This is the first of a two-part Post. Here I will rate the Dan’s seven classic albums that were released between 1972 and 1980. I will also include Donald’s first solo album, “The Nightfly,” which I think of as a continuum with the last two classic albums, “Aja” and “Gaucho”.
In the second post, I will rate the two Dan reunion albums from the early 2000s, Donald’s other three solo albums, and Walter’s two solo releases.
“Drive west on sunset to the sea” and “Here come those Santa Ana winds again”. Those were the first lines that made me sit up and take notice of Steely Dan. So cinematic and so Los Angeles. I cannot say that Donald and Walter are the sole reason that I have lived in LA for nearly thirty years – only Joni Mitchell has used the “City of the Fallen Angels” so descriptively in her songs – but they definitely had something to do with it.
Growing up in Ireland and loving California music and movies (“Chinatown” being my all-time favorite film), it was my career as a medical doctor that brought me to Cedars Sinai Medical Center. And, of course, I stayed. It was a little bit of a disappointment (only a little!) to find out that Donald and Walter were never really at home in the city they described so well, and during/after “Gaucho” left us for the East Coast and Hawaii, respectively.
But let’s get to the matter at hand and go back in time to 1971. Donald and Walter leave Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson (cue “My Old School”) for LA (there is a detour to Brooklyn writing a few songs for Kenny Vance of Jay and the Americans) and getting a break when Barbra records their song “I Mean to Shine” on her “Stoney End” follow-up “Barbra Joan Streisand”.
Then, as serendipity would have it, a friend of Vance, Gary Katz, moves to LA as a staff producer at ABC Records. It is through Katz that they meet their longtime engineer Roger Nichols, and it is Katz who suggests that they form a group with guitarists Jeff “Skunk” Baxter and Denny Dias, drummer Jim Hodder, and singer David Palmer as the alternate lead vocalist to Donald. Walter completes the round-up on the bass guitar. And so, the rock group Steely Dan (named after a dildo in William Burrough’s “Naked Lunch”) is born.
STEELY DAN: CAN’T BUY A THRILL (1).
Producer: Gary Katz | Engineer: Roger Nichols
Release date: November 1972. Label: ABC
Billboard Top 200 peak position: 17
RIAA Certification: Platinum
RATED: A
The guys are just finding their feet here, so it’s a mixed bag but a fascinating one. Walter and Donald write all of the material (even recording a country-flavored “Dallas” as a single-only with Hodder on lead vocals), but with his “unique” delivery, Donald is unsure of his place in the band and Palmer, who is more blue-eyed-soul, takes the lead quite effectively on “Dirty Work” and “Brooklyn (Owes the Charmer Under Me) and Jim Hodder does a respectable vocal on “Midnite Cruiser”.
There is no doubt, however, of the brilliance of the two hit singles (Billboard 6 and 11) with Donald on lead, “Do it Again” and “Reelin’ in the Years”, the latter with its classic Elliott Randall guitar solo. The rest of the songs with Donald on lead vocal, particularly “Only a Fool Would Say That“, “Fire in the Hole,” and “Turn That Heartbeat Over Again,” are classic Dan.
Track listing
All songs written by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker
SIDE ONE
| No. | Title | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | “Do It Again” | Fagen | 5:56 |
| 2. | “Dirty Work” | Palmer | 3:08 |
| 3. | “Kings” | Fagen | 3:45 |
| 4. | “Midnite Cruiser” | Hodder | 4:07 |
| 5. | “Only a Fool Would Say That” | Fagen with Palmer | 2:57 |
SIDE TWO
| No. | Title | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | “Reelin’ In the Years” | Fagen | 4:37 |
| 7. | “Fire in the Hole” | Fagen | 3:28 |
| 8. | “Brooklyn (Owes the Charmer Under Me)” | Palmer | 4:21 |
| 9. | “Change of the Guard” | Fagen with Palmer | 3:39 |
| 10. | “Turn That Heartbeat Over Again” | Fagen with Palmer and Becker | 4:58 |
Personnel
STEELY DAN Donald Fagen – Lead vocals (except on “Dirty Work”, “Midnite Cruiser”, and “Brooklyn”), backing vocals, acoustic and electric piano. David Palmer – lead vocals on “Dirty Work” and “Brooklyn”, backing vocals. Jeff “Skunk” Baxter – guitar, spoken word on “Only a Fool Would Say That.” Denny Dias – guitar. Walter Becker – electric bass, backing vocals. Jim Hodder – Lead vocal on “Midnite Cruiser”, backing vocals, drums, percussion.
