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Chicago vs Steely Dan
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Poll Question: Which band do you prefer?
Poll Choice Votes Poll Statistics
26 [37.14%]
41 [58.57%]
0 [0.00%]
3 [4.29%]
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Earl of Mar View Drop Down
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    Posted: February 05 2021 at 15:15
Dan by a mile imo.
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Chicago are a incredible band but Steely Dan are awesome
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Well, we know Walter White was a huge Steely Dan fan - but that was Walter before he was cool and homicidal.

I agree Chicago got off to a roaring start then quickly became banal.  SD's main problem for me was a certain aloof drabness.  However I always loved Pretzel Logic (which is probably the dumb persons SD album) but nevertheless on that basis I'll give it to them.

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Based purely on the strength of their studio output, Steely Dan. They have one of the most consistent studio discographies of any band I know. I would consider everything but their last album from 2003 an amazing one. I'm sure this has a lot to do with them using the best musicians they could find, but even the earlier ones where it was actually a band are successful at defining a sound. Plus, the production was often stellar. I don't listen to a lot of live albums (never felt the allure unless there were noticeable version differences, so Zappa live is obviously imperative), nor was I alive to see either band in their prime in person. So it's tough, but the Dan gets the nod for me. Notwithstanding, Chicago V is a masterpiece.
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Hi,

CHICAGO ... because its time and place was way more important than what Steely Dan did later ... when they became the darlings of the pop/disco scene and everyone thought it was cool to smoke some little pipe that looked like a dickie ... which the girls always laughed at the guys who would not, at times, even touch it! 

Steely Dan had magnificent material that filled out FM radio lists really well, but SD was all about clever pop songs ... had nothing to do with the seriousness and beauty of what CHICAGO stood for in their first 4 or 5 albums, which was way more important than SD. AND, in concert, SD stunk ... and Chicago could bowl you over all the way to at least 1077 or 1978 when I last caught them ... they rocked. There was a SOUL behind the Chicago stuff ... in SD it was all about fun, and that was that! Very Californian ... get stoned and have fun!

Chicago all the way!
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Points: 4452 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Argo2112 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 05 2021 at 07:27
Tough one. If we disregard the crappy 80's ballads Chicago put out and focus on the early / mid 70's stuff I would probably give them the edge but it's close. 
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Steely Dan. After a few albums, Chicago got so sickeningly sweet they started causing cavities. 9 out of 10 dentists prefer Steely Dan.
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I have six albums by Chicago and three by Steely Dan, so I'm doubling down with Chicago for this poll. Smile
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Steely Dan
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Braka View Drop Down
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This reminds me of a few weeks ago when I was at a friend's place. He grows various herbs and such, and is often pointing out different varieties such as Thai (or Vietnamese) Basil.

Anyhow he was in the middle of explaining the difference between ordinary or 'English' thyme, and the similar looking 'Silver thyme', and had picked a sprig of one or the other which he offered to me, and invited me to guess which sort it was, based on his description.

Admitting that I couldn't tell the difference, I asked, "Does anybody really know what thyme it is?"
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Points: 577 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TexasKing Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 12 2019 at 10:58
Steely Dan, but it's close. Chicago Transit Authority is my favorite album by either band though.
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Points: 3236 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote iluvmarillion Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 03 2019 at 23:29
Originally posted by Morningrise Morningrise wrote:

Steely Dan. "Aja" and "Pretzel Logic" wipe out everything Chicago has put out

Unless you refer to the first two Chicago albums which were absolutely brilliant and original and surpass Aja and Pretzel Logic, which were good in their own right, but not as good as the Chicago.
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Originally posted by cstack3 cstack3 wrote:

Make mine Dan!  The band featured some amazing talent (Lee Ritenour, Jeff Baxter etc.) and fantastic writing. 

Both were excellent, and Chicago was a true band vs. recording project, but both dominated the airwaves in the 1970s.  Love 'em both. 
Larry Carlton!
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Points: 6754 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cstack3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 02 2019 at 20:59
Make mine Dan!  The band featured some amazing talent (Lee Ritenour, Jeff Baxter etc.) and fantastic writing. 

Both were excellent, and Chicago was a true band vs. recording project, but both dominated the airwaves in the 1970s.  Love 'em both. 
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He is...but he is gone now too!
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Jason Scheff is a good singer also
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Points: 65938 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote rushfan4 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 02 2019 at 12:37
Take me back...to Chicago.  

I like both bands quite a bit, but I've seen Chicago live at least 10 times and enjoyed the hell out of each and every one of those shows.  (Unfortunately all post-Terry Kath and Peter Cetera).
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Originally posted by Tom Ozric Tom Ozric wrote:

 
Originally posted by Logan Logan wrote:

Originally posted by moshkito moshkito wrote:

... running around smoking a a steely dan pipe was very cool with the boys and girls at both high schools (to the upset chagrin of many teachers, btw!) and college folks, in those days....


I hope those pipes did not resemble the Steely Dans in Burroughs' Naked Lunch. I could understand how distressing it would be to the teachers seeing the students running around smoking dildos (the Steely Dan III was steam powered, but a smoke powered one could be a later model)..
Surely referring to a bong of sorts ? I don’t think crack pipes were popular back then....however, lmfao at Moshi’s idea......

It was not an idea ... it was real. And it was worse at SBCC and UCSB, because many folks would just about walk to the class room with it in hand before putting it away. One professor at UCSB class I was in, threw out two kids that were smoking a SD pipe! A film class ... and of all weird things, it was going to have an early Godard film!

And this is the part that many folks here don't believe ... history has a way of hiding things. And while I do not dislike SD, I did find that their PR around them was a bit of a problem ... however, I am not sure that the Copyright thing about "steely dan" would necessarily apply to the band since the name belonged to something else, by a writer that died in 1997. Williams S. Burroughs. 


Edited by moshkito - February 02 2019 at 09:45
Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
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Tom Ozric View Drop Down
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Points: 15916 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Tom Ozric Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 01 2019 at 20:25
Originally posted by Logan Logan wrote:

Originally posted by moshkito moshkito wrote:

... running around smoking a a steely dan pipe was very cool with the boys and girls at both high schools (to the upset chagrin of many teachers, btw!) and college folks, in those days....


I hope those pipes did not resemble the Steely Dans in Burroughs' Naked Lunch. I could understand how distressing it would be to the teachers seeing the students running around smoking dildos (the Steely Dan III was steam powered, but a smoke powered one could be a later model)..
Surely referring to a bong of sorts ? I don’t think crack pipes were popular back then....however, lmfao at Moshi’s idea......
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Points: 1600 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Fischman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 01 2019 at 18:58
Funny, I see things rather the opposite.

I love the early Chicago albums, but even the best ones have their spotty moments.  Meanwhile, the Dan's best albums are strong throughout.  

And I agree with Micky that the Dan was more unique.  Their brand of jazzy influenced intellectual rock has never been matched, or even seriously attempted.  They stand truly alone in the history of music.  
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