Steely Dan | |
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 Steely Dan in 1977. Left to right:Walter Becker andDonald Fagen. | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, United States |
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| Website | steelydan |
Steely Dan is an Americanrock band formed inAnnandale-on-Hudson, New York, in 1971 byWalter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) andDonald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Originally having a traditional band lineup, Becker and Fagen chose to stop performing live by the end of 1974 and continued Steely Dan as a studio-only duo, utilizing a revolving cast ofsession musicians.Rolling Stone magazine named them "the perfect musicalantiheroes for the seventies".[6]
Becker and Fagen played together in a variety of bands from their time together studying atBard College in Annandale-on-Hudson. They later moved toLos Angeles, gathered a band of musicians and began recording music. Their debut album,Can't Buy a Thrill (1972), established a template for their career, blending elements of rock,jazz,Latin music,R&B, andblues[7] with sophisticatedstudio production and cryptic, irony-infused lyrics. The band enjoyed critical and commercial success with seven studio albums, peaking with their top-selling albumAja, released in 1977.[7]
After Steely Dan disbanded in 1981, Becker and Fagen worked sporadically on solo projects through the 1980s, although acult following[7] remained devoted to the group's work. Since reuniting in 1993, Steely Dan has toured steadily and released two albums of new material, the first of which,Two Against Nature (2000), earned aGrammy Award for Album of the Year at the43rd Grammy Awards. Their most recent album of new studio material is 2003'sEverything Must Go, though they have continued to release compilations,box sets and live albums on a regular basis. After Becker's death in 2017, Fagen reluctantly continued the group with himself as the sole official member.
Steely Dan was inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001 and have sold more than 40 million records worldwide.VH1 ranked Steely Dan at No. 82 on their list of the "100 Greatest Musical Artists of All Time" in 2010,[8] andRolling Stone ranked them No. 15 on its list of the "20 Greatest Duos of All Time" in 2015.[9]
Walter Becker andDonald Fagen met in 1967 atBard College, inAnnandale-on-Hudson, New York. As Fagen passed by The Red Balloon café, he heard Becker practicing the electric guitar.[10] In an interview, Fagen recounted the experience: "I hear this guy practicing, and it sounded very professional and contemporary. It sounded like, you know, like a black person, really."[10] He introduced himself to Becker and asked, "Do you want to be in a band?"[10] Discovering that they enjoyed similar music, the two began writing songs together.
Becker and Fagen began playing in local groups. One such group—known as the Don Fagen Jazz Trio, the Bad Rock Group and later the Leather Canary—included future comedy starChevy Chase on drums. They played covers of songs byThe Rolling Stones ("Dandelion"),Moby Grape ("Hey Grandma"), andWillie Dixon ("Spoonful"), as well as some original compositions.[10]Terence Boylan, another Bard musician, remembered that Fagen took readily to thebeatnik life while attending college: "They never came out of their room, they stayed up all night. They looked like ghosts—blackturtlenecks and skin so white that it looked like yogurt. Absolutely no activity, chain-smokingLucky Strikes anddope."[10]
After Fagen graduated in 1969, the two moved toBrooklyn and tried to peddle their tunes in theBrill Building inmidtown Manhattan.Kenny Vance (ofJay and the Americans), who had a production office in the building, took an interest in their music, which led to work on the soundtrack of the low-budget film (featuringRichard Pryor andRobert Downey Sr.)You've Got to Walk It Like You Talk It or You'll Lose That Beat. Becker later said bluntly, "We did it for the money."[11] A series of demos from 1968 to 1971 are available in multiple different releases, not authorized by Becker and Fagen.[12] This collection features approximately 25 tracks and is notable for its sparse arrangements (Fagen plays solo piano on many songs) andlo-fi production, a contrast with Steely Dan's later work. Although some of these songs ("Caves of Altamira", "Brooklyn", "Barrytown") were re-recorded for Steely Dan albums, most were never officially released.[8]
