The Steel Guitar Forum

The first two Steely Dan albums were the ones with a lot of steel by Skunk Baxter.

Countdown to Ecstasy
and
Can't Buy A Thrill.

Sad state of affairs when there is more steel there than on Martina or Faith albums.

I think if one has heard Steely Dan only on
the radio, then it's almost impossible
to judge. I agree much of their material
was REAL inside and campy. I can understand
a feeling of SMUGGNESS in the material.
But, remember Jeff Baxter did'nt need to
put down steel tracs but he did. And did
so with tremendous taste and sensibility.

"In Berlin... by the wall
You were 5'10" tall
It was very nice
Oh honey it was paradise."

This thread has really made feel out of touch. For some reason, S.D. actually comunicates something to me. But what do I know? Maybe I'm their dead on target listener...49/musician(jazz fan)/cynical/yada yada yada

Something I have noticed that I think is interesting is : Their records are the only ones I like on the playlist of the radio stations that play them. For some reason I don't link them in the same breath as 95% of all the other "smooth" Jazz ( aka over glossy/boring) stuff. But I'm finding out that some people hear it all as the same. I wonder, does Dennis Miller have any musical aptitude ?

Rick, I agree with you, I think 'Deacon Blues' is one of the best ever written and played song. I like the new album too, What's great about the Dan is that most of their music still sounds fresh today.

The other thing is they never went with the trends, they played music they liked. I think the two of them are really social outcasts.

The grammy they won was great, but it was a long overdue (25 years) pat-on-the-back. But who really cares about the Grammys anyway, I don't think there is another industry that hands out more awards to itself than entertainment, well maybe Realtors.



------------------
Regards, Craig

Steely Dan has always provoked very polarized reactions toward their music.

One thing I've always liked about them is that they always did what they wanted and basically told the music business suits to take a hike. One of the same reasons I like Merle Haggard.

Rick has summed it up for me pretty well too.

Dennis Miller has about as much musical aptitude as he has football aptitude. I think he dislikes Steely Dan because they can out smart-ass him at every turn. I think the liner notes that Walter Becker writes on the new re-released - re-mastered CDs are funnier than most of what Miller does these days.

So what's wrong with catchy tunes you can hum? Great musicians, great arrangements, imaginative lyics with a twist (ya ain't gonna get any moon-june-spoon love ballads), great groves, a sarcastic approach to it all. Put me down as a Dan Fan with no excuses.

U2, on the other hand, fall into the category of groups I have really, conciously, tried to like. Enough friends who's opinions I respect have raved about them enough. But they continue to do absolutely nothing for me. Maybe you can chalk it up to an un-natural dislike for one-name performers and "we're artists and we're soooo deep" attitudes. Until I am struck by the thunderbold of enlightenment, the Dan will do me just fine.

I do think that U2 was really smart to use Daniel Lanois as producer. He's a wonderfully
soulful musical spirit that really has a gift for finding the heart of whatever music he's producing. He should do a Steely Dan album someday!

<SMALL>we're artists and we're soooo deep" attitudes</SMALL>

As compared to we're arrangers and we're soooo talented?

Seriously though, I hated U2 back in their late 1980s period, so pompos and righteous and their music had gotten really bloated and crappy too. The Rattle & Hum era was a real bore, but I like the reinvented group that's played through the 1990s. They're not so serious, they're like Pop art pop music.

I don't think I'll ever get into Steely Dan, but when it comes to 70s rock, I've always leaned towards heavy stuff like Zeppelin and Sabbath, some of the better glam rock (Bowie, New york Dolls, Queen, early Areosmith, Mott The Hoople, Big Star, Alice Cooper), country rock and some of the German outfits like Can, etc.
When I think of it that way, at least Steely Dan aren't doing things as bad as some of those artists, (although Alex Chilton can do no wrong in my book) and have something that their old fans can relate to.

The thing that got me was that they got album of the year!..