I’m a 67 year old African American who’s been listening to Steele Dan for over 40 years and I still cant get enough. Saw them in 2010 at merriweather post pavilion in Columbia md. What a show.
"Hatian Divorce" is an old term, meaning that a couple might be having some problems. The wife will go on a vacation, usually to the Caribbean, get her groove on, then come back all satisfied, supposedly never to stray again. But since Babs and Willie were Caucasian, the fact she had a half black kid shows what she did while away.
And Roger Troutman plugged his synthesizer into his talk box for all the Zapp & Roger stuff as well as California Love. The talk box is just a speaker feeding sound into a tube that you put in your mouth. You could then shape the sound with your mouth, either vowel sounds or entire words.
@@HollowGolem Yeah. He's using it like a wah, but it isn't a wah. A wah is a filter at a fixed frequency. The variable nature of this filter, as well as the different sound of a formant filter, like the human voice, vs a band pass filter, like in a wah pedal, is the biggest giveaway. It's a more complex, variable sound than a wah is capable of. But, as I said, he's using it like a wah rather than for the over-the-top talking guitar effect.
@@alexcampbell8135 It's film terminology. The dolly would be one way in which a moving shot is done. By placing the camera on the dolly which is then moved as film is rolling. This creates a continuous shot while moving without interruptions which would require cuts to be used for the scene. Fade to black is a term used for the fade from a picture frame to an all black frame of film. Used for ending [a] portion of a film's story. Or used at the end of a film to end the entire story.
@@whatshisfacemcwhatever2434 Fade to Black is also a euphemism for imminent sex, since it's the PG-13 way of doing sex scenes. Light kissing, fade to black...
Steely Dan is one of my parents favorite bands so I grew up listening to the entire catalog. Watching you "discover" this band has been one of the highlights of my year man.
Totally agree. I'd like to think that hundreds of years from now when we're all dead and gone there will be younger folks "reacting" to the great Steely Dan.
There is no end to musical genius of Steely and their absurdly brilliant storytelling. Always thought they were perhaps the most sophisticated rock band ever.
Being almost 70 years of age I have been listening to many of the groups you are reacting to for about 50 years. I must say that Steely Dan is the best that America has given us in music. (I am from Iceland) I enjoy your reaction videos very much and like you I listen to every sound and every instrument in the songs. I would like to see you react to Steely Dan's Show Biz Kids. It's not very complicated but full of sounds, background voices repeating Goin to Las Vegas all through the song and the bass playing only 3 notes again and again. Thank you Jamel for all the reaction videos.
"...those show-biz kids making movies of themselves, you know they don't give a f*** about anybody else". There's always something in Fagen's lyrics 😀.
Jamel - one of the few good things that has happened in the last 3 weeks of despair, destruction, disorientation with Covid 19, is finding your channel on youtube. What a delight to watch. I love the way you react to the music. I have only watched the Steely Dan reviews you have done so far, just finding this channel 2 hours ago. Of course, starting with Steely Dan, my favorite band of all time, having listened to this group of incredible musicians and fantastic lyricist since their 1st album and everyone since. I am an old (75) whitey, who had visions of being a musician and playing this type of music. Uh it never happened, but I still listen to these guys a lot. Watching your reaction to hearing most of their music just recently, is just so pure, so honest and makes me smile. You are the real thing my friend. keep up connecting with the world, showing us who you are, and sharing your dreams with us. To be honest, their later albums, while still the great music of Fagan and Becker, have turned to an all to familiar sound. They lost that blend of rock that attracted me an so many others. But, I still enjoy listening to the great music they did together until last year, When Walter passed. You might also want to check out Donald Fagan's solo albums, "The Nightfly", "Kamakiriad", "morph The Cat" and "sunken condos". Keep up the good work, god bless, stay safe and I'll see you on down the road. David Nelson
David - You give a great review of Jamel just like I was thinking I wanted to say. 60 years old and twenty at heart. Jamel is great fun to watch and experience. Thanks for supporting him. I know I do...
I am soon to be 66 and have been a Steely Dan fan since I was probably 15 or 16. We would wait patiently every year or so for a new album because you knew it would be different from the previous releases and pack a punch of amazing artistry.
That guitar effect is called a Heil Talk-Box. Probably the most definitive use of one would be Peter Frampton's "Do You Feel Like We Do". It basically combines vocal inflections to control the wah effect. Do You Feel Like We Do might make a great reaction video by the way xD
WAY back circa 1980, I was the singer in a college band. A cover band. And we did "Rocky Mountain Way", and we had a lead guitar player who could play like a son-of-a-gun, but could not sing lead vocals. We fabri-cobbled a homemade talk box from an EV (Electro Voice) horn driver with some plastic tubing attached to the exit from said driver, snaked up around my mic stand, and managed sounds right there where I knew what he was going to play and I could alter the sound accordingly while also singing the note (hint, you can drastically alter the sound by the way you "shape" the way you are altering your mouth. That may not make sense for those who have never tried one, but it is pretty intuitive once you do, assuming you are a singer.) Very cool effect, and surprisingly low-tech, even for the "pro" models.
The reason why its a “Haitian Divorce” is that, back in the day, in most countries including the USA you could only get a divorce with proof that one of the couple had “violated the marriage contract” such as by cheating, the marriage had been predicated on false pretenses, or one of the couple being infertile, which could lead to some very messy cases. You couldn’t simply get a divorce because your marriage was “unhappy” or “loveless” or there were “money troubles”-but Haiti was among the first nations in the Western Hemisphere to have a no-strings-attached no-questions-asked divorce law. So people would frequently go to Haiti on vacation, get a quickie divorce, and come back to their home country, that while unwilling to approve such a divorce themselves, would honor the other country’s divorce ruling as legal.
