Although I’m a musician I wasn’t when my Dad use to play all their records when I was a kid. And I loved it.. I didn’t understand what Donald was singing about but I could sense they were stories for adults. They’re an acquired taste, but the people I’ve met that are true fans have all been really cool and funny people.. I don’t think that’s a coincidence.
When I was in high school back in the late '70s I remember a friend explaining to me that Steely Dan consisted of only two guys and they didn't tour. Both of those concepts seemed so bizarre to me at the time, but I now have a much better understanding of the duo's history (and appreciation of their music). Thanks for posting this!
Well Done!!!! In my early twenties I had a cassette tape of Pretzel Logic. I played it in my Toyota pickup until it shredded, driving along late at night in central Louisiana.
So cool! Yeah, if Reelin in the Years doesn't hook a listener, there's something wrong with their ears. So great that you finally got to see them. What a career they had.
I realize I was a couple years late to this website post, however, I liked it so much I felt compelled to acknowledge the brilliance of this man's take on each and every Steely Dan song because I purchased every album as they came out, as did all my friends, but we had nothing to go on back then about the details of the men involved or the lyrics that were a mystery more often than not. It's impossible to describe how much this music meant to me in the 70's, and after listening to this guy, I know I wasn't crazy, this is the best band of all time, in our time. I enjoy listening to them, all over agin even more, because of this video. I'm way over 50 now but I loved them in 72 when I was just 15. Thank you for making this video.
I must have been a weird ass kid because Steely Dan was one of my favorite bands when I was in my single digits. Right there along Bowie, ZZ Top and Pink Floyd. You just blew my mind with the Gordon Liddy thing.
You always inspire me to go back and listen to stuff I haven't listened to in years. I forgot how great KATY LIED is. I like how they don't overuse Micheal McDonald.
Thank you! That's one of my big intentions with the channel: to turn people on to great music they haven't heard, and to reawaken people's love for great music they may have forgotten about. Katy Lied is a personal favorite, and unassumingly brilliant. Bad Sneakers, Rose Darling, Dr Wu, Everyone's Gone To The Movies... Just a classic album.
Dude, awesome. Ages 4 to about 11 Steely Dan was always playing on the radio at my house. I'm 52 now and thanks to RU-vid I'm getting into it big time and understanding more about why I've always loved their music in the back of my heart.
They were my 2nd favorite band when I graduated High School in 1978, and they're my 2nd favorite band 45 years later. As I've become somewhat of a musician in the later part of my life, my appreciation has only gotten greater. Edit: My personal favorite is The Royal Scam, and I will readily concede Aja as being their tour-de-force, but each album is packed with masterpieces which stand on their own merit.
i JUST finished this 1st installment. before i watch the 2nd, i want to tell you how much i appreciate(d) this one. it is great! am excited about listening to the 2nd. thanks!
Thanks a lot, Bill! So glad you're enjoying it that much. It was a really big task tackling such a body of work, so your appreciation means a lot. Enjoy!
As a young teen I loved their singles "Do It Again", "Reelin'", and "Rikki". Eventually I'd get the album "Aja" which was all over Chicago-area FM radio in 1977, and I would proceed to buy all their records that came before. So I can say I've been a fan since age 13, but never really appeciated the history of the band till they reunited years later in the mid-90s. Seeing their music come alive on stage was a revelation. The live band that's evolved over the years is still incredible, even as Donald's voice is not what it was. RIP Walter Becker.
I didn't get into Steely Dan until AJA came out. And that was back when I listened to mostly heavy metal . I sure would blast that AJA album loud though.
LOL I just turned 48 and for the past 2 weeks I have been rediscovering and diving deeper into "Steely Dan". So many of their songs that I didn;t know were theirs I have rediscovered and I am digging for others.
I thought 'Barrytown' referenced The Unification Theological Seminary ( "Moonie University") in Barrytown, New York. The song has always made sense to me with that assumption. Great song with some great harmonies too!!! Thanks PCG.
It is a very pretty-sounding song! Though I must admit, it's not one of my favorites on that album. The Moonie explanation for the song would be great, except for the fact that that the song was recorded a couple of years before the seminary was open--long after B & F left Bard. Thanks for the comment!
As a huge fan of Steely Dan, I really enjoyed this. I’m 61 and was a big Black Sabbath/Brit metal fan in high school. I was in my 30’s when I picked up Citizen Dan and the rest is history
Thank you for the links to "Dallas" and "Sail the Waterway". They're both good tunes with "Waterway" sounding very Steely Dan-ish. The singing, musicianship and lyrics are clearly Fagen and Becker. You can easily hear them going in that Steely Dan direction. Very amazing stuff.
