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rogerthat
Prog Reviewer
Joined: September 03 2006
Location: .
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Points: 9869
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Topic: Steely Dan appreciation Posted: May 21 2010 at 12:04 |
Recently got into this band in a big way. Picked up Aja almost blind (didn't even know if it was the best place to start), and after a lot of drooling over it revisited Pretzel Logic which I had heard a long time back but hadn't been blown away and so on and so forth. I think they are going to be one of my all time favourite bands easy. Aja is my favourite so far but also really love Royal Scam and Countdown to Ecstacy. Katy Lied and Pretzel Logic a little behind, followed by Gaucho and Can't Buy A Thrill which have their flaws but are still worthy. I don't know how prog or not they are and I am not going to rekindle an old debate because I really don't care about it, few bands are so perfect for my tastes as Steely Dan. What do YOU think?
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Slartibartfast
Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator / In Memoriam
Joined: April 29 2006
Location: Atlantais
Status: Offline
Points: 29625
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Posted: May 21 2010 at 12:16 |
Yeah, I didn't pay much attention to these guys though they were well regarded amongst prog fans I knew. What made them finally click for me was when I got the box set of their '70's stuff. I like their new albums, too but it's hard to top the old stuff.
Edited by Slartibartfast - May 21 2010 at 12:16
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Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...
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rogerthat
Prog Reviewer
Joined: September 03 2006
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Points: 9869
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Posted: May 21 2010 at 12:19 |
Haven't got to Everything Must Go yet but I quite liked Two Against Nature. No real changes to their style and yet doesn't sound pale or stagnant...strange, that, lots of old bands go either of those two ways, Steely Dan simply carried on where they had left all those years back. But yeah, doesn't top the old stuff. not nearly.
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Ronnie Pilgrim
Forum Senior Member
Joined: February 09 2010
Location: The South of TX
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Points: 771
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Posted: May 21 2010 at 13:11 |
I'm all in! Steely Dan is my favorite band, prog or not. They have "progressed" through time, and I love material from their first album as much as material from their latest one (and all points in between).
Edited by Ronnie Pilgrim - May 21 2010 at 13:13
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chopper
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: July 13 2005
Location: Essex, UK
Status: Offline
Points: 19943
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Posted: May 21 2010 at 16:50 |
Only really got into them recently as the band I'm in do a few of their numbers. They're great to play, some of the chord structures they use are just wonderful. I reckon the middle period was probably their best - Kid Charlemagne and Haitian Divorce.
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rogerthat
Prog Reviewer
Joined: September 03 2006
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Points: 9869
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Posted: May 21 2010 at 20:14 |
Yeah, wonderful chord sequences even on their simpler songs like Peg. Kid Charlemagne is simply amazing, especially the massive change right after the chorus. Green Earrings from the same album too, with its three ripping solos.
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lucas
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: February 06 2004
Location: France
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Points: 8138
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Posted: May 22 2010 at 15:11 |
Elegant mixture of pop and jazz. I discovered them through 'royal scam'. A lot of great musicians played with them (and often jazz-related) : Bernard Purdie, Rick Marotta, Larry Carlton, Steve Gadd, Jim Keltner, Jeff Porcaro, David Paich, Joe Sample, Chuck Rainey, Rick Derringer, Dean Parks, Tom Scott.
Donald Fagen released threee excellent solo albums after they disbanded.
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"Magma was the very first gothic rock band" (Didier Lockwood)
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Ronnie Pilgrim
Forum Senior Member
Joined: February 09 2010
Location: The South of TX
Status: Offline
Points: 771
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Posted: May 22 2010 at 15:15 |
lucas wrote:
Elegant mixture of pop and jazz. I discovered them through 'royal scam'. A lot of great musicians played with them (and often jazz-related) : Bernard Purdie, Rick Marotta, Larry Carlton, Steve Gadd, Jim Keltner, Jeff Porcaro, David Paich, Joe Sample, Chuck Rainey, Rick Derringer, Dean Parks, Tom Scott.
Donald Fagen released threee excellent solo albums after they disbanded.
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I've heard it said that they are musician's musicians.
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rogerthat
Prog Reviewer
Joined: September 03 2006
Location: .
Status: Offline
Points: 9869
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Posted: May 22 2010 at 22:10 |
lucas wrote:
Elegant mixture of pop and jazz. I discovered them through 'royal scam'. A lot of great musicians played with them (and often jazz-related) : Bernard Purdie, Rick Marotta, Larry Carlton, Steve Gadd, Jim Keltner, Jeff Porcaro, David Paich, Joe Sample, Chuck Rainey, Rick Derringer, Dean Parks, Tom Scott.
Donald Fagen released threee excellent solo albums after they disbanded.
