I didn't know I could fall any more deeply in love with the Dan, but this has all the earmarks of a Becker/Fagen classic. Everything about it sparkles, and we have that other Dan to thank for unearthing another once-lost gem. Thank you, Mr. Belcher.
Makes NO SENSE to anyone who saw them play this tune on this tour. It was an electric moment, when you knew you first got to see a Steely Dan hit song.
I wonder if they ever actually recorded it in the studio, or if after they had time to write other songs for the album, they ended up discarding it before it ever got to the recording studio.
@@djbelc01GREAT question. Likely never recorded. But wouldn't this be incredible to find this thing out there somewhere in someone's archive. I wonder what happened to Giant Records, the label for Two Against Nature... Hey, Steely Dan miracles do happen--- right Dan, right Cimcie?). It was so incredibly disappointing to not see this come out on record in 2000, after waiting 4 years from when I heard it live in Raleigh, and was mesmerized.
The Reelin' In The Years book said they did record Wet Side Story and Cash Only Island early in the Two Against Nature sessions but discarded them because they got bored of them as they kept writing new songs. Jack Of Speed hung around I think because they felt it had good single potential.
Thank you SO MUCH for this one Dan. I saw them in Raleigh on this tour from the 4th row, and was instantly in love with this tune. Walter was SO GOOD on this tour, so fresh and on peak. Fully expected this tune to be included on Two Against Nature. Would love to hear Donald's rationale for that.. The tune wasn't even completed at this point, and yet it had such a cool groove and backbeat, I imagined it would be a no brainer for their next album, and Donald seemed to think so in 1996. GREAT remastering and upscaling of the existing internet file. I downloaded it several years ago, and sent it to everyone I knew. And great to see the young Carolyn Leonhart. I was once fortunate to have dinner with her father, what a story teller he is, not to mention one of the great NYC bassists.
I saw SD first time in Aintree , Liverpool at The Pops Festival, 2007 they were incredible , and WB was just on point . It took me days to come down from that musical high .
Damn… haven’t heard this in so long. Nissan pavilion 96 was one of the very few CDs floating around in the 90s . Quality was OK/ good then but love the improvements. ❤
Love the fact that this band is so tight, the vocals from Donald are stellar. Walter taking the bulk of the solo guitar duties. Years before Jon Herrington joined the touring band. Band seemed in a very good mood during this tour, which I was fortunate to see.
OMG. Thank you SOOOO much posting for this. I've been listening to the bootleg for years and wondered if there was good video. It is a KILLER track, I could NEVER understand why it didn't make the album. In my opinion, one of the best songs the Dan ever did. And Walter's solo is just so TASTY! Yum ! Great backup vocals, great groove. Just perfect. Donald...what gives? PS I was supposed to see them on tour with Eagles in Denver Oct 5/23. Flew in from Canada last Thursday. Donald was in NYC hospital sick and couldn't make the gig. Get well soon, Donald!
Here’s my best shot at the lyrics. Seems to be about a futuristic drug store called “Steamer Heaven” where our subjects Mickey and Biv Wrangler go to buy some futuristic drugs Count Mickey gets hungry Biv Wranglers gotta take a break sometimes Got to feed the machine Steamer heaven is empty A couple of kids in behind the counter With the lovely Janine As soon as he walks in the doors he’s smiling Covers his eyes with his hands Chorus Everyone knows that it’s scary out there When you jump to the wet side Where it’s colder it’s louder it’s screaming with life And it’s way complex Hacking through all the harsh effects Mick goes for the “bomber” A couple of rocks with that angle food healing And the gunk on the top He gives back Mick a quarter Intense tears and you can feel the flames arcing Up and over the shop For the moment they spun on the edge of history Fell into animal times Chorus Blacked out on the tarmac It was alive with the sweet sounds of summer Although the steamers alright Mick tries to remember Something kinda cool but it’s already fading Back to straight black and white Maybe I needed a hit of downtown Covers his eyes with his hands
So many questions to ask Donald about this one....the lyrics meaning, and more importantly....Why the hell did he and Walter leave this off Two Against Nature? One of the funkiest, bluesy jazz songs they ever wrote and played....and they loved it on this tour. A mystery that may never be solved.
@@Arturo-sm1tbyeah I think hardcore fans always want to know why some really great songs like this end up not making the cut for the album. Because of the internet we now have demo versions of tons of songs that were written and in some cases almost fully recorded back in the 70s but then ended up not being officially released. Some are better than others of course and some have taken on a life of their own in bootleg world and are really appreciated online like “the Bear”, “Kulee baba”, “Mr Sam”, etc. there are entire RU-vid videos about “the lost Gaucho” record and how many amazing songs got recorded during that 3 year gap between Aja and Gaucho while they decided on only 7 songs each for both Aja and Gaucho and left a lot of great songs on the cutting room floor. My personal favorite is probably “Gullywater” which we think was recorded for their debut record but ultimately left off. That one came to light pretty recently. It had been written about and clearly known by the hardcore Dan fanatics on the forums and stuff but nobody knew if a demo version actually existed anywhere and then a few years ago it popped up and it’s a badass song. It probably wouldn’t have fit in well on Cant buy a thrill because of how different it is and I’m guessing that’s ultimately how they decide what should and shouldn’t make the official album. The record needs to have some sort of flow to it. I imagine that’s why wet side story was left off two against nature as well because there were already a bunch of songs with similar sounding grooves on the album (cousin dupree, Janie runaway, etc) and maybe they wanted more variety in the flow of the album and opted for a slower tune like Almost Gothic or Negative Girl instead. Of course this is purely conjecture on my part. We’ll probably never know
The Steamer Heaven reference survived onto the album -- "It's a Shame About Me," I think. So they liked that bit. Yeah, I really wished this had made it. Awesome performance.
