I was taking stock of my life (getting old!) and one thing that hit me was how fortunate I was to grow up with such great music from the 60s and 70s. I remember when this song was new on the radio. Steely Dan is awesome.
I'm grateful to be SO OLD that I vividly remember the excitement of being a kid waiting for The Midnight Special to start on Friday nights. ... It was like a Free Ticket to mulitiple AMAZING live concerts every Friday night. .... I probably wouldn't have become a musician without it.
Ohh dam , u guys are bout my age , gfr , doobie bros, linda ronstadt , blondie,ccr , and alot more. Yeah, some pretty cool stuff. And Peter Framton ,,thats right !
Steely Dan is one of my all time favourites... Frankly I just love the 70's so much when it comes to music. Having been born in 2003, hardly anybody else I know that's my age likes music like Steely Dan, The Cars/Cap'n Swing (then again most people that like The Cars don't even know Cap'n Swing... lol), Boston, ELO, etc.
Yeah they went through many incarnations before getting their style; Cap'n Swing has always sounded a lot like Steely Dan in some regards to me, and Cap'n Swing was their name right before evolving into The Cars. Some of their songs were written during this time, most popularly Bye Bye Love, and some were originally intended to become Cars songs but they were left in the obscurity of time.
Atari-Dude 1 Guilty, I love the Cars. Got no clue what that’s a reference to, but that’s ok. I lived through that whole time period and I still find about bands that were around at the time. Almost all radio stations in my area were top 40 and on AM. Then they went to FM, and the music went disco. It was a sad and dark time.lol. But Eddie Van Halen gave me hope.
I highly recommend you check them out, just search "Cap'n Swing" on Google. Personally, since I'm young, I look back on music in history and look at it objectively, and I like classic rock, disco, 80's synthesizer (not a genre, but I like, for example, Van Halen's "Jump" and "Dreams"), etc. I didn't grow up listening to only one, so I have a lot of music types that I like. As long as it's not hip hop, rap, or mainstream modern I'm good. I think there's still great music out there; check out The Warning, Greta Van Fleet, White Lies, Blossoms, and then there's of course Fil's original songs with Wings Of Pegasus.
I met the drummer not long after their first release of "Do it Again" in Boston and he was telling my friend about how well their song was doing and that they were going to be on Midnight Special next week. I'll never forget how excited he was about their success.
"Do it Again" is another hit song of theirs that I like alot. The 70's were some happening times in the music world. So much rock music came out in that decade that I believe is the best, and will never be equaled.
I have been a Dan Fan from the moment I first heard Reelin' in the Years back in the 1970's. I also love Skunk Baxter a truly great guitarists. But Elliot Randell's lead on the original record has never been matched by any other guitarist. The opening was superb. I know it was in the studio but years later he played live with the band and it a had that same magic. Like the opening of Larry Carlton's lead on Don't take me alive had that same magic. Dan's ability to find just the right musician to play on specific parts of their studio albums are unmatched. Also Fil thanks so much for your analysis videos. So often I agree. Please keep up the good work.
I remember singing along to this as a kid and my brother busting me for singing "Are you gathering up the cheese? Have you had enough of mine?" Then he stole my cheese.
I commented on another post that those seventies bands were incredibly smart and their songs were very constructed and composed. The guitar solo on 'Don't Take Me Alive' is one of the most vicious pieces of music ever recorded.
Spot on, Ed...smart, skilled, very studied in their approach to composition, arranging and performance. I chuckle when I hear post-punk "purists" (over decades now) talk about "authenticity" as they champion alternative band after band that, while giving the finger to the corporate model, nonetheless lack the technical skill that Fagan and Becker (and studio associates) displayed. The false choice of Authenticity vs. Corporate Sellout overlooks the more fundamental issue of technical prowess in the three areas mentioned above and their decline over time. The Dan were plenty authentic AND far more skilled than the vast majority of contemporary songwriter/musicians who routinely thrill millions with their authentic approach to boring two- and three-chord songwriting. When I listen to Steely Dan, Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell (during her mid- to late 70s window) and a few others, they remind me that we didn't have to choose between authenticity and consummate skill during that time. Lucky us. About Carlton's lead on Don't Take Me Alive: "vicious" nails it...thanks for the jog.
This was THE way to see the bands, there was no MTV-VH1, no video recording. The youngsters today have it easy ! I remember once Buffalo Springfield was on the Tonight Show, had to sneak the tv after bedtime on a school night..and then they were on at the end, almost 1am
One of those bands where EVERYONE is a great musician. That everyone is also a talented vocalist is a huge bonus, esecially considering how many times the line up changed. It's too bad we can't see Baxter's leads, but seeing the rhythm playing of Dias is a great opportunity that doesn't happen often enough. I love Fagen's vocal style. He either tells a story or, as in this song, has a one-sided conversation, as if he's reading a letter, written by him, out loud. Thanks, Fil.
Oh yeah. Love Steely Dan. That is so weird you posted this. I have been singing "Do it again" for three days now. Can't get it out of my head. Them hippies knew their stuff didn't they lol.
Your love and passion for music from my era (70's - early 80's) is evident in your face while you listed (and watch) these videos. Been playing guitar in bands for 43 years and have no plans on stopping any time soon....rock on!
Love this video! Never got to see them live, but have almost all of their music. They are from my generation which produced the greatest musicians! Fil, your knowledge is amazing. Thank you. One note: I love, love the clothes from those times!
I am encouraged by some of the posters here who recognize Steely Dan and the talent of bands of the past, especially the young posters like Atari. What a blessing we had to experience the music of the 70's. I was fortunate to experience the music of the 60's as well. It is my hope that music will return to some of the roots of the 60's and 70's.
