my grandmother doesn’t really remember movies, and it just last weekend had me talking about the movie ‘The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’…i think i could do it for films (with a big long list in at least ten places-but i couldn’t do it with music: lovers would disappear, poof 💨 as well as all of the times in cars, looking at beautiful things-i would be carving out South America, India, (train sleepers were the best!) and i just subtracted from my movie erasure…Kubrick movies, Quincy Jones, Duke Ellington scored Anatomy of a Murder, but there’s everything they slipped into those 70’s films and onward. okay, i’m going to keep it all. -thanks for sharing, you helped me unravel my impossible to prove point (although if you ever want to get a conversation started…this does the trick!🤣 )
It's only for those who really listen to music. Steely Dan are the musician's musician for a reason. When music is just something for you to dance/party to or fill up the background...then it's not your cup of tea.
We are hearing it for the first time thanks to these folks doing reaction vids. They are commenting on certain parts that pull us into the individual parts stuffed into the layers of the songs that we hadn’t ever quite noticed. Decades go by and I still find myself discovering new fragrances. It’s like reading the Bible over one’s life, same thing…
When I first started listening to steely Dan back in the early 2000s I couldn't quite relate to the vibe... Now that I'm in my 40s, I feel like these songs we are somewhat apocryphal 😅 hey 19...
Timeless music! They were so far ahead of their time that music still hasn't caught up! 46 years ago and it sounds like they could have laid this down yesterday!
The lyric "die behind the wheel" is not to be taken literally...in fact most of Steely Dan lyrics are symbolic interpretations of overall theme. From my pov, Deacon Blues tells of a man finally following his passion. "Die behind the wheel" is about, at long last, taking control of his life and his music. He's willing to BE his truth and will live and die by his control. He's behind the wheel. Powerful, liberating stuff. Enjoy the Steely Dan journey.
I thought the die behind the wheels was about the roulette tables as the story is of a saxophonist playing in a casino. He's looking in from the outside into a world that he wants to be in (It seems like only yesterday I gazed through the glass At ramblers, wild gamblers That's all in the past) but how to get there... learn to work the saxophone... Although having said that, the analogy of taking control of his life and his music is a good one. Dunno if it was what Fagan was thinking though....
I'll add a bit to this. Your interpretation is close to mine... but I think 'Die behind the wheel' means he could die right now, after doing what he loves, and he'd be ok.
The people singing back up on this album include Mike McDonald, Luther Vandross, Shirley Mathews, Vanneta Fields, and Clydie King, Timothy B. Smith. Greatness on parade.
This sax player is the great Pete Christlieb. (He's also on FM.). Christlieb has played with EVERYONE but is probably best known for playing lead tenor in Doc Severinsen's band on Carson's Tonight Show for decades.
He said he showed up to the studio from another gig and did this solo in one take and then left all within about 30 mins. He said his life connected with lyrics of the song too. Awesome story behind the perfect solo on an all-time great song.
Same here, and listen to the most vile, neck snapping death metal I can find, I've always loved Steely Dan. I tend to switch up between Death Metal and Jazz.
They had Bernard Purdie, Jeff Porcaro, Kiltner and 5 other drummers....Michael McDonald, Boz Scaggs.....every badass musician who is now a household name....
This is my favorite of all Steely Dan songs. Full of emotionally touching "mu major" chords. The pinnacle of their "gentleman loser" theme songs. "I cried when I wrote this song. Sue me if I play too long."
Kevin, you nailed it exactly. I’ve always found this a recurring theme lyrically, and one I’ve never tired of, because the storytelling is so good. The music speaks for itself. 🤘😎
Me too. There are others I rank right there too, but if I ever find myself in a conversation about Steely Dan, or chord progressions in general, I always cite this one to be in my opinion the best chord progression ever written.
When asked about the line, "They call Alabama the Crimson Tide, call me Deacon Blues," Donald Fagen told Rolling Stone magazine: "Walter and I had been working on that song at a house in Malibu. I played him that line, and he said, 'You mean it's like, 'They call these cracker a--holes this grandiose name like the Crimson Tide, and I'm this loser, so they call me this other grandiose name, Deacon Blues?' and I said 'Yeah!' He said, 'Cool, let's finish it.'"