You are misunderstanding the lyrics. She got a quickie divorce in Haitii, then had a fling with someone she met at a club there and got pregnant with that “kinky so-and-so’s” child. She was unmarried at the time (for all of like ten minutes), so it *technically* wasn’t an affair, but that explanation doesn’t exactly fly with her family and friends, and in the end she ends up a single divorcée with a child from the immediate aftermath of her Haitian divorce, turning that ill-advised but understandable-given-the-circumstances one-night-stand into an event with lasting consequences. The point of the song is that, while seen as a “no strings attached” option to divorce with “no tears and no hearts breaking, [and] no remorse”, in reality a Haitian divorce could STILL frequently ruin people’s lives.
@Allan Tidgwell The term Haitian Divorce means what it means, and when you read the songs' lyrics with that context it is still a dark story, just a DIFFERENT dark story than the one you propose. The tearful reunion was with her blood relatives after going to Haitii and getting a divorce, not her now ex-husband to whom she was only married for a little while. She almost certainly didn't *know* she was pregnant with the Haitian man she met at the hotel's kid until a few months later. The point of the song is that she thought she could just get a quickie divorce and forget about her short and turbulent marriage, but she can't because the 'no strings attached' Haitian divorce law couldn't protect her from the consequences of her actions. She was now the single mother of a mixed race child and everybody assumes the fling that produced it is WHY she got divorced and slut-shames her for it, (and probably for the crime of 'mixing the races' as much as the assumed cheating--the 70s was not nearly as progressive as it likes to think it was) even though she was technically unmarried at the time. EDIT: Oh, I see the 'fun' comment was in response to someone else in the conversation chain, will leave as is because I don't feel like reworking the rest of the paragraph which I feel is still valid. And WTF? I never said things were more "fun" back then? I know full well that there was plenty of awful stuff happening in the 70s and there were plenty of songs about said awful stuff. Like half of ABBA's library is on the pain and sorrow of cheating and messy divorces. THIS IS STILL AWFUL STUFF, AND I NEVER SAID IT WASN'T! Just that a Haitian Divorce was a well-known 'trick' in the 70s to get around the messiness of divorce court and supposedly just 'forget it all happened and start over'--which the song is explicitly showing to be a MYTH. I don't see what you think is 'fun' about that?
Allan Tidgwell This will be my last response, since this conversation honestly seems pretty pointless. You are entitled to your interpretation of the lyrics, but so am I, and while the lyrics of the verses never spell out that she gets a divorce on her trip to Haiti, I feel the Refrain makes it pretty clear. Notice that the lyrics of the refrain change subtly the last time it’s sung, and the narrative context where each verse occurs makes it out to be a quotation from someone in the actual song, both of which suggests quite strongly that it is just as much part of the story as the verse. The first time, it’s “Papa say: ‘...This is your Haitian Divorce.” This begins as her father giving her advice when she’s “got to make a getaway”-advice to go to Haiti, get a divorce and forget everything happened, but also serves double-duty as we cut forward in time to her already being in Haiti, as “Congratulations, this is your Haitian Divorce.” can also be read as the Haitian judge congratulating her on being a free woman and it all being over now. The second time, she gets in a cab from her hotel seeking a to “get it on tonight”, and her taxi driver, who has seen Americans follow this same pattern dozens of times before, is implied to be the one who sings the chorus as he takes her ‘where the music play.’ He’s seen this play out before-American comes to Haiti, gets a divorce, and immediately afterwards goes to the club to get laid and drown their memories of their ex in alcohol. In the third, either her father is responding to those neighbors and friends who are gossiping about her having cheated, or she is remembering what her father originally told her. And in either case the “congratulations: this is your Haitian Divorce” has the sting of irony as it WASN’T what it was made up to be. There were still “Tears and...hearts breakin’,” even with her ‘no strings attached’ divorce, and this nightmare she’s living through is indeed her Haitian Divorce. Congrats! You have to deal with the consequences for the rest of your life!
@Rusell Shaw Everyone loves Aja and I get it but Aja was almost a full blown jazz-pop album The Royal Scam is proper rock album with heavy influences from those places. Its the perfect ratio imo.
This was at a time when reggae and ska was becoming known here in the US. It was already big in the UK, with Eric Clapton covering Bob Marley’s “ I Shot The Sheriff.” This was the Dan’s nod to reggae.
You've broadened my mind with the Steely Dan stuff. I liked them before but I'm now down that rabbit hole too. Even "created" a station on my music app.
Dean Parks replayed a part played by Joe Walsh who was just one of a dozen guitarists brought in to get different feels for the part. He also did E.St.Louis Toodleoo during the session
@@elainewelch678 Not the guitar solos on Haitian Divorce. Lots of documentation on this ... www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=who+played+the+guitar+solo+on+haitian+divorce *East St. Louis Toodle-Oo was recorded two years earlier for the Pretzel Logic album ('74). Haitian Divorce is from The Royal Scam ('76).
“Now we dolly back, now we fade to black.” One of the most cinematic songs from a very “cinematic” band. The whole album Royal Scam is like this. The title track is another one, among others. Making tight, dark, vivid four-minute movies (give or take) with their signature sound.
The way these two tell a story with few words is amazing. I've always read this song as being about a breakup, a trip to the Caribbean where she gets knocked up and comes home and gives birth to a mixed-race baby which shocks her conservative family.
Becker and Fagen as songwriters employed some of the greatest session musicians going and still do for live gigs. Saw the Dan twice last year in London, alas without Walter. Jon Herrington on guitar, amazing!
Thank you for doing this one. It takes me back to high school, and partying up Angeles Crest. By now, everyone has told you that the effect is a talk-box. Peter Frampton made it famous with “Do You Feel Like We Do,” his 14 minute masterpiece from the Frampton Comes Alive album.