In 1970,Gary Katz produced an album by singer Linda Hoover,I Mean to Shine, featuring Fagen, Becker, andJeff "Skunk" Baxter, and including five Becker/Fagen songs. The album was shelved over songwriting licensing issues, but was finally released 52 years later, in 2022.[13] Becker and Fagen later joined the touring band ofJay and the Americans for about a year and a half.[14] They were at first paid $100 per show, but partway through their tenure the band'stour manager cut their salaries in half.[14] The group's lead singer,Jay Black, dubbed Becker and Fagen "the Manson and Starkweather of rock 'n' roll", referring to cult leaderCharles Manson andspree killerCharles Starkweather.[14]
They had little success after moving to Brooklyn, althoughBarbra Streisand recorded their song "I Mean to Shine" on her 1971Barbra Joan Streisand album. Their fortunes changed when one of Vance's associates, Katz, moved toLos Angeles to become a staff producer forABC Records. He hired Becker and Fagen as staff songwriters; they flew to California. Katz would produce all their 1970s albums in collaboration with engineerRoger Nichols. Nichols would win six Grammy Awards for his work with the band from the 1970s to 2001.[15]
Realizing that ABC artists could not handle the complexity of their songs, Becker and Fagen (at Katz's suggestion) formed their own band with guitaristsDenny Dias and Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, drummerJim Hodder and singerDavid Palmer, and Katz signed them to ABC as recording artists. Fans ofBeat Generation literature, Fagen and Becker named the band after a "revolutionary" steam-powereddildo mentioned in theWilliam S. Burroughs novelNaked Lunch.[16][17][18] Palmer joined as a second lead vocalist because of Fagen's occasionalstage fright, his reluctance to sing in front of an audience, and because the label believed that his voice was not "commercial" enough.
In 1972, ABC issued Steely Dan's first single, "Dallas", backed with "Sail the Waterway". Distribution of "stock" copies available to the general public was apparently extremely limited;[19] the single sold so poorly that promotional copies are much more readily available than stock copies in today's collectors market. As of 2025, "Dallas" and "Sail the Waterway" are the only officially released Steely Dan tracks that have not been reissued oncassette or compact disc. In a 1995 interview, Becker and Fagen called the songs "stinko".[20] "Dallas" was later covered byPoco on theirHead Over Heels album.
Can't Buy a Thrill, Steely Dan's debut album, was released in November 1972. Its hit singles "Do It Again" and "Reelin' In the Years" reached No. 6 and No. 11 respectively on theBillboard Hot 100. Along with "Dirty Work" (sung byDavid Palmer), the songs became staples on rock radio.
Because of Fagen's reluctance to sing live, Palmer handled most of the vocal duties on stage. During the first tour, however, Katz and Becker decided that they preferred Fagen's interpretations of the band's songs, persuading him to take over. Palmer quietly left the group while it recorded its second album; he later co-wrote the No. 2 hit "Jazzman" (1974) withCarole King.[21]Village Voice rock criticRobert Christgau was pleased with the elevation of Fagen, noting that Palmer "fit in like a cheerleader at a crap game."[22]
Sometime after recordingCan't Buy a Thrill, Steely Dan wrote and recorded a jingle forSchlitz Beer that was rejected and never aired. Long considered lost, it was rediscovered in July 2023 by Cimcie Nichols in the archive of her late father Roger Nichols.[23] The 1 minute and 50 second jingle has a distinct Steely Dan sound with layered vocals by Fagen, after a spoken word introduction in Spanish by Baxter (in a squeaky inhaled helium voice), with Fagen speaking an English translation. Recording took place in Studio A at The Village in Los Angeles. At the session, a photo was taken of Fagen in reindeer sweater and Dias in overalls and sombrero while holding a tank of helium that subsequently appeared on the back cover ofKaty Lied.
Steely Dan's second album,Countdown to Ecstasy, was released in July 1973 but was not as commercially successful as the band's debut album. Becker and Fagen were unhappy with some of the performances on the record and believed that it sold poorly because it had been recorded hastily on tour. The album's singles were "Show Biz Kids" and "My Old School", both of which stayed in the lower half of the Billboard charts, although "My Old School", and to a lesser extent, "Bodhisattva", became FM rock staples in time.
Pretzel Logic was released in February 1974. A diverse set, it includes the group's most successful single, "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" (No. 4 on theBillboard Hot 100), and a rendition ofDuke Ellington andJames "Bubber" Miley's "East St. Louis Toodle-Oo".
