Steely Dan's Aja record is stellar. Every track on the record is fire.

If you do a search for "What is a Steely Dan?" You might be a little shocked..lol

The lyrics are metaphorical. Stealing your water is a metaphor for someone stealing something important to you, not literally stealing water. You're right about the hangman...it just means you got away with something, but then you don't learn from that. You keep doing the same old thing, even when you know it's bad or destructive behaviour.

Steely Dan is a core of two guys, Walter Becker and Donald Fagen. They met in college and form a group. Eventually they decided to write killer songs and work with the cream of the crop of studio musicians. The curly haired singer eventually left. He was originally hired because Donald Fagen had bad stage fright - which he overcame. Please listen to more!

Go down the Steely Dan rabbit hole. You will not be disappointed

It's a song about how as people go through life, many tend to make the same mistakes over and over.

This is a story about human vices and how we can't help but repeat unhealthy behaviours. First a violent man, who gets off on a technicality, then someone attracted to the wrong people ( toxic relationship) and finally a gambler who can't admit his problem and keeps on doing it again. This first album "Can't Buy a Thrill" is one of the best for any new artist IMO. Try "Dirty Work" and "Reelin in the Years" from this album. Steely Dan have 9 albums in total. Each one is different. My favourites are in the 1972 -1980 era .. but in 2000 after 20 yr hiatus the Two Against Nature won the Grammy for album of the year. Keep going you won't be disappointed with this journey. All the best

This is one of the best bands ever. They have a song called “The Fez”that is so groovy you will have to dance. It’s kind of a deep cut but lately I’ve been jamming it constantly again, almost fifty years later, for some reason.

Never met a Musician who didn't love Steely Dan. What a journey you have ahead of you. Steely Dan was the name of a Dildo from a famous Novel. There congas, bongos are tiny

@raleighsmalls4653

Ай бұрын

Naked Brunch

The solo he's playing was actually played on a Choral sitar. the guitar he's playing in the video is a fender telecaster

This is a most triumphant fusion of jazz and rock. So many different flavors from these guys. Take the whole trip and check out all the albums. It will be time well spent.

Some other great Steely Dan songs to check out - Peg, Kid Charlemagne, Hey Nineteen. Both everything they do is stellar

@churchboy5827

4 ай бұрын

I will check those out.

Dude! Check out their song Kid Charlemagne and I guarantee with a doubt, you will want to dive into their entire discography!

@churchboy5827

4 ай бұрын

I will check that out.

Donald Fagan and Walter Becker are the two main components of Steely Dan. “STEELY DAN” is a woman’s “friend” that generally requires batteries but this particular “Friend” is steam powered. (From an old fictional book)

Steely Dan rabbit hole is significant. You are very cool. You might start this trip checking out "FM", "Aja" or "Don't Take Me Alive" to further your journey with this fabulous band of some of the finest musicians in the world led by the musical talents of founders Walter Becker and Donald Fagen.

Steely Dan used to just be the name of the band. Later, the name stood but it was just Donald Fagen (guy with black curly hair) on the organ and who's actually the one singing here, and Walter Becker (not seen) who plays the guitar, the founders. Fagen also plays the keyboard. Both guys dumped the others in the band bc they wanted to go in another direction using just top-notch session players to record on their albums, and in a studio environment which they preferred. Both hated touring and the headaches that came with it. This bold move have garnered them Grammys and other awards in the following years. Both guys wrote all their songs. Becker died some years,Fagen is still around. Aja is their best album in my opinion. They've won a few Grammys for it. You can use that album as a starter.

That is Jeff "Skunk" Baxter on the bongos for this tune. He is actually one of the lead guitarists for the band (along with Denny Dias who is playing the lead on the Fender). Killer band .. killer first track on their first album 1972. Glad you liked it

@neonpark1874

4 ай бұрын

You are correct that is the "Skunk" - but he's playing congas. Bongos are much smaller than congas. Within the past year, I got a chance to see Skunk at the Troubador (a very small, legendary club) in West Hollywood, playing mostly stuff from his solo album. He did throw in a couple of Steely Dan tunes as well one from his time in the Doobie Brothers. He's just incredibly good.