One of my faves! Of course, they all are! Like The Beatles, they were so far ahead of their time that no one ever caught up. Enjoy! No more like this comin’ down the pike!
jjgriffmn I keep requesting Frampton Comes Alive / Do You Feel Like We Do - for many reasons , one of them being the use of the talk box that typically confuses / amazes new listeners
it's very interesting how they recorded that it wasn't recorded like a traditional Joe Walsh Peter Frampton talk box Style.. like Black Sabbath ironman what's interesting is Dean Parks legendary guitarist played the solo for Walter and he processed it through a talkbox.. so unlike pete and David Gilmour Joe Walsh and morewhere they put the talkbox on and play through it themselves hear Walter kind of did not play the guitar notes but did the talk box
Thanks for getting to this. It’s so hard to pick a favorite among Steely Dan’s many masterpieces but I’ve always loved this one. Definitely Reggae beat. Love your reactions. Thanks.
I think that it's trickier than that. They make you think that she went to Haiti after a divorce, but think about this. She goes down there to get away, while there she hooks up with a Charlie, slang for a man with good sexual skills, comes back unknowingly pregnant. Has the tearful reunion. Gives birth to a kinky haired baby, so everyone knows it's not the husband's. NOW, they get divorced and you can blame it on Haiti. A Haitian Divorce refers to a quick an easy divorce that was offered by some countries, like Haiti. Also, I think that the "Papa go" lines, refer to Papa Doc, the ruthless leader at the time, encouraging people to come to Haiti for easy divorces. It's a very clever song.
The reason why its a “Haitian Divorce” is that, back in the day, in most countries including the USA you could only get a divorce with proof that one of the couple had “violated the marriage contract” such as by cheating, the marriage had been predicated on false pretenses, or one of the couple being infertile, which could lead to some very messy cases. You couldn’t simply get a divorce because your marriage was “unhappy” or “loveless” or there were “money troubles”-but Haiti was among the first nations in the Western Hemisphere to have a no-strings-attached no-questions-asked divorce law. So people would frequently go to Haiti on vacation, get a quickie divorce, and come back to their home country, that while unwilling to approve such a divorce themselves, would honor the other country’s divorce ruling as legal.
@@thomasharris1953 My interpretation is a little different. She went to Haiti married. Got freaky, reunited with hubby, but the pregnancy led to the divorce after the baby grew. So, her trip caused the divorce instead of going there to get a quickie divorce. Anyways, that's just my idea. Glad to converse with Steely fans. Cheers!
I absolutely LOVE how you focus on the lyrics of Steely Dan. Something of an enigmatic signature in their style which distinguished them from EVERYONE else at that time. This is one of my favorites because of the lyrics but the groove is one of their best as well!
I requested this one yesterday and what a treat to be greeted with this video first in my feed this morning!👍🏻 Your videos bring a lot of joy, and that is a precious commodity in these crazy times, so thank you again.
I really want to see some of the zanier tracks musically, see what you think. Glamour Profession or Negative Girl would be my picks. Also, Green Earrings, just cause its bangin.
That sound is a guitar running through a talk box, ala Peter Frampton's "Do You Feel Like I Do" another cool artist and song to check out. Frampton has some really tasty playing that you'd probably like.
I just found your channel. What a joy to see someone realize how great the music of the 70's was. I drove my Triumph TR6 with the top down, jamming to Steely Dan thru the summer of '77. The guitar work is stellar, the lyrics are consciousness expanding, and the whole vibe is felt to your bones. The work holds up decades after production. Right up there with the best of the best in music. Jamal it is a joy to watch you catch the wave, ride it, feel it, and express it. Peace my brother on your path.
Interesting factoid: Dean Parks (hired-gun guitarist on multiple S.D. records) played that awesome lead guitar _without_ the talkbox effect! So he was just hearing his regular overdriven solo guitar sound. Walter Becker added the talkbox _after the fact._ Of course the final result is a sonic - as well as a musical - masterpiece.
If you do "Everything You Did" from the same album, see the reference to the Eagles in the lyrics. The Eagles replied in the lyrics to "Hotel California". Look it up in Songfacts.
There videos are a really good way to spend time now during quarantine. The music, your reactions, and all the discussions in the comments really make it just a bit easier to deal with these weird times. Thanks!
Jamel...can’t wait until you get into the album “Two Against Nature!” It’s nothing short of a groove odyssey that’ll get those shoulders of yours moving involuntarily! Oh...and by the way...it only captured the Grammy album of the year in 2001, and multiple other categories that year.✌🏻✌️✌🏽✌🏿
I thought it was a 'double-entendre' ? ' Dolly Back ' is an anal sex reference, but that goes without saying. While we're here: Steely Dan is the metal dildo in William Burrough's 'TheNakedLunch' ( that last bit is true!)
Steely Dan uses the most beautiful, talented back up singers ever. Then they surround themselves with the greatest musicians on the planet. Donald and Walter are musical gods.
Hey man, thanks for sharing another totally original Steely Dan masterpiece. From the golden age of pop, where we heard these songs on the radio first, letting our imaginations take a ride instead of watching videos giving too-literal interpretations. The “Dan” boys never wanted that and didn’t make music videos, don’t forget.
@@michaelwise4986 - It's cuz we either have been it know" that guy" huh ...is there gas in the car? Yes there's gas in the I think the people down the hall know who you are.... Been there 😎🙋 Peace
@Jim Morse ...😄of course they knew who he was...every A frame had his number on the wall... you know he must of had it all. I see you’re as sick as I am...and proud of it!😎
Hey, Jamel. I would love to see your reaction to Steely Dan’s, “Glamour Profession”. It’s on the “Gaucho” album. I have a feeling you’re gonna like it. Love what you do on this page!! Blessings!
