"Are you crazy or are you high, or just an ordinary guy?"
- AJA
- GAUCHO
Steely Dan was an invisible band: its founders, the pianist Donald Fagen and the bassist Walter Becker, chose to rely each time they had to record something, on recruited super-professional session men, the non plus ultra of the musicians at the epoch; they always refused all the conventions and the establishment of the "Stardom" and they have a serious and snubby behaviour towards media and musical journalists particularly. What do you expect from such two guys? A violent and dissacrante music, like the one of the Fugs? A shocking dissonance and brutal onslaught like MC5 did on Kick Out The Jams? No Sir, you are deadly wrong: despite they were all good and professional musicians, they refused to do the cheap trick some of the most notorious prog bands did, namely sounding the more complex and inaccessible they can, either! Basically what they do is to re-write the easy-listening jazz-pop of the 50s, making it more polished and adding some musical exquisiteness, embellishing this genre with tempo and key changes, little dissonances but without sacrifice the accessibility of their music; they also made a very precious music by adding erudite lyrics (often pretentious and sometimes cryptic... or maybe just meaningless, or sometimes they rant with sarcasm about American society) and created a curious musical style by mixing the jazz with some soul and blues. And you also should remember the clean and crystalline production: thanks to their producer Gary Katz, you can hear each instruments with clarity and precision. Their music is elegant, subtle and aetereal in some places, it often sounds so relaxed and mathematically arranged ' till the point that it often sounds inoffensive. Ok, I guess this is the point: inoffensiveness. All their songs are formally perfect, exquisitely chiselled, feature magnificent jazzy instrumental parts, but all of the composition and the arrangement never goes past of easy-listening; their music is specifically composed in order all people can appreciate it (and this is a thing that usually doesn't please snubby rock fans like me): maybe this is specifically made on purpose, since I suppose Fagen & Becker wanted their lyrics been read by more people as possible. Their instrumentals never has the sheering power of Miles Davis solos or the audacity and the courage of Coltrane solos, the jazzy parts are well crafted and magnificently performed but quite formulaic and conventional, the melodies are not really bad or outrageous, but neither so original (for me they are good but quite trite). When I say they haven't the power of Miles Davis, I'm not speaking if they sound loud or not, I'm speaking about innovations and suchlikes: Steely Dan represents a sort of bourgeois approach to music, an approach that is not audacious or fresh, it's only reactionary. Well, I'm digressing a bit, since I'm going to judge music from a social point of view, and this is partially wrong: not all bands want to carry on with a social revolution, or similar and I have to admit that within the boundaries of the genre, Steely Dan are truly good and diverse composers. Howewer, in the case you are blaming me for considering the historical factor only, without considering the quality of the music itself, you are wrong: you know for me a band shouldn't be only original, it has to produce music of quality. And Steely Dan produce music of good quality, I won't argue here: their perfectionism is not a defect, as some mad reviewers say, and their precise and meticulous approach to the compositions is surely and extremely rare and good feature. And another good feature of this "ghost-band" are surely the lyrics that make the whole thing interesting: the lyrics, if somethimes sounds only erudite without being meaningful, are surely intelligent, at least in comparison with the usual rock standards (got it, Mick Jagger?). And the inner contradiction between easy and complex, involuted and linear, pretentious and undeciphrable, that lives and resolves itself within their music, is something that needs to be investigated seriously. So, even if they lack the sense of humor and some "burning and explosive" moments in their music, their are a mature and intellectual band (sometimes pseudo-intellectual if you listen to me): uhm... sort of third age music... and this is a bad thing, since I often like them... does it means I'm getting old? Who knows...
What do you think of Steely Dan?
Donald Fagen and Walter Becker had worked since the late 60's
as a songwriter team, they met the guitarist Denny Dias after a couple of years,
and 1972 did they meet the producer Gary Katz, drummer Jim Hodder and guitarist
Jeff "Skunk" Baxter. They formed a group, and called themselves Steely Dan,
named by a dildo in William S Burrough's book "The Naked Lunch", or whatever
it's English name might be. They moved with Katz to ABC Dunhill Records in L.A.,
and they recorded this album. Pretty good intro, wasn't it? It was at least
brief, since I hate writing intros. Here comes some more, though:
Donald Fagen is a singer/keyboardist, also known for his solo career, which
includes well-selling albums like The Nightfly. He has got a very peculiar
voice which some like, and some don't. I do. His pal Walter Becker plays guitar
and bass, and makes some background vocals on the Steely Dan albums. In the
beginning he mostly played the bass, but it seems as if he, successively, has
played more and more guitars. He has also released a solo album, but his wasn't
released until 1993. He rules on both guitar and bass. Denny Dias and Skunk
Baxter both rules, but they never wrote any songs for the Dan. Baxter joined
The Doobie Brothers some years later. The drummer Jim Hodder rules, too. He
has a solid, jazzy style which fits Becker & Fagen's composing style well. When
most of this album was recorded, they performed some gigs, and Donald Fagen
suddenly realised that he definitively didn't wanna sing live, so they brought
David Palmer into the group as lead singer. He sings on two songs on this album,
and I think it's good that he didn't sing more, 'cos his voice is much less
personal than Fagen's, and he has a pure country voice, which makes the tunes
he appears on sound like cheesy Eagles songs. He was dismissed before the recording
of their second album, Countdown To Ecstasy.
This album features a previously unheard version of jazz-rock, laid-back and
cool, with very neat harmonies. Despite it's non-commercialness, it sold pretty
well in the States, and they got a single in the top 10. However, it didn't
start to sell in the UK before 1975, when they finally got established in Europe.
