Steely Dan Wav
.WebsiteMembersPast membersSteely Dan is an American band founded in 1972 by core members (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and (keyboards, lead vocals). Blending rock, reggae, and sophisticated with cryptic and ironic lyrics, the band enjoyed critical and commercial success starting from the early 1970s until breaking up in 1981. Throughout their career, the duo recorded with a revolving cast of, and in 1974 retired from live performances to become a studio-only band. Has called them 'the perfect musical for the Seventies'.After the group disbanded in 1981, Becker and Fagen were less active throughout most of the next decade, though a remained devoted to the group. Since reuniting in 1993, Steely Dan has toured steadily and released two albums of new material, the first of which, earned a. They have sold more than 40 million albums worldwide and were inducted into the in March 2001.
Ranked Steely Dan at #82 on their list of the 100 greatest musical artists of all time. Founding member Walter Becker died on September 3, 2017, leaving Fagen as the sole official member. Guitarist Jeff 'Skunk' Baxter left Steely Dan in 1974 when they ceased performing live and began working in the studio exclusively.was released in early 1974. A diverse set, it includes the group's most successful single, ' (No. 4), and a note-for-note rendition of and 's '.During the previous album's tour, the band had added vocalist-percussionist, vocalist-keyboardist, and session drummer. Porcaro played the sole drum track on one song, 'Night By Night' on Pretzel Logic ( played drums on all the remaining tracks, and he and Porcaro both played on 'Parker's Band'), reflecting Steely Dan's increasing reliance on session musicians (including and ). Jeff Porcaro and pianist would go on to form.
Striving for perfection, Becker and Fagen sometimes asked musicians to record as many as forty takes of each track.Pretzel Logic was the first Steely Dan album to feature Walter Becker on guitar. 'Once I met session musician ', he explained, 'I felt there really was no need for me to be bringing my bass guitar to the studio anymore'.A rift began growing between Becker-Fagen and Steely Dan's other members (particularly Baxter and Hodder), who wanted to tour. Becker and Fagen disliked constant touring and wanted to concentrate solely on writing and recording. The other members gradually left the band, discouraged by this and by their diminishing roles in the studio. However, Dias remained with the group until 1980's and Michael McDonald contributed vocals until the group's twenty-year hiatus after Gaucho. Baxter and McDonald went on to join. Steely Dan's last tour performance was on July 5, 1974, a concert at the in California.Becker and Fagen recruited a diverse group of session players for (1975), including Porcaro, Paich, and McDonald, as well as guitarist, jazz saxophonist, saxophonist/bass-guitarist, percussionist/vibraphonist/keyboardist, keyboardist (and later producer), and guitarist — Dias, Becker, and Fagen being Steely Dan's only original members.
The album went gold on the strength of 'Black Friday' and ', but Becker and Fagen were so dissatisfied with the album's sound (compromised by a faulty noise reduction system) that they publicly apologized for it (on the album's back cover) and for years refused to listen to it in its final form. Katy Lied also included 'Doctor Wu' and 'Chain Lightning'.The Royal Scam and Aja (1976–1978) was released in May 1976. Partly because of Carlton's prominent contributions, it is the band's most guitar-oriented album. It also features performances by session drummer. The album sold well in the United States, though without the strength of a hit single.
' (Top 20) drove sales in the UK, becoming Steely Dan's first major hit in that country.Steely Dan's sixth album, the jazz-influenced, was released in September 1977. Aja reached the Top Five in the U.S. Charts within three weeks, winning the Grammy award for 'Engineer – Best Engineered Recording – Non-Classical.' It was also one of the first American LPs to be certified 'platinum' for sales of over 1 million albums. Roger Nichols made those records sound like they did.
He was extraordinary in his willingness and desire to make records sound better.The records we did could not have been done without Roger. He was just maniacal about making the sound of the records be what we liked. He always thought there was a better way to do it, and he would find a way to do what we needed to in ways that other people hadn't done yet. Steely Dan producer regarding ' role in the band's recording legacy.Featuring Michael McDonald's backing vocals, ' (No.
11) was the album's first single, followed by 'Josie' (No. 26) and ' (No.