@mneugent7658

4 ай бұрын

Add to that the man took up the hobby of data compression and, for decades, worked with the Pentagon and several defense contractors. Dude is a flat out brain wizard.

Yeah, the guy the vid shows as lead vocalist was David Palmer who did not sing on this song except in these early performances of their first album. The 2nd guy shown singing is Donald Fagen, composer, keys & lead vocals. It was a band for only the 1st 2 albums, and then just Fagen and Walter Becker, who played guitar but mostly bass… and they created albums with an army of studio musicians! One of the most important bands for me, up there with the Beatles… and their mixing of jazz with pop, rock was unique, cuz though many bands have been inspired and influenced by Steely Dan, none have sounded like them in 50 years.

This video is from the original studio version showing Denny playing the lead on guitar when he actually played that lead on a sitar, in the studio version anyway

Steeley Dan is Donald Fagen and Walter Becker the Keyboard player and Bass Player, the rest of the band changes from Album to Album

Next do "Peg" by Steely Dan......record version......

The guy on bongos is a a killer guitarist has played with many of the greats. In addition to that has an impressive life outside of music as a Defense Consultant and expert on missile defense systems advising congress.

@churchboy5827

4 ай бұрын

Dang!.. That's incredible!

One of the greatest guitar riffs of all time.

My favorite Steely Dan songs are Deacon Blues, Peg and Black Cow.

@churchboy5827

4 ай бұрын

I gotta check out Black cow.

Do It Again has some dark lyrics but it also has 6:01 minutes of awesome music. Listen to this while walking on a treadmill and by the end of the song you will be dancing on that thing! Steely Dan has quite a large catalog of great music.

skunk baxter on bongo's and he's a killer guitar player and he works for the cia to

I believe this video was filmed in 1973. The venue looks similar to "The Midnight Special" that I used to watch. The lead guitarist is Jeff "Skunk" Baxter. The lead singer on this track is David Palmer who was replaced by Donald Fagan. Donald had "stage fright" and hired a lead vocalist but later decided to take over the vocals himself. BTW....... There is no actual person named "Steely Dan". That unusual sound is Danny Dias on the electric sitar. This is the original incarnation of the group. The "core" of this group is Donald Fagan (singing dual lead) and Walter Becker. Fagan and Becker decided to go a different direction and sort of disbanded this lineup. They started hiring the best studio musicians that they could afford. They have albums that had 30 to 40 studio musicians performing on it. They were considered to be.... jazz/rock/fusion but many say that Steely Dan..... is their own genre. Take care....

"As a dog return to his own vomit, and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire". The Dan sings about the human condition, and the nonsense of human behavior. This was an overdub of an old live "Midnight Special" video, with the original studio version from the Can't Buy A Thrill album. "Reelin In The Years" is another hit from that album, that song is why I started playing guitar in the early 70's, such a great song, and riff. The Royal Scam album is my favorite, and in my to 10 albums of all time.

A great song, all about not learning from your mistakes! The band had a lot of great jazz rock (or jazz fusion) songs. Please check out "Reelin' In The Years", "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" or "Peg" next.

The Steely Dan rabbit hole!! Enjoy

I like all of Steely Dan's music but my favorite is a song called Ricky. Don't lose that number when I was in the military. Especially in the Tech school after basic training. Where we got to have quite a bit of time to ourselves and do our own thing. And I listen to a lot of music in. Steely Dan was one of my favorite groups back then. And by the way, still he Dan, is the group not. There's no person named stillly Dan. But I really got into their music. And at the time their big hit was Ricky. Don't lose that number. And I played that virtually everyday multiple times batthat a song by paperelease called the night Chicago died out to another good one.

You need to do the song Peg next. That is the gateway song for everyone to get hooked.

Ooo, love the sound of a base. New to the channel. I enjoyed your reaction. I was 12 when this song came out and it's still a favorite. Looking forward to listening to more with you.