Nice bass in this song. Sounds really nice with a subwoofer. If you have a listen to steely dan with a sub, it'll be like listening to them for the first time again
Electric guitar with a wah wah pedal, complete genius playing and song. Massively overlooked band who never had a chart topper, digest that for a moment. It's criminal.
So glad you like The Dan as much as you do man, you hit the nail on the head, they are an eye opening band. You should definitely check out some of their documentaries. Understanding their song writing process and recording process just makes them that much more enjoyable
I’m a 67 year old African American who’s been listening to Steele Dan for over 40 years and I still cant get enough. Saw them in 2010 at merriweather post pavilion in Columbia md. What a show.
I'm 67, too. 😄Ive been listening since the fall of 1972 and Do It Again. In 1974 I became a devotee with "Rikki..."
Saw the dead there in 85 , 🧿✨⚡️
i'm 14 but i'm lucky to have seen the Dan twice :D
So glad you mentioned what color your skin is...that was soooo important!
@@townshendshean why're you so mad about that in the first place lmao 😂
To think back in the 70's we took this level of greatness completely for granted
So true Nigel
The names that ruled in the seventies are just mind blowing. We will never have that much talent crammed in a decade.
how true...
I sure didn't!!!
Been listening to Steely Dan since the 1970s and the older I get, the better they sound. Smooth as butter.
You will ... never.... hear. this ... sound again....Not in your lifetime.... Masterpiece. Appreciate this, young folks.
Steely Dan is what musicians listen to at home.
"Hatian Divorce" is an old term, meaning that a couple might be having some problems. The wife will go on a vacation, usually to the Caribbean, get her groove on, then come back all satisfied, supposedly never to stray again. But since Babs and Willie were Caucasian, the fact she had a half black kid shows what she did while away.
@OptimalIllusion So a Haitian divorce is not a true divorce? Just a chance for the wife to have a little extracurricular fun?
The guitar sound is a "talk box", groove is definitely reggae.
See also: Peter Frampton, "Do You Feel Like We Do"; Joe Walsh, "Rocky Mountain Way."
And Roger Troutman plugged his synthesizer into his talk box for all the Zapp & Roger stuff as well as California Love. The talk box is just a speaker feeding sound into a tube that you put in your mouth. You could then shape the sound with your mouth, either vowel sounds or entire words.
You sure? To me it just sounds like REALLY heavy Wah--wah
@@HollowGolem Positive.
@@HollowGolem Yeah. He's using it like a wah, but it isn't a wah. A wah is a filter at a fixed frequency. The variable nature of this filter, as well as the different sound of a formant filter, like the human voice, vs a band pass filter, like in a wah pedal, is the biggest giveaway. It's a more complex, variable sound than a wah is capable of. But, as I said, he's using it like a wah rather than for the over-the-top talking guitar effect.
Now we dolly back/now we fade to black is such a clever lyric
What do those lyrics mean Bro?
Peace!
@@alexcampbell8135, it means we got some ACTION here! 😉
@@alexcampbell8135 It's film terminology.
The dolly would be one way in which a moving shot is done. By placing the camera on the dolly which is then moved as film is rolling. This creates a continuous shot while moving without interruptions which would require cuts to be used for the scene.
Fade to black is a term used for the fade from a picture frame to an all black frame of film. Used for ending [a] portion of a film's story. Or used at the end of a film to end the entire story.
I always thought it said "Now we dial it back". Kinda makes sense too.
@@whatshisfacemcwhatever2434 Fade to Black is also a euphemism for imminent sex, since it's the PG-13 way of doing sex scenes. Light kissing, fade to black...
Steely Dan- King Of The World
Jamel, You MUST listen to "Don't Take Me Alive" Steeley Dan...still some the best guitar work I've ever heard...the great Larry Carlton.
JC Absolutely a must! Anything with Larry Carlton!!
Hadn't he already done it?
Great guitar work, great groove and harmonies... and of course a messed up story in the lyrics.
Thanks .. Just checked it out...guitar in intro...like it..nice..Thanks
Followed by gaucho and Babylon sisters
The Dan is the Band, man. Great imagery from Steely Ben.
Steely Dan is one of my parents favorite bands so I grew up listening to the entire catalog. Watching you "discover" this band has been one of the highlights of my year man.
Garrett McKellar Your folks have good taste! This guy is fun to watch experiencing this material! He gets it!
I agree..my dad had me listing to steely since i was a young lad😏
Totally agree. I'd like to think that hundreds of years from now when we're all dead and gone there will be younger folks "reacting" to the great Steely Dan.
Me too.. it's like introducing a new friend to all your favorite music
No static at all
There is no end to musical genius of Steely and their absurdly brilliant storytelling. Always thought they were perhaps the most sophisticated rock band ever.
Being almost 70 years of age I have been listening to many of the groups you are reacting to for about 50 years. I must say that Steely Dan is the best that America has given us in music. (I am from Iceland) I enjoy your reaction videos very much and like you I listen to every sound and every instrument in the songs. I would like to see you react to Steely Dan's Show Biz Kids. It's not very complicated but full of sounds, background voices repeating Goin to Las Vegas all through the song and the bass playing only 3 notes again and again. Thank you Jamel for all the reaction videos.
"...those show-biz kids making movies of themselves, you know they don't give a f*** about anybody else". There's always something in Fagen's lyrics 😀.
Excellent suggestion Brother!
Excellent suggestion Brother!
@@andaisxxxx6638 You gave the secret away brother!
Sigurbjörn Magnússon each to his own I guess, but I personally find that their worst song
Yessss!!!! You did it.!!! Haitian Divorce.. my favourite ! Thank you you beautiful person !!
