Beyond bizarre...

[ramone57]

I'm a bit surprised there are so few Steely Dan fans around here. Although they are not the style of music that I choose to play, I really enjoy listening to them. I caught them live way back when Reeling in the Years was happening and they were outstanding. Absolutely flawless performance and their stretched out live solos were mind blowing great. I've always loved Fagans work and he always surrounds himself with first rate musicians.
Rick

I don't own any Steely Dan but I can listen to them.  I saw them during the same timeframe and it was a good show; they opened for Cheech & Chong.
 

[westen44]

I don't own any Steely Dan but I can listen to them.  I saw them during the same timeframe and it was a good show; they opened for Cheech & Chong.
 

Hanging out with Cheech and Chong would make Steely Dan more "listenable," and I'm not even trying to be funny here. 

[Pilgrim]

One of the few numbers my lead guitarist proposed playing that I didn't like is Dirty Work.  The original wasn't really bad (although not great) but it easily descends into dragging and sounding whiny. I'm glad we dropped it.

[Dave W]

for some reason sd tunes remind me of northeast prep schools!? i like them ok but don't have any of their stuff.

That's about the way I feel. Okay buy nothing that moves me.

[Highlander]

Steely Dan...

Burroughs' has a lot to answer for...

(I still have the first LP, mind you...)

[gearHed289]

Don't feel bad.  I feel the same about Pearl Jam.

+1! The decent rhythm section wasn't enough to make up for the sub-par guitarists, and the singer who sounds like a dying goat.

[OldManC]

+1! The decent rhythm section wasn't enough to make up for the sub-par guitarists, and the singer who sounds like a dying goat.

 

[luve2fli]

I'm a bit surprised there are so few Steely Dan fans around here.

Ditto. Outstanding musicianship all around. I like what SD did in a Pop context although I was never that excited about their radio-friendly releases. "Aja" was more my speed and in fact, I would count it among my list of desert-island albums if for nothing other than Chuck Rainey's and Steve Gadd's stellar performances.

I see very little difference between what SD were doing in the 70's compared to what Sting was doing in the 80's. They brought together top-notch Jazz musicians for Pop studio recordings with live performances more as an afterthought. With great success, I might add.

Re: Pearl Jam:

..because there's some substance to Pearl Jam. Love 'em or hate 'em, they defined an entire era of popular music and kept playing and growing even when they weren't writing hits and had a definite cultural relevance. Steely Dan is clinically meticulous and polished musically and sonically, but there's nothing there. The songs are pointless pondering. "Are you reelin in the years?" Huh? WTF does that even mean? That's a pretty far cry from "Jeremy spoke in class today." ...even without the video that would never be allowed to air today.

Really?!? I agree that Pearl Jam had a HUGE impact on the music scene but then again, so did Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarden and the Foo fighters - all of the same genre, the latter few infinitely more prolific than Pearl Jam IMO. Regardless, to imply that SD's music has no substance ...... maybe you should give it another listen. SD may be lyrically weak to you but I think 40,000,000+ career record sales worldwide speaks for itself.

Sincerely,
Resident Middle-aged limp dick
 

[westen44]

Steely Dan...

Burroughs' has a lot to answer for...

(I still have the first LP, mind you...)

I suspect, though, that the general public has very little idea about the "Naked Lunch" connection.  Or maybe they do. 

[uwe]

I'll give Steely Dan that their music was always skillfully made, kind of like Toto's, but SD had more intellectual flair. I do like Fagan's singer/songwriter approach to interpreting the song better,



(Bill Cosby, judging from what he wears in that introduction, must take credit for being a sartorial inspiration to Ali G.)

but again - jumping around of lead singer aside - the vid that started this thread wasn't horrible. An able cover, but nothing more. Probably fun to hear that night if you like the song, but nothing for posterity.

[gweimer]

+1! The decent rhythm section wasn't enough to make up for the sub-par guitarists, and the singer who sounds like a dying goat.

And that comes from a fellow Chicagoan.  Eddie was in a cover band with someone I know.

[gearHed289]

An able cover, but nothing more. Probably fun to hear that night if you like the song, but nothing for posterity.

Exactly. I did cave and watch it. That singer... Wow dude, do some crunches or button your shirt please!

And that comes from a fellow Chicagoan.  Eddie was in a cover band with someone I know.

Oh yeah, he lived in Evanston I believe.

PS - SD came on in the shop just as I got to this thread. 

[drbassman]

Oh my, I guess I am out there somewhere in the great beyond, but I liked and still like Steely Dan and the Doobies.  No accounting for taste!

[uwe]

I love pre-Michael McDonald Doobies (though not everything they did during his tenure was bad). The Skunk Baxter connection aside, I don't find their music had too much in common with SD, the Doobies were a much more organic band and excelled live, SD's turf was the studio (and they saw thenselves that way). Loved the Doobies' cinemascope version of "Jesus is just alright", I could never imagine SD doing something that earthy (without knocking them, they were quality musicians and songwriters, just too controlled for my taste).

I remeber having exactly this Doobie Brothers poster in my room as a youth, it epitomized live stage rock excitement to me at a time when I basically just knew Listen to the Music from them:

[

[westen44]

An iconic song by the Doobie Brothers which would be impossible to forget.  I don't relate the Doobie Brothers to Steely Dan at all. 
Ed King was in two bands which had nothing to do with each other.  It's the same with Skunk Baxter (as has been stated.)