About getting in a situation getting out and then going right back into the same situation again. Purposely falling in to the same situation again and again. Cant kick your habits(addictions).

Nice reaction brother, I can definitely recommend tons of their material in fact all of their music. Please give a listen to "Kid Charlemagne" and "Jose".

What you're seeing is a live performance on the Midnight Special, a late night show from the '70s, but what you're *hearing* is the studio recording. And on the studio recording, the lead vocal isn't done by the guy you're seeing doing the lead vocal; it's done by the guy playing the keyboard who comes in on the chorus. And no one is named Steely Dan; it's the name of the band. The name comes from the book Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs; it was the name of a strap-on dildo (I've read the book numerous times, before I even got into Steely Dan).

This is the first reaction of yours I've come across and I'm subscribing based on the quality of it. I love that you know music, are talking about what you hear and feel, a quality reaction. Keep em coming, there is a lot of top quality music out here that you missed. I can't wait for you to find Zeppelin or Sly and the Family Stone if you missed that too. Great job.

@churchboy5827

4 ай бұрын

Thank you for watching. I will check those out.

@lw1zfog

18 күн бұрын

@@churchboy5827 would love you to do ‘Freedom Jazz Dance’ by Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express, the LP version. it’s a funky AF take on the Mile’s Davies tune. You would likely enjoy checking some early Funkadelic stuff too.

Fagen recently explained it, the song has to do with somebody addicted to gambling. The wheels go round and round…..back in Vegas with a handle in hand.

Denny Dias at the Fender Telecaster ♥♥

Steely Dan has lotsa songs. Time Outta Mind, Peg, Aja, Black Cow, Deacon Blues, Rikki Don't Lose This Number, Hey 19, Glamor profession, Josie. Donald Fagan went out on his own, and did about 8 albums. Here's a few songs you can react to. The Dunes, Snowbound, Mona, Nightfly, IGY, New Frontier, Morph The Cat.❤

Fagen and Becker are geniuses. And they mostly worked solely in the studio with dozens of of the very best musicians in Los Angeles. They never toured in their heyday. But they mastered mixing masterpiece records.

Bongos are small hand drums held between your knees - this song uses conga drums which are much larger and on floor stands. A lot of reactors confuse the two.

Dude! Great reaction! I see you’re getting into some of the best written, most expertly and soulfully played played “popular” music on record. Maybe check out “Peg” next. It’s an absolute killer!

@churchboy5827

4 ай бұрын

I will check that out.

You need to listen to James Blunt “Monsters” it will tug on your heart strings, James wrote the song when his dad was seriously ill.

@churchboy5827

4 ай бұрын

I will check that out.

It's a Sitar on the guitar solo.....

Who is Steely Dan? Perhaps America's greatest R&R/R&B/jazz-ish band of all time. How did they get that name? Do your own research. What other great songs do they have? "Peg", "Reelin' In The Years", "Dirty Work", "Black Cow", "Aja", "Deacon Blues", "The Fez", "Doctor Wu", "Any Major Dude Will Tell you", "Rikki Don't Lose That Number", "Hey Nineteen", "My Old School", "Kid Charlemagne", "Josie", "Home At Last", "Don't Take Me Alive", and only about another 50-100. With every SD song you should have the lyrics pulled up. This band's lyrics are smart, adult, clever (at times too clever), the groove is constant, the musicianship is what some of the best musicians have to offer, and the production is always top notch. Listen to "Peg" next and go from there. So what is this song about? SD notes that we humans frequently engage in negative behaviors, especially addictions, no matter how detrimental because they're safe, temporarily productive or pleasurable, or we act out of rote/habit. This song then is in effect a cautionary tale. The guitar used here by Denny Dias is an electric sitar.

That is a 1960s usa made fender btw this song was released in the 70s

Skunk Baxter is playing bongos but he is a MONSTER guitar player! He played guitar for the Doobie Brothers as well as Steely Dan. GREAT BAND!!!