NOTABLE SESSION MUSICIANS Elliott Randall – lead guitar on “Kings” and “Reelin in the Years”. Victor Feldman – vibraphone, percussion.
STEELY DAN: COUNTDOWN TO ECSTACY (2).
Producer Gary Katz | Engineer Roger Nichols
Release date: July 1973. Label: ABC
Billboard Top 200 peak position: 35
RIAA Certification: Gold
RATED: A
With the departure of David Palmer (who would go on to be Carole King’s lyricist on her 1974 album “Wrap Around Joy” including the single “Jazzman”), Donald assumes his rightful place as lead vocalist.
No big hit singles and only eight tracks, but they are some of the Dan’s best songs, especially “My Old School“, “Your Gold Teeth“, “Bodhisattva,“ and “The Boston Rag”. Some jazz influences are coming through as well.
Track listing
All songs written by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker
SIDE ONE
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | “Bodhisattva” | 5:18 |
| 2. | “Razor Boy” | 3:11 |
| 3. | “The Boston Rag” | 5:40 |
| 4. | “Your Gold Teeth” | 7:02 |
SIDE TWO
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 5. | Show Biz Kids | 5:26 |
| 6. | My Old School | 5:48 |
| 7. | “Pearl of the Quarter” | 3:50 |
| 8. | “King of the World” | 5:04 |
Personnel
STEELY DAN Donald Fagen – Lead and backing vocals, acoustic and electric pianos, synthesizer. Walter Becker – electric bass, harmonica, and backing vocals. Jeff “Skunk” Baxter – guitar. Denny Dias – guitar. Jim Hodder – Drums, percussion, backing vocals
NOTABLE SESSION MUSICIANS Rick Derringer – slide guitar on “Show Biz Kids”. Victor Feldman – vibraphone, percussion.
STEELY DAN: PRETZEL LOGIC (3).
Producer Gary Katz | Engineer Roger Nichols
Release date: February 1974. Label: ABC
Billboard Top 200 peak position: 8
RIAA Certification: Platinum
RATED: A
Their last album as a de facto rock group. Baxter, Dias, and Hodder are out after this album, with Dias returning frequently as a session musician. The writing was clearly on the wall for Hodder who only gets a “background vocals” credit here, while session men Jim Gordon and a young Jeff Porcaro took over the drumming. Not a nice way to end a relationship! It’s a great album with three classic songs “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” (with some inspiration from jazz legend Horace Silver who, unlike Keith Jarret on “Gaucho,” was classy enough NOT to sue for coauthorship), “Any Major Dude Will Tell,” and the title track being choice Dan. “Dude”, one of the most beautiful songs ever written about being there for a friend-in-need, stands out and stands alone in the setting of the Dan’s cynical oeuvre.
Track listing
All songs written by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker (except*)
SIDE ONE
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Rikki Don’t Lose That Number | 4:32 |
| 2. | “Night by Night” | 3:40 |
| 3. | Any Major Dude Will Tell You | 3:05 |
| 4. | “Barrytown” | 3:17 |
| 5. | East St. Louis Toodle-Oo* (Duke Ellington and Bubber Miley) | 2:45 |
SIDE TWO
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 6. | “Parker’s Band” | 2:36 |
| 7. | “Through with Buzz” | 1:30 |
| 8. | Pretzel Logic | 4:32 |
| 9. | “With a Gun” | 2:15 |
| 10. | “Charlie Freak” | 2:41 |
| 11. | “Monkey in Your Soul” | 2:31 |
Personnel
STEELY DAN Donald Fagen – Lead and backing vocals, keyboards and saxophone Walter Becker – bass, guitar and backing vocals Jeff “Skunk” Baxter – lead guitar Denny Dias – guitar Jim Hodder – backing vocals “Parkers Band”.