The golden age of music…I mean real music, I am down with rap and hip hop, but a beat and urban angst can only get me so far…I need melody, harmony, orchestration and brilliant solos
The reason you "heard" Earth Wind & Flame is because both groups are pop, groove, jazz ensembles that wrote vocal parts like Ellington and Basie big band arrangements. This blending of genres was fully realized in the 70s when record companies were still owned by people that liked records...
Well said, and very true. Both Maurice White and Fagen &Becker strived for musical sophistication and perfection. The production, arrangements, musicianship writting and sophistication set them way apart and ahead of their peers.
My wife and I just saw Steely Dan (Donald sans Walter of course) back up the Eagles at the Forum in LA. Incredible sound, every song a known masterpiece and the level of musicianship was amazing. The Eagles were pretty good too 🙂
I'm 65 year old musician...love you guys ....when I was your age peg was rocking on the radio!!.. Great era...makes my day watching you guys groove to this deep ass music!!!!!
The song is an hommage to (Black) Jazz and Blues players. I bought this album in 1977 and picked up on that instantly. Knowing how much they loved Jazz, Blues and R&B. Having grown up on all three.
If they play this when I pass, my daughter will be a puddle. 😢 I used to play it solo acoustic, skipping the solo sections for this and 'Kid Charlemagne'. Everyone, especially musos, loved it. 😎🤙🏼🎶❤️✨️🕊
The Dan were consistently amazing. Far beyond most recording artists, before and since, they managed to meld rock, jazz, and pop, along with some weird kind of inexplicable, individual, flavor, that has managed to stand out regardless of the current accepted style.
Deacon Blues….it’s about a musician who made the decision to change his style of music. He’s going to learn the sax to transition into the sound he wants, the “expanding man.” Whatever it takes to bring his sound out there…”drink scotch whiskey, all night long.” Even if it takes “die behind the wheel” Going from club to club, drinking to much, selling his sound as much as it takes. “ Cover ever game in town.”
Beautiful song yes. My fav, maybe. I see it as a song about (self) redemption. " I cried when I wrote this song, sue me if I play too long" it doesn't get much better than that.
Donald Fagen and Walter Becker (Steely Dan), used a core group of musicians on the Aja LP, but mixed a few for the various tracks. They knew what they wanted from each musician for different songs and actually auditioned specific musicians for their music. In some cases it was the musician playing something that caught their ear. Production and musicianship always top notch. Stay on Steely! Love your takes and energy...
Nothing but exquisite musicianship with Steely Dan. Every album is so solid. Picking one as your favorite is no easy task. For me, Royal Scam is it. Great guitar work is featured on every Steely Dan song, but Royal Scam has guitar work in spades.
“This brother is free, I’ll be what I want to be.” Probably one of the best lyrical lines ever. Definitely my favorite. This album is perfection. Check out the song FM next.
Pete Christlieb on tenor sax. Christlieb also played on Steely Dan's "FM," the them and single from the movie of the same name. It's epic and worth checking out.
Yes. He was the tenor player in the Tonight Show band when Johnny Carson was still hosting and you used to hear him playing killer solos coming out of commercials. That's where Fagan and Becker first heard him and he came to mind for the solo on this song. He says when they contacted him he had never really heard much of their stuff, but when he heard the "Drink scotch whiskey all night long and die behind the wheel" lyric, he was in.
I've seen in a couple places where he said he showed up to the studio from another gig and did the solo that winds up on the record on the first take. Said he was in and out in around 30 mins.
One of my greatest regrets, not seeing them WHOLE when they had their residency Las Vegas. It must be strange to see Steely Dan now with the half of the legends gone.
I heard Steely Dan twice in concert before Walter Becker passed away. I was amazed by the band's level of musicianship and the fresh takes they could give these intricate songs live.
Steely Dan was my favorite band when I was a teen in the 80s. My friends thought I was a weirdo because Steely Dan was out of style, aside from a few hit songs played on "classic rock" stations. But with time, people have come around to appreciating Steely Dan's greatness musically and lyrically.
I've been on my Steely journey forty years now. Incredible vocals and instrumental arrangement, off the charts. I've heard the transformation of many Heart and Soul Groups. Steely Dan is Tops
Steely Dan actually consists of only two guys,Walter Becker (NY) and Donald Fagen (NJ) who met in college. Fagen does most of the lead singing on the album. For this particular album the two men hired 40+ leading session musicians to play on different songs on the album, that's why you hear different instruments being introduced throughout the album. The Aja album won a Grammy Award for Best Engineered Recording-Non Classical in 1978. It also received a nomination for Album Of the Year, but lost. The name Steely Dan was named after a strap-on, the guys had a sense of humor.
that’s pretty hilarious. rubbery Dan just doesn’t work as well. i read that ‘Steely Dan’ was an kitchen appliance from a William Burroughs novel or story…i really need to brush up on my beat-reading, of course! it sounds pretty damn Burroughs to me, and the fact that it’s not a typewriter, in consideration of the film ‘Naked Lunch’, is in and of itself a relief. either way, i agree with you on their having an excellent sense of humor.