Some of the work by Larry Carlton on a couple of the Dan's later albums might deserve a review. Especially, "Don't Take Me Alive" where the guitar solo actually starts the song and the guitar on "Kid Charlemagne".
You had me at Steely Dan. My two greatest treasures on vinyl are original releases of Aja and Hawkwind's In Search of Space, but mostly Aja. Those are "run back into the burning house" treasures. Like, Rosebud important, by which I mean I want people to spend the days after my death trying to figure out why they're so important.
One of my favorite guitar rifs. The timing and pitch changes accompaniedby the incredible vocals of this song make it an enduring classic. Excellent choice in music Fil. Great video sir.
Love these guys!!! Progressive Jazz with Pop sensibility..Elliott Randall plays the solos for studio version of this song. Fun fact; in college Chevy Chase played drums in a band with Becker and Fagen🤘🏻
Steely Dan...OMG. Yes! R.I.P Walter Becker. Re: The Midnight Special. Fleetwood Mac's performance of "Rhiannan" live on the Midnight Special set the bar for live performances. Stevie had an out of body experience and so did I watching that.
(Skunk’s playing a solo) “Cut to Denny!” (Denny’s playing a solo) “Cut to Skunk!” Yep, you know you’re a true music fan when things like this drive you crazy. Thanks for another great video Fil! Peace. JR
I grew up on hard rock and metal mainly, but I've always loved Steely Dan - great catchy songs, great musicianship, great vocals, wicked funk grooves, and a really cool, unique, and interesting jazz flair.
Great guitar licks in this song, Jeff Baxter is one of my favorite steel pedal guitar players he hit it out of the park when he sat in with the Venturers doing Sleepwalk Santo.
Hello Fil!! How are you? I'm a week or two new to your channel and have been enjoying watching to some of my favorites and listening to your break down of their music and musicality. Most of the elders (the generations above me) in my family were professional musicians. What a great environment to grow up in! Great stories of the past; and of the present.... much that I got to witness! Storytelling was big around the dining room table every weekend. My father was 17 when the Coconut Grove burned down and he was playing there and saved many lives: something he never wanted to talk about. He was older than everyone in his generation within our family. Great stories...he used to say, "My mind is a cesspool of useless information!"
Great analysis, Fil. Spot on, as you Brits would say. I was just out of high school when I first heard Steely Dan. I became a fan of their unique vocals. And, they did the harmonies without overdubs which meant that they could reproduce their sound live. When bands began spending time in studios their live performances suffered. This happened to the Beatles. I remember them doing ‘Paperback Writer’ live, and it was nothing like the record. Think about ‘Eleanor Rigby’, ‘Strawberry Fields’, ‘I am the Walrus’, ‘A Day in the Life’? Great, great songs, but in a live performance? Not bloody likely. With Steely Dan what you heard on the radio is what you got live. Like The Dave Clark Five. When you have so many hit records people want to hear that same sound live. I remember seeing Three Dog Night live, and they were exactly how they sounded on the radio. They had 3-part harmonies so they did not have to overdub. I saw Earth Wind and Fire live, and, since they had their own horn section their sound was the same as the record.
I guess the reason I like watching these videos is becasue you always get a unique outlook on the performance and you point out the little nuances here and there. Hopefully more people will see how great music can really be. If that happened than mainstream music would be forced to have a higher standard of musical ability and talent.
Steely Dan would not be Steely Dan without Donald’s unique, snarky, sardonic, New Jersey/New York delivery. I’ve loved it for 40 years and I’m a country boy from Alabama. My favorite band ever.
This is the song I heard when I was 12, on AM radio when it first came out that made me want to play guitar, I loved sound of this riff, still do. Thanks Fil
When I was a kid, this was Saturday night television. I swear the 70s was a great time to be a kid. I still have a Roy Clark picking book from those days. I regret not following up with the guitar. But the music.... I just love it. You have great knowledge. Keep playing!
Now if you want your mind completely blown, go search TH-cam for some of Skunk Baxter's presentations to CIA audiences. He came up with some very interesting ideas, and it has always amazed (and to some extent, amused) me with this seemingly odd cross-over. Thanks, Fil. Steely Dan was and remains one of my favorites. Thumbs up as usual.
He was also close to Jimi Hendrix and it kind of makes you think was he involved with Jimis death in any way because Hendrix was a target of the C.I.A.
Loved this, Fil ! I believe it was my request. I know I was intending to request you do it, whether I actually carried out that request, I'm not sure. Brilliant analysis, Thankyou!
Good video Fil and again spot on. I can't honestly think of another band with six vocalists, all but one of whom are playing instruments. Steely Dan were and are still unique
Yep...agree! I have always deduced that if you can play the guitar and make music...you are great. If you can sing and deliver your message...awesome. Sing + play the guitar (or other instruments like these guys) = really amazing. Steely Dan were really great story tellers with intricate musical deliveries...a really unique and pleasant rock style.
Great choice Fil! A fantastic band with many hits! Dont take me alive opening, are you kidding me! I have all thier albums! Good Analysis! Rock! Suggestion, when you film yourself, keep the camera on your lead hand a bit longer, its great to see close up!!!
Your review commentary was spot on! I don’t know if you have notes or what, but you explain what’s happening in precise detail and it’s much appreciated. Love Steely Dan.
