Steely Dan C or D?

i do remember a bit in fagen's (awful, awful) memoir from a few years ago about his wife fedex-ing him Ativan in the middle of a tour.

Let's play a song game mixed up with the latest news. I'll start...

The Royal Scam (my bitch wife's story about me strangling her with my scarf)
Pretzel Logic (my dumbass wife's way of thinking before i knock some sense into her)
Do It Again (beat her with my boot)

Anyone else?

mmmm yes, but the art

are these posts some sort of cry for help?

just trying to bring the lols.

keep trying

Ha, I'd never noticed this before... I wonder if this was intentional or just a crazy coincidence? They match up pretty much exactly!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQTEwE_8Kng

Ehh, interesting, but I think it's just called "having a style."

Very cool!

That sounds good! If it were Nickelback, we would all be like "I TOLD you all their songs sound the same."

Definitely sounds like a cool self-referential thing. Way too similar in tempo, harmony, and melody to be an accident. The song "Aja" was written in 74/75 and demoed for Katy Lied, so it's not a stretch.

are there any katy lied demos out there with aja?

I have some, from who knows where.

yousendit?

I'll lookintoit when I get home.

I'm at work right now: Are these active?

hxxp://www.guitars101.com/forums/f145/steely-dan-katy-lied-outtakes-amp-demos-1973-a-211183.html

me too. I'll check later. thanks

They are very much active.

Thanks for the heads up.

i like don't know this band much outside of the hits but i started listening to the album "pretzel logic about 15 minutes ago, and am now 15 minutes in, and i like it a lot.

i think it might be really good.

welcome

it's kind of weird though

Sign In Stranger

self xp, but not in a bad way. i will post more when i have something to say that is halfway informed.

Hey Treeship
That's Donald Fagen
He don't remember the King of Snark

I feel like the only album of the initial run that isnt a good intro to the band is maybe Royal Scam. (Mine was Katy Lied)

treeship if you're looking for next dan step, consider aja

Try Can't Buy a Thrill next, save Gaucho for last.

(because it's the weakest of their original run)

Seeing as Gaucho was the first SD album I heard and it made fall in love with the band immediately, I don't think you need to worry about listening to it too much

treeship will love gaucho or I will eat my spats

Treeship, I wish I could hear these records for the first time again. Hope you dig them!!!

Pretzel Logic is a really good one to start with, right in the middle of their career & a nice dividing line between the earlier rock-oriented records and later studio muso records.

imo Aja would be the one to check out next. and then Gaucho if you dig the smooth sound... Gaucho is antiseptic, in the best way!

I started w/Pretzel Logic, bc according to what i was reading around the time (conventional wisdom + the RS 1992 album guide) it was their best album.

moved onto Countdown to Ecstasy from there and i think the Royal Scam was next.

the albums i came to a bit later were Can't Buy a Thrill and Katy Lied, for whatever reason. CBAT still seems like the least Dan of the Dan LPs, i mean it's a genuinely classic one, a ridiculously played and confident '70s rock album, but it's not fully instilled with the Fagen/Becker essence. Katy Lied, for some reason that one took a bit to grow on me.

i would go Countdown to Ecstasy next. Brilliant jams, some incredible singles, kind of the perfect combo of all the SD elements in one package.

Countdown to Ecstasy and Gaucho are my favorites and they represent the opposite SD streams fully realized.

Pretzel Logic is an amazing entry point into The Dan because of the strangeness and stylistic diversity. In terms of next steps, here's a handy guide

If you liked the title track, Parker's Band or Barrytown the most, listen to Countdown to Ecstasy
If you liked Rikki the most, listen to Aja
If you liked the creepy character studies (Monkey, Buzz, Charlie Freak) best, move onto Katy Lied
If you loved "Night By Night," check out The Royal Scam
if you preferred "Any Major Dude" or "With a Gun," check out Can't Buy a Thrill

And if you liked East St. Louis Toodle-Oo the most...congrats, you're a weirdo. Check out Gaucho

I started with Katy Lied because duh minutemen

Xp Eastside Toodle-oo maybe secretly my favourite Steely Dan track but don't tell

so favorite you can't even remember what it's called?

I mean no offense to East St. Louis Toodle-lovers, but picking the band's only ever instrumental and only ever cover as your favorite track is an unorthodox choice

Gaucho is probably my favorite these days.

Countdown to Ecstasy and Gaucho are my favorites and they represent the opposite SD streams fully realized.

― gospodin simmel, Tuesday, September 19, 2017 2:33 PM (six hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

SO correct

listen to any album in any order it's all good

otm

people OTM - Pretzel is really the best entry point

Countdown to Ecstasy and Gaucho are my favorites and they represent the opposite SD streams fully realized.

― gospodin simmel, Tuesday, 19 September 2017 18:33 (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Can't Buy a Thrill is easily as good an entry point as Pretzel Logic is, IMO.

CBAT is a great album, but a total outlier. It's a good introduction but it's not really a roadmap

yeah like "Brooklyn Holds the Charmer" is a wonderful song but kind of a fake-out for other 'sentimental' SD songs

Y'see, aside from the presence of David Palmer I don't really get that way of thinking at all. It sounds as much a Steely Dan record as any other Steely Dan record - I don't think it could be mistaken for anything else!

tom