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Steely Dan - Any good?

#21
um... yeah said:
Get the box set Citizen Steely Dan....it'll save you the trips to the record store. :cool:
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As I was scrolling down, I was gonna mention this. Good job.
FWIW, I bought all the LPs...all the cds & then the box set(The Price Club had a very price on it a few years back). Stay away from any of the "Greatest Hits" discs.
It will only whet your appetite to buy the original albums anyway.

Both DVDs are worth watching.

"Kid Charlemagne" is a must learn line. I'm with Bruce: Rainey is "the man"!

Another thing about them is their production...I would say all their albums have 'a sound'. The Gary Katz stuff really has a nice mix. Each instrument is clearly heard, nothing is buried or lost.

I'm with moley...The Royal Scam kicks("Green Earrings", "The Fez", "Don't Take Me Alive", etc), Aja is a close 2nd, Gaucho right behind that.
Not sure I would buy them in chronological order, though. ;)
 
#22
moley said:
Becker also did a solo album - "11 Tracks Of Whack", which I haven't heard, maybe someone who has can comment on it.
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OK, I'll take a whack at it (you should pardon the expression). The songs are great, and you can immediately hear where the bile came from in Steely tunes like Everything You Did and Glamour Profession. The production (by Donald Fagen) was rather spartan however, the album sounds like 75-80% finished demos, so if you were looking for the sonic sheen that Roger Nichols is known to impart, you'll be disappointed. Also, Becker's voice takes a bit of getting used to, but at this point I can't imagine anyone else singing tunes like Cringemaker and This Moody Bastard (and I wonder what he would have done if he'd been allowed to sing Jack of Speed on Two Against Nature, as I believe he did in the original demo).

Anyway - you have to get all the main albums. IMO, Donald Fagen & Walter Becker are up there along side the greatest songwriting partnerships of the last century.
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Word.
 
#23
moley said:
There is also "Showbiz Kids: The Story Of Steely Dan 1972 - 1980", which is essentially a best of, but it has two tracks not on any of the other albums - "FM" and "Here At The Western World", which AFAIK are both from the Aja era, and both great tracks. If you're a mug like me, you'll go out and but that album just for those two songs :)
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No you don't, as they are both on the 4-CD boxed set "Citizen Steely Dan" that Jim and others have mentioned.

I also bought this and those 4 CDs which cover all the albums plus all the bonus tracks they could find - are almost certainly my most-played CDs ever!!

So, I bought the albums on vinyl and the greatest hits - but as soon as "Citizen" came out, I bought it and it must have been one of the best "investments", I ever made!! Nice book as well!! :)
 
#24
Right after reading all your comments I have just visited the local Virgin store. Often in Dubai we suffer from a poor selection and certainly not the full range of CD's was available to choose from. There were 7 different CD's for Steely Dan, including Katy Lied, The Royal Scam Aja,Gaucho and Everything Must Go plus two best of CD's.

Though against the advice of some I opted for the Showbiz Kids compilation, which has 33 tracks covering an 1972-1980 so there's around 4-5 tracks from each CD they recorded during that period. I thought that should be a good starting point. I'm listening to it now though will reserve comments for later after I've had a chance to listen to it properly.

Cheers!
 
#26
£35.99 at www.amazon.co.uk

B000002ORE.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg



Disc: 1
1. Do It Again
2. Dirty Work
3. Kings
4. Midnight Cruiser
5. Only a Fool Would Say That
6. Reelin' in the Years
7. Fire in the Hole
8. Brooklyn (Owes the Charmer Under Me)
9. Change of the Guard
10. Turn That Heartbeat over Again
11. Bodhisattva
12. Razor Boy
13. Boston Rag
14. Your Gold Teeth
15. Show Biz Kids
16. My Old School

Disc: 2
1. King of the World
2. Pearl of the Quarter
3. Rikki Don't Lose That Number
4. Night by Night
5. Any Major Dude Will Tell You
6. Barrytown
7. East St. Louis Toodle-Oo
8. Parker's Band
9. Through With Buzz
10. Pretzel Logic
11. With a Gun
12. Charlie Freak
13. Monkey in Your Soul
14. Bodhisattva [Live]
15. Black Friday
16. Bad Sneakers
17. Rose Darling
18. Daddy Don't Live in That New York City No More
19. Doctor Wu
20. Everyone's Gone to the Movies
21. Chain Lightning