That was a nice live performance of one of their early hits. but their Studio work was unbelievable they would spend weeks on just one of their Productions trying out nanny musicians for the shame part or instrument till they got it right. they used the finest Jazz and Studio musicians in the business and fused every kind of music into a classic. the most sophisticated rock Fusion band ever. they were perfectionist par exsalonce. I think Deacon blue it's my favorite. What I love about them is you can listen to one of their great Productions and pick up different sounds and meanings each time you hear it. Thanks introducing them to people who've never heard their sound who should listen to some more of their really sophisticated sound*** thanks fil.
loved it i've been a Steely Dan fan for many, many, moons, and tho i do like this song, i've always been partial to the fantastic tune-smithy of the Royal Scam album. I've watched a few different "behind the music/the story of", docs on Steely Dan, and learned from them that the band is actually Becker and Fagen . They famously used respected session musicians on everything(even on tour) , and sometimes would have someone come in for work on one song only. Also, they were perfectionist, and would sometimes require 100 takes or more just to get a guitar solo the way they liked. (and it's said they only toured to keep the label happy, they would rather have spent the time in studio)
These guys were soooo frickin A M A Z I N G!!!! They certainly did reel n rock my years.Vocal harmonies absolutely superb......and like you've been saying.....adding singing to your playing just like doubles the difficulty of performing a song. I been so stupid silly....to only recently realized my voice as an instrument......never thought of it in that way.......just something I did as an adjunct.....and of coarse struggled and continue to struggle with it. Your basically playing 2 instruments! Thanks to vocal coaching of late I'm learning to "play" my 2nd instrument better and finding it as wondrous and thrilling as learning a new instrument.....and admittedly as difficult and frustrating.....but in my case I just do it for kicks cause I love the working it out.....albeit very slowly.....I take my time.....bits n pieces...small steps.
A really great Dan album you guys need to hear is Everything Must Go, their last studio album. It's better than sex, in my honest opinion of course. Fagin and Becker are unmatched in the writing department and their perfectionism in the studio is legendary, but oh how it pays off. ❤❤❤❤❤ I'm so stoked by this video, can't you tell!😊
God I loved the harmonization. They sound great live too! The Eagles was another group that had the beautiful harmonies a capella ? Me sneaking out of bed at midnight again (grin) to see this.
Beautiful analysis! I agree with so many points and you brought so many more to my attention I didn't even think about before. This was a joy to watch/listen to.
I love the fact that you review so mny older, now almost lost works of genius. I won’t even bother to try it o list anything. Suffice to say it’s right up my alley. ....and I was a metal head/ early hard rock junkie to boot!! 🤘Go figure!🤔 I was a kid when all this music came out & I sooo fondly remember it as a radio backdrop to .... everything! I never realized how much all this music was burned into the fabric of my life until waaay later.... when I actually started playing myself! 🎸 You musta been born w some genetic 70s in your blood?🤔💥👍😃 Gotta luv it! ✌️ 🎵 🎼 🎶 🌎
Performances like this were awesome! I remember waiting all week for the Midnight Special. There was no internet where you could watch something like this with a simple click, so it really made these type of shows special.👍😎🎸🎶
NOSTALGIA is bullshit. SD broke through in the 70s, which was a decade drowning in "pretty, made up and posed." This was endured until the 80s, when good music triumphed again.
Always enjoy your analysis Fil. Being 62 years of age, I grew up watching The Midnight Special. As opposed to American Bandstand where everything was lip synched, these shows were all live performances. I have the seventies locked in my car on SiriusXM. Just an incredible decade for music.
Two of my favourite solos of all time are Larry Carlton's solos on "Kid Charlemagne". I would have loved to have seen Elliot Randall play the original album solo on this one.
I swear there was some kind of conspiracy during that era, where the cameraman would take the camera off of the lead player during leads. Or else show his face and not the the hands. Or if you look at the Cream farewell concert, maybe the back of the guitarist's head with the occasional extreme close-up of the drummer's foot on the bass drum pedal. Excellent analysis, again, Fil.
Good clip and analysis - the guitar work in the original studio version of this song was played by a session musician named Elliott Randall and is still one of my all-time favourites; Baxter does a great job on this version but I'd sure like to see a live video from back in the day of him playing the solo in the song "Bhodisattva", another classic Steely Dan tune that really rocks...
Loved this song when it was out in the mid 70's. I remember a local band did a pretty good cover of it in a gig at Newcastle Poly. It went down so well they had to play it three times :)
Elliott Randall's original lead work is impeccable and sounds fresh even now. This cameraman should have been fired. Denny Dias is completely underrated and is a superb improviser.
Right on dude,the credits on the album tell us. I would like to hear his live version but I know he was their session player but loved the studio version of Elliott's lead would love to hear him here.Maybe he played later this song live?I don't know,may never know.Thanks for noting Elliott's original lead.Royal scam album another great guitar oriented album from steely Dan.
@@rickweigle5559 Although Elliott played the original studio version, it was Skunk who played it in the early live days of Steely Dan. There is an interview of Skunk by John Beaudin [spelling??] in TH-cam where Skunk tells us that Elliott was a friend of his and he had no hard feelings at all about Elliott being chosen to play on the album. After Skunk left Steely Dan he was briefly a member of supergroup "The Best" which had an incredible lineup and toured Japan in 1990. You can see this supergroup perform Reelin' in the Years live in TH-cam. Skunk Baxter's reinterpretation of the guitar solo on the song is phenomenal - one of the best you will hear.
Hey Fil, I’ve got the whole set of Midnight Special. All I could get anyway. I used to love that show, but I’d usually fall asleep halfway through and VCRs weren’t a thing then. It absolutely drives me nuts when you’d like to watch the solo, but they show the singer running around, or something like that. And another thing, when the singer lets the audience sing. I paid to hear him/her sing. But that’s just me.lol.