Jamel - one of the few good things that has happened in the last 3 weeks of despair, destruction, disorientation with Covid 19, is finding your channel on youtube. What a delight to watch. I love the way you react to the music. I have only watched the Steely Dan reviews you have done so far, just finding this channel 2 hours ago. Of course, starting with Steely Dan, my favorite band of all time, having listened to this group of incredible musicians and fantastic lyricist since their 1st album and everyone since. I am an old (75) whitey, who had visions of being a musician and playing this type of music. Uh it never happened, but I still listen to these guys a lot. Watching your reaction to hearing most of their music just recently, is just so pure, so honest and makes me smile. You are the real thing my friend. keep up connecting with the world, showing us who you are, and sharing your dreams with us. To be honest, their later albums, while still the great music of Fagan and Becker, have turned to an all to familiar sound. They lost that blend of rock that attracted me an so many others. But, I still enjoy listening to the great music they did together until last year, When Walter passed. You might also want to check out Donald Fagan's solo albums, "The Nightfly", "Kamakiriad", "morph The Cat" and "sunken condos". Keep up the good work, god bless, stay safe and I'll see you on down the road. David Nelson
David - You give a great review of Jamel just like I was thinking I wanted to say. 60 years old and twenty at heart. Jamel is great fun to watch and experience. Thanks for supporting him. I know I do...
@David Nelson: What does this mean ? -----> "I am an old (75) whitey",
Not looking for an argument or fight.....just curious as to what you meant.
This song is a masterful fusion of lyrics and music, in fact the whole album it is on, The Royal Scam, is a masterpiece.
One of their best and funny track. Again, The Dan being elegant in an unsavory situation😉
I’m so envious that you have the entire Steely Dan catalog to explore and discover.
I am soon to be 66 and have been a Steely Dan fan since I was probably 15 or 16. We would wait patiently every year or so for a new album because you knew it would be different from the previous releases and pack a punch of amazing artistry.
I'm glad you're discovering Steely Dan. Lots of us have been listening to them for 50 years.
I once thought of holding my breath waiting for steely Dan to disappoint. I quickly realized this was not a good idea.
Just hold it as far as Royal scam. After that it all went downhill.
@@lemming9984 ... WHAT????
That guitar effect is called a Heil Talk-Box. Probably the most definitive use of one would be Peter Frampton's "Do You Feel Like We Do". It basically combines vocal inflections to control the wah effect. Do You Feel Like We Do might make a great reaction video by the way xD
I always wondered who used it first, Peter Brampton or Joe Walsh? Or somebody else?
WAY back circa 1980, I was the singer in a college band. A cover band. And we did "Rocky Mountain Way", and we had a lead guitar player who could play like a son-of-a-gun, but could not sing lead vocals. We fabri-cobbled a homemade talk box from an EV (Electro Voice) horn driver with some plastic tubing attached to the exit from said driver, snaked up around my mic stand, and managed sounds right there where I knew what he was going to play and I could alter the sound accordingly while also singing the note (hint, you can drastically alter the sound by the way you "shape" the way you are altering your mouth. That may not make sense for those who have never tried one, but it is pretty intuitive once you do, assuming you are a singer.) Very cool effect, and surprisingly low-tech, even for the "pro" models.
@@Joe-Flow It goes waaaaaaaaay back to the 40's.
@@kendavis8046 badass
We used to call it a Wa wa pedal!
Steely Dan- Don't Take Me Alive 🔥👍
Yes, Jamel, Steely Ben does a GREAT job with these videos.
Now you are showing me something new! Never heard this one...love the Steely Dan-ness of it.
It's from the Album "The Royal Scam" nearly every song on that LP slaps.
Other Steely Dan notable suggestions, “Don’t take me Alive, - Sign in Stranger, - Boddithsava”.
I got a case of dynamite, and I can hold out here all right. I crossed my old man in Oregon....
Sign in stranger has to be up next!!
@@starchamberlain Be born again my friend!
Check out “The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys “ by Traffic ! You’ll love it!
jjgriffmn been suggesting it also for a while - then Empty Pages , Freedom Rider but Low Spark should be the baseline by which others are judged
Oh yeah. A fav of mine. And Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory.
Oh yes! also very early Traffic, that band was killer.
Oh yes. Free “heartbreaker” or America....lots of great songs like SD.
He'll get to it eventually - but - I love it. I put it on loop and listen for hours sometimes as I work.
The reason why its a “Haitian Divorce” is that, back in the day, in most countries including the USA you could only get a divorce with proof that one of the couple had “violated the marriage contract” such as by cheating, the marriage had been predicated on false pretenses, or one of the couple being infertile, which could lead to some very messy cases. You couldn’t simply get a divorce because your marriage was “unhappy” or “loveless” or there were “money troubles”-but Haiti was among the first nations in the Western Hemisphere to have a no-strings-attached no-questions-asked divorce law. So people would frequently go to Haiti on vacation, get a quickie divorce, and come back to their home country, that while unwilling to approve such a divorce themselves, would honor the other country’s divorce ruling as legal.
You are misunderstanding the lyrics. She got a quickie divorce in Haitii, then had a fling with someone she met at a club there and got pregnant with that “kinky so-and-so’s” child. She was unmarried at the time (for all of like ten minutes), so it *technically* wasn’t an affair, but that explanation doesn’t exactly fly with her family and friends, and in the end she ends up a single divorcée with a child from the immediate aftermath of her Haitian divorce, turning that ill-advised but understandable-given-the-circumstances one-night-stand into an event with lasting consequences. The point of the song is that, while seen as a “no strings attached” option to divorce with “no tears and no hearts breaking, [and] no remorse”, in reality a Haitian divorce could STILL frequently ruin people’s lives.