NOTABLE SESSION MUSICIANS Dean Parks – guitar. Chuck Rainey – bass. Jim Gordon – drums. Jeff Porcaro – drums. Michael Omartian – piano. David Paich – piano. Victor Feldman – percussion. Timothy B. Schmit – backing vocals.
STEELY DAN: KATY LIED (4).
Producer Gary Katz | Engineer Roger Nichols
Release date: April 1975. Label: ABC
Billboard Top 200 peak position: 13
RIAA Certification: Platinum
RATED: A
No longer a group as such, Walter and Donald do what the Beatles did in 1967. They will bury themselves in the studio and surround themselves with the best session musicians on the planet. They will lay down the most immaculate-sounding music that could be captured on vinyl at the time, aided by a masterful engineer and an ace producer.
“Katy Lied” is the first album from the “new” Dan, and it had its problems (ironically, because of a badly mixed master, they refused to listen to the final product), but it does have what may be the group’s most beautifully melodic and beautifully arranged song “Doctor Wu” (aka “Katy Lied“) which alone made this album worth having. Two moderately successful singles, “Black Friday” and “Bad Sneakers,” and a lovely “Your Gold Teeth II” seal the deal at an A. Oh, and Michael McDonald makes his first appearance on backup vocals.
Track listing
All songs written by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker
SIDE ONE
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | “Black Friday” | 3:40 |
| 2. | “Bad Sneakers” | 3:16 |
| 3. | “Rose Darling” | 2:59 |
| 4. | “Daddy Don’t Live in that New York City No More” | 3:12 |
| 5. | “Doctor Wu” | 3:59 |
SIDE TWO
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 6. | “Everyone’s Gone to the Movies” | 3:41 |
| 7. | “Your Gold Teeth II” | 4:12 |
| 8. | “Chain Lightning” | 2:57 |
| 9. | “Any World (That I’m Welcome To)” | 3:56 |
| 10. | “Throw Back the Little Ones” | 3:11 |
Personnel
STEELY DAN Donald Fagen – vocals, piano, keyboards. Walter Becker – bass, guitar (solo on “Black Friday” and “Bad Sneakers”).
NOTABLE SESSION MUSICIANS Hugh McCracken – guitar. Denny Dias – guitar (solo on “Your Gold Teeth” II). Dean Parks – guitar (solo on “Rose Darling”). Rick Derringer – guitar (solo on “Chain Lightening”). Elliott Randall – guitar (solo on “Throw Back the Little Ones). Larry Carlton – guitar (solo on ‘Daddy Don’t Live in That New York City No More”). Chuck Rainey – bass. Wilton Felder – bas. Jeff Porcaro – drums (all tracks except *). Hal Blaine – drums (* “Any World That I’m Welcome To). Michael Omartian – piano. David Paich – piano. Victor Feldman – percussion. Michael McDonald – backing vocals.
STEELY DAN: THE ROYAL SCAM (5).
Producer Gary Katz | Engineer Roger Nichols
Release date: May 1976. Label: ABC
Billboard Top 200 peak position: 15
RIAA Certification: Platinum
RATED: A+
Their best guitar-driven album, “The Royal Scam,” is filled with one amazing track after another, and guitarist Larry Carlton has not just one but three moments of immortality; “Kid Charlamagne“, “Don’t Take Me Alive” (the track begins with his solo; what CONFIDENCE!) and the title track. Add to this “The Fez”, “Haitian Divorce“, “Green Earrings,” “Everything You Did,” “Sign in Stranger,” and the inspired “Caves of Altamira,” and you have an A+.