Aja solidified Becker's and Fagen's reputations as songwriters and studio perfectionists. It features such jazz and fusion luminaries as guitarists and; bassist; saxophonists, and; drummers, and; pianist and ex- pianist/vibraphonist and Grammy award-winning producer/arranger (piano).Planning to tour in support of Aja, Steely Dan assembled a live band. Rehearsal ended and the tour was canceled when backing musicians began comparing pay. The album's history was documented in an episode of the TV and DVD series.After Aja's success, Becker and Fagen were asked to write the title track for the movie. The movie was a box-office disaster, but the was a hit, earning Steely Dan another engineering Grammy award. It was a minor hit in the UK and barely missed the Top 20 in the U.S.A. Gaucho and breakup (1978–1981).
This section of a needs additional for. Please help by adding. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially or harmful.Find sources: – ( June 2018) Becker and Fagen took a break from songwriting for most of 1978 before starting work on. The project would not go smoothly: technical, legal, and personal setbacks delayed the album's release and subsequently led Becker and Fagen to suspend their partnership for over a decade.Misfortune struck early when an assistant engineer accidentally erased most of 'The Second Arrangement', a favorite track of Katz and Nichols, which was never recovered. More trouble — this time legal — followed. In March 1979, bought ABC, and for much of the next two years Steely Dan could not release an album.
Becker and Fagen had planned on leaving ABC for, but MCA claimed ownership of their music, preventing them from changing labels.Turmoil in Becker's personal life also interfered. His girlfriend died of a drug overdose in their apartment, and he was for $17 million.
Becker settled out of court, but he was shocked by the accusations and by the coverage that followed. Soon after, Becker was struck by a taxi while crossing a Manhattan street, shattering his right leg in several places and forcing him to use crutches.Still more legal trouble was to come. Jazz composer sued Steely Dan for, claiming that they had based Gaucho's title track on one of his compositions, 'Long As You Know You're Living Yours'. (Fagen later admitted that he'd loved the song and that it had been a strong influence.)Gaucho was finally released in November 1980.
Despite its tortured history, it was another major success. The album's first single, ', reached No. 10 on the pop chart in early 1981, and 'Time Out of Mind' (featuring guitarist of ) was a moderate hit in the spring. 'My Rival' was featured in John Huston's 1980 film.
Roger Nichols won a third engineering Grammy award for his work on the album.Time off (1981–1993) Steely Dan disbanded in June 1981. Becker and his family moved to, where he became an ' rancher and self-styled critic of the contemporary scene.' He stopped using drugs, which he had used for most of his career.
Meanwhile, Fagen released a solo album, (1982), which went platinum in both the U.S. And yielded the Top Twenty hit '.' In 1988 Fagen wrote the score of and a song for its soundtrack, but otherwise recorded little. He occasionally did production work for other artists, as did Becker. The most prominent of these were two albums Becker produced for the British group, who were strongly influenced by Steely Dan.
Becker is listed as an official member of China Crisis on the first of these albums, 1985's, and played keyboards on the band's Top 20 UK hit '. For the second of the two albums, 1989's, Becker is only listed as a producer and not as a band member.In 1986 Becker and Fagen performed on, an album by former model produced by Gary Katz. The two rekindled their friendship and held songwriting sessions between 1986 and 1987, leaving the results unfinished. On October 25, 1991, Becker attended a concert by, co-founded by Fagen and producer/singer (who was for many years the partner of of and would later become Fagen's wife), and spontaneously performed with the group.Becker produced Fagen's second solo album, in 1993. Fagen conceived the album as a sequel to The Nightfly. Reunion, Alive in America (1993–2000). Steely Dan, shown here in 2007, toured frequently after reforming in 1993.Becker and Fagen reunited for an American tour to support Kamakiriad, which sold poorly despite a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year.