@Allan Tidgwell The term Haitian Divorce means what it means, and when you read the songs' lyrics with that context it is still a dark story, just a DIFFERENT dark story than the one you propose. The tearful reunion was with her blood relatives after going to Haitii and getting a divorce, not her now ex-husband to whom she was only married for a little while. She almost certainly didn't *know* she was pregnant with the Haitian man she met at the hotel's kid until a few months later. The point of the song is that she thought she could just get a quickie divorce and forget about her short and turbulent marriage, but she can't because the 'no strings attached' Haitian divorce law couldn't protect her from the consequences of her actions. She was now the single mother of a mixed race child and everybody assumes the fling that produced it is WHY she got divorced and slut-shames her for it, (and probably for the crime of 'mixing the races' as much as the assumed cheating--the 70s was not nearly as progressive as it likes to think it was) even though she was technically unmarried at the time.
EDIT: Oh, I see the 'fun' comment was in response to someone else in the conversation chain, will leave as is because I don't feel like reworking the rest of the paragraph which I feel is still valid.
And WTF? I never said things were more "fun" back then? I know full well that there was plenty of awful stuff happening in the 70s and there were plenty of songs about said awful stuff. Like half of ABBA's library is on the pain and sorrow of cheating and messy divorces. THIS IS STILL AWFUL STUFF, AND I NEVER SAID IT WASN'T! Just that a Haitian Divorce was a well-known 'trick' in the 70s to get around the messiness of divorce court and supposedly just 'forget it all happened and start over'--which the song is explicitly showing to be a MYTH. I don't see what you think is 'fun' about that?
@Allan Tidgwell I feel like you read the first sentence of my reply and nothing else.
Allan Tidgwell This will be my last response, since this conversation honestly seems pretty pointless. You are entitled to your interpretation of the lyrics, but so am I, and while the lyrics of the verses never spell out that she gets a divorce on her trip to Haiti, I feel the Refrain makes it pretty clear. Notice that the lyrics of the refrain change subtly the last time it’s sung, and the narrative context where each verse occurs makes it out to be a quotation from someone in the actual song, both of which suggests quite strongly that it is just as much part of the story as the verse.
The first time, it’s “Papa say: ‘...This is your Haitian Divorce.” This begins as her father giving her advice when she’s “got to make a getaway”-advice to go to Haiti, get a divorce and forget everything happened, but also serves double-duty as we cut forward in time to her already being in Haiti, as “Congratulations, this is your Haitian Divorce.” can also be read as the Haitian judge congratulating her on being a free woman and it all being over now.
The second time, she gets in a cab from her hotel seeking a to “get it on tonight”, and her taxi driver, who has seen Americans follow this same pattern dozens of times before, is implied to be the one who sings the chorus as he takes her ‘where the music play.’ He’s seen this play out before-American comes to Haiti, gets a divorce, and immediately afterwards goes to the club to get laid and drown their memories of their ex in alcohol.
In the third, either her father is responding to those neighbors and friends who are gossiping about her having cheated, or she is remembering what her father originally told her. And in either case the “congratulations: this is your Haitian Divorce” has the sting of irony as it WASN’T what it was made up to be. There were still “Tears and...hearts breakin’,” even with her ‘no strings attached’ divorce, and this nightmare she’s living through is indeed her Haitian Divorce. Congrats! You have to deal with the consequences for the rest of your life!
YES! One of my favorites. Love these reactions.
This entire album is a Masterpiece "Don't Take Me Alive" next then just work your way through
Caves of altamira is my favorite
@Rusell Shaw Everyone loves Aja and I get it but Aja was almost a full blown jazz-pop album The Royal Scam is proper rock album with heavy influences from those places. Its the perfect ratio imo.
@@shavedape6679 How is it possible to have a favorite? Several favs maybe, but just one?
A little souvenir from that trip to the Caribbean...
Man, your reaction to Steely Dan takes me back to me hearing these songs, and why to this day I think they were the greatest band ever.
Fantastic track 👍🏻 Steeley Dan had such a cool sound , unique . The epitome of great 70’s music .
I’m so glad you chose this song. I’ve gone on about it so much ....... just listening to the “ talk box “ is something in itself.
Listening to Steely Dan,brings back soooo many memories.Still relevant to this day!!!
This was at a time when reggae and ska was becoming known here in the US. It was already big in the UK, with Eric Clapton covering Bob Marley’s “ I Shot The Sheriff.” This was the Dan’s nod to reggae.
Spot on ! And what a slinky badass nod.
Dean Parks creates some of the most incredible guitar work I've ever heard in this song. What incredible feel
Beast mode for sure!!!♥️♥️🎶🔥
You've broadened my mind with the Steely Dan stuff. I liked them before but I'm now down that rabbit hole too. Even "created" a station on my music app.
Just so you know, the character drawing of the two guys at the end are of Steely Dan (Donald Fagan and Walter Becker)
Stephen Brandon Yep! 🖼
The 'talk-box' effect on the guitar, played by L.A. session ace Dean Parks, was added after the fact by Becker.
Dean Parks replayed a part played by Joe Walsh who was just one of a dozen guitarists brought in to get different feels for the part. He also did E.St.Louis Toodleoo during the session
@@elainewelch678 Not the guitar solos on Haitian Divorce. Lots of documentation on this ... www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=who+played+the+guitar+solo+on+haitian+divorce
*East St. Louis Toodle-Oo was recorded two years earlier for the Pretzel Logic album ('74). Haitian Divorce is from The Royal Scam ('76).
@@KenLasaine you're absolutely correct. And I stand corrected.
“Now we dolly back, now we fade to black.” One of the most cinematic songs from a very “cinematic” band. The whole album Royal Scam is like this. The title track is another one, among others. Making tight, dark, vivid four-minute movies (give or take) with their signature sound.
My favourite line. I LOVE this mini film epic❤
The way these two tell a story with few words is amazing. I've always read this song as being about a breakup, a trip to the Caribbean where she gets knocked up and comes home and gives birth to a mixed-race baby which shocks her conservative family.