Every time I watch you analyze another band from one of the best times in music history. I forget that you're so young. Now a days what passes for music is not music at all. With all the auto tuning and no talent trash, it's refreshing to watch you appreciate and have such spot on analysts of these awesome bands. I wish more people of your generation would appreciate and see what you see in these bands. Keep bringing these to those of us that were there and remember how great it was. Looking forward to the next one.
This song brings back so many memories! An amazing band full of so much talent on stage! One of my favourite songs of theirs was Ricky don’t loose that number! Brilliant how the guitarists harmonise together! The 70s....what awesome times! Epic analysis Fil! Cheers Mario!😎🤘🤘
I still say - AND WILL DO TO MY DYING DAY - Steely Dan's best album is their first, Can't buy a thrill (from which this track is taken). It has all the qualities subsequent albums lacked: MELODY!!!, consistency, variety (3 different lead vocalists, as opposed to one) and a strong theme - of repetition. Well done for choosing this track, anyway.
Sure they progressed, they became more & more obtuse. Anyway, the fact that you say your opinion is more than an opinion speaks for itself.@@tomneff7030
Superb analysis, as usual, and kudos for correctly pronouncing Denny Dias (rhymes with bias) correctly. Even Donald Fagen can be heard in some videos mispronouncing his name as "Dee-az."
Ah yes the Midnight Special had the greats on there. Would watch that one night the Don Kirshner Rock concert the other night. Friday and Saturday night were awesome to watch your favorite bands.
Another great video Fil, thank you so much for your expert music commentary, it really does enhance seeing this performance once again with the knowledge you share with all of us. I'm now subscribed!
I was taking stock of my life (getting old!) and one thing that hit me was how fortunate I was to grow up with such great music from the 60s and 70s. I remember when this song was new on the radio. Steely Dan is awesome.
Yup!
=////======> ~ 🤨🤔🤗💫👉👍👌‼Yup❗ G-G.
🎯
Well said.
Such superb musicians. Such outstanding composing too! This band rank in the top 20 ever best bands on planet earth. Who agrees with me?
Totally agree, steely dan
For sure...😂
I disagree they are the best
I'm grateful to be SO OLD that I vividly remember the excitement of being a kid waiting for The Midnight Special to start on Friday nights. ... It was like a Free Ticket to mulitiple AMAZING live concerts every Friday night. .... I probably wouldn't have become a musician without it.
Cool!
Me too! I had to sneak downstairs and watch it at the lowest volume. Or my dad would come down and yell Turn off that garbage and get to bed!
You're so right Mark, what a time it was.
Truth. Along with Don Kirshners Rock Concert.
Ohh dam , u guys are bout my age , gfr , doobie bros, linda ronstadt , blondie,ccr , and alot more. Yeah, some pretty cool stuff. And Peter Framton ,,thats right !
I love Steely Dan! They have some of the greatest lead runs ever, so many great songs.👍😎🤘
The 70s was the decade of the storytellers in music from Jim Croce to Gary Wright to Steely Dan to Gordon Lightfoot etc. I could go on and on.
ELO, Steve Miller Band, Supertramp, Pink Floyd........Ha ha! Yes we could go on & on
"storytellers"?!?!? and you didn't mention Genesis w/ Gabriel?!?!
-Stairway
-Freebird
-Dream On
-Hotel California
The decade of 8 minute long chart toppers
Warren Zevon.
Steely Dan - dont take me alive. Larry Carlton guitar playing on that song is amazing.
kel9591 and kid Charlemagne and peg
One of my favorite riffs of all time 👍
Elliot Randall played on the record ( Guitar solo). It is my favourite intro and solo!
Best album cover, and for my money, the royal scam is dans best effort........
Absolutely brilliant band always love the guitar work.
Steely Dan is one of my all time favourites... Frankly I just love the 70's so much when it comes to music. Having been born in 2003, hardly anybody else I know that's my age likes music like Steely Dan, The Cars/Cap'n Swing (then again most people that like The Cars don't even know Cap'n Swing... lol), Boston, ELO, etc.
I know of Cap'n Swing! They are the closest you can get to The Cars without them being The Cars.
Yeah they went through many incarnations before getting their style; Cap'n Swing has always sounded a lot like Steely Dan in some regards to me, and Cap'n Swing was their name right before evolving into The Cars. Some of their songs were written during this time, most popularly Bye Bye Love, and some were originally intended to become Cars songs but they were left in the obscurity of time.
Atari-Dude 1 Guilty, I love the Cars. Got no clue what that’s a reference to, but that’s ok.
I lived through that whole time period and I still find about bands that were around at the time. Almost all radio stations in my area were top 40 and on AM. Then they went to FM, and the music went disco. It was a sad and dark time.lol. But Eddie Van Halen gave me hope.
I highly recommend you check them out, just search "Cap'n Swing" on Google. Personally, since I'm young, I look back on music in history and look at it objectively, and I like classic rock, disco, 80's synthesizer (not a genre, but I like, for example, Van Halen's "Jump" and "Dreams"), etc. I didn't grow up listening to only one, so I have a lot of music types that I like. As long as it's not hip hop, rap, or mainstream modern I'm good. I think there's still great music out there; check out The Warning, Greta Van Fleet, White Lies, Blossoms, and then there's of course Fil's original songs with Wings Of Pegasus.
Cool!
I met the drummer not long after their first release of "Do it Again" in Boston and he was telling my friend about how well their song was doing and that they were going to be on Midnight Special next week. I'll never forget how excited he was about their success.