With Becker playing lead and rhythm guitar, the pair assembled a band that included a second keyboard player, second lead guitarist, bassist, drummer, vibraphonist, three female backing singers, and four-piece saxophone section. Among the musicians from the live band, several would continue to work with Steely Dan over the next decade, including bassist and saxophone players. During this tour, Fagen introduced himself as ' and Becker as '.The next year, MCA released, a boxed set featuring their entire catalog (except their debut single 'Dallas'/'Sail The Waterway') on four CDs, plus four extra tracks: 'Here at the Western World' (originally released on 1978's 'Greatest Hits'), 'FM' (1978 single), a 1971 demo of 'Everyone's Gone to the Movies' and 'Bodhisattva (live)', the latter recorded on a cassette in 1974 and released as a B-side in 1980. That year Becker released his debut solo album, which Fagen co-produced.Steely Dan toured again in support of the boxed set and Tracks. In 1995 they released a live CD, compiled from recordings of several 1993 and 1994 concerts.
The Art Crimes Tour followed, including dates in the United States, Japan, and their first European shows in 22 years. After this activity, Becker and Fagen returned to the studio to begin work on a new album.Two Against Nature and Everything Must Go (2000–2003) In 2000 Steely Dan released their first studio album in 20 years:. It won four Grammy Awards: Best Engineered Album – Non-Classical, Best Pop Vocal Album, Best Pop Performance by Duo or Group with Vocal ('), and Album of the Year (despite competition in this category from 's and 's ). In the summer of 2000, they began another American tour, followed by an international tour later that year. The tour featured guitarist, who would go on to play with the band over the next two decades. The group released the DVD, documenting a live-in-the-studio concert performance of popular songs from throughout Steely Dan's career. In March 2001, Steely Dan was inducted into the.In 2003 Steely Dan released.
In contrast to their earlier work, they had tried to write music that captured a live feel. Becker sang lead vocals on a Steely Dan studio album for the first time ('Slang of Ages' — he had sung lead on his own 'Book of Liars' on Alive in America). Fewer session musicians played on Everything Must Go than had become typical of Steely Dan albums: Becker played bass on every track and lead guitar on five tracks; Fagen added piano, electric piano, organ, synthesizers, and percussion on top of his vocals; touring drummer played on every track.Touring, solo activity (2003–2017) To complete his Nightfly trilogy, Fagen issued in 2006.
Steely Dan returned to annual touring that year with the Steelyard 'Sugartooth' McDan and The Fab-Originees.com Tour. Despite much fluctuation in membership, the live band featured mainstays Herrington, Carlock, bassist, the horn section of, Roger Rosenberg, and, and backing vocalists. The 2007 Heavy Rollers Tour included dates in North America, Europe, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, making it their most expansive tour.The smaller Think Fast Tour followed in 2008, with keyboardist joining the live band. That year Becker released a second album, produced by and inspired. In 2009 Steely Dan toured Europe and America extensively in their Left Bank Holiday and Rent Party Tour, alternating between standard one-date concerts at large venues and multi-night theater shows that featured performances of The Royal Scam, Aja, or Gaucho in their entirety on certain nights. The following year, Fagen formed the touring with McDonald, and members of Steely Dan's live band, whose repertoire included songs by all three songwriters.
Longtime studio engineer Roger Nichols died of on April 10, 2011. Steely Dan's Shuffle Diplomacy Tour that year included an expanded set list and dates in Australia and New Zealand. Fagen released his fourth album, in 2012.
It was his first solo release unrelated to the Nightfly trilogy.The Mood Swings: 8 Miles to Pancake Day Tour began in July 2013 and featured an eight-night run at the in New York City. Jamalot Ever After, their 2014 United States tour, ran from July 2 in, to September 20 in,. 2015's Rockabye Gollie Angel Tour included opening act and dates at the. The Dan Who Knew Too Much tour followed in 2016, with opening.
Steely Dan also performed at in Los Angeles with an accompanying orchestra.The band played its final shows with Becker in 2017. In April, they played the 12-date Reelin' In the Chips residency in.
Becker's final performance came on May 27 at the Greenwich Town Party in. Due to illness, Becker did not play Steely Dan's two Classics East and West concerts at and in July. Fagen embarked on a tour that summer with a new backing band, The Nightflyers.After Becker's death (2017–present) Becker died from complications of on September 3, 2017.