Disc: 3
1. Your Gold Teeth II
2. Any World (That I'm Welcome To)
3. Throw Back the Little Ones
4. Kid Charlemagne
5. Caves of Altamira
6. Don't Take Me Alive
7. Sign in Stranger
8. Fez
9. Green Earrings
10. Haitian Divorce
11. Everything You Did
12. Royal Scam
13. Here at the Western World
14. Black Cow
15. Aja
16. Peg

Disc: 4
1. Deacon Blues
2. Home at Last
3. I Got the News
4. Josie
5. FM
6. Babylon Sisters
7. Hey Nineteen
8. Glamour Profession
9. Gaucho
10. Time Out of Mind
11. My Rival
12. Third World Man
13. Everyone's Gone to the Movies [Demo Version]
 
#27
inspired by this thread, I had a bit of a 'Dan-fest' last night :) and spun the following songs: The Caves of Altamira, Doctor Wu, Bad Sneakers, Glamour Profession, Time Out Of Mind, Kid Charlemagne, What A Shame About Me, The Nightfly

ooh, I had a great time - i'm having a warm glow just thinking about listening to those songs :)
 
#31
JimK said:
I'm with moley...The Royal Scam kicks("Green Earrings", "The Fez", "Don't Take Me Alive", etc), Aja is a close 2nd, Gaucho right behind that.
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Yep, I think I'd put my top three in that order too, actually. For me, Gaucho would come just behind Aja because, although the first five tracks are great, I don't think the last two are as good. Whereas, on Aja, all seven tracks are great.
 
#32
Bruce Lindfield said:
£35.99 at www.amazon.co.uk

B000002ORE.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg



Disc: 1
1. Do It Again
2. Dirty Work
3. Kings
4. Midnight Cruiser

...etc...

7. Hey Nineteen
8. Glamour Profession
9. Gaucho
10. Time Out of Mind
11. My Rival
12. Third World Man
13. Everyone's Gone to the Movies [Demo Version]
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Goodness gracious me, that really does have everything on there, doesn't it?!? (Except Two Against Nature and Everything Must Go, obviously).

Although it seems like a bit of a gamble, if you're not familiar with the band, I think I'm with Bruce on this one - buy the box set.

Though, it seems they've switched a few of the songs round, for some reason? E.g. Peg and Deacon Blues (should be Deacon Blues first), King Of The World and Pearl Of The Quarter (should be Pearl Of The Quarter first). Maybe they switched Peg and Deacon Blues because Deacon Blues is much longer and wouldn't fit on the second CD.
 
#35
My Dad was into Steely Dan way back when the "Can't Buy a Thrill" 8-track was out. We used to listen to it in his old Dodge Power Wagon :D .

Personal favorite albums:
Can't Buy a Thrill
Gaucho
Two Against Nature

Some of the best songs ever written:
Reelin in the Years
Peg
Time Out of Mind

Oh, and our band used to play Josie - those who appreciate "tha 'Dan" would always thank us :) .
 
#37
Judge said:
I've never rally listened to Steely Dan, but recently on a plane trip I was listening to an excellent track on the in-flight radio only to find out afterwards that it was Steel Dan. The bass playing was excellent and it may have come from the Aja CD. Anyway are they any good? Is Aja their best CD, which appears to be the opinion of a couple of websites I've just checked out.

How is Becker as a bass player, or was I more likely to have been hearing Chuck Rainey?

I'd just like to get some TBers opinions on them.
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Aja is in my top 3 discs of all time, freakin classic playing by Chuck Rainey on it.
Get up from your computer, go to the record store and buy it now.
I have a Steely Dan "tribute" band (we have a female singer that kills) if you will, Stealing Dan, if that tells you how much of a fan I am.
I used to tell my students that if you want to be a good "pop/jazz" bassist, learn Aja (the disc) from top to bottom. ;)
You can't really go wrong with any Dan stuff.
 
#39
nashvillebill said:
I also feel their LP's sounded much better than their Greatest Hits CD. The CD sounded like it was recorded underwater, not very clear or bright.
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Exactly. If you can find the vinyl in pristine condition and have a turntable I would recommend fully. The fidelity is amazing. Steely and Zappa are the only collections I have on vinyl still and I'll never let them go.
 
#40
nashvillebill said:
I also feel their LP's sounded much better than their Greatest Hits CD. The CD sounded like it was recorded underwater, not very clear or bright.
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I wouldn't recommend the Greatest Hits CD - but Citizen Steely Dan's 4CDs sound great - I had the vinyl and I prefer these any time!!

Of course the whole set was digitally remastered and put together under the supervision of Walter and Donald and has some great liner notes and loads of photos from their collection! :)
 

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