Is there really no nübort thread. Shame. Walter Becker is one of the most underrated guitar players of all time. So MF’n smooth. Jake, take notes. Take notes, Jake.
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might be the best band
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MT
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funny, was just listening to some live dan. guess it’s that kinda night. that live album with Dennis Chambers on drums 
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Have not heard of them
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God I love the Dan. Outside of Aja/Royal Scan I think Katy Lied is my favorite record. The perfect jazzpop record. Amazing songwriting and melodies, clever lyrics…
I appreciate Becker for his contribution in general, but his guitar playing in the modern Dan shows was pretty annoying…
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Yeah, the live guitar was all about Jon Herington. I caught Steely at that Classic East festival at Citi Field a couple years ago, right after Becker took ill. They had Larry Carlton replacing him. Of course I would have preferred Becker be there (and still be alive!), but for that show it was not a bad replacement.
Damn that’s cool. Would love to see Carlton play some Dan
It was so great.
I saw him with Dan once before, at one of the Beacon runs. I believe it was for Royal Scam night, but could have been Aja. Can’t remember because I went to both that year, and he was on both albums.
Steely Dan are the fucking best. I have tickets to see them with Steve Winwood in July at Jones Beach. I’m really hoping that show is still on. I feel like that is right on the cusp of when the social distancing could be over. But I’m starting to think it’s going to be a bit too early for 15,000 person gatherings.
To me Larry Carlton and the Dan are tough to separate as he plays some of the smoothest guitar on any of those recordings. Of course it’s Becker’s driving force, but Carlton lends so much good shit to many of those pinnacle recordings.
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got a cassette from my dad as a kid. countdown to ecstacy on one of the sides, and rise and fall of ziggy stardust… on the other side.
i always just pair those two albums in my head for that reason, and both of those albums is my favorite from the respective artists
Still think Can’t Buy A Thrill is the most underrated/overlooked Steely album. That being said, CTE is probably my fav. They are all damn good though.
i feel like the first time i heard can’t buy a thrill, i was already familiar with most of the album from classic rock radio play
Can’t Buy a Thrill and Countdown to Ecstasy are both really legit.
Royal Scam
Aja
Katy Lied
Pretzel Logic
Gaucho
Countdown To Ecstasy
Top 2 albums hold their spots, although I can shuffle 1 & 2 spots between them at times. Katy & Pretzel are next tier for me, and are prob seated in those exact spots. I f’n love Gaucho & CTE a ton each, and for totally different reasons, but neither reaches the level the 1st four listed albums do for me.
Their other albums are solid as well, but I don’t have quite the love affair with them as the others.
my favorite countdown to ecstacy tid-bit is found on the CD’s liner notes. Also discussed here: Countdown To Ecstasy Album
Towards the end of the project, we were working on the intro melody for “The Boston Rag”. No matter how many times we punched in on the only available track, the same three notes of Denny’s guitar line would not be record properly. Roger made a spiffy little window edit (look it up), and we were able to punch in the missing notes. For a lark we sent the little piece of defective tape back to 3M. Months later, they sent us their report. The piece of tape had a tiny blister where the oxide had bubbled up from the backing. Inside this little blister was a drop of mustard. Some clot up in Minnesota had taken his sandwich into the room in the plant where the huge sheets of mylar were coated with oxide, taken a bite and squirted a tiny drop of mustard onto the mylar on the exact spot where we were going to put Denny’s guitar part. In effect, our efforts had been sabotaged in advance by a careless worker. This was to haunt us over and over in the years to come.
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2 things:
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I slept on Gaucho for WAY too long. I mean, I’ve heard a few of the songs (duh Babylon Sisters and Hey 19) but for no good reason I never really delved into the album like the others. I would say it is both the most challenging to the listener but also incredibly rewarding. Glamour Profession…holy shit what a song. That and Time out of Mind have been stuck in my head big time.
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Katy Lied is probably the most “fun” Dan album to listen to start to finish. The hooks just don’t stop comin’
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I’ve said it so many times but Gaucho is my favorite SD album. Such a smooth sound. It’s like Disco Dan
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I rented a house in Hawaii last year and our neighbor was blasting Steely Dan while his buddy threw in guitar licks and he played the drum tracks. My Dad and I walked over and said hello during Glamour Profession. So damn good and both of our favorite Dan songs.
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