In a note released to the media, Fagen remembered his longtime friend and bandmate, and promised to 'keep the music we created together alive as long as I can with the Steely Dan band.' After Becker's death, Steely Dan honored commitments to perform a short North American tour in October 2017 and three concert dates in the United Kingdom and Ireland for Bluesfest on a double bill with the Doobie Brothers. The band played its first concert following Becker's death in, on October 13. In tribute to Becker, they performed his solo song 'Book of Liars', with Fagen singing the lead vocals, at several concerts on the tour.Becker's widow and estate sued Fagen later that year, arguing that the estate should control 50% of the band's shares. Fagen filed a counter suit, arguing that the band had drawn up plans in 1972 stating that band members leaving the band or dying relinquish shares of the band's output to the surviving members.
In December, Fagen said that he would rather have retired the Steely Dan name after Becker's death, and instead have toured with the current iteration of the group under another name, but was persuaded not to by promoters for commercial reasons.In 2018, Steely Dan performed on a summer tour of the United States with The Doobie Brothers as co-headliners. The band also played a nine-show residency at the Beacon Theatre in New York City that October. In February 2019, the band embarked on a tour of Great Britain with Steve Winwood.
Guitarist Connor Kennedy of The Nightflyers joined the live band, beginning with a nine-night residency at The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas in April 2019.On June 25, 2019, listed Steely Dan among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the. Musical and lyrical style Music Overall sound Special attention is given to the individual sound of each instrument. Recording is done with the utmost fidelity and attention to sonic detail, and mixed so that all the instruments are heard and none are given undue priority. Their albums are also notable for the characteristically 'warm' and 'dry' production sound, and the sparing use of and.Backing vocals Becker and Fagen favored a distinctly soul-influenced style of backing vocals, which after the first few albums were almost always performed by a female chorus (although features prominently on several tracks, including the 1975 song 'Black Friday' and the 1977 song ')., and were the preferred trio for backing vocals on the group's late 1970s albums. Other backing vocalists include, Brenda White-King, Cynthia Calhoun, Victoria Cave, Cindy Mizelle, and Jeff Young.
The band also featured singers like and on later projects such as Gaucho.Horns Horn arrangements have been used on songs from all Steely Dan albums. They are usually jazz-oriented, and typically feature instruments such as trumpets, and saxophones, although they have also used other instruments such as.
The horn parts occasionally integrate simple synth lines to alter the tone quality of individual horn lines; for example in 'Deacon Blues' this was done to 'thicken' one of the saxophone lines. On their earlier albums Steely Dan featured guest arrangers and on their later albums the arrangement work is credited to Fagen.Composition and chord use Steely Dan is famous for their use of and harmonies that explore the area of musical tension between traditional pop sounds. In particular, they are known for their use of the add 2 chord, a type of, which they nicknamed the. Other common chords used by Steely Dan include for example Bb/C or E7/A. This notation shows a chord (shown to the left of the slash) with a note other than the tonic (shown to the right of the slash) as the lowest pitched note. This section possibly contains.
Please by the claims made and adding. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. ( October 2017) Steely Dan's lyrical subjects are diverse, but in their basic approach they often create fictional that participate in a narrative or situation. The duo have said that in retrospect, most of their albums have a 'feel' of either Los Angeles or New York City, the two main cities where Becker and Fagen lived and worked. Characters appear in their songs that evoke these cities. Steely Dan's lyrics are often puzzling to the listener, with the true meaning of the song 'uncoded' through repeated listening, and a richer understanding of the references within the lyrics.
For example, in the song 'Everyone's Gone to the Movies,' the line 'I know you're used to 16 or more, sorry we only have eight' refers not to the count of some article, but to eight-millimeter film, which was lower quality than 16 mm or larger formats, underscoring the illicitness of Mr. Lapage's movie parties.Thematically, Steely Dan creates a universe peopled by losers, creeps and failed dreamers, often victims of their own obsessions and delusions. These motifs are introduced in the Dan's first hit song, 'Do It Again,' which contains a description of a murderous cowboy who beats the gallows, a man taken advantage of by a cheating girlfriend, and an obsessive gambler, all of whom are unable to command their own destinies; similar themes of being trapped in a death spiral of one's own making appear throughout their catalog. Other themes that they explore include prejudice, aging, poverty, and middle-class ennui.Many would argue that Steely Dan never wrote a genuine love song, instead dealing with personal passion in the guise of a destructive obsession. Many of their songs concern love, but typical of Steely Dan songs is an ironic or disturbing twist in the lyrics that reveals a darker reality. For example, expressed 'love' is actually about prostitution ('Pearl of the Quarter'), incest ('), pornography ('Everyone's Gone to the Movies'), or some other socially unacceptable subject. However, some of their demo-era recordings show Fagen and Becker expressing romance, including 'This Seat's Been Taken', 'Oh, Wow, It's You' and 'Come Back Baby'.Steely Dan's lyrics contain subtle and encoded references, unusual (and sometimes original) slang expressions, a wide variety of 'word games.'