They still borrowed a lot from other bands, and it's easy to identify some borrowings
from other bands at that time. Not a big problem, though - this is their debut,
and they hadn't yet found out their own style. Not wholly, at least.
The album opens with "Do It Again", which with it's hypnotic keyboard riff and
cool, stretched vocals and the hook which is there in the chorus, when the keyboard
changes key. Those vocals almost sounds reggae-ish, actually, but only almost.
Reggae wasn't invented at this time, by the way. There's a keyboard solo which
sounds almost Keith Emerson-ish, and I'm not the one that nags when somebody
heads to ELP. It's a really cool song which I'm glad to have on this album,
since it still stands tall, even among the latter Steely Dan tunes. "Dirty Work"
is somewhat jazzier, but also more mainstream. It sounds as Chicago were going
to sound in a couple of years, i.e. very soft and, as mentioned, mainstream,
for the big public, and if I ain't wrong, this is the song which reached the
US Top 10. It features David Palmer on vocals, which makes it sound even more
mainstream, but it is actually a good song. "Kings" is a quite rocking tune,
with Fagen on vocals again (whippee!), but some ladies were invited to provide
with background vocals. It's not a very special rock tune; except that the guitars
which dominates the song are extremely effective. The chorus is very effective,
too, with those ladies backing up Fagen in a very catchy vocal line. It's a
very simple song, not by far as sophisticated as later tunes, but its effectiveness
is awesome. "Midnight Cruiser" opens with some cool little guitar lines, setting
the "midnight" mood, and then, er- is it really David Palmer? Anyways, this
guy, maybe David Palmer starts singing a quite smooth little melody, and so
far the song is quite non-saying. However, the chorus rules, with the whole
band filling in on vocals, singing a catchy, almost Springsteen-like melody,
it has at least got a feeling of someone sitting in a car. Maybe it's just because
of that word, "cruiser", but still...reviews are meant to tell the reader what
the reviewer thinks, right?
"Only A Fool Would Say That" is a quite upbeat, captivating jazz tune, with
a Caribbean touch, I think. It's very easy-going, and that's what was on my
mind about this little fave of mine.
"Reelin' In the Years" is another upbeat tune, but rather rocking this time.
It has quite poppy harmonies, but the guitar, whether it's Skunk Baxter or denny
Dias which plays it, I don't know, but the guitar makes the song feeling rockier,
even if the chorus is very poppy. The guitar solo in the middle of the song
reminds me of a group which I cannot remember the name of, but I'm pretty certain
it's not a Steely Dan trademark. Cool song, by the way. "Fire In the Hole" is
darker, then, and it sounds as if it came right out of Countdown To Ecstasy.
Well, well, I dig the dark, jazzy atmosphere, and this song is a very rare exception
for my "hate slide-guitar"-motto - the slide guitar fits the song! When I listen
to it right now, it also feels pretty heavy - by Steely Dan's standards - and
it surely adds to the diversity of the album.
"Brooklyn (Owes The Charmer Under Me)" is a pure country tune, and if I didn't
know that it was Steely Dan, I'd believe that it was Jackson Browne or Eagles,
one of their cheesier tunes, too. Palmer's vocals sucks, but this time, it isn't
his fault that the song is bad, it's just a poor song. It's the lowest point
of the album, that's for sure.
"Change Of The Guard" is another upbeat, poppy tune, with a strong hook within
the keyboards during the verses. One thing about it - I can almost imagine Aerosmith
doing that "Nahnah" part. It's a very catchy pop tune, the closest Steely Dan
ever came to be cute, actually. Cool guitar solo, too (Queen?). "Turn That Heartbeat
Over Again" is a rather typical Steely Dan tune, then; jazzy, smooth, but with
hooks. It does take some time to discover the hooks, though, but when you do
it, you'll find that you really like the tune, after all. There's a couple of
parts where two singers switches the lead melody between them, just like Chicago
did on "Dialogue" from Chicago 5 some years later. And then this question
comes up again: Were Steely Dan the innovators, whose music has inspired lots
of other musicians, or are they the dudes which imitiates and borrows hooks?
Hmm, I'll think about it, I think.
As a last note, I'd like to add that this album isn't offensive in any way,
it's rather secure, which isn't necessarily bad, even if I would have liked
if they gambled somewhat more. The songs aren't at the same high average level
as on later albums, even if they're close, and I find no good reasons to give
the album more than a 12 (which of course is very good. "Simply Excellent",
to be precise).
Any comments or reviews to grant us with?
Yup, this is it. They finally found their niche in the huge
world of rock, and their definitive style, too. The singer David Palmer, who
sang a lot on the previous album, is gone, and that's no loss for the band -
he had a much less personal voice than Donald Fagen. Palmer might work well
in a mainstream band, but not in Steely Dan. Another quite disturbing element
from the previous album is also gone - the country! Of course, there were only
a couple of countryish tunes on Can't Buy A Thrill, but those were nevertheless
the lowest point of that album. They never worked well while doing country (or
maybe it's just me who don't get it? Hmm...). Another important to mention is
that this is probably their most rocking and energetic album ever, which of
course doesn't mean that this album consists of "Speed Kings" and "Dazes And
Confuses", but rocking by Steely Dan's standards - there's a lot of guitar solos,
intense choruses, even speed...well, whatever which makes up a rock album, but
in very carefully measured doses. Wonder how Steely Dan would sound if they
were a hard rock band, by the way? They'd probably kick ass, as usual, of course,
so maybe it wasn't that important to ask...