One of my all time favorites! This song is brilliant
Finish the Aja album with "I Got The News" Aja is one of my all time favorite albums.
Aja and then Gaucho
Try “Don’t Take Me Alive” next.
IMO this song is the all-time best example of talk-box synthesizer guitarwork
Becker and Fagen as songwriters employed some of the greatest session musicians going and still do for live gigs. Saw the Dan twice last year in London, alas without Walter. Jon Herrington on guitar, amazing!
Also please review "The Royal Scam." That song is great. You'll love it.
YES! It will connect the rest of story together from this song
Thank you for doing this one. It takes me back to high school, and partying up Angeles Crest. By now, everyone has told you that the effect is a talk-box. Peter Frampton made it famous with “Do You Feel Like We Do,” his 14 minute masterpiece from the Frampton Comes Alive album.
One of my faves! Of course, they all are! Like The Beatles, they were so far ahead of their time that no one ever caught up. Enjoy! No more like this comin’ down the pike!
glad you liked it!
By the way - that’s a guitar - w/ a talk box !
jjgriffmn I keep requesting Frampton Comes Alive / Do You Feel Like We Do - for many reasons , one of them being the use of the talk box that typically confuses / amazes new listeners
Which was actually added later by Donald Fagen (re-amped).
Ken Lasaine It was Walter
@@jjgriffmn Ah, thanks!
it's very interesting how they recorded that it wasn't recorded like a traditional Joe Walsh Peter Frampton talk box Style..
like Black Sabbath ironman
what's interesting is Dean Parks legendary guitarist played the solo for Walter and he processed it through a talkbox..
so unlike pete and David Gilmour Joe Walsh and morewhere they put the talkbox on and play through it themselves hear Walter kind of did not play the guitar notes but did the talk box
The sound is a guitar played through a 'Talkbox'
Yes a little reggae feel for sure.
Thanks for getting to this. It’s so hard to pick a favorite among Steely Dan’s many masterpieces but I’ve always loved this one. Definitely Reggae beat. Love your reactions. Thanks.
As a huge film noir fan, I have always thought of Steely Dan songs, lyrically, as mini B-movies.
Hey Jamal! You really need to check out Time Out Of Mind from the Gaucho album; if you haven't already. It has a nasty groove to it. Peace.
Yes Time out of Mind for sure
And its about heavy drug use ha
Yes! One of my favorites
Only Steely Dan could write a song about doing heroin that can get you on the dance floor LOL
Got divorced ,spent the weekend gettin freaky, got pregnant."'who's this kinky so&so" this is your Haitian divorce.
I think that it's trickier than that. They make you think that she went to Haiti after a divorce, but think about this. She goes down there to get away, while there she hooks up with a Charlie, slang for a man with good sexual skills, comes back unknowingly pregnant. Has the tearful reunion. Gives birth to a kinky haired baby, so everyone knows it's not the husband's. NOW, they get divorced and you can blame it on Haiti. A Haitian Divorce refers to a quick an easy divorce that was offered by some countries, like Haiti. Also, I think that the "Papa go" lines, refer to Papa Doc, the ruthless leader at the time, encouraging people to come to Haiti for easy divorces. It's a very clever song.
The reason why its a “Haitian Divorce” is that, back in the day, in most countries including the USA you could only get a divorce with proof that one of the couple had “violated the marriage contract” such as by cheating, the marriage had been predicated on false pretenses, or one of the couple being infertile, which could lead to some very messy cases. You couldn’t simply get a divorce because your marriage was “unhappy” or “loveless” or there were “money troubles”-but Haiti was among the first nations in the Western Hemisphere to have a no-strings-attached no-questions-asked divorce law. So people would frequently go to Haiti on vacation, get a quickie divorce, and come back to their home country, that while unwilling to approve such a divorce themselves, would honor the other country’s divorce ruling as legal.
basically what I meant. Just a shorter synopsis 🤗
@@thomasharris1953 My interpretation is a little different. She went to Haiti married. Got freaky, reunited with hubby, but the pregnancy led to the divorce after the baby grew. So, her trip caused the divorce instead of going there to get a quickie divorce. Anyways, that's just my idea. Glad to converse with Steely fans. Cheers!
@@thomasharris1953 You got the order wrong
"it changed, it grew, and everybody knew"...That ain't my kid?!!! Great story tellers...... I love that "Mr. Driver, take me where the music plays!"
I absolutely LOVE how you focus on the lyrics of Steely Dan. Something of an enigmatic signature in their style which distinguished them from EVERYONE else at that time. This is one of my favorites because of the lyrics but the groove is one of their best as well!
Please react to "Daddy don't live in that New York City no more!"
Sir you really need to do Bill Withers Use me up since he died today or yesterday. I would love to see your reaction to that song!
This song just gets better every time I hear it
So glad you listened to this song, one of my absolute Steely Dan favourites, from the time the album was released 👍👍
Do Babylon sisters next dude! Another awesome song
That sound you were talking about is created from a guitar that is being run through a talk box.
My favorite Steely Dan record.
I requested this one yesterday and what a treat to be greeted with this video first in my feed this morning!👍🏻 Your videos bring a lot of joy, and that is a precious commodity in these crazy times, so thank you again.
I really want to see some of the zanier tracks musically, see what you think. Glamour Profession or Negative Girl would be my picks. Also, Green Earrings, just cause its bangin.
That sound is a guitar running through a talk box, ala Peter Frampton's "Do You Feel Like I Do" another cool artist and song to check out. Frampton has some really tasty playing that you'd probably like.
I just found your channel. What a joy to see someone realize how great the music of the 70's was. I drove my Triumph TR6 with the top down, jamming to Steely Dan thru the summer of '77. The guitar work is stellar, the lyrics are consciousness expanding, and the whole vibe is felt to your bones. The work holds up decades after production. Right up there with the best of the best in music. Jamal it is a joy to watch you catch the wave, ride it, feel it, and express it. Peace my brother on your path.