This is the studio version dubbed over top of a live performance. No idea why anybody would think it would be a good idea to do such a thing. The curly haired guy singing isn't even on the audio track

@diverdown631

3 ай бұрын

Back then, a one or two song appearance on a TV show was either not worth the expense of a live broadcast sound, or the studio wasn't equip to broadcast live good quality sound, and also the media bosses of the 70's were a bunch of old white men who's Era of music was the the 40's, and most thought the music was shit.

@dennisjordan837

2 күн бұрын

FIRST # 1 in the U.S. for the group . …. the curly haired fellow sang it as the hit that it became . Donald didn’t have the bravado that the recording required , and as uncompromising …. REAL musicians , Donald and Walter both write and …. you’re listening to studio musicians …. professional. 👈 One song , and different musicians changed out EVERY day of the week . Only the best were employed for their tracks . QUALITY . Nobody else had their drive . 🧠 👈 I enjoyed some quality life in those days , and WE had great tunes . 👍 Judgment is coming . 🇺🇸 Semper Fi

Early in their long and prolific career, one of the richest and consistently well-produced catalogues ever in popular music.

Steely Dan is groovy, can you dig it Daddy-o.

You can't go wrong with this band. Everything is so good! It doesn't matter what aong you choose. Another great band is ELO (Electric Light Orchestra). They are amazing too! 😁✌🏼

Great reaction! I suggest to react to other songs of Steely Dan such as "Deacon blues", "Doctor Wu", "King of the world", and the gospel-tinged "Everything must go" (the title track of their last album). You'll find their storytelling is fantastic!

checkin in...

A few things. Steely Dan is the name of the band. This is the 70s not the 80s so there were no music videos. I would recommend listening to the album versions as they’re uncut. This was edited to fit the video of a live performance which you’re not hearing here. Man, I’m jealous. I started my Steely Dan journey back in the early 90s. I started with their last album from their original run (Gaucho) and I would hear this drum sound and just wonder how they did that. They were the pinnacle of audio quality back then. They basically had the first drum machine made for that Gaucho album just for drum replacement. They spent 6 figures back then for that. What you have to know is they’re extremely obsessive perfectionists for better or for worse. This is their first song off their first record. It only gets better from here.

First time I ever heard this song (‘72-ish) I thought it was Santana. Steely Dan had an amazing range of sounds and beats.

I REALLY appreciated your musical knowledge. Thanks

Steely Dan's idea was to sneak jazz into the mainstream, and get people to like it without knowing it was jazz. ( Which was very unpopular at the time). LOVE this song!!

ALOT OF STEELY DAN .... REMEMBER THE TITLE OF THE SONG 😊

Hey, they're talking about attachments that make you do it again and again and again. Thx for clarifying it for me! I never thought about it going over 4 decades. I just accepted what is sung. Fagen is a siren. Now, what's the deal about "a number"?

Good reaction

This is from 70's .Steely Dan was the band name .Core Members Donald Fagan & Walter Becker . They used a plethora of different absolute top flight studio musicans on their recordings and live shows . Aja is their masterpiece LP . They rarely did a bad song so you can't go wrong with them .

@churchboy5827

4 ай бұрын

It seems that way. They sound awesome!

"Steely Dan, what does it mean"? Well... that's a whole other conversation. It's, ummm, errrrr, found in certain shops.

@churchboy5827

4 ай бұрын

gotcha..lol

Great reaction and lyrical perception; in addition to being an actual musician - this was a breath of fresh air. Thanks for the video.

If you've never heard their music then I can guess that you have no idea where they got the name "Steely Dan". It's from the writing of William Burroughs. Look it up' you'll be quite surprised!

New subscriber here, great reaction.

There is a yt video of a BOC member talking about the cowbell sketch. Funny thing is that it isn't a cowbell but a deadened dampened wood block! Does it hit quite the same does it? More Wood Block! ? Shyeah.

Showbiz kids

It's a song about vices

Steely Dan is actually the name 18th century ladies gave to their 'self pleasuring' device I'm sure Donald and Walter had a few laughs

Dude. Time for the Dan. Black Cow. Hey 19. Just to start. Funk and rock. And fusion. Dan fans will migrate to your channel.