I’ve been a pro musician for 35 years. Steely Dan taught me about harmony, groove, arranging, mixing, recording, and all the rest. In short, it developed my taste so I had a refined palette with which to go make a living in music. Thanks fellas!
Although I celebrate their entire catalog, I I’ve always had a soft spot for the mid seventies stuff.. Countdown, Pretzel, Scam, Katy Lied. I like that you can here a tight band that spent some time together on those early ones, and the amazing songwriting and arrangement that came later. I love that they’re an acquired taste and some people just don’t get them so the people that do can share a smirk 😏.
I hear ya, Tyler. That mid-seventies era is peerless. And I love a band whose history is so rich that they can have different eras, let alone have fans that are rabidly loyal to each of those eras. And you're right, it's nice sharing a secret Steely Dan handshake that other folks just don't "get."
These Steely Dan episodes are gems! Listening to your enthusiasm while describing the albums track by track ignited a fuse in me. I'm now revisiting their discography and enjoying the music even more now than I have in the past. Thank you!
i was born in 1985 in my teens i had found a Steely dan album in my house alive in America and i loved it, i listened to it walking to school at school my highschool teacher was surprised i was listening to them and let me borrow his steely dan box set and Donald fagen the night fly, I listened to all of it and Kati lied and aja became my favorite albums at thd time, and now at 38 steely dan is my favorite band Donald Fagen is my favorite artist. i honestly like all their stuff two against nature and everything must go is great and even walter Becker 11 tracks of wack is good as well, if you have not done so go listen to Donald Fagens the night fly all his solo stuff are Great.
Haha, you're so right! I could do a couple of videos on his vocals on Brooklyn and never get across just how great Palmer is on Brooklyn. It's not a bad legacy at all for a singer. Thanks for the comment, Pete!
Holy cats. I grew up with the old fogies listening to Steely Dan. They are the soundtrack to my 1970s childhood. I knew they were special, but, 2 years ago, suddenly all I wanted to talk about was Steely Dan. "Oh, oldest daughter, you got elected prom queen? Will they be playing any Steely Dan at your prom, do you think?" "So sorry to hear about the death of your loved one. Their clear-eyed and cynical yet humorous cataloging of the things people do to distract themselves from their own mortality is one of the best things about Steely Dan, in my opinion." "Look at that beautiful black cat up for adoption at PetSmart. His fur is almost as shiny as Donald Fagen's hair!" Two years ago, I turned 50. I didn't not know this was a thing; I thought it was just me. I actually shouted, "What the hell?" at my smartphone when he mentioned it. Is this the "change of life" people keep warning me about? Some kind of musical menopause that we all go through? I don't know, but I'm here for it.
I thought this would be a bunch of bs, with you being a youngster and me being old enough to remember all these albums being released and then playing them and trying to work out what they were all about. You did a pretty good job and even after thousands of playings often on acid we could never work out what Chain Lighting was all about. You did well son.
Haha, Thanks Pop! Although I fear my youthful good looks may have deceived you. I'm actually 50! But I realize age is relative, and it means a lot that a longtime fan such as yourself found value in the episode. Thanks so much for watching, and welcome to the channel!
@@PopCultureGraveyard That's so nice of you. Age has few benefits, but one of them is remembering 1972 and your first car and hearing Reelin' in the years or Do it again on the radio,...they were so obviously from a "different place." Buying the album, hearing it on the new Hi Fi you'd bought on the "never never," with wages from your first job; then hearing it on acid. It's the memories that bring joy, as indeed did listening to a guy who must of what been still in diapers back in 1972 when I was doing these things (often while enjoying the company of many fine ladies in the backseat), but who has a greater knowledge and appreciation than an I. Thanks son. Keep on making them.
I always listened to Steely Dan. They were all-over late night radio shows. But I only decided to buy an album when I heard Hey Nineteen on the radio. And at some stage bought the earlier albums. My 19 year old son is a huge Dan fan.
Barrytown, Parker's Band, Charlie Freak all date back to 1968. Through with Buzz almost is a close cousin to 1969s Shuffling Up Your Downs recorded by Fagen, Becker, Dias and Kenny Vance and also features a similar string arrangement.
"The world that we used to know people tell me it don't turn no more The faces we used to know familiar faces that ain't smiling like before The time of our time has come and gone I fear we been waiting too long" !
