> *** STEELY DAN SUNDAY INDEX *** With Steely Dan completely freed up to go out and get the best musician for any part within any song, Becker and Fagen started mixing and matching more liberally on Katy Lied. At the same time, they made heavy use of two membersRead More

“Black Friday is the first track from Katy Lied, a snakebitten set of recordings to studio perfectionists Walter Becker and Donald Fagen. For the rest of us, this album is a dandy. You May Also Like: Walter Becker, “The Dopest Cut / Down In the Bottom” (1992): Steely Dan SundayRead More

The last track on Pretzel Logic might be my least favorite one of that album, with that over the top fuzzy bass line. To some it makes the song nice ‘n’ fonky but I find it a distraction; I wanna hear Dias and Baxter’s guitars over that noise. You MayRead More

> *** STEELY DAN SUNDAY INDEX *** The art of narration in a song, I would suppose, is one that’s hard to nail down so tight, because when it’s done so well, you remember it. You May Also Like: Walter Becker, “She Was Good” (early 1990s): Steely Dan Sunday SteelyRead More

With little apparent interest in pursuing non-ironic love songs, Steely Dan have often touched on themes of criminal activity (hell, I think most of The Royal Scam was about crime). They never pursued the topic with an approving tone, though. You May Also Like: Steely Dan, “Carey” (circa 2001): SteelyRead More

I never really understood what the heck the story line in this Steely Dan song was really about. The title, I suspect, provides the clue.