Donald Fagen and Walter Becker provided the remastered CD I've got with some
very cool liner notes, where they make a very friendly, or at least earthbound,
impression, even if they really don't say anything useful. They wrote a very
lot about how long a 2-inch tape wasn't, and telling you that someone who has
Countdown To Ecstasy as their fave Steely Dan album isn't the guy you'd
wanna be a friend with, etcetera, etcetera. If what they say is true, I'd be
very glad that "Pearl Of The Quarter" is here, otherwise this album would probably
have been my fave Dan album, and then you wouldn't like to be my friend! However,
it's there, and Aja is my fav. The album opens with what's probably the
most rocking Steely Dan song ever: "Bodhisattva". It's a fun, ass-kickin' tune,
opening with some drums, followed by a guitar which takes place in a very odd
place within the bar. Then comes THE thing about it - the rockabilly guitar
riff in the background! Who thought that Steely Dan would do that? The vocals
are pretty cool, too, and there's almost nothing to complain about.
"Razor Boy" is somewhat calmer, though. It sounds just as Steely Dan uses to
sound: calm, jazzy with a smooth, strong chorus. There's a slide guitar hidden
within it, but it doesn't sound disturbing. The song is just an orgy of nice,
soothing harmonies and that extremely strong chorus.
"The Boston Rag" is rockier, though, with almost acoustic and calm verses, but
a crunchy guitar line prevents it from being a ballad. However, when the song
suddenly bursts into the heavy choruses, with a lot of crunchy guitars, there's
no doubts that this is a rocker. The keyboard/guitar interplay after the second
chorus is especially heavy, with lots of guitars, and when the interplay finally
moves over into the third chorus, it's not far from blowing the listener out
of his chair!
"Your Gold Teeth" is - again - a jazzier tune, but with speed and, er- to me,
the song seems quite humourous (which maybe only evidences how perverse music
taste I have), and I really dig the verses. Of course, there's no real chorus,
only an ending to each verse ('See how they roll...') and lots of instrumental
parts. Everything works, though, and the song is an ultimate balance between
chorus and verse, jazz and every other musical style (rock and pop, at least),
sung parts and instrumental parts - shortly, this is close to perfection, only
lacking a very effective melody.
"Show Biz Kids" is comparable with "Easy Money" by King Crimson, i.e. somewhat
slower than usual, but heavier nevertheless, and good to headbang along with.
Despite that it's pretty different from other Steely Dan tunes, it was used
to give a name to the newly (at least at this day) released Steely Dan compilation.
It has a hypnotic, repeated vocal line in the background, a lot of Creedence-like
guitars and an angry atmosphere. Simply awesome. "My Old School" is a rather
mainstream tune, quite poppy, with a very catchy chorus and some generic saxes.
One of the sax lines sounds almost exactly like a Commodores line which I cannot
remind the name of right now, just by the way and to make the review longer.
However, the song rules, despite it's poppines and everything else speaking
against it. It's an ultimate example that mainstream music isn't necessarily
bad (not that I know if it was a hit, of course, but it still SOUNDS mainstream).
"Pearl Of The Quarter" is a country tune, slow and er- ugly, even the choruses
sucks. Fagen's vocals doesn't at all fit the music, his voice sounds thick and
drunk. You get my drift - not a highlight of the album, even if there IS a very
neat little guitar solo which rules. "King Of The World" opens with some cool
drumming and a repeated keyboard line, which goes almost throughout all the
verses. Some very spacey background guitars ā la Jimi Hendrix are also there.
The choruses are somewhat more energetic and rocking. Denny Dias and Skunk Baxter
rules on guitar. There's also a keyboard solo - TWO keyboard solos, actually
- where Donald Fagen picks up some quite cheap organ enabling the player to
use glisses, and so those two solos sounds like something coming out of "It"
from Genesis' The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway - it's only that that that
(it works with three what's, doesn't it? You don't know what's what, what?)
album wasn't released until one year later, so the Steelers were preceding on
that point. Really good song. It's only that "Pearl Of The Quarter" which sucks
and drags down the rating to a 13, which of course is better than most bands
can effort. Their next album is more adequate in that way, then, otherwise I'd
recommend this album to be your first Steely Dan purchase, but right now, Pretzel
Logic can swagger with the honor to be Steely Dan's most quintessial album.
Any comments or reviews to grant us with?
Their peak! Even if Aja still is better, but this is
it. They kept the sound of Countdown, added some more jazz and easier melodies,
and man this is an IMPROVEMENT, even if it doesn't really result in anything
much better than before... Like Genesis' way from Nursery Cryme to Selling
England By The Pound; a huge improvement, but not MUCH better. However,
anyone can listen to this record, which wasn't the case with Countdown.
The songs usually have more hooks than before, and they're more easy-going,
too. They're also very short, and even if there's 11 tracks on here, the record
is barely 34 minutes long. There isn't really anything bad about this album,
as the overall rating suggests, and if it wasn't for this "Rikki Don't Lose
That Number", it might even have been a 15. However, I'm still glad that it's
here, so I don't know where I'm standing, really... The song is of the rather
commercial kind, and it did result in a pretty big sell-out. It opens with some
blooping noises, before a very simple bass/piano line comes in. There's a very
strong hook within that little line, even if there's only two chords. The verses
are laid-back and jazzy, as they were going to sound in a couple of years, while
the choruses are catchy, with that bass/piano line below the vocals. There's
a guitar solo, too. Well, it's actually a very good song - it's weird that I
had to choose it as "worst song", it really doesn't deserve such a disgrace!
However, it IS the worst song, so be it.
"Night By Night" is quite funky and energetic, though, and with lots of saxes.
The bridge almost sounds as something from Tower Of Power, with increasing vocals
and saxes as well. A funky bass is always there, and together with the chunky
rythm guitar, it adds a "black" touch to the song. Really good, as if that's
nevessary to say...