I’m 49 & have been into Steely Dan & Donald Fagan for 28 years , Since I was 21 ! What I will say though & what I think you should have been your opening gambit , Is that Steely Dan , is music for grown ups
They are my favorite band since I was 13 I am now 53 so I am 40 years ahead of most fifty year olds.What are your five favorite SD songs #5 Lunch with Gina # 4 Deacon Blues #3 Here at the Western World # 2 Glamor Profession #1 Your Gold Teeth and top 3 albums Aja/Two Against /Nature/Countdown to Ecstasy these lists change two or three times a decade The Lost Gaucho is really my all time favorite album but technically not an official release Give your favorites
Thanks millions for the background on all these classic tunes. I’d love to lavish further praise, but I’m already late for my own deep dive back into these sublime songs for the thousandth time.
You're luckier than most, my friend. Judging by most of the comments I've received, it seems that lots of us who were kids when that music came out had many phases (punk/new wave/hip hop/metal) before discovering and falling in love with Steely Dan. And you're right, I can't imagine ever getting tired of their music. Thanks for the comment!
@@PopCultureGraveyard The Magic FIVE in my life. The Eagles, Steely Dan, The Allman Brothers Band, CCR & Lynyrd Skynyrd. And some time later there was Zeppelin...
I've always heard that Rikki don't lose that number was about Rick Derringer. The story goes they were working with Rick and he got homesick and left during preproduction of the next album.
Hey Lucy, I had heard that Derringer story, as Rick was a friend to the band. Some say that Derringer said that he was the inspiration only for the title of the song, as they were setting up a future session and Donald gave Rick a number and said "Ricky (as the band called Derringer), don't lose that number." But the song itself is about Fagen's old crush, Rikki Ducornet, as has been well documented.
As a fan since the '70s this and part 2, are great takes. Never too late to discover the subversion and style of Steely Dan. And since we're in 2023, loving the new tribute book now out. Midnite Cruiser launched the gentleman loser personae found all through the work. Deacon Blues, for example, is when the GL thought he had it figured out. And so on in so many songs and characters.
16:23 you magnificent bastard! Two of my favorite things (Countdown to Ecstasy and In Search Of) linked together! In all this time, I never made the connection. Bravo!
The late sixties and 70s rock offered such a rich assortment of sounds and talent that some rock critics at the time would downgrade releases unless the music appealed to their sense of cool. An example of what I'm talking about is royal scam, which RS record guide gave 3 stars out of 5 in 1983. They since reassessed it at 5 stars. None of the SD albums got higher than a 4 star rating from them at that time RS record guide also gave LZ 2 a 3 star rating, which they've reassessed at 5 stars more recently.
You're bringing back nightmares. My family use to watch Donnie & Marie. Everybody that is except for me.Even back then I knew something was wrong. It was like being tortured.
Nice! I don't know if there's a better band to get turned onto; mostly because SD is their own flavor of music. And if it's the kind of music you've been secretly hoping for, you can't believe it exists. And your'e so right, all their stuff is just as impactful today.
Hey, thanks for this, well researched, passionate and informative as always. All I knew about the Dan, was that they had a cool name and their two big hits. They took their name from William Burroughs. Scottish pop rockers Deacon Blue took their name from a Steely Dan song. I don't think anyone was inspired to name a band from a Deacon Blue song though, so the lineage is lost... I did not know that Kid Charlemagne was about Bear Owsley. I knew Bear. He was hiding in Australia, as he had calculated that a catastrophic weather event was going to occur and that central Queensland was the best place in the world to survive it. He unfortunately died in a car crash about 10 years ago.
Not to fear. If I know this current generation, and their propensity for wacky names, we'll probably get a band at some point named "Chocolate Girl" or "Wages Day" or "Real Gone Kid." Speaking of Deacon Blue songs, back in the early '90s D.C. hardcore scene, how was there not a straight-edge band named Dignity? Anyway, Bear seemed like one of those totally unique individual who is sorely missing from today's society; people who followed their whims as quickly as their hearts, and who lived a dozen lifetimes--each of them eventful. Thanks for the kind words, John. Glad you enjoyed it.
@@PopCultureGraveyard ha, wasnt sure you would know Deacon Blue, but your knowledge is encylopedic 😀. Have attached a lockdown cover version vid by Hebridean folk rockers Tide Lines, that i hope you will enjoy... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-oKveFWkMNsQ.html
Haha! Something tells me they didn't laugh. I like to imagine them sitting in a dingy bar, nursing their twelfth tequila sunrise, when they glance up at a TV playing that show and are suddenly filled with Osmonds hatred.
