Steely Dan Appreciation Thread

Wow, this almost sounds like a lost Royal Scam sessions track.  The first time I have found something truly SD like.

I think the reason why Chicago, Doobie Bros, Toto never evoked Dan for me is Dan is the musical equivalent of reading Catch22 or Art Buchwald.  They have that sharp, pungent brand of humour which ensures they are never at risk of sounding too earnest and a laugh is always just around the corner.

I haven't read the lyrics of this Pages track but they do have the SD sound down pat. "Well crafted pop and jazz fusion sound" is exactly like SD.

Thanks, I will check out Michael Franks.  How good are Steve Khan's albums, if you have heard them?  I came across a wonderful, if partly caustic, interview of his time working with Steely Dan on Peg.

I do love Sparks a LOT, but yeah, totally different band from Steely Dan.  Zappa, Residents are way more experimental.  Steely Dan is in this sweet spot where their music is outwardly very accessible almost to the point of sounding generic (which is why I didn't see the fuss about them in the beginning) but is informed by lots and lots of interesting chord choices and the most magnificent collection of guitar solos in a single band's discography, and the lyrics then bring their own pungent flavour.  In totality, I haven't heard that combination in a single band's work, indeed in their general style.  A band or artist might have some songs that conform somewhat to that combination.  The closest I can think of is actually Fiona Apple rather than any rock band, particularly on the When The Pawn album.  But she can get very nasty with the lyrics, lol, while Dan is more about killing you softly.  But otherwise, yes, the combination of music loosely connected to jazz that sounds very typically American such that you might go meh if you don't pay attention but is actually informed by very thoughtful songwriting and bold choices.

The Zappa comparison makes a lot of sense, as Donald Fagen once said that Zappa was one of the biggest comedic influences on Steely Dan's writing: https://nymag.com/arts/popmusic/profiles/16453/#sthash.NzmzmG1v.dpuf

There are no duffer Dan albums or tracks - it's all gold.  I don't put them on much anymore - I played all the albums, even the post-reunion ones, way too many times.  I'm not putting them on leading up to the show 'cause I want them to be as fresh to the ear as possible.