"Any Major Dude Will Tell You" is jazzy again, and it almost reminds me of "Castles
Made Of Sand" by Jimi Hendrix, but more laid-back and calmer. There's a mighty
hook within the tinkling, cute little guitar/keyboard riff, and a very neat
little piano is somewhere there, too, which draws its very important straw to
the stack. It's a really nice soundscape within the song, and I wouldn't decline
to go to sleep listening to this song. It's er- mood-raising, but still calm.
"Barrytown" is a little less jazz, but more pop. It has an acoustic guitar,
a piano, a slide guitar, and light-playing drums and a steady bass to rely on,
as well as important piano themes and nice vocal melodies. Sometimes it feels
quite awkward, but that only adds to the charm, and the chorus after that awkward
bridge surely weights up the awkwardness. Wow, that's the first time I've ever
used the word "awkward" in a review, and I did it three times in a sentence!
Cool! Cool song, too.
"East St. Louis Toodle-Oo" is a cover of Duke Ellington's and Bubber Miley's
old tune, and it has a lot of short - and catchy - themes, cool saxes, nice
piano, fun guitars, and still a quite dark atmosphere, even if it's still mood-raising.
A masterpiece, I say!
"Parker's Band" is rocking, then, with a steady drum and very important guitars.
It has a very cool chorus, too, or maybe I should call it a bridge...however,
this bridge rules. Somewhere at the end of the song there's a quite heavy part
with acid-jazz-influenced saxes. That part rules, too. Ugh, I feel that I'm
getting annoying with all these "this song rules" themes I use...Every friggin'
song rules, and that's it. I won't mention it anymore. Just so that you don't
think that the rest of the songs are quite average.
"Through With Buzz" is a soft, jazzy tune with something as unusual as a string
arrangement. By Steely Dan's standards, of course. It's a harmonic tune, and,
er, it rules. Yeh, I just couldn't resist to write it one more time...I'll try
to stop now, though. Seriously. Added should be that it's a very short tune,
not even 2 minutes. It still rules though! (haha!)
"Pretzel Logic" is more blues than jazz, heck, it might even be called blues-rock,
even if it of course isn't as heavy as, say, ZZ Top. It has that heavy bass,
though, and those saxes would fit any heavier tune as well. At the end, they
even become a blues-rock band, since the drums gets heavier, and one of the
guitarists, whichever of them it is, I don't know, but it's almost hard rock.
(I won't say that this song rules, even if it does!)
"With A Gun" is quite speedy, which is not too usual when we're talking about
Steely Dan, and another thing which makes this song so special is that there's
a LOT of acoustic guitar. The bass line ain't too complicated, and together
with the vocals and the acoustic guitar, this song sounds as something from
a completely different band. It's a fun interplay.
"Charlie Freak" has a piano melody which would have sucked if it wasn't Steely
Dan who made it. It's, er- simple, if you get me, and it would have sounded
pretentious or cheesy if another band would have been the authors. However,
it's not, and it's one of the moodiest songs on the album. Um, "moodiest" wasn't
really the word I was searching for... maybe I've got this mental disease which
makes it impossible to find the right words, what was it it was called now...er...well,
guess it doesn't matter. Suppose I've got it!
"Monkey In Your Soul" is another quite short tune, opening with some cool little
guitar tones, before a darn cool guitar - or is it a base? - comes in and sounds
just crunchy. This crunchy little thing remains through the song, and it's the
friggin' coolest guitar tone I've ever heard! I suppose that song isn't much
of an excellent one besides that crunchy thingio, but there's some cool saxes,
too. It's simple, it's crunchy, it's catchy, and it's excellent.
Did you notice that I structured this review somewhat differently from what's
usual? This time I didn't dedicate half the review to describe the whole album,
and the second half to describe every single song. Well, I suppose I did, even
if the first part was so small that it's only about one fourth of the review,
but I smoothed out the edges somewhat, while it's usually quite clear where
the intro section stops and the song section begins.
The album rules, if you didn't get it!
Any comments or reviews to grant us with?
Do I need to write anything else? "Typical Steely Dan" is probably the most adequate explanation you can get, I think. But OK, here you go:
Katy Lied rules. Quite up to the point, ain't I? I've already said everything I wanted to say! However, Katy Lied marks a change-over to a jazzier sound, which they continued on Royal Scam and which peaked with Aja. It's a very smooth record, with songs similar to each other, which makes it feel like a Steely Dan's version of Thick As A Brick. That's NOT what it is, though, which you'll understand after some up-to-the-point listenings, fifteen or so, and after those listenings, you'll also understand that the album actually has the personality and one-of-a-kindness which you didn't think it had. OK, OK - it IS a routine record, with only a few songs which are really genious, but it's simply impossible to resist the record - at first, it seems plain and boring, thanks to the cover and the, er, plainness, but you're still attracted to it, and after a couple of listenings, you'll find out the mood and the throughoutly going professionalism, and after some dozen of further listens, you finally get all the songs as single songs, not as an all-including unit. BTW, please refer the word "you" to "Joel Larsson" and his own experiences. His opinion about the album is nowadays that the album is excellent, despite the similarity of the hooks. He also wants to point out that the opening track, "Black Friday", is a good way to start with Steely Dan, and he therefore warmly recommends this album to be among your first Steely Dan albums.
Oh yeah, "Black Friday", then - it opens with a hypnotic keyboard riff, before it moves over into a VERY peculiar-sounding rock'n'roller. I love almost everything in the song; that keyboard line, that guitar, that voice, the lyrics - everything! Not that I understand what the lyrics are about, but still! If I had written the song, I'd be very proud of myself - no, not just because it's a great song, but also because it's such a cool (and original) way of doing rock'n'roll, and if it still sounds quite like the earlier Steely dan records, so be it - this is one of my absolute favs among Steely Dan songs.
