The basic plot is evident: a young man in a budding courtship with a young lady who has “a touch of Tuesday Weld,” against a Cold War backdrop. You May Also Like: Donald Fagen, “New Frontier” from ‘The Nightfly Live’ (2021): Steely Dan Sunday Steely Dan, “Kid Charlemagne” from ‘NortheastRead More

For only the second — and last — time in this series, we’re discussing a cover song. When Fagen decided to theme an album on “certain fantasies that might have been entertained by a young man growing up in the remote suburbs of a northeastern city during the late ’50sRead More

“Green Flower Street” always reminds me of the similarly titled “Green Dolphin Street,” a song from the 1947 Lana Turner movie of the same name that Miles Davis turned in into a jazz standard when he first recorded it in the late 50s. You May Also Like: Donald Fagen, “TheRead More

The last song of the “classic” Steely Dan period ends ‘Gaucho’ on a solemn note.

Shifty, start-stop rhythms, suddenly erupting musical asides and two guitar soloists (Becker and Larry Carlton), “I Got The News” has an irresistable, non-stop energy. You May Also Like: A World of Their Own: How ‘Aja’ Changed Everything For Steely Dan Steely Dan’s Aja at 40: Still the pinnacle of jazz-popRead More

> *** STEELY DAN SUNDAY INDEX *** This is the song I would suppose most people would say has that classic Steely Dan sound, the epitome of the smooth, suave style they perfected on Aja and a hit song to boot You May Also Like: A World of Their Own:Read More

Some might dismiss “Aja” as strictly as some snobby, high-falutin’ jazz song, but “Aja” represents the artistic apex of Steely Dan.

As much as I enjoy Steely Dan songs and can listen to most of them over and over (which is a good thing, since I’m writing about them every week), only one of their songs is what I’d call an “earworm” You May Also Like: Steely Dan, “Carey” (circa 2001):Read More

In rock music, there’s been occasions where one act provokes another in a rock song, resulting in a retaliatory song by the provoked. You May Also Like: Steely Dan, “A Man Ain’t Supposed to Cry” from ‘Northeast Corridor’ (2021): Steely Dan Sunday Steely Dan’s Aja at 40: Still the pinnacleRead More

The first track from Steely Dan’s ‘The Royal Scam’ features jazz changes over a chugging funk-disco groove. It’s famous for something else, however.