Electric Light Orchestra vs Steely Dan
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Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Prog Polls
Forum Description: Create polls on topics related to progressive music
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=118456
Printed Date: April 24 2024 at 22:17
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Topic: Electric Light Orchestra vs Steely Dan
Posted By: Icarium
Subject: Electric Light Orchestra vs Steely Dan
Date Posted: February 17 2019 at 03:09
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In the same tradition as previous duals, don't remembef if this have beenn done before. Some interesting similarities and contrasts, one is jazz, one is symphonic, very sophisticatef bands. So whos your choise -------------  
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Replies:
Posted By: Frenetic Zetetic
Date Posted: February 17 2019 at 03:18
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This one's gonna be both for me. ------------- "I am so prog, I listen to concept albums on shuffle." -KMac2021 |
Posted By: Lewian
Date Posted: February 17 2019 at 05:59
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Uffa. First time that I vote for Steely Dan. |
Posted By: twosteves
Date Posted: February 17 2019 at 07:40
| not a fan of ELO-- am a fan of Steely Dan |
Posted By: Braka
Date Posted: February 17 2019 at 08:24
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Loved ELO when I was twelve (New World Record) but never liked anything after that, and was heartily sick of them by about 1978. Steely Dan were different story. I first heard 'Pretzel Logic' and loved it when I was about fourteen or fifteen, but never quite managed to find the same affection for anything else they did - including re-buying Katy Lied and Aja decades later. So, on the basis that I nowadays still like Pretzel Logic, I'd have to vote SD. I wonder how many people discovered them because Walter white namechecked them. |
Posted By: jamesbaldwin
Date Posted: February 17 2019 at 09:30
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Dan. ------------- "Happiness is real only when shared" |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: February 17 2019 at 09:45
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Today in this forum I have read about fleshlights and steely dans, what kind of sordid place is Prog Archives turning into? In William S. Burroughs' Naked Lunch, a Steely Dan, the "Steely Dan III from Yokohama", is steam-powered, but I'm tempted to go with the Electric Steely Dan (i.e. both) for the purposes of this poll. That said, I'm more into ELO, so ELO will get my vote. ------------- Just a fanboy passin' through. |
Posted By: Saperlipopette!
Date Posted: February 17 2019 at 09:45
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Never stopped loving ELO since discovering Time in my parents collection as a kid. A rare vote for the band not being Steely Dan. ------------- 
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Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: February 17 2019 at 09:46
| No, not yet but SD will probably clean the floor with ELO. |
Posted By: Manuel
Date Posted: February 17 2019 at 10:02
| Steely Dan. ELO had some excellent albums in their beginning, but went more pop oriented when they got some commercial success. |
Posted By: TCat
Date Posted: February 17 2019 at 10:03
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Other than ELO's first 2 albums, Steely Dan wins hands down. They win anyway because they had many more great albums than ELO, who only had occasional interesting tracks after their first 2 albums. ------------- https://ibb.co/8x0xjR0" rel="nofollow">  |
Posted By: dwill123
Date Posted: February 17 2019 at 10:31
| Steely Dan. ELO had a couple of nice songs, that's about it. |
Posted By: Oganesson
Date Posted: February 17 2019 at 10:45
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Honestly, as a big fan of both bands, I'll go for both here. It's too difficult for me to choose. ------------- "I have made good judgments in the past. I have made good judgments in the future." - Dan Quayle Reach out as forward tastes begin to enter you... |
Posted By: verslibre
Date Posted: February 17 2019 at 11:32
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Neither. ------------- https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ipg=50&_sop=1&_rdc=1&_ssn=musicosm" rel="nofollow - eBay |
Posted By: progmatic
Date Posted: February 17 2019 at 12:23
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Steely Dan. What is it with all these matchups with Steely Dan? Methinks someone has a fixation on the Dan. ------------- PROGMATIC |
Posted By: Man With Hat
Date Posted: February 17 2019 at 13:25
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ELO is forced, but this is definitely a neither situation again. ------------- Dig me...But don't...Bury me I'm running still, I shall until, one day, I hope that I'll arrive Warning: Listening to jazz excessively can cause a laxative effect. |
Posted By: Finnforest
Date Posted: February 17 2019 at 13:31
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Dan v BOC! This one is a slam dunk Dan. ELO is not in their league. ------------- |
Posted By: socrates17
Date Posted: February 17 2019 at 14:47
| I wish I could have voted ONLY for the 1st ELO album, but I dislike the ones after Roy left and I don't like Steely Dan. |
Posted By: Fischman
Date Posted: February 17 2019 at 17:00
| Still the Dan, but I do still love ELO. |
Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: February 17 2019 at 17:09
And SD were never pop oriented with commercial success?