"Bad Sneakers" is a calmer tune, then, with a smooth arrangement and an EXCELLENT chorus - this is "Aja part 1"! It sure took me a while to get used into the song, but when it finally struck me, it struck me to the ground. That extra little part after the second chorus is SO great! This one id for hardcore digging, that's for sure!
"Rose Darling" isn't really as great, although it's a very nice, jazzy tune, with a very fine piano. It's rather generic - in the Steely Dan way, though - and even if it's catchier than the previous two songs, it has a certain "filler" touch. The funniest thing about it is the chorus, where they sing 'Rose darling, my friend', but which I always mishear, and it sounds as if they're singing 'Oh Stalin, my friend'. Pretty dang fun - I'd never suspect Steely Dan to be communists!
"Daddy Don't Live In That New York City No More" is even funnier, though this time not because of misheard lyrics, and not because of any kind of hilarious lyrics either, but because the song has it in its atmosphere - that guitar line, mainly, but the vocal melody is very catchy, too. Surely doesn't sound like anything else Steely Dan ever pit out, even if I repeat that it'll take a few listens before you (Joel Larsson) will realise it.
"Doctor Wu" is another very great song, even if this truly is pretty hard to get into. The chorus (where the quote at the top of the oage is from, BTW) is pretty catchy, though, and that sax solo, and especially the piano accompanying it, sounds as if it came right out from an Aja session. In case you've heard that album, I could probably say that this song is the "Aja" this time - takes some time to get thru', but well worth the effort. This song isn't as long as the title track of Aja, though.
"Everyone's Gone To the Movie" has got some very nice vibes, and even if the verses are pretty dull, the choruses are not, 'cos that's where some sense of melody finally gets into the song, and it's also where those lovely little vibes are. Not a great song, but still worth an ear or two.
"Your Gold Teeth II" is, as the title suggests, a successor to "Your Gold Teeth" from Countdown To Ecstasy. However, where the "original" was energetic and catchy, this one's rather laid-back and Aja-like, even if the chorus is almost the same as in the original ('Throw out your gold teeth and see how they roam' or whatever they sing). I really like it, though, even if the earlier version is somewhat superior.
"Chain Lightning" has a very cool, hypnotic and bluesy bass line, which together with some awesome guitar work makes a very cool tune. Heck, that guitar sounds as if it came straight out of some 50's session! A self-proclaimed nostalgic young dude as I am, this one rules for me!
"Any World (That I'm Welcome To)" has got some Aja-ish verses with lots of piano, but the chorus is energetic and catchy, almost glittering crescendo. It's still a ballad, though. The last chorus glitters even more, BTW. Love it!
"Throw Back the Little Ones" is almost - almost - funky, but still with a lot of jazz, and sounding as some of the latter tunes from Aja, but despite that, I don't get it. It seems rather cold, I think. That part just before 2:00 which sound like a Frank Zappa line rules, though, but doesn't save the song from being quite average. the piano part one minute later rules, too.
And well, that's it. I don't know if this is a good way to start with Steely Dan - as mentioned, it's not easy to get into, and I think it's quite for the fans, but you should own it anyway, so why not? It DOES promote most sides of Steely Dan - both the pre-Aja style and the post-Royal Scam. But no, get Pretzel Logic instead.
Mail us your comments or reviews!
They had reached their peak within Pretzel Logic, followed
it up with Katy Lied, and now it was time to decide whether to record
another album in the same vein, or change style and try to peak again. Intelligent
as they were, they decided to change their style into a jazzier, but also funkier
sound with less harmonies in the songs than before. This new sound doesn't sound
too good, though, and the tendence is that the songs soundsquite boring, since
they lack strong hooks. They were obviously influenced by funk, and many of
the songs, not to say everyone, has a funky bass, and on a couple of tunes there's
some funky saxes, too. It seems as if they knew what they did wrong with this
album, though, 'cos on Aja, every good thing from this album is emphasized,
while the bad things are put away, and some more good things were also added.
And by looking at this album as a necessary step for the band to take in order
to get Aja recorded, it suddenly seems all okay.
By some reason, this album seems quite dull, and even if there is some small
hooks, they aren't the ones which your mind will hang up on. The grey-colored
cover doesn't really make it any better, either. This cover is a rare example
of a cover which very much misfits the album - the album would have sounded
much more sense-making if it was a sunny beach or something on the cover!
The album opens with "Kid Charlemagne", a funky tune with some reggae-ish chugga-chugga
guitars. It's not too impressive, it's just a very soulless, but still well-written
and performed, little song, but it just doesn't feel as a Steely Dan song, heck,
it could be Blood, Sweat & Tears! And the thing is that I dig Steely Dan when
they're doing their thing, but when they do less peculiar stuff, they're suddenly
just an ordinary band. And another thing is that I like when bands aren't ordinary.
Originality rules, don't you think? "The Caves Of Altamira" also has some BS&T/Chicago-esque
horns and saxes, but it's more like Steely Dan, since it sounds as before, very
harmonic and quite laid-back. The vocal melody in the verses smoothly moves
over into the chorus, which has an awesome melody. There's a sax solo, too.
VERY good song! "Don't Take Me Alive" has some hard-rock guitars with a lot
of distortion for being Steely Dan. It's a very rocking tune at all, with a
lot of that guitar, and it's pretty heavy, too, even if there's still a touch
of jazz. The chord progressions are the same as before, by the way. The chorus
is very strong this time too, with a big hook to hang up on. The only problem
with it is that it's, err, too rocking. It would sound better without that fat
guitar. However, it's still a good tune.
