Steely Dan: "Steely Dan's name has been popping up as a hip musical crush. Remember, this glossy bop-pop was the indifferent aristocracy to punk rock's stone-throwing in the late 70's. People fought

Latest Fagen is great too

Cant buy a thrill is the best one fyi. Its the one i listen to the most anyway.

Cant buy a thrill is the best one fyi. Its the one i listen to the most anyway.

Most people here prefer the last 3 records to the 1st 4 records, right? I think I slightly prefer the 1st four--CBAT just kills...

yeah i prefer the 1st four records too

I've been finding putting Citizen Dan on shuffle (Spotify) has been getting me interested in songs that previously didn't really do it for me.

The Nightfly is essential if you dig the 7 Dan albums form the classic era. ESSENTIAL!!

Yes, Nightfly should be looped into the Magnificent Seven. Kamakiriad is always a disappointment to me.

except "On the Dunes"

both of becker's solo albums are great but they kinda diverge from the dan sound

how's his voice, ok?

okay! better on the second than the first

i'll stan for katy lied... i don't know if it's there "best," but it seems the most lyrical (and catchy) to me, so it's my favorite.

dr. wu is probably my favorite steely dan tune

"everyone's gone to the movies" is the darkest track by a LONGSHOT, too

*their

can't buy a thrill and pretzel logic are both so obviously littered with filler to me. it's not the dan i love.

like i do not need to hear "barrytown" ever again or "change of the guard" or the pointless "e st louis uptown toodloo" cover

you don't need to hear "barrytown" again?

"barrytown" is awesome

yeah the "Barrytown" bridge is a top 10 Dan moment for me, good grief

The filler tracks on Pretzel Logic for me are East St Louis, With a Gun and Monkey in Your Soul but none of them are terrible or anything. The first four tracks are so classic though.

When it comes to that initial run of albums I can't pick between eras, my top 3 would be Countdown>Aja>Gaucho and then the other four are more or less equal, I love the whole lot.

gaucho is suuuuch a good album to get a venereal disease to

i'd imagine)

i wish they'd done more songs like "pearl of the quarter." that one's so pretty.

^^^
this is secretly the best steely dan song

let's all speculate about how the dan might have fared had they decided to keep the band together past "countdown"

Favourite is a toss-up btw Pretzel and Gaucho (even though the latter is probably their best) - Scam is the only one I could do without.

let's all speculate about how the dan might have fared had they decided to keep the band together past "countdown"

― sheesh, Monday, February 23, 2015 2:53 PM (2 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I never stop repping for this amazing show, this band was sick (love Michael McDonald taking the verses on Show Biz Kids, especially and "This All Too Mobile Home" at the end)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iX46wmKMJk

I've got to be in a particular mood for the last 3 - the first 4 I can kind of put on any time and enjoy. they're all awesome obviously, with The Royal Scam being the weakest imo

multiple xps: I don't care what anyone says, "pearl of the quarter" is NOT secretly the best SD

& I say that as a "pearl" apologist

that's cuz "Glamour Profession" is the secret best SD song.

otm

I've got to be in a particular mood for the last 3 - the first 4 I can kind of put on any time and enjoy.

Literally the exact opposite of how I feel. Gaucho all day long.

^^^ truth.

That's the time it seems to take to get through it, you got that right.

For more than 25 years Gaucho was treated like a leper, so I ignored it and concentrated on every album through Aja. Listening to it was a revelation; for a while in the early 2000s I felt like I was keeping this secret from the rest of the world -- a cult album by a multiplatinum band. Beacuse it and TRS still get played the least on rock radio, Gaucho sounds fresh.

Yeah I never thought of 'Glamour Profession' as a favourite until recently but it'd be in my SD top 5 now, no problem. Their best set of lyrics. (xposts)

Yeah I never thought of 'Glamour Profession' as a favourite until recently but it'd be in my SD top 5 now, no problem. Their best set of lyrics. (xposts)

― Gavin, Leeds, Wednesday, February 25, 2015 1:23 PM (36 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

OTM, glamour profession is their best song

Gaucho was underrated for so long it's almost overrated now

but either way the band's track record is spotless, it's just a matter of preference I don't believe any of their records are less than excellent (original run of the band though i like 2AN and EMG)

I've recently started to think that Gaucho's title track is secretly the best SD song. Or maybe King of the World.

Also, Can't Buy a Thrill is an amazing 70's soft rock record, even if it doesn't quite blend in seamlessly with the rest of the band's catalogue. They were still figuring out who they wanted to be, but they were already great songwriters.

the title track and "Third World Man" do make me tear up.

Original title of Third World Man is Were You Blind That Day. Gaucho Out takes are worth seeking out.

The glamour profession demo is better than the album version!

How do you all feel about "Second Arrangement"?

it's nice but I think it's been overrated by the SD mythology

Agreed. I can't hear the greatness through the mythos of the lost classic

The second part of Scott Woods/Vic Perry is up:

http://rockcritics.com/2015/02/27/steely-dan-podcast-part-two/

(I'm still on the first. Scott's podcasts are the Berlin Alexanderplatzes of such endeavours.)

I saw them live recently (a better show than I had expected, and I was looking forward to it) and "Time Out of Mind" was a surprise highlight. I returned to Gaucho and couldn't believe I had dismissed it before. It's like 19th-century decadent literature relocated to disco-era LA.

Missed a few days of this thread so here's a comprehensive response

The Royal Scam hate is here is bananas. It's their best record. Maybe - maybe Aja is better, but The Royal Scam is my personal fav and is to me so obviously a masterpiece

This:

Gaucho was underrated for so long it's almost overrated now

is otm. It's become the Trans of the Steely Dan discography.

Mediocre songs on Pretzel Logic (which remains my least favorite):

"Barrytown"
"East St Louis Toodle-oo"
"Parker's Band"
"Through With Buzz"
"With A Gun"
"Monkey In Your Soul"

The rest are pretty good, but even the good ones - Rikki, Night by Night, Major Dude, Charlie Freak, title track - are not on par with, say, "Kid Charlemagne," "Black Cow," or even "Brooklyn" imo

Sorry for the shit grammar, I'm in a loud room but needed to prioritize this

fully agree w/ that entire post