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Porcaro has talked about how hard Fagen and Becker made them work just to get a drum track right for Gaucho. Funny the album itself didn't seem to justify that much effort and perfectionism though it was a good album again from SD.
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Slartibartfast
Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator / In Memoriam
Joined: April 29 2006
Location: Atlantais
Status: Offline
Points: 29625
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Posted: May 23 2010 at 05:10 |
The first DVD I purchased: Not making it up.
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Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...
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O666
Forum Senior Member
Joined: September 20 2009
Location: TEHRAN-IRAN
Status: Offline
Points: 2618
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Posted: May 24 2010 at 14:05 |
I wrote about SD sub-gen and i think Jazz rock/fusion is good for this great band. I love 2 first albums and AJA is special for me. I listen fagen and becker solo albums and i think if they join then they can release more better stuff.
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pied piper
Forum Groupie
Joined: May 19 2010
Location: Italy
Status: Offline
Points: 94
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Posted: May 25 2010 at 03:58 |
I do love the band: I still remember the first time I heard "Do it again", in 1973.
I was disappointed when they disbanded, and I loved Fagen's "Nightfly". I was very glad when they regrouped! I had been lucky to see them on stage, while touring Italy: superb music, extraordinary musicians. Of course it's no progressive, but I'm used to listen to many genres.
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The Runaway
Forum Senior Member
Joined: May 28 2009
Location: London
Status: Offline
Points: 3144
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Posted: May 25 2010 at 05:15 |
I am in LOVE with their first time.
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HolyMoly
Special Collaborator
Retired Admin
Joined: April 01 2009
Location: Atlanta
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Points: 26133
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Posted: May 25 2010 at 11:25 |
Pretty great band. My father was a pretty big fan in the 70s so I was very familiar with all their albums even way back then, and I still listen to them now. I've never thought "Can't Buy a Thrill" was all that great, except for the godlike track "Do it Again". But otherwise, all the albums through Gaucho are great. My personal favorite is either "Countdown to Ecstasy" or "Royal Scam" - endlessly complex and entertaining, both of them. Fagen's first solo album "Nightfly" is quite neat too - a real original sounding 50s/80s hybrid, very alluring.
I got "Two Against Nature" when it came out, but something essential seemed to be missing. It seemed to have all the style but none of the substance of Steely Dan. Granted, by the time of Gaucho, their sound had already begun to get more homogenized, but there were still interesting compositional quirks or unexpected happenings in the songs here and there. Two Against Nature just sounds like warm milk - smooth and bland. I haven't bothered to try "Everything Must Go", but I don't have my hopes up.
Edited by HolyMoly - May 25 2010 at 11:26
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My other avatar is a Porsche
It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if it is lightly greased.
-Kehlog Albran
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rogerthat
Prog Reviewer
Joined: September 03 2006
Location: .
Status: Offline
Points: 9869
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Posted: May 25 2010 at 11:26 |
pied piper wrote:
I was disappointed when they disbanded, and I loved Fagen's "Nightfly". I was very glad when they regrouped! |
Yeah, I love Nightfly too, lovely jazz pop , couldn't believe it was that a**h*** singing so earnestly and, at places, tenderly, actually.
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rogerthat
Prog Reviewer
Joined: September 03 2006
Location: .
Status: Offline
Points: 9869
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Posted: May 25 2010 at 11:30 |
I think Countdown is the most prog-compatible of their albums. After that, Aja for the two big jazz fusion-ish tracks and then Royal Scam has an APP rocking much harder than usual feeling.
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Ronnie Pilgrim
Forum Senior Member
Joined: February 09 2010
Location: The South of TX
Status: Offline
Points: 771
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Posted: May 25 2010 at 11:42 |
HolyMoly wrote:
I got "Two Against Nature" when it came out, but something essential seemed to be missing. |
I suggest you try smoking a good bowl, kicking back and enjoying the note by note perfection that is "What a Shame About Me."
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The Quiet One
Prog Reviewer
Joined: January 16 2008
Location: Argentina
Status: Offline
Points: 15745
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Posted: May 25 2010 at 11:44 |
All of you fans, check out this album:
You won't regret it, it's great.
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rogerthat
Prog Reviewer
Joined: September 03 2006
Location: .
Status: Offline
Points: 9869
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Posted: May 25 2010 at 11:46 |
Have been meaning to get to that. How about the one in the middle...something starting with K?
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Norman Kiddie
Forum Groupie
Joined: February 16 2009
Location: Stuttgart
Status: Offline
Points: 81
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Posted: May 25 2010 at 12:03 |
Steely Dan are one of the best bands on the planet. Check out Donald Fagan and Walter Becker solo projects and albums created as a duo. They retain a lot of the typical Steely Dan sound, and are timeless additions to any collection.
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