jazz to mainstream rock. Altogether, he appeared on nearly 900 albums, either as a band member or a guest soloist. He put his stamp on numerous pop and rock recordings as a soloist, including notable work with James Taylor and Paul Simon. Other sessions included albums with Steely Dan, Lou Reed, Donald Fagen, Dire Straits, Joni Mitchell, Eric Clapton, Billy Joel, John Lennon, Aerosmith, Dan Fogelberg, Kenny Loggins, Frank Sinatra, Frank Zappa, Bruce Springsteen, Roger Daltrey, Parliament-Funkadelic, Cameo, Yoko Ono, Todd Rundgren, Chaka Khan, Orleans, Blue Öyster Cult, The Manhattan Transfer, Average White Band, Players Association, Everything but the Girl, Patti Austin, Art Garfunkel, Carly Simon, The Brothers Johnson, Karen Carpenter, and T-Square. Brecker also recorded (or performed) with many leading jazz musicians of his era, including Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Hal Galper, Chet Baker, Jan Akkerman, George Benson, Quincy Jones, Charles Mingus, Jaco Pastorius, McCoy Tyner, Pat Metheny, Elvin Jones, Claus Ogerman, Billy Cobham, Horace Silver, Mike Stern, Mike Mainieri, Max Roach, Steps Ahead, Dave Holland, Joey Calderazzo, Kenny Kirkland, Bob James, Grant Green, Don Cherry, Hubert Laws, and more. He died in 2007 of MDS, age 57. -- Wikipedia

This is such a groove, The Dan's horn arrangements are just incredible and run throughout much of their later-day work, and Anthony Jackson's bass work as always is flawless....the whole band are just amazing, I hope you react to the title track Gaucho, its another masterpiece....thanks for your excellent choices and analysis.

Gaucho is a classic Steely Dan album. You're right about Steve Gadd; he's killing it and bringing the drive. Love your reactions.

Great choice by the Dan. Gaucho is a great album

You won't be hearing any more 1980s Steely Dan, because after this album they went on hiatus for nearly two decades. They truly were a creature uniquely of the 70s.

I don’t know how Donald and Walter came up with this song. Musically, it’s beautiful and very interesting.

The lyrics relate to the drug business and the lives of the rich and famous, of course - this is the same era that's covered in the famous documentary "Cocaine Cowboys" (and which inspired the mid-eighties Scarface film). The lyrics include veiled allusions to some dope-related scandals of those years, especially in the second verse with the boat ride....One thing I noticed about the lyrics though is, there's a carefully arranged drip-drop of words and phrases relating to the time of day - the very first line could mean both that the time is just after six and that the basket star is 6 feet 5 inches tall - and to shadows and night activities ("I drove the Chrysler /Watched from the *shadows* as they danced") and going deeper into the night, culminating in the last verse "meet me at MIDNIGHT". That's not random, it's a deliberate line of imagery to suggest the journey from sunny afternoon to darkness, prefiguring a deeper and more permanent night. When the album came out, many critics dismissed their lyrics as feeble and "fake poetry", but I think they missed out on how sophisticated they really are.

I do believe Donald decided to put the drum machine they made/ invented over SG snare. Great song for sure. You're gonna love the rest of Gaucho. Fagen's solo album 'The Nightfly' is brilliant as well.

This is such a classy song, and it really unites light and darkness - both in the flawless groove, the solos and the lyrics. I'll borrow a comment somebody made at another upload of the track: "The Dan waited until everybpdy else had had their say on the disco genre. and then left their own unique contribution. The high-hat ride prevails and the basic sound anchors it to disco - but the lyrics take it further into a territory of peril and covert crime than you'd ever get to hear from mainstream disco acts". - The song would have fit seamlessly into the soundtrack of Miami Vice a few years later, it's exactly the same vibe - and the same topic...

Steely Dan literally and figuratively starts with “Do It Again”

The tightest track on Gaucho might be "Time Out of Mind" - as the lyrics go, it’s perfection *and* grace. And it’s their last song released as a single in the U.S. ("Babylon Sisters" was released as a single in the U.K. only.). Love your take on their background singers!

I remember way back.... I had a roommate/ co worker. She turned me on to Steely Dan and Genesis.... bless her little heart! ♥️🎶

You'll love the album, Gaucho, every single song is incredible. But don't forget Green Earrings from The Royal Scam, it's amazing!

"THE L.A.CONCESSION" CLASSIC BEYOND THE STARS

Steve Khan the guitar player has a solo album titled “ The Blue Man” featuring Steve Gadd The Brecker Brothers and other Steely Dan musicians Google “ Eye Over Autumn or “Some Down Time “ by Steve Khan . Cheers !

Scoring Charlie under the stands.

Love your videos and analysis. I'm 70 and have loved Steely Dan since 72. I think you will really like the title track from this album "Gaucho".