If there could be anything close to being a favourite Steely song this would be it. 'I cried when I wrote this song'. You could cry at the beauty of it. On to Peg and Josie and Home at Last..
Steely Dan were perfectionist. These albums were recorded and mixed to perfection. For a musician to be selected for a Steely Dan album was a huge compliment. They always had the best horn players and percussionist in the business.
The tenor sax solo was by Pete Christleib who was the lead tenor player on the Tonight Show band for years. Truly a memorable solo that’s stood the test of time
@@subversivelysurreal3645 That’s what Pete said in a interview and I’m sure it happened that way. I’m sure he got normal Union pay for that gig, no residuals. What a deal for the band.
AJA is a masterpiece of sound , imagery and feelings ... you hear the pain , the regret and the don't give a fuck attitude ... they will win on their schedule and party while doing it BIG TIME !!
My youngest brother's favorite song. He didn't die behind the wheel like even he thought he would...instead it was on a helicopter ride to a bigger hospital after the ER punctured his alcoholic liver and couldn't stop the bleeding. He always said "call me deacon blues"!
got this cassette in 78, drove my MG drop down late night side one, turned around side 2 many a lonely ride , saved my life, thanks for reacting , welcome to the SD rabbit hole
Can't pull myself away from your channel. So many great songs you guys have reviewed. I thank God for patience. Without it, one can't hear music such as this. One of you said that you hear every aspect of this song. That's patience. Maturity. Like a movie that doesn't have a lot of action, but every line spoken means something. Every LOOK means something. And every movement. You are engrossed in the movie because it is telling a story -- not because guns and bombs are going off. Nor because a lot of T & A are flashing across the screen. No. The story has it's hooks in you, and you have to continue watching. A la Steely Dan, and other great bands -- because you are patient, the story the music is telling you isn't fast or slow -- it is simply marvelous. It is good. You hear what the music is telling you. And you want more. Aja has a few songs that are lengthy and mellow, yet masterful and full of groove, funk and all-around hypnotic melody . Peg and Josie got this youngster skipping around as a teen, acting like he could dance. I couldn't be still when listening to these 2 pulse raisers , so dancer or not, I was all over my bedroom floor, movin' to the groovin' . No doubt Steely Dan is right up there with The Beatles and other classic rock icons. By classic rock, I mean all of the music that came out around the 70's -- from the late 60's to the early 80's. Of course great music is in every generation. Come on, man -- Big Band music; B. B. King and all of the Blues Brothers from way back [ not Belushi or Aykroyd ]; Traditional Country; the Crooners Crosby and Torme; Disco; the Hair Bands; Grunge ... you all know where I am coming from. But the 70's had something special, man. This is undeniable. And Steely Dan is a major cog in the Musical Wheel of the 70's.
@@AirplayBeats btw…a lot of crossover with hip hop/Steely Dan fans. I’m 50, had Rappers Delight on wax, fan of The Native Tongue…Tribe, De La etc and SD is in my top 5 bands. Especially, if you’re a fan of 90’s NY hip hop, you’re prob a SD fan. Sampled to death There’s a whole vid of Talib Kwali talking about SD and it’s influence on hip hop.
Yes! Don't Take Me Alive! If I could only listen to just ONE artist's/band's music for the rest of my life, it would be Steely Dan. And I was raised in the '60-'70's, I am a LOVER of ALL genres, so that's saying a lot.
This song is about a guy who's probably middle aged and in an unsatisfying job, who wants to live the wild life for a change. To do all the fun things he's never done. An amazing, hard hitting song! Fantastic reaction! Thanks!