"Sign In Stranger" has a lot of piano (preceding Aja here) and some reggae
guitars. Wow, they're really trying to make a reggae song! Well, much better
than The Police... even if it doesn't rule or anything, it's just a pretty plain
tune of reggae mixed with Donald Fagen. There's a piano solo during the last
two minutes, moving over into an impressive part with lots of gorgeous horns.
That last section is the only impressive thing about the song, by the way, even
if it IS much better than anything similar The Police would ever release.
"The Fez" is a repeating, funky almost noodlish tune which is fun during the
first couple of minutes, but then it becomes boring. However, there's a strong
hook, which is a reason to rate it among the better of the songs on the album.
I use to get it on my mind each time I hear it, too. "Don't make me do it without
the fez on...oh no..."
"Green Earrings" has a keyboard riff sounding almost exactly as the one later
used in...dangit, why is it impossible for me to remember the name of a song?
Grr...It's some tune from either Aja or Gaucho, though. There's
a funky bass, too, and for once, it sounds good together. The verses are brief,
just as in "I Got the News" (maybe it's there they used that keyboard riff,
too?) and generally speaking, it's an orgy in Aja-ish harmonies and melodies,
and I'm not the one who complains!
"Haitian Divorce" is another reggae-ish tune, too loose to fit my tastes, but
again, twice as good as anything The Police would ever be able to record! The
reason why I always head to The Police is because of the fact that they're also
white, since I think it's unfair to compare poor little white guys with soulful
black ones! Anyways, the song is actually pretty good, flawlessly arranged and
written, and it's one of very few white-reggae tunes I can tolerate, or even
like.
"Everything You Did Baby" comes right out from Can't Buy A Thrill! It
feels so, at least - similar chord progressions, that slide guitar is there,
and the vocal melody sounds just as they used to sound. And since I like retro
music, I dig this, even if it isn't really amazing.
"The Royal Scam" is a pompously arranged dark tune, really moody, with a lot
of piano and moody stuff. The chorus is awesome ("See the glory of the Royal
Scam") with an amazing melody, backed up by some female choir. However, that's
the way it sounds all through it's 6 minutes, even if there IS a guitar solo.
It does sound good, though.
Well, I think that this album would have sounded better if it would have been
more diversified, and if Becker & Fagen would've skipped the funk and reggae
in order to save the jazz, but as it is, it's a good album, even if almost none
of the tunes, bar maybe "The Fez", is memorable. The nextcoming album weights
up this little disappointment, though!
Mail us your comments or reviews!
The Royal Scam marked a change of direction of the Steelers' sound - away with the nasty lyrics and short melodies, and in with a smoother, jazzier, more proffessional and laid-back sound. Aja continues where The Royal Scam ended, and the thing has now reached some sort of a peak, with this record's smooth, well-polished mix of jazz and pop and the perfectionism which goes throughout the whole album. Now it's like this that when a band/artist works really hard on an album, the result too often becomes dissatisfying, but while working out this album, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker were experienced enough to know where and how to make the slight changes and polish the small details which makes up a great album, and by my opinion, this is indeed a successful attempt of driving perfection to its peak. The album represents adult-orientated music at its very best - this is no Foreigner or Asia, I tell you! - and it's really pretty hard to get into it, while it at the first listening seems hookless and rather boring, but whenever you're there, you'll find that the albums has hooks almost everywhere. The musicians are - predictably - proffessionals, with great a experience and musical skill, and it's almost possible to touch the instruments - that's how solid the instrumentation is.
Well, when it comes to the point, there's almost nothing to complain about, and the album became one of Steely Dan's biggest commercial successes, and "Peg" from this album became their second lesser single hit. However, many a person later despised this album, since it's been rather overplayed in the States, but what the, that only means that the radio has some sort of taste after all, doesn't it? And I have never heard anything from Aja on the radio! If I ever did, I'd perform a big jump of pure joy, BTW.
The album opens with three excellent tunes in a row, with "Black Cow" as the first. This one is quite, err, funky and laid-back, with Chicago-ish saxes and a harmonic chorus with female back-up on the vocals. I LOVE this drummer - his tight, jazzy style makes me wanna go right up into the limelight on the scene and SWING! This is really unusual, since I'm pretty bad at dancing, and I usually prefer to keep away from the dancefloors, but you know, when you hear that tune, it's kinda like as when you hear "Let's Twist Again" - you just HAVE to do something, even if it's something as subtle as to knock your finger on the arm of a chair. This is just amazingly captivating! The second excellent tune is "Aja", where Steely Dan's laid-back, harmonic jazz reaches it's absolute peak. You'd better do as the band members - lay back and relax! Are there any better way to spend an hour? The verses are extremely harmonic and smooth-going, and the keyboard solo after the first section ain't worse, but rather upbeat. In the middle there's a lengthy sax solo, just by the way, and by another way, this track is adult-orientated impersonated. This is for the mature public only (yeah, I loved this album back when I was 14, too, so what?).
"Deacon Blues" is the third link in this unbeatable combo, again with tight drumming and harmonic vocals. This time, it's the choruses which impresses me so much - this story about the bitter, unsuccessful sax player who's going to make a name by losing ('and die behind the wheel...'), the way this Aaliyah or whatever her name was became popular when she died. That chorus has always resonated most deeply with me, by the way. Of course, there's saxes almost all the way, and even if it's not as smooth as the title track, it's at least very smooth. The sax solo part in the middle kicks almight ass, it feels just as if I'm listening to some of THE jazz dudes of the 40's/50's, and nostalgia has always been a great part of my life, so...
Unfortunately, "Peg" isn't all that good - I mean, it's catchy, speedy, jazzy, well-worked, well, whatever, but the main melody just doesn't make it for me. It's really danceable, though, and after all, it was their second single success after "Rikki Don't Lose That Nuber" (even if it wasn't a big one), and just let's be happy with the band, shall we?
