This live version of “Maxine” is a worthy addition to the Steely Dan canon, and the most robust early performance on Donald Fagen’s ‘The Nightfly Live.’

My hesitancy with songs from ‘Donald Fagen’s The Nightfly Live’ is that it seems almost pointless to re-record a perfect album.

An expertly performed live version of the opus “Aja” is an advance single from the upcoming concert album ‘Northeast Corridor: Steely Dan Live!’

‘Everything Must Go’ boasts a warmth missing from 1977’s ‘Aja,’ the album Steely Dan fans usually gush over, as well as 1980’s ‘Gaucho.’

Walter Becker has a message for us from beyond the grave on how we should approach 2021. Check out the new (to us) song “Golden City” from the folks at Walter Becker Media.

Walter Becker’s ’11 Tracks of Whack’ outtake “The Dopest Cut / Down In the Bottom” is another treat for Steely Dan fans that shouldn’t go unnoticed.

Let’s return to a handful of lesser-known moments from Steely Dan’s ‘Katy Lied,’ which arrived 45 years ago this month.

Here’s a tantalizing suggestion of what Walter Becker’s debut might’ve sounded like if he made ’11 Tracks of Whack’ more like ‘The Nightfly’ instead of ‘Plastic Ono Band.’

Walter Becker, the same guy who often came up with some cold putdown lines, wrote a dozen stanzas here full of aching poetry.

“He Wants You (Out)” suggests that Walter Becker’s creative fire was burning brighter than we may have assumed during a period of down time with Steely Dan.