Track listing
All songs written by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker (except*)
SIDE ONE
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | “Kid Charlemagne” | 4:38 |
| 2. | “The Caves of Altamira” | 3:34 |
| 3. | “Don’t Take Me Alive” | 4:16 |
| 4. | “Sign In Stranger” | 4:23 |
| 5. | “The Fez”* (Becker/Fagen/Paul Griffin) | 4:01 |
SIDE TWO
| No. | Title | Length |
| 6. | “Green Earrings” | 4:05 |
| 7. | “Haitian Divorce” | 5:53 |
| 8. | “Everything You Did” | 3:55 |
| 9. | “The Royal Scam” | 6:28 |
Personnel
STEELY DAN Donald Fagen – vocals, piano, keyboards. Walter Becker – bass guitar, guitar (solo on “The Fez”, Modified Dean Parks talk box guitar on “Haitian Divorce”).
NOTABLE SESSION MUSICIANS Larry Carlton- guitar (solo on “Kid Charlemagne”, “Don’t Take Me Alive”, “Sign in Stranger”, “Everything You Did,” and “The Royal Scam”). Denny Dias – guitar (first solo guitar on “Green Earrings”). Dean Parks – guitar (talk box guitar on “Haitian Divorce”). Elliott Randall – guitar (second solo guitar on “Green Earrings”). Chuck Rainey – bass. Bernard Purdie – drums (all tracks except*). Rick Marotta – drums (* “Don’t Take Me Alive” “Everything You Did:). John Klemmer – sax. Chuck Findley – trumpet. Victor Feldman – percussion. Michael McDonald – background vocals. Timothy B. Schmit – background vocals.
STEELY DAN: AJA (6)
Producer Garry Katz | Engineers Roger Nichols, Elliott Scheiner, Al Schmitt, Bill Schnee
Release date: September 1977. Label: ABC
Billboard Top 200 peak position: 3
RIAA Certification: Double Platinum
RATED: A+
For many, their greatest achievement, and the high point of jazz-rock fusion, “Aja” is the Dan’s most successful album jumping from 26 to 3 in its second week on the Billboard 200, kept from the number one spot by the giants Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours” (number 1) and Linda Ronstadt’s “Simple Dreams” (number 2) and going multi-platinum.
Many things about this album have become the stuff of legend: the endless recording of takes until Walter and Donald were satisfied, Jay Graydon finally nailing the guitar solo on “Peg”, Michael McDonald’s invaluable and unique vocal stylings again on “Peg,” and the Bernard Purdie shuffle on “Deacon Blues” and “Home at Last”. Add “Josie”, “Black Cow,” and the title track, and what you get is perfection. Another A+.
Track listing
All songs written by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker
SIDE ONE
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | “Black Cow” | 5:10 |
| 2. | “Aja” | 7:57 |
| 3. | “Deacon Blues” | 7:33 |
SIDE TWO
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | “Peg” | 3:58 |
| 2. | “Home at Last” | 5:34 |
| 3. | “I Got the News” | 5:06 |
| 4. | “Josie” | 4:33 |
Personnel
SIDE ONE
BLACK COW: Donald Fagen – lead vocals, synthesizer; Larry Carlton – guitar; Chuck Rainey – bass guitar; Tom Scott – tenor saxophone; Paul Humphrey -drums Victor Feldman – Fender Rhodes.
AJA: Donald Fagen – lead vocals, synthesizer Larry Carlton, Walter Becker, and Denny Dias – guitars Chuck Rainey – bass guitar Steve Gadd – drums Wayne Shorter – tenor saxophone Joe Sample – Fender Rhodes Michael Omartian – piano Victor Feldman – percussion Timothy B. Schmit – backing vocals.
DEACON BLUES: Donald Fagen – lead vocals, synthesizer Larry Carlton and Lee Ritenour – guitars Walter Becker – bass guitar Bernard Purdie – drums Peter Christlieb – tenor saxophone Victor Feldman – Fender Rhodes.