"Do it Again" is another hit song of theirs that I like alot. The 70's were some happening times in the music world. So much rock music came out in that decade that I believe is the best, and will never be equaled.
In my opinion, the best, most creative ten-year period in music occurred from '65 to '75.
I have been a Dan Fan from the moment I first heard Reelin' in the Years back in the 1970's. I also love Skunk Baxter a truly great guitarists. But Elliot Randell's lead on the original record has never been matched by any other guitarist. The opening was superb. I know it was in the studio but years later he played live with the band and it a had that same magic. Like the opening of Larry Carlton's lead on Don't take me alive had that same magic. Dan's ability to find just the right musician to play on specific parts of their studio albums are unmatched. Also Fil thanks so much for your analysis videos. So often I agree. Please keep up the good work.
Indeed! Elliot Randall!!
I remember singing along to this as a kid and my brother busting me for singing "Are you gathering up the cheese? Have you had enough of mine?" Then he stole my cheese.
I always ran to Steely Dan when I wanted to hear something that made me feel calm and still sounded so polished. Their music just screamed quality.
Still my favorite band after all these years. Literate and superb musicians are a rarity.
God i love Steely Dan. I grew up on them, they were my mum's favourite band. I had no idea what they looked like! 😳
I literally have every Dan album ever made.
These guys are God!
Thank you so much, Fil for posting this! ❤❤❤❤
Cool!
@alanna yes they brilliant, always were
Alanna Yes they were!! Once they started using ny session guys they hit god like levels haha
Alanna me too SD got all my cash growing up 🤪
Do you have "The Early Years"?
The studio musicians they got on their albums were incredible, the best of the best.
I commented on another post that those seventies bands were incredibly smart and their songs were very constructed and composed. The guitar solo on 'Don't Take Me Alive' is one of the most vicious pieces of music ever recorded.
Spot on, Ed...smart, skilled, very studied in their approach to composition, arranging and performance. I chuckle when I hear post-punk "purists" (over decades now) talk about "authenticity" as they champion alternative band after band that, while giving the finger to the corporate model, nonetheless lack the technical skill that Fagan and Becker (and studio associates) displayed. The false choice of Authenticity vs. Corporate Sellout overlooks the more fundamental issue of technical prowess in the three areas mentioned above and their decline over time. The Dan were plenty authentic AND far more skilled than the vast majority of contemporary songwriter/musicians who routinely thrill millions with their authentic approach to boring two- and three-chord songwriting. When I listen to Steely Dan, Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell (during her mid- to late 70s window) and a few others, they remind me that we didn't have to choose between authenticity and consummate skill during that time. Lucky us. About Carlton's lead on Don't Take Me Alive: "vicious" nails it...thanks for the jog.
Oh man I remember this show and the Don Kirshner's rock concert.
My mom wouldnt let me watch Alice Cooper😂
This was THE way to see the bands, there was no MTV-VH1, no video recording. The youngsters today have it easy ! I remember once Buffalo Springfield was on the Tonight Show, had to sneak the tv after bedtime on a school night..and then they were on at the end, almost 1am
One of those bands where EVERYONE is a great musician. That everyone is also a talented vocalist is a huge bonus, esecially considering how many times the line up changed. It's too bad we can't see Baxter's leads, but seeing the rhythm playing of Dias is a great opportunity that doesn't happen often enough. I love Fagen's vocal style. He either tells a story or, as in this song, has a one-sided conversation, as if he's reading a letter, written by him, out loud. Thanks, Fil.
Oh yeah. Love Steely Dan. That is so weird you posted this. I have been singing "Do it again" for three days now. Can't get it out of my head. Them hippies knew their stuff didn't they lol.
Your love and passion for music from my era (70's - early 80's) is evident in your face while you listed (and watch) these videos. Been playing guitar in bands for 43 years and have no plans on stopping any time soon....rock on!
Love this video! Never got to see them live, but have almost all of their music. They are from my generation which produced the greatest musicians! Fil, your knowledge is amazing. Thank you. One note: I love, love the clothes from those times!
I am encouraged by some of the posters here who recognize Steely Dan and the talent of bands of the past, especially the young posters like Atari. What a blessing we had to experience the music of the 70's. I was fortunate to experience the music of the 60's as well. It is my hope that music will return to some of the roots of the 60's and 70's.
Indeed. In my opinion, the best, most creative ten-year period of music was '65 to '75. Incredible.
Fil your ability to reveal the gems is truly amazing. Thank you so much for enabling ordinary folks like me to better understand so many treasures.
No problem!
I remember when Peg hit the airwaves and EVERYONE went looking for Steely Dan Albums... Was a terrific time to be alive :-)
Some of the work by Larry Carlton on a couple of the Dan's later albums might deserve a review. Especially, "Don't Take Me Alive" where the guitar solo actually starts the song and the guitar on "Kid Charlemagne".
And the great solo on Third World Man from Gaucho
You had me at Steely Dan. My two greatest treasures on vinyl are original releases of Aja and Hawkwind's In Search of Space, but mostly Aja. Those are "run back into the burning house" treasures. Like, Rosebud important, by which I mean I want people to spend the days after my death trying to figure out why they're so important.
Liked and subscribed! I have been a Steely Dan's fan for 40 years !!
Thanks!
One of my favorite guitar rifs. The timing and pitch changes accompaniedby the incredible vocals of this song make it an enduring classic. Excellent choice in music Fil. Great video sir.