Great reaction as always. On the surface, the song seems like a bright, airy Steely Dan riff on disco. Dig below the surface, as you did, and you hear the "ambient keys" which do not add to the brightness, but rather add a dark, even menacing tension to the track. Fagen's vocals give this a sardonic, theatrical narrative of the very dangerous, destructive and often violent LA cocaine culture of the late 70's/80's. I always imagined that this could have been part of the soundtrack to Scarface, in a Tony Montana/Elvira Hancock scene

Yacht Rock Rukes! 😄If you like this end of the SD spectrum be sure to move onto Donald Fagan's first solo album, 'The Nightfly', which came out not long after this.

Doctor wu should be next when he was trying to kick a habit ?

One of my top 5 steely Dan songs

Gaucho is where they introduced songs with drum tracks..

Babylon sister is an amazing track! Halftime shuffle that chugs like an old train picking up steam along the way. The chordwork is immaculate. The backing vocals are really present in the mix. Just a superb piece of recorded music, and one of my favourite Dan songs.

I can never look at the clock at 6.05 and not hear this.

My favorite Steely Dan track. Glad you reacted to it!

Reminds me why I bought this album.

Just listened to some of this album last night! After dinner with a glass of wine…perfection.

It was SOOO DIFFERENT at the time of it's release,, It would become an instant rock classic,, Billy Thorpe "Children Of The Sun" (Exclusive Video)..A MUST HEAR!! 🔥

They used a Wendel mechanical drum for some of the percussion tracks.

gratz on 12k bud... i have a treat coming for you soon... ill hit you up on one of your support sites..

Thought it was amusing when you said you felt like you were on your boat..their music is sometimes referred to as 'Yacht Rock'

Just another great one. All seven of their albums from 72 up to this one are all top notch

It’s actually the Wendell drum machine, but they gave Steve Gadd credit. Just an amazing song! Kind of like very early world lounge music. Otherworldly chord progression that sounds more like 2050 than 1980. Steve Kahn RIPS on guitar on this one! 👍🏼🎸🎼😎❤️

You must react to green earrings, will not disappoint!

Hey Nineteen was the hit off this one, but Babylon Sisters and Time Out of Mind are also standouts. Like all Steely Dan albums, not a bad song or a missed note in the bunch.

Smooth. The Nightfly is too. Try some Little Feat-Dixie Chicken from Waiting for Columbus. Me and my Woman from Keef Hartley Band please

mood

TRUST ME on this one my music lovin' brother,, This track hits different,, But in the best of ways,, Timbuk 3 "Life Is Hard" (Official Music Video A MUST!)

another drug dealer story, their fave topic.

100% Grade A Yacht Rock 😎

Check out “ Guy LaFleur off Steve Khan ‘s cd Eye Witness w/ Anthony Jackson on Bass . Or Elegant Gypsy Suite Al DiMeola Gadd/ Anthony Jackson !

If you like the Dan/ checkout some Little Feat!😊/ Good reaction from my favorite band since 74/ another good jazz funk fusion band checkout Weather Report/ Heavy Weather!!

Great word to describe SD - tasty. For some more tasty morsels, try reacting to "How Much I Feel" by Ambrosia.

Check out the song "Gaucho" and then Keith Jarrett's song that supposedly they ripped off.

Local boys spend 1⁄4 just to shine the silver bowl that's a reference to a bowl of cocaine

Rich and delicious.

I don’t think this was Steve Gadd on drums, if memory serves this was their first foray into using a drum machine for the basic beat.

"I drove the Chrysler... watched from the darkness while they danced..." Typical, though slightly jaundiced Becker/Fagen perspective. LoL

definitely tasty!

Thinkin' hard about brother Lee on this one, The fact that he can fully appreciate the diversity of music he's being exposed to now after coming from a more limited musical background shows that he has maturity and wisdom beyond his years. However, it's the elephant in the room that has me burning with curiosity: "Drummer Reacts". Does he still play drums? If so, he doesn't seem to be giggin' right now. So, how long has he been playin'? Was it just a High School thing? Lifelong passion? Does he have chops? Is he still learning? Is he a pro? Curious minds want to know, dammit! 😅

Aja is a brilliant album but this one is not too shabby either !..............LOL

There just isn’t a mediocre Steely Dan song.

Only the Dan could do this. Disco still sucks lmao You know I think a lot of the effect of bass and the low end in general is often the case with headphones. The overall loss of "presence" of the lower end without at least 6ft of driver area is tremendous. Granted you can make up for it a bit with equalizers, but keep in mind even Bose use 16ft concrete horns on his home stereo lol.

"Off of"? Tip, try "from" or just plain "off". Off of" sounds weird and is very clumsy, not to mention just wrong. 🙂 This is such a wonderful song off the album Gaucho. This is such a wonderful song from the album Gaucho.

Steely Dan makes me want to buy better speakers!

Get a Ring Light, bruh. Other than that, I luv ya.

They had gone a bit too much smooth jazz by this time for my taste. Liked them better when They were more like a band.

Rarely heard the bass, drums soon got annoying.

The opposite for me

Maybe my least favorite song on this album. I'm not sure why but I never liked it as much as so many others do. My problem I'm sure. 🙂 My Rival is probably my favorite. But the SQ of the entire album/cd/DTS is incredible. I also have this in Hi-Resolution 5.1.

Great reaction, but I wish you not use the G..D...word. I mean like everything else is OK.

Steve khan is the songwrier sammy khans son.