SIDE TWO
PEG: Donald Fagen – lead vocal Jay Graydon – guitar solo Steve Kahn – guitar Chuck Rainey – bass guitar Rick Marotta – drums Victor Feldman – percussion Tom Scott – Lyricon Michael McDonald – backing vocals.
HOME AT LAST: Donald Fagen – lead vocal, synthesizer, backing vocals Walter Becker – guitar solo Larry Carlton – guitar Chuck Rainey – bass guitar Bernard Purdie – drums Victor Feldman – piano Timothy Schmit – backing vocals.
I GOT THE NEWS: Donald Fagen – lead vocals, synthesizers Larry Carlton – guitar solo Walter Becker- guitar solo Dean Parks – guitar Chuck Rainey – bass guitar Ed Greene – drums Victor Feldman- piano Michael McDonald – backing vocals.
JOSIE: Donald Fagen – lead vocals, synthesizers, backing vocals Walter Becker – guitar solo Larry Carlton and Dean Parks – guitars Chuck Rainey – bass guitar Jim Keltner – drums Victor Feldman – Fender Rhodes Tim Schmit – backing vocals.
STEELY DAN: GAUCHO (7).
Producer Gary Katz | Engineer Roger Nichols
Release date: November 21, 1980. Label MCA
Billboard Top 200 peak position: 9
RIAA Certification: Platinum
RATED: A+
What can I say? It’s my favorite Dan album. Despite all the problems surrounding its birth – the move to New York, Walter’s accident, the inadvertent wiping clean of the now legendary “The Second Arrangement”, Roger Nichol’s highly temperamental drum machine Wendel, and the lawsuit by Keith Jarret who then became coauthor of the title track (because of similarities to his “Long as You Know You’re Living Yours” from 1974) with Walter and Donald. However, the track “Gaucho”, whatever its influences, is very possibly the greatest, most complex, and endlessly fascinating song the Dan has ever laid down. “Babylon Sisters” is also perfect. In fact, every track on the album is superb.
Track listing
All songs written by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, except where noted.
SIDE ONE
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | “Babylon Sisters” | 5:49 |
| 2. | “Hey Nineteen” | 5:06 |
| 3. | “Glamour Profession” | 7:29 |
SIDE TWO
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 4. | “Gaucho” *and Keith Jarrett | 5:32 |
| 5. | “Time Out of Mind” | 4:13 |
| 6. | “My Rival” | 4:34 |
| 7. | “Third World Man” | 5:15 |
Personnel
STEELEY DAN Donald Fagen – lead vocals, piano, electric piano, synthesizer, backing vocals. Walter Becker – bass guitar, guitar, guitar solo.
NOTABLE SESSION MUSICIANS Larry Carlton – guitar. Hiram Bullock – guitar. Rick Derringer -guitar. Steve Kahn – guitar. Mark Knopfler – guitar. Hugh McCracken – guitar. Chuck Rainey – bass guitar. Steve Gadd – drums. Rick Marotta – drums., Jeff Porcaro – drums. Bernard Purdie – drums. Tom Scott – saxophone. David Sanborn – saxophone. Michael Brecker – saxophone. Victor Feldman – percussion.
BACKGROUND VOCALS
Patti Austin on “Babylon Sisters” (track 1) (joined by Diva Gray, Gordon Grody, Lani Groves, Lesley Miller, and Toni Wine)
Frank Floyd and Zachary Sanders on “Hey Nineteen” (track 2)
Valerie Simpson on “Glamour Profession” (track 3) (joined by Frank Floyd, Lesley Miller, and Zachary Sanders)
Patti Austin on “Gaucho” (track 4) (with Valerie Simpson and Lesley Miller)
Patti Austin on “Time Out of Mind” (track 5) (with Michael McDonald, Valerie Simpson, and Lesley Miller)
Valerie Simpson, Frank Floyd, and Zachary Sanders on “My Rival” (track 6)
DONALD FAGEN: THE NIGHTFLY
DEBUT ALBUM AS A SOLO ARTIST
Producer Gary Katz | Engineers Roger Nichols and Elliot Scheiner
Release Date: October 1982. Label: Warner Bros.