Love these guys!!! Progressive Jazz with Pop sensibility..Elliott Randall plays the solos for studio version of this song. Fun fact; in college Chevy Chase played drums in a band with Becker and Fagen🤘🏻
@Sean Brennan Yes, it is indeed true that Chevy Chase played drums with Fagen & Becker in a very early short-lived band called "Leather Canary".
Steely Dan...OMG. Yes!
R.I.P Walter Becker.
Re: The Midnight Special. Fleetwood Mac's performance of "Rhiannan" live on the Midnight Special set the bar for live performances. Stevie had an out of body experience and so did I watching that.
Turn my kids onto Stevie with that. They watched with open mouths
Inlove steely dan even if they are way ahead of my time,,love their music,, thanks pil for featuring them on your channel😉
(Skunk’s playing a solo)
“Cut to Denny!”
(Denny’s playing a solo)
“Cut to Skunk!”
Yep, you know you’re a true music fan when things like this drive you crazy.
Thanks for another great video Fil!
Peace. JR
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It’s a joy to see your appreciation for SD- thanks for the insight and for your smile throughout-
I grew up on hard rock and metal mainly, but I've always loved Steely Dan - great catchy songs, great musicianship, great vocals, wicked funk grooves, and a really cool, unique, and interesting jazz flair.
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Almost got the entire catalog. Vinyl, C.D's and downloads. Man, they came out hot and never stopped evolving. Thanx Fil.
Great guitar licks in this song, Jeff Baxter is one of my favorite steel pedal guitar players he hit it out of the park when he sat in with the Venturers doing Sleepwalk Santo.
Hello Fil!! How are you? I'm a week or two new to your channel and have been enjoying watching to some of my favorites and listening to your break down of their music and musicality. Most of the elders (the generations above me) in my family were professional musicians. What a great environment to grow up in! Great stories of the past; and of the present.... much that I got to witness! Storytelling was big around the dining room table every weekend. My father was 17 when the Coconut Grove burned down and he was playing there and saved many lives: something he never wanted to talk about. He was older than everyone in his generation within our family. Great stories...he used to say, "My mind is a cesspool of useless information!"
Haha cool! Welcome aboard!
Sublime!
RIP Walter and Jim. Thanks
Amen.
Good memories of Steelly Dan, I met Rick Derringer in early 80s we had dinner at a bar where his was playing, thanks for another great analysis Fil xx
Great analysis, Fil. Spot on, as you Brits would say. I was just out of high school when I first heard Steely Dan. I became a fan of their unique vocals. And, they did the harmonies without overdubs which meant that they could reproduce their sound live. When bands began spending time in studios their live performances suffered.
This happened to the Beatles. I remember them doing ‘Paperback Writer’ live, and it was nothing like the record. Think about ‘Eleanor Rigby’, ‘Strawberry Fields’, ‘I am the Walrus’, ‘A Day in the Life’? Great, great songs, but in a live performance? Not bloody likely.
With Steely Dan what you heard on the radio is what you got live. Like The Dave Clark Five. When you have so many hit records people want to hear that same sound live.
I remember seeing Three Dog Night live, and they were exactly how they sounded on the radio. They had 3-part harmonies so they did not have to overdub. I saw Earth Wind and Fire live, and, since they had their own horn section their sound was the same as the record.
I guess the reason I like watching these videos is becasue you always get a unique outlook on the performance and you point out the little nuances here and there. Hopefully more people will see how great music can really be. If that happened than mainstream music would be forced to have a higher standard of musical ability and talent.
My all time Favorite Band !
Steely Dan would not be Steely Dan without Donald’s unique, snarky, sardonic, New Jersey/New York delivery. I’ve loved it for 40 years and I’m a country boy from Alabama. My favorite band ever.
This is the song I heard when I was 12, on AM radio when it first came out that made me want to play guitar, I loved sound of this riff, still do. Thanks Fil
When I was a kid, this was Saturday night television. I swear the 70s was a great time to be a kid. I still have a Roy Clark picking book from those days. I regret not following up with the guitar. But the music.... I just love it. You have great knowledge. Keep playing!
Now if you want your mind completely blown, go search TH-cam for some of Skunk Baxter's presentations to CIA audiences. He came up with some very interesting ideas, and it has always amazed (and to some extent, amused) me with this seemingly odd cross-over. Thanks, Fil. Steely Dan was and remains one of my favorites. Thumbs up as usual.
Skunk went from 70's rock and roll to a defense department consultant with a HIGH security clearance.
I had no idea - thanks for posting.
He was partly responsible for getting people to accept REAGANOMICS. What a jerk, but a great guitar player.
He was also close to Jimi Hendrix and it kind of makes you think was he involved with Jimis death in any way because Hendrix was a target of the C.I.A.
Thanks Ken!
Loved this, Fil ! I believe it was my request. I know I was intending to request you do it, whether I actually carried out that request, I'm not sure. Brilliant analysis, Thankyou!
Good video Fil and again spot on. I can't honestly think of another band with six vocalists, all but one of whom are playing instruments. Steely Dan were and are still unique
Steely Dan brings so much to the table, it's crazy. Love them so much !
Yep...agree! I have always deduced that if you can play the guitar and make music...you are great. If you can sing and deliver your message...awesome. Sing + play the guitar (or other instruments like these guys) = really amazing. Steely Dan were really great story tellers with intricate musical deliveries...a really unique and pleasant rock style.
Gotta love dude smilin as he watches! A true love for music indeed.
Great choice Fil!
A fantastic band with many hits! Dont take me alive opening, are you kidding me!
I have all thier albums!
Good Analysis!
Rock!
