When the Dan decided to jam, they kicked it out!

SteelyDan

Anytime !!  Never too much SD.

 coloradojohn wrote: 
love your observations...and i agree!

These dudes were making music like just about nobody else at the time, like some new kind of hopped-up jazz, some wild style of funk, throwing down some new kind of wryness in their nod and wink lyrics...and it always sounded like they were having such mad FUN doing it! It sure was fun to listen to, too!

 Bat wrote: 
I would have to disagree:
1) Can't Buy a Thrill
2) Pretzel Logic
3) Aja
4) Countdown to Ecstasy
5) Katy Lied
6)  The Royal Scam
7) Gaucho

Should be on Katy Lied album?

Bill should have saved this song for next Friday

PSD PSD PSD ..don't like

Man, we didn't know how good we had it back in the day...the radio waves SIZZLED with these types of witty, gritty, pithy and ultimately rocking and satisfyingly delicious numbers...AND I LOVE THE FACT THAT IT STILL SOUNDS SO DARNED GOOD! (and thank God, Bill and Rebecca & Co. for RP, doing its best as an ongoing non-greed driven carrier of the Eternal Happening Music Vibe — and doing a fantastic job at it!)

great donald fagen

I was a huge Steely Dan fan back in the day.  Like most fans I only consider the "real" Steely Dan to have existed for those first 7 albums (although I do own the Two Against Nature CD).

I'm a pleasantly surprised to find someone else who rates Countdown to Ecstasy as their best album, and then Katy Lied as their second.

My Dan album rankings

1) Countdown to Ecstasy
2) Katy Lied
3) Pretzel Logic
4) Can't Buy a Thrill
5) The Royal Scam
6) Aja (their supposed "masterpiece")
7) Gaucho

 On_The_Beach wrote:

 

These guys defy music categories.  Pop?  Yes, a lot.  Rock?  Yes, a little,  Jazz?  Yes, a lot.  Top 40? Yes, there's that, too.  Fusion?  I'd argue a few of their tunes fit that.  Witty?  Almost every one.  Classical?  Well, no, I guess.  Hip-hop?  Wasn't invented back then.

My daughter was to be named Aja (had sons instead).

PS:  That's not a photo of Pretzel Logic.

 olivertwist wrote: 

Yeah, they all have at least 2-3 outstanding cuts. 

Let's keep this slightly modified High Fidelity exercise going, and rank their top 7 tracks, which will certainly contain at least a half-dozen glaring omissions.  Here goes mine:

7) Kid Charlemagne
6) The Caves of Altamira
5) Black Friday
4) Reelin' in the Years
3) Deacon Blues
2) Don't Take Me Alive
1) My Old School

Comments again please...

 treatment_bound wrote: 
Ah yes, we all like to make Top 10 lists, or in this case, Top 7.
I'm gonna go with . . .

1) Countdown to Ecstasy
2) Katy Lied
3) Aja
4) Pretzel Logic
5) The Royal Scam
6) Can't Buy a Thrill
7) Gaucho

ps, I agree with olivertwist below; all their albums are excellent!

 treatment_bound wrote: 

Here's my informal, spur-of-the moment rankings. We have the same #1, but after that our rankings diverge. That's OK, though, because each of their albums is excellent, IMO.

1. The Royal Scam (My fave, a concept album of sorts on the underbelly of the American dream)
2. Katy Lied
3. Countdown to Ecstasy
4. Pretzel Logic
5. Can't Buy a Thrill
6. Gaucho (this album is much maligned, but I enjoy it. Fagen and Becker really polished their jazz-influenced sound down to its bare essence here)
7. Aja (How can I rank this last? I should probably start over!)

The fact is, it's pretty much impossible for me to rank their albums, and my list would probably be different if I put it together tomorrow.

 On_The_Beach wrote: 
I've been listening to all the Steely Dan albums lately (up through Gaucho), and here's my very unscientific ranking from bottom to top:
7. Gaucho
6. Countdown to Ecstasy
5. Can't Buy a Thrill
4. Katy Lied
3. Pretzel Logic
2. Aja 
1. The Royal Scam

comments please...

Steely Dan -Rhymes with BAN!!!!

 Usernamesearcher wrote: 
Man, I wish these guys came with subtitles...

 Harry_GER wrote: 
dat is der  einzigeTitel mit dem sie zeigen dass sie auch etwas unkontrollierter spielen konnten.Ich meine damit Leidenschaft... Alles andere, ins. später auch von Fagen ist interessant aber schlicht zu (leidenschaftlich) perfektionistisch. Erst wenn Leidenschaft Kontrollverlust bedeutet wirkt sie - so glaube ich - befreiend.Kein Wunder, dass gerade black friday den enstprechenden Titel trägt und zudem von SD immer gerne zum Schluß live gespielt wurde (wenn sie denn überhaupt mal live unterwegs waren). Hier lassen sie mal los und zeigen , dass sie auch mit den Eiern spielen konnten.

Gruß

aus Schwerin

Perfect timing, Black Friday is this Friday!

is this a Target ad, after the quaaludes?  call in now and get your free Black Friday coupons!  Doors open at 4am!

From the excellent Katy Lied:

Walter Becker proving that he could hold his own on guitar . . .

Ich mag eigendlich Steely Dan, aber dieser Titel nervt. 

11:58 am - Steely Dan - Black Friday
11:56 am - Tori Amos - Wednesday
11:52 am - The Pogues - Tuesday Morning
11:49 am - Wilco - Monday

Possible Thursday songs -

Morphine has a song called "Thursday", on Cure For Pain
Donovan has a song called "Jersey Thursday", on Fairytale (also on the movie Rushmore...not sure about the soundtrack, though)
Matt Costa (signed to Brushfire Records, Jack Johnson's label) has a song called "Sweet Thursday", on Songs We Sing
Jim Croce has a song called "Thursday", on I Got A Name
Townes Van Zandt had a song called "Like A Summer's Thursday", on A Gentle Evening With Townes Van Zandt

Love Steely Dan!

No Thursday song?

 sirdroseph wrote: 
Yes! And some Dan is GREAT.

 sirdroseph wrote: 
What he said.