Billboard Top 200 peak position: 11
RIAA Certification: Platinum
RATED: A+
A true masterpiece and one of my all-time favorite albums. From the high plains of “Gaucho” and working for the first time without Walter, Donald turned to his youth for inspiration, capturing the optimism of the late 1950s and early 1960s but always with the knowingness of someone who’s glad that they are living in the eighties. The album’s first single was the gorgeous “I.G.Y. (What a Wonderful World)”, Donald’s affectionate nod to the “international geophysical year” of 1957-1958 with its irresistible, boundlessly optimistic lyrics (“There’ll be spandex jackets, one for everyone”, “Ninety minutes from New York to Paris” “Undersea by rail” “Get your ticket to that wheel in space while there’s time”).
In the title track, we become acquainted with a “respect the seven-second delay we use” jazz DJ who holds court with his jaded attitude, his loneliness, and regret (“Thanks for calling” “I wait all night for calls like these”). “The New Frontier”, the album’s most brilliantly worded song, refers to fallout shelters, Dave Brubeck, and horny teenage boys (“I hear you’re mad about Brubeck,” “I like your eyes, I like him too,”). “Maxine” pays homage to the harmonies of the Four Freshmen, “Green Flower Street” is a nod to Bronisalu Kaper’s jazz standard “(On) Green Dolphin Street”, “The Goodbye Look” alludes to the popularity of the bossa nova in the 1960s while telling the story of a military coup on a Caribbean Island and the final track, the seductive “Walk Between the Raindrops” (“Oooooh Miami”)! has its origins in a Jewish folktale.
Donald wrote all the songs except for the Jerry Leiber/Mike Stoller penned “Ruby Baby,” which, like most of the tracks on the album, is bathed in harmony and it’s presented with Donald’s unique arrangement.
“The Nightfly” may also be the best SOUNDING album ever made thanks to the meticulousness of Donald, Katz, and Nichols, its place in the hearts of audiophiles being a constant for over four decades.
The album’s superb cover art by Gale Sasson and Vern Yenor shows Donald as the late-night jazz DJ complete with cigarette and microphone. Flip the album covers over, and what you see is a single light shining from a window in a suburban house, the teenager Donald’s bedroom as he listens to jazz music into the early hours of the morning.
A resounding A+
Track Listing
All tracks are written by Donald Fagen except where noted*
SIDE ONE
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | “I.G.Y” | 6:03 |
| 2. | “Green Flower Street” | 3:42 |
| 3. | “Ruby Baby” * (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller) | 5:38 |
| 4. | “Maxine” | 3:50 |
SIDE TWO
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 5. | “New Frontier” | 6:23 |
| 6. | “The Nightfly” | 5:47 |
| 7. | “The Goodbye Look” | 4:50 |
| 8. | “Walk Between Raindrops” | 2:38 |
THE NIGHTFLY: BACK COVER
Personnel
Donald Fagen – lead vocals, electric piano, piano, background vocals.
NOTABLE MUSICIANS Steve Kahn – acoustic guitar. Larry Carlton – lead guitar. Rick Derringer – guitar. Hugh McCracken – guitar. Dean Parks – guitar. Anthony Jackson – bass. Marcus Miller – bass. Will Lee- bass. Chuck Rainey – bass. Abraham Laboriel – bass. Jeff Porcaro – drums. Steve Jordan – drums. James Gadson – drums. Ed Greene – drums. Michael Brecker – saxophone. David Tofani – saxophone. Ronnie Cuber – saxophone. Randy Brecker – trumpet. Michael Omartian – piano. Greg Phillinganes – synthesizer, piano, electric piano.