Suggestion, when you film yourself, keep the camera on your lead hand a bit longer, its great to see close up!!!
Had to check-out Don’t Take Me Alive opening after reading your comment. It had been a while. Just brilliant.
Luckless pedestrians
Cool!
Oh and don't forget black Friday from the Katy lied album 1975 great 🎸 riffs in that as well as underrated album.
Your review commentary was spot on! I don’t know if you have notes or what, but you explain what’s happening in precise detail and it’s much appreciated. Love Steely Dan.
Thanks!
That was a nice live performance of one of their early hits. but their Studio work was unbelievable they would spend weeks on just one of their Productions trying out nanny musicians for the shame part or instrument till they got it right. they used the finest Jazz and Studio musicians in the business and fused every kind of music into a classic. the most sophisticated rock Fusion band ever. they were perfectionist par exsalonce. I think Deacon blue it's my favorite. What I love about them is you can listen to one of their great Productions and pick up different sounds and meanings each time you hear it. Thanks introducing them to people who've never heard their sound who should listen to some more of their really sophisticated sound*** thanks fil.
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Tru dat! To me Ricky dont lost that number is the best studio song maybe ever...every note, chord, drum strike if in the right place....
thanks for doing this video. I love Steely Dan, cool to hear your take. Well done
Loved Steely Dan, thanks Fil!!!
I absolutely love this song,and this great band,so I truly enjoyed the anaylsis you did on this song,Fil! Thanks again! Sincerely,BobbyK
loved it
i've been a Steely Dan fan for many, many, moons, and tho i do like this song, i've always been partial to the fantastic tune-smithy of the Royal Scam album.
I've watched a few different "behind the music/the story of", docs on Steely Dan, and learned from them that the band is actually Becker and Fagen . They famously used respected session musicians on everything(even on tour) , and sometimes would have someone come in for work on one song only. Also, they were perfectionist, and would sometimes require 100 takes or more just to get a guitar solo the way they liked. (and it's said they only toured to keep the label happy, they would rather have spent the time in studio)
Cool! Yeah you can hear that perfectionism at work!
Royal Scam was their best album in my opinion
@@laurahulland I would have to agree, followed closely by Aja and Katy Lied (IMO).
One of my all time favorite bands! Great analysis! Thank you!
These guys were soooo frickin A M A Z I N G!!!! They certainly did reel n rock my years.Vocal harmonies absolutely superb......and like you've been saying.....adding singing to your playing just like doubles the difficulty of performing a song. I been so stupid silly....to only recently realized my voice as an instrument......never thought of it in that way.......just something I did as an adjunct.....and of coarse struggled and continue to struggle with it. Your basically playing 2 instruments! Thanks to vocal coaching of late I'm learning to "play" my 2nd instrument better and finding it as wondrous and thrilling as learning a new instrument.....and admittedly as difficult and frustrating.....but in my case I just do it for kicks cause I love the working it out.....albeit very slowly.....I take my time.....bits n pieces...small steps.
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How I miss this!!!? I'm going to have go through your back log! I live this version, SD are the shit man
A really great Dan album you guys need to hear is Everything Must Go, their last studio album.
It's better than sex, in my honest opinion of course.
Fagin and Becker are unmatched in the writing department and their perfectionism in the studio is legendary, but oh how it pays off.
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I'm so stoked by this video, can't you tell!😊
Alanna I agree
@@Boddissatva you after mah heart! 😁
I remember this on tv along with so many others. Shaped my life
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God I loved the harmonization. They sound great live too! The Eagles was another group that had the beautiful harmonies a capella ? Me sneaking out of bed at midnight again (grin) to see this.
Such an amazing band with an amazing catalogue. Thank you. One of the greats.
I used to have Steely Dan on 8 Track tape back in the day.
Beautiful analysis! I agree with so many points and you brought so many more to my attention I didn't even think about before. This was a joy to watch/listen to.
Thanks!
I love the fact that you review so mny older, now almost lost works of genius. I won’t even bother to try it o list anything.
Suffice to say it’s right up my alley. ....and I was a metal head/ early hard rock junkie to boot!! 🤘Go figure!🤔
I was a kid when all this music came out & I sooo fondly remember it as a radio backdrop to .... everything!
I never realized how much all this music was burned into the fabric of my life until waaay later.... when I actually started playing myself! 🎸
You musta been born w some genetic 70s in your blood?🤔💥👍😃
Gotta luv it! ✌️ 🎵 🎼 🎶 🌎
Such a brilliant band. A great breakdown of this fabulous performance, nice one Fil 👍
Great choice Fil........as usual.
Performances like this were awesome! I remember waiting all week for the Midnight Special. There was no internet where you could watch something like this with a simple click, so it really made these type of shows special.👍😎🎸🎶
From the days when talent was more important than being pretty, made up and posed.
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Wings of Pegasus truth!!!!
NOSTALGIA is bullshit. SD broke through in the 70s, which was a decade drowning in "pretty, made up and posed." This was endured until the 80s, when good music triumphed again.
@@donreed Right, b/c all the MTV generation bands didn't care at all about looks or image at all.
Steely Dan sure was an ugly band but they made a great unique sound.
Always enjoy your analysis Fil. Being 62 years of age, I grew up watching The Midnight Special. As opposed to American Bandstand where everything was lip synched, these shows were all live performances. I have the seventies locked in my car on SiriusXM. Just an incredible decade for music.
Two of my favourite solos of all time are Larry Carlton's solos on "Kid Charlemagne". I would have loved to have seen Elliot Randall play the original album solo on this one.