Love them! I’m an old lady and remember when they (Steely Dan)1st came out. I think the 1st album of theirs I bought was Pretzel Logic. My fav’s of their music are: FM, My Old School, Time Out Of Mind. Great 70’s Band that has stood the test of time!❤️❤️❤️
I remember this from years ago ,down at the river sandbar with friends ,stoned , with a few drinks great car sound ---- didn't realise at the time , but that was heaven
My dad was an electronics tech. I came home one night in the early 70's and caught him playing my new SD album (Do it Again) on the stereo he just built. He was not a rock or jazz listener in the least so, until now, I had no idea how or why he chose SD to test his home made stereo. Maybe he asked a younger guy at work. Or maybe it was just intuition!! But I spent the next hour listening to him brag about how great a song that he would never have otherwise listened to sounded.
I had this 8 track in my senior year. Went to Florida on my senior trip with friends and sang this one all the way from Louisiana to Ft. Walton Beach!! Loved Steely Dan!❤❤❤❤
This is a song about aging and the freedom you gain when you quit the race. You finally say screw it, learn the saxophone and play just what you choose; when you sense you have finally reached cruising altitude, there is no higher to be had and you can see the inevitability of the coming descent. The Crimson tide is looking ahead to so many more wins, Deacon Blues is getting comfortable with the coming losses;)
On "Deacon Bluse" Larry Carlton, Lee Ritenour - guitar, Dean Parks - acoustic guitar, Pete Christlieb - tenor saxophone and Bernard "Pretty" Purdie - drums were added to the lineup. It was very common for Steely Dan to use different studio musicians on different tracks on the same album.
I am a 60 year old black dude who grew up listening to r&b, funk, rock, and anything that sounded good. Steely Dan is just...undeniable. If they put me on a deserted island and told me I could only listen to a few artists for the rest of my life, Steely Dan would be an EASY pick to be be one of them. It's just stupid to be that good. And they made SO many great tracks. And yeah, Peg just goes around in your head and you can't stop it. Catch some of the breakdowns of what made Peg great and you'll appreciate it even more (especially the Michael McDonald connection).
I remember reading that they used different musicians from one track to the next. They were very specific about what sound they were looking for in each track and tailored the band to each set. Geniuses pure and simple. I grew up listening to these guys, but my mature self appreciates them so much more today.
Y’all are spot on! Steely Dan is musical perfection. Jazz/rock/funk fusion. Becker and Fagan truly were “perfectionists”. I’ve been a fan since the early 70’s, love them.
Steely Dan was famous for switching musicians, according to the Album they were producing at the time. Guitarist Jeff "Skunk" Baxter of The Doobie Brothers was on a couple of their albums, and then they'd invite guys like Michael McDonald to play keyboards and sing. These guys were great. The two constants were the founders of the Band, Walter Becker and Donald Fagen. So much Funk.
I grew up in the 70s loving steely dan do a reaction to their song glamour profession you'll love the piano and trumpet how it changes fast with a little Hawaiian guitar mix in it the song is about California how this guy comes there sale all the drugs to the stars how they party it up in California with cocaine the song is glamour profession do a reaction to it you'll love the song 🎵✌💃💃💃
Steely Dan’s AJA, was the first album that I ever bought. I played it so much, I wore it out. Watching you gentlemen listen to the album & reacting to it, is like hearing it for the first time myself.
I saw Steely Dan in Mt. Pleasant MI in 1975(?). Best concert I ever saw. They did three encores and later showed up at the local 24/7 pancake joint on Monument Blvd. I was so pissed I missed them.
Crazy story: It was only when I heard this song when I discovered Steely Dan in the 1990's, that I finally worked out why that movie, 'Crimson Tide', starring Denzel Washington, Gene Hackman was titled thus. I am foreign born and absolutely did not get the reference until hearing the lyrics to this song. Not only my fav Steely Dan song, but assisted me with movie trivia.
The reason why he wants to be called "Deacon Blues" is because he's the Wake Forest Deacons to Alabama's Crimson Tide. Every year they go out and dominate all of college football (including Wake Forest). And every year the Deacons end up at the bottom of the conference.
My brother was visiting this past Labor day, I have over six hundred albums, that were in a closet for the past twenty years, I told him he can have any albums you want, one of the albums he selected was the "Aja" album, I bought it back in 1978.... I should have kept it!
Steely Dan, Chicago, and Earth Wind and Fire all go hand in hand with for classics back in the day. Y'all should check out the live concert video of EWF and Chicago together on stage. Awesome performance ❣️
Every time I listen to SD I get put in a good vibe and get lost in it. You guys are my favorite SD reactors, so much insight and deep observations but still groove to it.
