Damn … what a guy can learn in twenty-four hours!!!
First – I learned (and was completely surprised by the fact) that the folks that read this blog are not just limited to: Folks That I’ve Had Beer With
After my Steely Dan rant, a friend of mine showed me over to a Steely Dan message board – and boy, were they pissed at me!!!
Second – Who knew that Steely Dan fans would curse just like Sex Pistol fans? I expected the usual; loser, hack, frustrated musician; and I was surprised to called a fan of Sting, Madonna & Black Sabbath; but I was really surprise to see some F-bombs dropped in the discussion. Yikes.
So, never one to just sit back, I reached out to a person who I think moderates the board over there. I handed over an olive branch – and gave him a challenge. And it’s a challenge that I’ll throw out to any of the folks who might be reading this – I know there’s a few Dan Fans out there.
Go Ahead: Make Me A Steely Dan Fan
Send me your Top Ten Steely Dan songs (anything released after ‘Katy Lied’ – that’s when I lost the thread for these guys) and I’ll go to iTunes and give them a spin. Pick your faves – I’m serious – I’ll give them a listen.
Rave On!!!
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7 comments:
everything on this list is very, very produced ... can you deal? think about the changes, the soloists, the lyrics, the melodies ... and appreciate the fact that achieving that level of perfection really IS a big deal and shouldn't just be written off as "boring" or "sterile." especially since most of the songs on these list were recorded in the 70s.
here are, in no particular order, my ten favorite post-katy lied steely dan songs:
1) aja (title track)
2) west of hollywood (two against nature)
3) pixeleen (everything must go)
4) haitian divorce (royal scam)
5) everything you did (royal scam)
6) babylon sisters (gaucho)
7) negative girl (two against nature)
8) sign in stranger (royal scam)
9) time out of mind (gaucho)
10) glamour profession (gaucho)
Hey Chris;
And after a some listening, writing and then re-listening … my reply:
I have absolutely no problem with tracks that are very, very produced. So, to answer your question; Yes, I can deal. But ‘very produced’ can mean a myriad of things. Brian Wilson, Phil Spector, George Martin, Todd Rundgren, Lindsey Buckingham, T Bone Burnette … they all have their own version (and their own vision) of what great production is. And that goes for ‘the soloists, the lyrics, the melodies’ as well. Of course, ‘achieving that level of perfection’ is a big deal – but ‘perfection is very subjective. Is it the perfect groove, tempo, guitar part, bass sound, harmony? These are the questions that the best bar ‘discussions’ are made of. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
And, listening to the ten tracks that you picked, a common thread seems to be the tempo. You’ve stayed with the mid-tempo’s, keeping away from the faster (and slower) tracks. And, to listen to all ten, back-to-back, the groove (for me) loses something along the way.
The mixes, with the exception of “Sign In Stranger” push the hi-hat more forward in the mix than the snare, with very full rack toms moving from the left to right. The rhythm guitars (on almost all tracks) are panned hard left & right – with the differences not being so much what they are playing, but the pedals (or outboard gear) that are being used on each guitar. I’m more of a fan when bands use straight pianos & B3 – so I don’t dig the electric piano and keyboards that use too much processing. Can’t complain with the vocals (the lead being a case of: you like it or you don’t, never pushing too hard, just flowing) and finally, all the harmonies spot on.
Now, when you talk about their perfection, well, the reason that I gave up on Steely Dan was because I found different kinds of perfection that were more enjoyable to me than the music that they were releasing. And (IMHO) Steel Dan weren’t giving me anything that I hadn’t heard from them before.
As to the fact that the songs were recorded in the 70’s – yeah??? Pull out Frank Sinatra; “The Columbia Years (1943-1952): The Complete Recordings” or Ray Charles; “The Genius Of Ray Charles” (1959). That’s great recording.
Lyrically, I’ve just never been a fan of the band. Of the ten tracks you listed, “Pixeleen” and “Haitian Divorce” are the two that I dig. The songwriters that have rocked my world (leaving Dylan, Van Morrison & Springsteen out of this conversation) are folks like John Prine, Townes Van Zandt, Radney Foster, Robbie Robertson … these are the types of songwriters that strike a chord with me.
The musicianship – sure, they perfect the parts they are playing. And I’m not sure that I would ever use the words ‘sterile’ or ‘boring’ – but then, I don’t know their complete catalog as well as you. I guess I just miss a little reckless abandon in their music that I find in other players.
As for great guitar records, I tend to leans towards Richard Thompson (“Shoot Out The Lights”), Mark Knopfler (“Golden Heart”), Los Lobos (“Will The Wolf Survive?”), or most anything that Booker T and the MG’s (Steve Cropper) played on.
So … there ya’ have it.
Peace,
Scott
A man truly does need a pint after all that.
It was spirited.
WOW. Who knew?
Beth writes:
"Wow! Who knew?"
And the funny thing is, in my original post, I actually use the phrases (in regards to Steely Dan's music):
"Sure, there have been a few great tracks."
&
"But to slag Steely Dan’s music is not what brought me here today."
My rant was based on the notion than any artist would find humor in ripping off their fans.
And over at their message board, a lot of the folks used some language that would make a sailor blush (kind of like Kev after his fifth pint), but Chris seems to be a pretty good guy. I even checked out his music - he's a serious player, though I found his stuff to lean more towards Chick Corea & Return To Forever than it do towards Steely Dan. If anyone wants to hear it, zip me a message & I'll give you the link to where you can hear it.
Rave On, folks, Rave on!
Scott,
I am as diehard a Dan fan as you'll find. I believe these are all post-Katy Lied except for the four on 'Countdown to Ecstasy', so bear with me on that. 'Haitian Divorce' and 'The Fez' are the newbies to my list with the latter sounding like the old themesong for The Masters (golf) meets a sleep-deprived Barry White. Listen to the TRANSITIONS in their music - that's where I find much of the genius, i.e.: the 'transitional bridge' I guess you could call it in 'Peg' - after the first chorus and before the guitar solo; and the bridge in 'Don't Take Me Alive'; and the outro in 'Deacon Blues' (drums); and the bridge and outro in 'I got the News' - very sick stuff.
1)I got the News
2)Showbiz Kids
3)The Fez
4)Peg
5)Black Cow
6)Babylon Sister
7)Haitian Divorce
8)Boston Rag
9)Green Earings
10)Bodhisattva
11)Deacon Blues
12)AJA
13)Your Gold Teeth
14)Hey Nineteen
15)Don't Take Me Alive
I'll take this top 15 over anyone else's. Enjoy.
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