R.Gray Jay Graydon’s solo on Peg is pretty cool as well!
Good breakdown of that song here: th-cam.com/video/xKIC9zbSJoE/w-d-xo.html
Larry Carlton's solo on KC is unquestionably one of the all time greats. So many great musicians played on Dan records in that era.
@@adam872 I like the stuff he did with Steve Lukather too.
@@-R.Gray- Yeah there's a dynamic duo if ever I've seen one.
A band from my youth! I have at least 2 of their albums! A trip down memory lane. Nice analysis, Fil!
Cool!
They are a top-notch band. Talented, creative, different and they got what it takes.
Love the band the song and this during my teenage years .Love your enthusiasm Phil rock on !
I swear there was some kind of conspiracy during that era, where the cameraman would take the camera off of the lead player during leads. Or else show his face and not the the hands. Or if you look at the Cream farewell concert, maybe the back of the guitarist's head with the occasional extreme close-up of the drummer's foot on the bass drum pedal. Excellent analysis, again, Fil.
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The worst was when they showed the bass player during a guitar solo, because they didn't know the difference.
Good clip and analysis - the guitar work in the original studio version of this song was played by a session musician named Elliott Randall and is still one of my all-time favourites; Baxter does a great job on this version but I'd sure like to see a live video from back in the day of him playing the solo in the song "Bhodisattva", another classic Steely Dan tune that really rocks...
I'm definitely a DAN man!
He does have a talk, spot on. Totally unique voice
Loved this song when it was out in the mid 70's. I remember a local band did a pretty good cover of it in a gig at Newcastle Poly. It went down so well they had to play it three times :)
Cool!
Thanks for doing this video mate. I love Steely Dan. I have all their albums.
Elliott Randall's original lead work is impeccable and sounds fresh even now. This cameraman should have been fired. Denny Dias is completely underrated and is a superb improviser.
It’s the director who decides the shots, not the camera man.
Love Denny, he is one of my favorite guitarists of all time. Just listen to the tracks Aja and Your Gold Teeth II
Right on dude,the credits on the album tell us. I would like to hear his live version but I know he was their session player but loved the studio version of Elliott's lead would love to hear him here.Maybe he played later this song live?I don't know,may never know.Thanks for noting Elliott's original lead.Royal scam album another great guitar oriented album from steely Dan.
@@rickweigle5559 Although Elliott played the original studio version, it was Skunk who played it in the early live days of Steely Dan. There is an interview of Skunk by John Beaudin [spelling??] in TH-cam where Skunk tells us that Elliott was a friend of his and he had no hard feelings at all about Elliott being chosen to play on the album. After Skunk left Steely Dan he was briefly a member of supergroup "The Best" which had an incredible lineup and toured Japan in 1990. You can see this supergroup perform Reelin' in the Years live in TH-cam. Skunk Baxter's reinterpretation of the guitar solo on the song is phenomenal - one of the best you will hear.
Your analysis is spot on as usual.
Hey Fil, I’ve got the whole set of Midnight Special. All I could get anyway. I used to love that show, but I’d usually fall asleep halfway through and VCRs weren’t a thing then.
It absolutely drives me nuts when you’d like to watch the solo, but they show the singer running around, or something like that. And another thing, when the singer lets the audience sing. I paid to hear him/her sing. But that’s just me.lol.
I couldn't stay awake either.
Cool!
Every time I watch you analyze another band from one of the best times in music history. I forget that you're so young. Now a days what passes for music is not music at all. With all the auto tuning and no talent trash, it's refreshing to watch you appreciate and have such spot on analysts of these awesome bands. I wish more people of your generation would appreciate and see what you see in these bands. Keep bringing these to those of us that were there and remember how great it was. Looking forward to the next one.
Thanks Donna!
Good ol Rock & Roll.. I used to watch this show... Reel Good Band :)
Good stuff as always. Thanks Fil.
I love all the work all these guys created even with the doobie brothers after this time.
Another wonderful analysis Fil, thank you.
No problem!
Elliott Randall played the original solo on the album. Great stuff!
This song brings back so many memories! An amazing band full of so much talent on stage! One of my favourite songs of theirs was Ricky don’t loose that number! Brilliant how the guitarists harmonise together! The 70s....what awesome times! Epic analysis Fil! Cheers Mario!😎🤘🤘
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I see Jeff “Skunk” Baxter in the light colored shirt
Steely Dan was one of my faves!! Thanks Fil! 🎶
I still say - AND WILL DO TO MY DYING DAY - Steely Dan's best album is their first, Can't buy a thrill (from which this track is taken). It has all the qualities subsequent albums lacked: MELODY!!!, consistency, variety (3 different lead vocalists, as opposed to one) and a strong theme - of repetition. Well done for choosing this track, anyway.
Couldn't disagree more
Their progression musically over the ensuing years far surpassed anything they did on that first record. And that's more than an opinion.
Sure they progressed, they became more & more obtuse. Anyway, the fact that you say your opinion is more than an opinion speaks for itself.@@tomneff7030
Superb analysis, as usual, and kudos for correctly pronouncing Denny Dias (rhymes with bias) correctly. Even Donald Fagen can be heard in some videos mispronouncing his name as "Dee-az."
Ah yes the Midnight Special had the greats on there. Would watch that one night the Don Kirshner Rock concert the other night. Friday and Saturday night were awesome to watch your favorite bands.
I watched both of those shows, nothing on like that on today.... It's really ashamed......
Another great video Fil, thank you so much for your expert music commentary, it really does enhance seeing this performance once again with the knowledge you share with all of us. I'm now subscribed!
Thanks!