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Steely Dan + Sklar?

Z

ZenderBender

Feb 11, 2008
134
2
37
Brooklyn NY
#1
There are a number of people who would worked well with Steely Dan, but for whatever reason, weren't hired. I think the chief guy would be Lee Sklar. Chuck Rainey was a genius, so I wouldn't have wished for any other on the Royal Scam or Aja, but I think Sklar could have really done well on Katy Lied, Gaucho, the Nightfly, or Two Against Nature.


Any thoughts?
 
#2
Interesting...
The best thing would be to ask Sklar or Fagen, right?

It's possible-
>Sklar was way too busy for a SD project...sessions + road bands.
>Sklar, at the time, may have been stereotyped as a "Folkie" (gigs w/ Jackson Brown, James Taylor, Linda Ronstant, et al)...actually, Skalr was an original "Fusioneer" (Cobham's Spectrum album) + his side Rock-Jazz band, The Section (w/ Russ Kunkel & danny Korchmar).

Maybe he did something with SD & it never saw the light of day? ;)

Anyway, I like Rainey on Katy Lied...Gaucho is more Rainey + Anthony Jackson (& a little Becker)...The Nightfly is like a Who's-Who of '80s electric Pop bassdom...so that leaves 2 Against Nature & Sklar would have been perfect.
How's that?
;)
 
#3
I love steely dad but since I moved in with my mom I hav'nt got access to my dads cd's. If I was to go out and get one steely dan album today, in your opinion which should I get? Is there one particular album that epitomizes them? Can't really tell you what I think about those bassists though but that guy on their last dvd rules. They make fun of him in the extras for playing an esp instead of some expensive custom job that would do the same thing lol
 
#4
Just one album?
Part of me sez Aja...the other part sez The Royal Scam.

Just remember-
At their earliest, Steely Dan was a band...then they drifted into using some sidemen...eventually, it was down to Fagen/Becker doing the writing/vocals with an entire cast of the studio elite playing the tunes.
As a band, their 1st album, Can't Buy A Thrill, is up there as far as debut recordings go, IMO.
youtube does have footage of them playing live during this time frame. Kinda weird not seeing Fagen doing the lead vocals.


The guy with the ESP bass I assume is Tom Barney.
 
#6
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#9
I don't know about that. In a recent Bass Player (last month's?)...Sklar's comments about showing up to a session 'cold' (i.e. did not listen to the tracks-to-be beforehand) was he operated.
 
#17
mvw356 said:
sklar would have nailed it also, but you make it sound like rainey, becker/lee and the others were inadeqate.
Click to expand...

not at all. I said that the Royal Scam and Aja were excellent because of Rainey. It's just that afterwards, Rainey barely popped up on the records anymore, and during the Gaucho sessions, they really heavily varied the bass chair more than previously. It just seems like Sklar should've popped up during the Gaucho or Nightfly sessions
 
#20
ZenderBender said:
...Rainey barely popped up on the records anymore, and during the Gaucho sessions, they really heavily varied the bass chair more than previously...
Click to expand...

It's still mostly Rainey on Gaucho...isn't it? I seem to recall Anthony Jackson doing two stellar tracks ("My Rival" & "Glamour Profession") & Becker did a couple ("Gaucho" & "Time Out Of Mind")...the rest, IIRC, was Rainey (maybe 1/2 the tracks?).
Truth be told, I was a little peeved when I first bought Gaucho because Rainey's work was cut in 1/2.
IIRC, Rainey's studio work began to ebb about that time...more Jackson & Nathan East began popping up on the records that usually had Rainey's touch on them.
 

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