"Home At Last" is a darker tune, with excellent works on the piano by mr. Fagen, and I also dig the bass line. The choruses are what's great about it, though - preceded by a cool sax line, the chorus strikes with a remarkable mood and almost hypnotic vocals, accompanied by some cool little guitars by Becker.
"I Got The News" is a rather noodlish jazz-pop tune, at least when compared to the rest of the album, and it feels quite loose - I'd like some more saxes. When the first couple of verses are gone, though, a tighter vocal line comes in, and after that comes a cool little solo, and after that comes some other cool vocals, and heck, the song rules after all. It's very upbeat, too, which ain't a bad thing.
"Josie" is the most retro tune on here - even if
it also predicts a couple of tunes from the nextcoming album, Gaucho.
The song opens with some desert-ish keyboard/guitar notes ā la "Babylon
Sisters", and afterwards comes a heavier jazz-pop verse, with a steady
bass line always present. The choruses are - again - quite harmonic, though,
and againn, it's a song which rules, even if it isn't up to the standard of
the first three. It ends with a repeated sax section, and then it's over. Yup.
that's it.
Well, as a last note, I should add that this is a record which ANYONE
(who's mature) may appreciate. As I've already mentioned, it's very hard to
get into, and the listener will have to need a little bit of good will, but
I promise you that it's worth the effort. And once again; Lay back and relax
while tapping your fingers on whatever you feel for - this album works in every
situation!
Aja baja, du rör väl inte sågen? Mail your comments!
Well, let's begin with a little explanation about that "mail us" link above: You'll understand it if you're Swedish! Not much of an explanation, actually, but I'm sure that any Swede who visits this page will think that it's hilarious!
But to the album, then. Well, it really took them three years to record this one, which probably is evidence enough that these guys were perfectionists. Unfortunately, this time around, the songs aren't as strong as on Aja, and with even less hooks. Even Aja sometimes balanced on the edge of boredom, but this time, they went somewhat too far. Allright, the songs are flawlessly written and performed, but the whole album lacks an edge, and when it comes to the point, it feels as if the album was finished in a single month anyway. There's a lot of songs here (err, three at least) which should've been passed to the bin. However, this record sold more than most of the earlier albums, and here in Sweden, if somebody has a Steely Dan record, this is the one they own, and it's probably the same even outside our boundaries.
Well, the album opener "Babylon Sisters" is a slow tune with a desert-ish keyboard line. Some sexy female chorus fills up the chorus with a catchy little melody, but in the long run, the song becomes boring, and when that chorus is repeated towards the end of the song, I feel that I need to hear the fade out at the absolute end, or I'll pass the rest of the song. Still, it's a good tune, but it would have worked better if it wasn't longer than 3 or maybe 4 minutes, and not the almost 6 which it's made up of.
"Hey Nineteen" is a much better tune, then. A fun thing to mention is that this was the first mp3 song I've ever downloaded - almost the only one, too - together with "Deuces Are Wild" by Aerosmith (which I didn't get the whole, though - the connection broke down when I had downloaded 1:30 of it!). I remember that it took about 45 minutes to download it with my 56k modem. However, the song is quite rocking, with a huge touch of jazz. It's really catchy, too. It's pretty loose, but it rules.
"Glamour Profession" opens very good, with a Chicago-esque sax line and a jazzy base, but when it comes to the verses, the song suddenly loses the distinctivity it had from the beginning, and the choruses aren't much better, either. It is pretty obvious that they try to rip off "Aja" or something from the previous album, but they seem to have lost what they had three years back. Again, though, it's not bad - just too plain.
I like "Gaucho", though; it opens with a cool, soft sax, and the latercoming sax line is the strongest riff on the whole album. The verses quite pisses me off, though - they seem improvised and melody-lacking, even if there's of course some deeper thought behind it (after all, it's Steely Dan we're dealing with!). The choruses are harmonic and beautiful, though, and the whole song has a slight touch of Caribbean music, thanks to the saxes. It's probably my second favourite song on the album, I like it just slightly less than "Hey Nineteen".
"Time Out Of Mind" isn't too far from being "I Got The News part 2" - a loose instrumentation, with the vocals making up whichever melody there might be. There's no great second section of it, though, as is the thing with "I Got the News", even if there IS a pretty cool instrumental middle section, but imagine a rap song with a repeating sampling in the background, and common singing instead of rap, and you've got it. Not bad, of course, but boring.
"My Ritual" is a more laid-back tune with an unusual lot of guitars, and also with a lot of keyboards. Sometimes, though - mainly during the verses - the song tends towards being "I Got the News part fifty-eleven" or something, and I'm pretty bothered with songs like that for the moment.
"Third World Man" is a dark tune, with a lot of mood and err, bitterness? Between the choruses and bridge there's a cool keyboard riff, and those bridges (or whatever I should call 'em!) are pretty intense, even if the song is a ballad, actually. There's (as usual) an instrumental part in the middle, and it rules, too. This song has to be my third favourite of the album, and the third - and last - one which I think of as "great".
Yeah, that was it. I'd recommend you to get Aja before getting into this, but I suppose that's up to you - after all, there's a huge lot of people which have this one as their fav. But think about it, both once and twice, before getting this - 'cos this is an album for the fans.
Mail us! I'm sure you've got something on your mind about this one!
As you might have guessed, it's pretty difficult to decide
which songs are the best and which are the worst, just because that very few
of these are the final workings, and the number of songs is pretty high (hey!