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Manuel wrote:Posted By: rogerthat
Date Posted: February 17 2019 at 17:59
Commercial success? Yes. But pop oriented? Other than Peg, not really. They were just talented enough to write a fresh bunch of standards. But the music stayed jazz-rock all the way to the end, maybe leaning more and more jazz by Aja/Gaucho. But not pop and this should be very clear when those albums are contrasted with the BeeGees or ABBA's Voulez Voulez/Super Trouper.
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Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: February 17 2019 at 18:28
| Well, I think it's very debatable whether or not SD were pop or not. I respect your opinion but I think they were just not the same kind of poppy pop you have these days. You know there is such thing as intelligent pop and imo that's what SD were. Plus they had six top twenty(and a few more in the top forty)hit singles and that's ultimately what makes something pop or not(imo). Pop stands for popular and that's what they were. So pop oriented(like later Genesis) maybe not but pop by default? Definitely. |
Posted By: rogerthat
Date Posted: February 17 2019 at 19:59
If pop means popular, then that would make Floyd, Yes, ELP, Zeppelin, Queen, Sabbath, all pop. All sold tons of records in the 70s and all had at least one hit single too IIRC. Perhaps you do consider them pop but I wouldn't and not many would. The prominence of guitar solos in Dan's music firmly slots them in rock. Note I say prominence. Sure pop acts occasionally had solos like Carpenters' Goodbye to Love but by and large no whereas the vast majority of Dan songs have guitar solos and are indeed guitar driven. Everything that isn't hard rock isn't pop. As for later Genesis, no, SD's songwriting was way more sophisticated than them, no comparison. |
Posted By: iluvmarillion
Date Posted: February 17 2019 at 22:50
I voted for ELO but I concede Steely Dan made better albums. I can't name one great ELO album except for maybe Face The Music, but gee, ELO wrote some great songs.
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Posted By: Icarium
Date Posted: February 17 2019 at 23:58
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Jeff Lynne have one of the most powerfull singing voice in rock -------------
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Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: February 18 2019 at 00:25
No pop pop so much, but pop rock as a fair classification I would say for Steely Dan and ELO. I would describe music by Steely Dan as "pop rock," as with ELO. Pink Floyd is popular, but I would not think of it as pop rock in the same way, more art rock (some of it I would). Queen, however, I would more comfortably put under the pop rock moniker along with ELO and Steely Dan. Some 80s albums by Yes I could also describe as pop rock. ------------- Just a fanboy passin' through. |
Posted By: rogerthat
Date Posted: February 18 2019 at 03:01
Maybe by default, it could be called pop rock since you had metal, hard rock, punk in the 70s. I would call Dan just quintessential American music and that is probably why a lot of progheads see them as commercial because in prog, the American genres only seep in when the music is going commercial. I wouldn't say Dan were any more commercial than Dylan. Accessible, yes. |
Posted By: Jeffro
Date Posted: February 18 2019 at 05:18
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Steely Dan! Not a fan of ELO outside of a couple songs. ELO has this.....sound....to their music that I don't like. I can only describe it as the ELO sound. I've tried the early stuff and while far more intriguing than their later music it still doesn't connect with me.
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Posted By: rogerthat
Date Posted: February 18 2019 at 09:15
I feel pretty meh about ELO. Admittedly, I have never gone beyond Eldorado but the meh-ness didn't particularly enthuse me and I didn't feel like investigating their other stuff.