Its a fender telecaster guitar.

By the way, Tom Macdonald is dropping a New Video Tomorrow at 9am!

This is IT!!! Make sure to take the deep dive on Steely Dan. You will LOVE most of their songs. I love your reference to Chicago..... very astute! Check out this video explaining who Steely Dan is kzread.info/dash/bejne/hZ6MpJpyZKbAnrA.html please do more reactions to them.....

Kid Charlemagne !

Check out KID CHARLEMAGNE by the Dan

Nice reaction. Good pick. But don't let this music video lie to you. The visuals are mostly taken from their appearance on "The Midnight Special" in 1973. The singer shown here is David Palmer, but the audio is not him. The actual vocal track Donald Fagen - the other guy they show singing. As someone else mentioned, he had severe stage fright, so they hired Palmer to sing for this performance. Also, the reason why the guitar solo looked off is because the audio isn't a guitar solo - it's an electric sitar. So what you hear in this video is the studio track, but the visuals are from a performance which sounded quite a bit different.Keep it up, man... always good stuff.

@billwilson7948

4 ай бұрын

Thank you. I didn’t know WHO WHAT WHY WHERE HOW - WTH/WTF was going on‼️ Hmmmm…. Unsolicited advice : listen to the “Official Album Version “ first. Get into lip-synched and/or live grooves LATER, gator…

Correction, brother. Congas. Not bongos. Big difference. Nice reaction to the music of my college days.

That's a Fender Telecaster

More Steely Dan AND Pink Floyd!

Fender telecaster

Dude those are congas, bongos are the smaller version.

Kid Charlemagne My Old School Black Cow Babylon Sisters

Yeah, it was live with the studio version lip syncing.

Always took this song as the tendency of man to repeat one's mistakes over and over again....not a far cry from church theme without the God's redemption aspect.

I think this song is about addiction - violence, kinky sex, gambling.

Kid Charlemagne

Uh oh. Never worry about the lyrics first listen it’s distracting from hearing the music in its entirety, just enjoy as an overall experience, even voice/s as musical instrument/s which they are. Can concern yourself with meaning at second listen.

Do NOT Google what a 'Steely Dan' is.

Church boy Steely Dan is a what not a who and you may not want to know what what is

A 5-STRING BASS? Is there no end to the mysteries of music? I think you would really dig Kid Charlemagne by Steely. On another note, have you ever hear the band Rush, and more specifically the bass player, Geddy Lee? (G is pronounced the same way as it is in, God) In the opinion of many, he is considered to be one of the GOATS in rock and roll. May I suggest a live performance from later in their years? The song is called Working Man and this show is from Cleveland in 2011. The song is almost 40 years old at this point in their career but it's still fire. Sadly, we lost the drummer, Neil Peart, a few years ago. All 3 members of the band are virtuosos in their respective fields. Thanks and I'm looking forward to more of your vids. God bless you, sir. Here's the link. kzread.info/dash/bejne/p36ukpZyo5e2kso.htmlsi=bMXpcopG1M5DllIP

You should have seen that difference.

The lyrics are opaque and not necessarily to be taken literally.

1972

Close bro. It's in Gm.

that is all lip stmc the real guitar was as electric sitar on the record

A song about making bad choices over and over again.

This video is not accurate the guy singing in the video is not the guy singing on the record.

That video is atrocious! The sitar solo was synced up to a guitar. The guys singing were just looped video of the same shot over and over again. That was painful to look at it. It was like a GIF. The audio, fortunately, was the studio version.

Still doing he annoying focus on lyrics instead of the music? What a waste of time, especially with a group like Steely Dan who often aims at an intentional ambiguity. Worse yet, you want it all to be reduced to some simplistic twaddle as is common in the worst pop songs. Steely Dan has great artistic metaphorical lyrics but more importantly they use the best musicians around, even more so after this very early video when it wasn't even Fagen singing lead.