So soulful, yes, real reggae feel. One of my favorites!!!
Babilon sisters, Gaucho, Chain lighting, Any world, Doctor Wu...other great songs by this band.
You can’t go wrong with “Green Earrings” from “The Royal Scam”
Have to say this channel is a pure joy, Thank you!!
Interesting factoid: Dean Parks (hired-gun guitarist on multiple S.D. records) played that awesome lead guitar _without_ the talkbox effect! So he was just hearing his regular overdriven solo guitar sound. Walter Becker added the talkbox _after the fact._ Of course the final result is a sonic - as well as a musical - masterpiece.
If you do "Everything You Did" from the same album, see the reference to the Eagles in the lyrics. The Eagles replied in the lyrics to "Hotel California". Look it up in Songfacts.
"...They stab it with their steely knives but they just can't kill the beast..."
"..turn up the Eagles the neighbors are listening "
They both shared the same manager
Time for the exploration of the Allman Brothers Fillmore East Album ....you will experience new levels of joy ......✌️
👍🏾th-cam.com/play/PLAY_hpVvjQqCG_cJZDSmSXjA2IUWg2W1P.html
Jamel .....enjoy ..... your welcome........th-cam.com/video/0wsUNMSiIII/w-d-xo.html
There videos are a really good way to spend time now during quarantine. The music, your reactions, and all the discussions in the comments really make it just a bit easier to deal with these weird times. Thanks!
All of their music plays so well!!!
Jamel...can’t wait until you get into the album “Two Against Nature!” It’s nothing short of a groove odyssey that’ll get those shoulders of yours moving involuntarily! Oh...and by the way...it only captured the Grammy album of the year in 2001, and multiple other categories that year.✌🏻✌️✌🏽✌🏿
My Man, do "New Frontier" by Donald Fagan, who is essentially "Steely Dan". His first solo album, I believe! Love what you're doing!
IGY as well. That dynamic range...
And the harmony on Maxine...Wow!
...and the stellar funky jazzy groove of the album title track The Nightfly...an independent station...WJAZeeeeeeee!😎
I'm gonna have to go listen that album again.
Don't know how you do it Jamel, but I've been loving these songs for over 40 years, and listening with you new meanings come out.
I second "Don't Take Me A Live", incredible guitar work by Larry Carlton!
"Now we fade to black" has a double meaning.
semi mojo is the best part of the song
@@johnbyrnes3790 "Who's this kinky so-and-so?" BAM.
I thought it was a 'double-entendre' ?
' Dolly Back ' is an anal sex reference, but that goes without saying.
While we're here: Steely Dan is the metal dildo in William Burrough's 'TheNakedLunch' ( that last bit is true!)
Ok - time to check out ‘ King of the World ‘ - it will hook you in the first 5 seconds Definitely want to do a lyric video for it if available
"Song scares me half to death"
King of The World is a Fabulous song
Steely Dan uses the most beautiful, talented back up singers ever. Then they surround themselves with the greatest musicians on the planet. Donald and Walter are musical gods.
Hey man, thanks for sharing another totally original Steely Dan masterpiece. From the golden age of pop, where we heard these songs on the radio first, letting our imaginations take a ride instead of watching videos giving too-literal interpretations. The “Dan” boys never wanted that and didn’t make music videos, don’t forget.
I think you would also like Jack of Speed
Skating backwards at the speed of light.....😎
@Jim Morse...He’s a one way rider on the shreik express... Dam dude please don’t get me started! Amazing lyrics and insane groove!
@@michaelwise4986 - It's cuz we either have been it know" that guy" huh ...is there gas in the car? Yes there's gas in the I think the people down the hall know who you are....
Been there 😎🙋
Peace
@Jim Morse ...😄of course they knew who he was...every A frame had his number on the wall... you know he must of had it all. I see you’re as sick as I am...and proud of it!😎
Jamal - Steely Dan - COUSIN DUPREE_ NOW!
How bout a kiss for Cousin Dupree. ..the dreary architecture of your mind....wow...😎
On that note, Janie Runaway would be a classic reaction 👌
BTSpr0...Absolutely hilarious! Who gets to spend her birthday in Spain (possibly)?
one of my many Steely Dan favorites...for me the solo is the best!!!
Whenever I saw you liked the story telling aspect of "Hey Nineteen" I was JUST about to recommend this to you!
Hey, Jamel. I would love to see your reaction to Steely Dan’s, “Glamour Profession”. It’s on the “Gaucho” album. I have a feeling you’re gonna like it. Love what you do on this page!! Blessings!
Nice bass in this song. Sounds really nice with a subwoofer. If you have a listen to steely dan with a sub, it'll be like listening to them for the first time again
Electric guitar with a wah wah pedal, complete genius playing and song. Massively overlooked band who never had a chart topper, digest that for a moment. It's criminal.
Wow this was one of my fave songs 40 years ago.
Please react to Pink Floyd - Hey You
Dean Parks didn't play the guitar with a wah wah pedal. Becker ran it through the board afterwards.
There became a bit of a thing at ts time didn’t it ?not through the board as you say here,but with the “ tube “ stuck in thei mouth?
Not a wah, this is a talk box, like Peter Frampton used on Do You Feel Like We Do, Joe Walsh is another notable user, Rocky Mountain Way
And it's a talkbox, not a wah wah
I learned of this song June 1979. after buying Steely Dans Geatest Hits 1972-1978 album bought at the Pearl Harbor BX.
So glad you like The Dan as much as you do man, you hit the nail on the head, they are an eye opening band. You should definitely check out some of their documentaries. Understanding their song writing process and recording process just makes them that much more enjoyable