Donald Fagen is good for lyrics with metaphysical themes, read the lyrics to Do iIt Again and you will discover that it’s about reincarnation. Very well composed lyrics, which is another signature of Steely Dan and Donald Fagen , not necessarily easily discerned, but definitely cryptic and esoteric.
A great, interesting cover of Dirty Work was recorded by Jose Feliciano, at his rockiest, who added a sparkling acoustic guitar solo as only Feliciano could. It may have suffered from overproduction but that was the era. Steely Dan should be proud of this cover. Good assessment PCG.
Oh wow, that cover! Can't believe I'd never heard it before, but I agree about the overproduction. You know what someone with pro tools should do? Lay Jose's killer vocal over the original SD music. I'm sure by using various takes, speed corrections, live versions, etc, they could Frankenstein together a killer cut. Thanks for the heads up, John!
Thanks a lot, Adam! So glad you enjoyed it. Your'e not alone! I've heard from lots of folks who were 45s and Under folks until they saw the band live. Such a great band, with an album for everyone!
Haha! They should totally play as "Steely Dam" every time they play Amsterdam! And I still haven't given up calling them The Pink Floyd or Syd's Pink Floyd. Then again, I lost track of them after Syd left. Did they continue making music?
Great job! I got a kick from your opinions that are clever and funny! I also like your guesses about the meanings of the songs. Please make more of these!
Don't forget the song "FM" an unreleased (until "A Decade of Gold" greatest hits) movie soundtrack, more people heard the song than watched the actual movie.
I grew up in Montréal with so much expectance globally yet I couldn’t find any of my friends that digged Steely Dan. Now I’m just blown away how much they are so revoted. I’m so happy for this. Funny, I always loved the rhythmic aspect of their music as others but it was the melody not the lyrics only now do I give any credence to the story & history or art history of their intriguing depth. I am profoundly grateful to your in-depth analysis thank you So much
I am raised on punk,post punk and all the weird sub-genres that are close to that time. But,weirdlly, i love STEELY DAN, they have some punk attitude (not music wise). I love all their albums,even GAUCHO. I don't care too much about the stuff that came after reunion,but it holds water
I totally agree that SD had punk attitude! That's the point I made in my Devo episode; that punk is an attitude that isn't genre-specific. And you're right; Steely Dan's post-reunion stuff--while not my favorite era of theirs--is still solid.
Dude you have nailed it, makes me want to fire up the Marantz slap on the cans, strike up a spark outside Anthony's Bar and Grill, fire up some fine Columbian and head out to that "Ditch out in the Valley that they're diggin just for me!!!
It's interesting that although Donald Fagan's distinctive vocal - which is present on 99% of all Steely Dan songs - is almost synonimous with the Steely Dan sound - yet on the handful of tracks on which Fagan doesn't sing, you can still immediately tell it's Steely Dan!
7:07 - Elliott Randall's great solo on 'Kings' is unique in the way that it is constructed, starts w/ a chromatic moving melodic pattern and goes straight into a whole tone scale based pattern, finally finishing up w/ a Bluesy motif. Great Oddball pop song requires great oddball guitar solo.
@@PopCultureGraveyard I mean, the song itself is not 'oddball' per se, despite the lyrics being somewhat cryptic, as you mentioned, the tune is super catchy, but My feeling is the combination of 'pop hooks' + superb muscianship + 'Jazz Chords' + 'risque/obscure/beatnik' poetry in the lyrics makes for unique combo that is characteristic of theirs, and as such, makes them stand apart from 'mainstream' pop rock. Hence my use of the adjective was indeed in the positive, complimentary sense for the lack of a better term. 'Unusual' might also be another way to describe many of these tunes. To tell you the truth, as far as 'Cant Buy A thrill' is concerned, 'Fire In The Hole' is the classic example, like Elton John On Acid, or Todd Rundregen on Mescaline or maybe Carol King on DMT, or Laura Nyro on Mushrooms... You get my point, piano pop w/ unexpected chord changes, melody and lyrics, but ultimately super catchy and memorable.
Love this vid along with the info and trivial notes. My love for Steely Dan came to me in the late 80s, totally unexpected and blissfully tiptoeing into my declining hair metal phase. Please, where did you get that shirt???
Thanks, Chris! Glad SD could ease you out of hair metal. I talk about the shirt in Part 2, when I cover the Nightfly. But if you can't wait: dave.threadless.com/
Hi William, I didn't know that origin. That must have been where soldiers got it from; and being that B&F knew people who'd been to Vietnam it all makes sense. Thanks for the comment!
