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

"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

Who doesn't like Royal Scam? Saw them play it with Larry Carlton a few years back.

Love Royal Scam. And the Gaucho love this poll inspired is still strong. Seeing these dudes in April, and I can't wait.

Don't know how anyone could consider "Barrytown" mediocre. The others on side 2 are more interesting in context, because of the quick abrupt shifts in style.

Don't know how anyone could consider "Barrytown" mediocre. The others on side 2 are more interesting in context, because of the quick abrupt shifts in style.

Their most Dylanesque put down song, right?

Yeah, there are definitely shade of "Positively 4th St" in that tune, but Dylan's version is a lot angrier. Fagen is just like calmly explaining to the guy why he can't be seen with him.

i like "through with buzz" a lotttt, it's so short and odd

like me!

Barrytown is one of my faves. It feels like a lyrical outlier, but it's one of their most beautiful songs

also Through with Buzz is great

Royal Scam is probably underrated in some places (not here) because it doesn't have any recognizable classic rock radio staples. Maybe Kid C got played on your CR station, but not on mine.

xxxp nice explanation. i mainly meant Fagen's phrasing, which sounds almost like an imitation of Dylan

yeah esp the part when he says 'it was there when you came oooout,' can hear Dylan singing that line

I don't think it's a bad song at all, just kinda below them, somehow; subject matter seems too obvious and prosaic for the 'Dan. I liked it better when I thought it had something to do with Barry Goldwater

Also, fun to sing "I can see by the Drew Carey that you come from Barrytown"

I'll rep for Charlie Freak. They probably hate it.

Gaucho, for what it's worth, is one of Christine McVie's desert island discs.

Someone rep'd hard for Charlie freak in the poll and I love it now