From Songfacts: This song has the curious chorus line of: They call Alabama the Crimson Tide Call me Deacon Blues At the time, the University Of Alabama was a football powerhouse, winning the National Championship in 1973 and losing just one game in each of their next two seasons under the direction of their famous coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. Alabama is known as "The Crimson Tide," a grandiose name that Steely Dan's Walter Becker and Donald Fagen found amusing. The "Deacon" is often thought to be the Wake Forest University "Demon Deacons," whose football team struggled for much of the '70s, winning just seven games from 1972-1975. According to Fagen, however, that name came from Deacon Jones, a star football player with the Rams and Chargers who got a lot of attention in the media because of his aggressive play and outsized personality. The name fit well into the song, with "Deacon" matching up sonically with "Crimson." The song is about a guy who Becker describes as a "Triple-L loser." In the Classic Albums documentary on Aja, he said: "The protagonist is not a musician, he just sort of imagines that would be one of the mythic forms of loser-dom to which he might aspire. And who's to say that he's not right?" Fagen added: "'Deacon Blues' is about as close to autobiography as our tunes get. We were both kids who grew up in the suburbs, we both felt fairly alienated. Like a lot of kids in the '50s, we were looking for some kind of alternative culture, an escape from where we found ourselves." Personnel on Deacon Blues is: Walter Becker - bass Donald Fagen - synthesizer, vocals Larry Carlton, Lee Ritenour - guitar Dean Parks - acoustic guitar Pete Christlieb - tenor saxophone Victor Feldman - electric piano Bernard "Pretty" Purdie - drums Venetta Fields - backup vocals Clydie King - backup vocals Sherlie Matthews - backup vocals
@@AirplayBeats ... You're welcome. I watched all your Steely Dan reactions you have up today. I've seen a lot of people react to them, just about everybody agrees that, these guys were just on a different level than most people. They were perfectionist in the studio. It wasn't uncommon for them to bring in 15 or 20 different guitar players to try the same solo for a particular song, and they would keep doing that until they heard the one they felt most captured the feel of it. Not only would they swap out individual musicians, they would swap out the entire band and try cutting it again. You really need to check out the documentary of the making of Aja, it's awesome to be able to get inside their minds a little bit and, they're just freakin' funny dudes. Very dry sense of humor on em.
@@AirplayBeats ... Yup, it's pretty hard to find a bad song from them. There's a couple I don't like as much as most others, but it's very rare. No matter what style they choose for a particular song, it always sound authentic. And you're quite correct, they certainly fused various styles together in a sonically pleasing way. I'll be checking out all your future reactions for the Dan. Enjoy the ride.
The musicians were partially the same on this as on Aja. They had a different drummer, it was the great Bernard Purdie playing that "Purdie shuffle" on this song (also the same drummer as on "Peg"). It was also a different sax player, bass player, and Fender Rhodes player on this (although the Fender Rhodes player on Aja was also on this song, just playing percussion).
@@AirplayBeats if you guys are truly just discovering the world of Steely Dan, then I am truly jealous. The '70s was a great time to be a kid growing up, and I think popular music was reaching its peak as far as musicianship, production, and sophistication without being complicated. Hell, even disco, which was the mindless pop club music of the time, was pretty awesome on a musicianship level. Just check out music from acts like the Bee Gees, Heatwave, and K.C. & the Sunshine Band. Remember, this was before ProTools (there weren't even personal computers, really!), no cut and paste, no autotune, no drum machines, and everything was recorded in a live take on analog tape. You had to have talent! I just found you guys and have subscribed. I can't wait until you discover Steely Dan's album the year prior to this one, The Royal Scam. It has probably the only song by them that rivals "Deacon Blues" as my favorite by Steely Dan. However, I'll tell you that there is no such thing as a bad Steely Dan album. Not every song necessarily POPS like "Peg" or "Reelin' in the Years" or "My Old School", etc.; but they are all very good songs!
I dig that you're exploring the entire album and I hope you continue with more of their albums, this is the kind of music that sticks with you for life. As a new, small reaction channel, you're lucky, and getting spoiled with great music right out of the gate as the 70's were the golden age of music. Here's one I'd like to introduce you gentlemen to, as a matter of fact, I'm going to go listen to it again. ZZ Top - Cheap Sunglasses. (1979)
Just wait until they hear "Kid Charlemagne" from Steely Dan and the guitar solo from Larry Carlton (same guitarist as on this song)! lol THAT'S the reaction I want to see!
