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None of us have. Sgt. "Black Cow," "Aja," "Deac.well, anything on here is radio ready material that lodges in your head and stays there. But there are not a lot that are so so perfectly made, you get both pop and art of the absolutly highest order.
Listen to ToTo or the Little River Band or any of the more "adult" AM radio stuff of this time, and it does not even approach this level. But it does.And the audio works on two, almost contradictory levels. On one, it is just part of the overall perfection Becker and Fagan have always demanded of themselves. On the other, it actually serves to obscure the complications and intricate structures of this music. Very little pop music is self-consiously high art. All of the Beatles work is after Revolver, as is the Beach Boys Pet Sounds. There are wannabes, and then there is Steely Dan, and the differance is glaring. You may not be able to PLAY the songs, even if you are very good, but you can absolutley sing along.
I tried and gave up in a few bars.Yet out of all these chords and time changes emerge beutiful melodies. These guys pack more layers into a bar than most do in a song, and like being married to a beautiful man or women, decades pass, and yet there are more surprises. It gives the art a pop sheen, which you dive into to find the art. Music just does not stound like this. People give me great albums by great musicans and say "it is, you know, like a Steely Dan thing." Well, I get the idea, but NOTHING is like a Steely Dan thing, except for Steely Dan. As if this were not enough to last from your childhood to your grandkids old age, Steely Dan have used the best technology available, so the studio becomes another instrument--not really to invent, not to try new ideas like the Beatles did, but to add to the glow, the absolute perfection that radiates from this music.
It is not that there are not a lot of classic pop albums out there. It takes years to really process, a little cowbell here, a guitar slide here, a time shift here, how much is really going on, and just when you think you have heard everything--well trust me, you have NOT heard everything. But if you listen to "Black Cow," "Decon Blues" "Home At Last" or "Peg" --or better yet if you are a young musician trying to play the songs- you will quickly realize how much more advanced this album is. Pepper, Pet Sounds, a few more I am not thinking of, and Aja, by Steely Dan.It is one thing to make complex music, another to make good pop, but quite another to make the MOST complex music sound like the BEST pop. Obviously, the complicated time changes of the title track are not the best place to start making my arugment.
I can't wait. on 7 Nov where Steely Dan will be performing the album LIVE. When it comes to albums, this is in my Top Ten of all time. It is such a fave that I'm going to The Star Plaza Theatre in Merriville In.
But that doesn't matter to me at all. And then in this album we have, apart from the genius Donald Fagen & Walter Becker, the collaboration of some of the greatest musicians of all time such as Bernard Purdie, Tom Scott, Chuck Rainey, Larry Carlton, Steve Gadd, Don Grolnick, Michael McDonald, Victor Feldman, Joe Sample, Wayne Shorter, just to name a few.
Just hear it, you'll be fascinated just as I was when I first heard it many years ago. No more words needed.
I love Steely Dan, it is perhaps my favourite band of all time, as far as music is concerned. This sweet music that mingles rock, jazz, blues, soul is simply awesome, to my musical taste.
To me this still today one of the best abuns ever recorded in music history. With reference to the lyrics I simply have no opinion as my knowledge of english language doesn't allow me and I find it quite difficult to understand.
The music is superb, the arrangements are fabulous.
the music played was felt by the performer as well as the listener. This was recorded at a time when the industry was just starting to go digital kind of a best of both worlds time. Recordings were still performances, with feeling and heart. This is another review of a CD that I just ordered again, I have the original vinyl, a remastered special edition vinyl, a CD (somebody stole) and now here I Buy it again. I am excited to have a fresh copy, as this music is timeless. It is probably the best Steely Dan album of them all. Obviously I like this album. Go back to when it came out, late 70's or early 80's, it should rank in the top 10 albums for the era.
wish I had a system that could do justice to this. One of the best albums ever produced. Fagan is a great vocalist and the blend of music is the best.
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