The obscure and sometimes teasing lyrics have given rise to considerable efforts by fans to explain the 'inner meaning' of certain songs. Jazz is a recurring theme, and there are numerous other film, television and literary references and allusions, such as 'Home at Last' (from Aja), which was inspired by 's.Some of their lyrics are notable for their unusual patterns; a prime example of this is their 1972 hit ', which crams an unusually large number of words into each line, giving it a highly syncopated quality.'
' is another Steely Dan lyrical device; references to real places and people abound in their songs. The song 'My Old School' is an example, referring to Annandale (, is home to, which both attended and where they met), and the Two Against Nature album (2000) contains numerous references to the duo's original region, the New York metro area, including the district of, the, and the upscale food store. In the song 'Glamour Profession' the conclusion of a drug deal is celebrated with dumplings at Mr. Chow, a Chinese restaurant in. The band even employed; in the song 'Show Biz Kids,' the titular subjects are sardonically portrayed as owning 'the Steely Dan T-shirt.'
The band also often name-checks drinks, typically alcoholic, in their songs: ('Daddy Don't Live in That New York City No More'), ('Bad Sneakers'), ('Haitian Divorce'), ('Black Cow'), ('), ('Home at Last'), ('FM'), cherry wine ('Time Out of Mind'), ('), ('Babylon Sisters'), ('Lunch with Gina'), (Fagen's solo track 'The Goodbye Look'), and ('Everything Must Go') are all mentioned in Steely Dan lyrics. Members Current members. – lead vocals, keyboards (1972–1981, 1993–present)Former members. – guitar, bass, backing and lead vocals (1972–1981, 1993–2017; his death). – guitar, backing vocals (1972–1974). – guitar (1972–1974, studio contributions until 1977). – drums, backing and lead vocals (1972–1974; died 1990).
– backing and lead vocals (1972–1973). – backing and lead vocals, percussion (1973–1974). – keyboards, backing vocals (1974, studio contributions until 1980). – drums (1974, studio contributions until 1980; died 1992)Timeline. Great Rock Bible. Archived from on October 23, 2013. Retrieved August 3, 2013.
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Well Fagen you might as well keep touring. Cause if all the Steely Dan multi tracks and master tapes were in that Universal Fire in 2008 your screwed in ever making another remix or a remaster. And this absolutely sucks. 2008 can you believe how far back this went and the story just hit. The lies deceit and just shitty.
Cause these records never really got remixed in the here and now. Gaucho got a surround mix. But still Katy Lied never got the repair it needed since 1975. Steely Dan is really dead.
Steely Dan Songs
Not just Walter but the work it's fried up. Unless a miracle their tapes were cleared out of Universal before that freakin building went up all in flames. What a band!!! For years I reacted towards my dad to playing this.
WTF is this mellow shit I asked.He replied its better than the shit you play upstairs.? Back in the late 1980s I was listening to early Electro and Hip Hop. Then I progressed to Techno, New Beat. Then Acidhouse hardcorerave darkside hardcore jungle gabber and everything in-between. But my dad got me into King Crimson.
Steely Dan Songs
Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, 'I fear not a man who has practiced 10000 kicks once, but I fear a man who has practiced 1 kick 10000 times' - Bruce LeeAnd Steely Dan. Amongst others. Oh and Hendrix!
And my mum got me into funk and the electronic side. Parents are twats most of the time. But music solves or makes you realize the make up of the person. Ie if the music sounds shit to your ears.
Give it a second try a few years later. If it still sounds shit after that. No hesitation!