It's a double CD!). I cannot decide what record rating it deserves either, since
it's actually the demo versions we have here, and it's pretty unfair to judge
a band depending on the demos, isn't it? One thing with the album, though, is
that the band sounds much more resonantic, as if some of their resonance got
lost when they made the final version of a song. I suppose it's comparable with
Nick Drake's Pink Moon or maybe Neil Young's rather depressive recordings.
And there is a lot of previously unheard songs, some with intriguing melodies,
as if the band had bigger plans for the songs. There's also a couple of Steely
Dan classics here, "The Caves Of Altamira", "Parker's Band", "Charlie Freak",
"Barrytown", "Any World That I'm Welcome To" and "Brooklyn" to be precise. However,
the two-CD, with a total of 28 songs, makes it difficult to know all the songs
without listening VERY carefully, and I really don't have the time for that!
Another annoying thing is that there is no chronological information in the
inlay, and since the songs obviously are shuffled most spontaneously, I don't
know anything about when the demos where recorded, or for which album. That
sucks. I've done my best to give the album a fair rating, though.
Disc one opens with "You Go Where I Go", a pretty ordinary Steely Dan song,
while "A Little With Sugar" seems to have been the first thought of a great
song. I'd really like to hear a final version of this one, since it aspires
to be a great song, and it would've fitted, say, Pretzel Logic very well.
"Roaring Of The Lamb" is darker, with a really nice melody; it's Steely Dan!
The version of "Charlie Freak" quite rules, while "Sun Mountain" is a softer
tune, perhaps from the earliest years. Sugarsweet for being a Steely Dan song,
I'd say. "Oh Wow It's You" is magnificient now and then, particularly the bridge
before the verses; otherwise, it's nothing to get upset about. "Undecided" sounds
like a lousy final version of a song from the days of Can't Buy A Thrill,
i.e. country&western-ish, with a singer who reminds me of a certain David Palmer.
C&W isn't really my thing, so I don't care much about the song, even if it IS
pretty neat. For being country, that is. The comes "Caves Of Altamira" and "Any
World That I'm Welcome To", and both do sound pretty good, with more feeling
than they do "on track." "More To Come" is a silly (??? This is Steely Dan!)
song, be it Steely Dan or not. However, it's funny, and that is a good quality.
Then we have "Parker's band" and "Barrytown", both sounding good, before "Brain
Tap Shuffle" comes out thru' the speakers. I can almost swear that this is a
definitive version, probably from the earliest days, 'cos this rocks harder
than most Steely Dan songs do, with exception of stuff like "Bodhisattva." Cool!
The first disc closes with "Brooklyn", which actually sounds much better than
it does on Can't Buy A Thrill, probably because there's no David Palmer
singing! I've never noticed that this song is actually really good!
Disc two opens with "Mock Turtle Song", which I'm certain would've fitted any
of their "real" albums; it has a dang charming melody and lots of good mood.
It's obviously the final take, too, 'cos there's both vibes and electric guitars
and background vocals and stuff. One thing that bugs me is that I don't know
who's singing, though - he doesn't sound like Donald Fagen, but it's obviously
no David Palmer either. Dangit... Anyways, the second track is "Yellow Peril"
is of the darker kind, and the fact that they sing about a certain Josie who's
coming home brings the mind to the late 70's and Aja in particular. It's
smoothly going, too, so it ain't impossible that it is from around 1977. "Android
Warehouse" is pretty anonymous, even if there's a cool hook in the chorus, which
I think they could've sold many singles because of. "A Horse In Town" sounds
as if it was recorded with a tape recorder - the sound is awful, but it's a
dang cool tune, seeming to coming from the earliest years. It's totally untypical
for being Steely Dan, though, and I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't! Anyways,
a cool little rocker. "Ida Lee" has a guitar line which immediately seems familiar,
though not too good. The song is actually that kind which you spontaneously
dislike when you hear it, and I'm no exception. It's booooring! "Stone Piano"
is a typical piano-driven Steely Dan song, and that's all about that one. "Take
It Out On Me" is a peaceful and harmonic little tune, and it rules. "This Seat's
Been Taken" has a touch of country, so it should be from the early days. It's
pretty ordinary, though, that kind of song you can hear on any self-respecting
country artist's album. "Come Back Baby" is DISCO!!! Almost, at least! It has
that bass line and that guitar, and that name. Hey, this is cool! "Don't Let
Me In" is, just as "Come Back Baby", a totally unusual Steely Dan song, with
loud drums and a cool chorus and a guitar solo. I wish I could remember which
band this reminds me of, but I just can't remember! Dangit! Why is my memory
so bad? It better not be Alzheimers. "Old Regime" is probably sung by David
Palmer, and the title does cause associations with "Kings", doesn't it? It's
a pretty good song, even if Palmer sings, particularly because of a very catchy
chorus. "Soul Ram" is probably sung by David palmer too, and it's another good
song because of it's good melody. Hey, some day I gotta cover these cool tunes,
'cause I'd make up a really good album with only stuff from this album! "I Can't
Function" is a slow tune, without being a ballad. It's almost reggae, even if
I doubt reggae was ever thought of when this tune was recorded. It rules, and
dangit, this CD is full of good material! Just as all six tunes before it, it's
a final version of a song, just by the way. The disc closer is as well final
version, and then we're talking about "Let George Do It." Hey, it has GOT to
be David Palmer singing! And hey, they guy CAN sing! Why the heck did Fagen
only let him sing on the worst of the songs on Can't Buy A Thrill? Palmer's
reputation should've needed a couple of the tunes from this album as well!
As a summary, this album is indeed for the fans, and if you are one, you'd better
go and get it right now, 'cos this is an unvaluable album for you! You who just
like the band, or refuse to call yourself "fans", better avoid the album.
Mail us your comments or reviews!