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Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: February 18 2019 at 09:51
I have nothing against pop or pop rock, I love lots of music that could be classified as pop rock (David Bowie, Supertramp, The Beatles, The Velvet Underground, Blondie, Elton John, Peter Gabriel, The Byrds, Fleetwood Mac, Matt Berry, The Rutles, etc.) Steely Dan was moved from Crossover Prog to JRF at this site. To me Steely Dan made sense in Crossover as the pop connection seems obvious to me (West Coast pop rock with arrangements of a jazzy nature or Pop Jazz-Rock). ------------- Just a fanboy passin' through. |
Posted By: Icarium
Date Posted: February 18 2019 at 11:06
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I love what i have heard so far listening to the first four ELO albums. Love the swirly string arrangement, makes them have a unique flavour of sounds no other bands really have. That icy precision of violin and the calm warm presence of cello is so appreciated. It affects the rythmic element. Bombast and elegance, yet with an integral element of 60s influence yet they sound very prescent in the 70s. The combined efforts of synths and string instruments adds a sonic richness. On the Third Day is a particular strong album. With some breathtaking things happening. -------------
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Posted By: tboyd1802
Date Posted: February 18 2019 at 11:59
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Never cared for ELO. Steely Dan takes this one easily for me... ------------- He neither drank, smoked, nor rode a bicycle. Living frugally, saving his money, he died early, surrounded by greedy relatives. It was a great lesson to me -- John Barrymore |
Posted By: Slartibartfast
Date Posted: February 18 2019 at 12:31
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Eh I had one ELO (Out of the Blue) once upon a time but Steeley Dan, I have everything from their classic period in a verrry nice box set to their last ones and a DVD. Not that I don't like ELO. ------------- Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened... 
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Posted By: Walkscore
Date Posted: February 18 2019 at 12:49
| The first two ELO albums are really excellent (especially the debut album!), but after that they become overly-commercial. |
Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: February 18 2019 at 13:54
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^Totally agree.....the first with Wood and then the second are both good...after that I lost interest though Third Day and Eldorado have their moments. But Dan for the win here....and imho it's not even close. ------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin |
Posted By: YESESIS
Date Posted: February 18 2019 at 16:34
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I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'd put the first 7 Dan albums up against the first 7 by ANY other music artist. They truly are that good. I like the first 3 Fagen solo albums a lot too, especially The Nightfly is just ridiculously good. |
Posted By: irrelevant
Date Posted: February 18 2019 at 16:42
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Both are top 10 for me. Voted for Steely Dan. ------------- https://gabebuller.bandcamp.com/" rel="nofollow - New album! http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=7385" rel="nofollow - http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=7385 |
Posted By: Ivan_Melgar_M
Date Posted: February 18 2019 at 20:27
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For me SD is more boring than a Sunday without sports. ELO no doubt ------------- 
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Posted By: Tom Ozric
Date Posted: February 19 2019 at 00:37
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Posted By: iluvmarillion
Date Posted: February 19 2019 at 02:42
SD come across to me as silky smooth which isn't boring to me. It takes a great level of musical skill to do what SD does. ELO on the other hand sound all over the place to me. Wood was a great musician. Jeff Lynne is a great musician. I'm just not sure I care for the other band members of ELO. I prefer listening to Jeff Lynne on his own singing and playing a guitar without the backing band.
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Posted By: digdug
Date Posted: February 19 2019 at 08:16
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love both if you twist my arm I would go with Steely Dan but voted both ------------- Prog On! |
Posted By: Icarium
Date Posted: February 19 2019 at 10:02
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I wouldbnever twist anyones arm when regarding desiding favourites, thats cruel beyond belief. -------------
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Posted By: Tom Ozric
Date Posted: February 19 2019 at 14:59
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Posted By: Atavachron
Date Posted: February 19 2019 at 15:01
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Dennis the Mehness ? ------------- "Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." -- John F. Kennedy |
Posted By: Tom Ozric
Date Posted: February 19 2019 at 15:15
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Posted By: Scorpius
Date Posted: February 19 2019 at 17:17
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In terms of sheer musicianship and talent, SD any day. ELO has a bit too much pop in their discography for me to really hold a candle to SD. ------------- The most dangerous man in America. |
Posted By: micky
Date Posted: February 19 2019 at 17:35
pfff... get your ass up here to the states and see me.. and I'll show you how boring the Dan is as you and me paint the town red with the Dan blasting from the death machines killer sound system. trust me.. you'll gain a new appreciation of them anyhow.. perhaps the hardest vote of all of them so far. I really do love me some ELO and have an emotional and nostalic attachment to them that the Dan, while they were the first group whom I bought an album of (god bless good ol' Columbia House) but even before Aja.. I was moved by my mothers ELO 8-tracks haha.. if there was one group that lead me to prog so many years later.. it was that group.. and if there was one song.. it was this one still though.. nothing really tops the Dan when it comes to the objective qualities.. no band really tops their decade plus of sustained brilliance and a talent for songwriting and ear for melody that tops even the formidable talents of Jeff Lynne.
------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
Posted By: geekfreak
Date Posted: April 18 2020 at 11:32
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Steely Dan ------------- Friedrich Nietzsche: "Without music, life would be a mistake." Music Is Live Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. Keep Calm And Listen To The Music… < |