During the previous album's tour, the band had added vocalist-percussionistRoyce Jones, vocalist-keyboardistMichael McDonald, and session drummerJeff Porcaro.[24] Porcaro played the sole drum track on one song, "Night By Night" onPretzel Logic (Jim Gordon played drums on all the remaining tracks, and he and Porcaro both played on "Parker's Band"), reflecting Steely Dan's increasing reliance on session musicians (includingDean Parks andRick Derringer). Jeff Porcaro andKaty Lied pianistDavid Paich would go on to formToto. Striving for perfection, Becker and Fagen sometimes asked musicians to record as many as forty takes of each track.[25]Pretzel Logic was the first Steely Dan album to feature Walter Becker on guitar. "Once I met [session musician]Chuck Rainey", he explained, "I felt there really was no need for me to be bringing my bass guitar to the studio anymore".[25]
A rift began growing, with Becker and Fagen on one side and Steely Dan's other members, who wanted to tour (particularly Baxter and Hodder), on the other. Becker and Fagen disliked constant touring and wanted to concentrate solely on writing and recording. The other members gradually left the band, discouraged by this and by their diminishing roles in the studio. However, Dias remained with the group until 1980'sGaucho, and Michael McDonald contributed vocals until the group's twenty-year hiatus afterGaucho. Baxter and McDonald went on to joinThe Doobie Brothers. Steely Dan's last tour performance before their hiatus was on July 5, 1974, a concert at theSanta Monica Civic Auditorium in California.[26]
Becker and Fagen recruited a diverse group of session players forKaty Lied (1975), including Porcaro, Paich, and McDonald, as well as guitaristElliott Randall, jazz saxophonistPhil Woods, saxophonist/bassistWilton Felder, percussionist/vibraphonist/keyboardistVictor Feldman, keyboardist (and later producer)Michael Omartian, and guitaristLarry Carlton—Dias, Becker, and Fagen being Steely Dan's only original members. The album went gold on the strength of "Black Friday" and "Bad Sneakers", but the band members were dissatisfied with the album's sound (compromised by a faultyDBX noise reduction system).[27]Katy Lied also included "Doctor Wu" and "Chain Lightning".
The Royal Scam was released in May 1976. Partly because of Carlton's prominent contributions, it is the band's most guitar-oriented album. It also features performances by session drummerBernard Purdie. The album sold well in the United States, though without the strength of a hit single. In the UK, the single "Haitian Divorce" (Top 20) drove album sales, becoming Steely Dan's first major hit there.[28]Steely Dan's sixth album, the more jazz-influencedAja, was released in September 1977.Aja reached the Top 5 in the U.S. charts within three weeks and won the Grammy Award for "Engineer—Best Engineered Recording—Non-Classical" at the1978 awards. It was also one of the first American LPs to receive aPlatinum certification from theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over 1 million.[29][30]
Roger [Nichols] made those records sound like they did. He was extraordinary in his willingness and desire to make records sound better.[31]
The records we did could not have been done without Roger. He was just maniacal about making the sound of the records be what we liked... He always thought there was a better way to do it, and he would find a way to do what we needed to in ways that other people hadn't done yet.[32]
Featuring Michael McDonald's backing vocals, "Peg" (No. 11) was the album's first single, followed by "Josie" (No. 26) and "Deacon Blues" (No. 19).Aja solidified Becker's and Fagen's reputations as songwriters and studio perfectionists. It features such jazz and fusion luminaries as guitaristsLarry Carlton andLee Ritenour; bassistChuck Rainey; saxophonistsWayne Shorter,Pete Christlieb, andTom Scott; drummersSteve Gadd,Rick Marotta andBernard Purdie; keyboardistJoe Sample and ex-Miles Davis pianist/vibraphonistVictor Feldman and Grammy award-winning producer/arrangerMichael Omartian (piano).
Planning to tour in support ofAja, Steely Dan assembled a live band. Rehearsal ended and the tour was canceled when backing musicians began comparing pay.[33] The album's history was documented in an episode of the TV and DVD seriesClassic Albums.
AfterAja'ssuccess, Becker and Fagen were asked to write the title track for the movieFM. The movie was a box-office disaster, but thesong was a hit, earning Steely Dan another engineering Grammy award. It was a minor hit in the UK and barely missed the Top 20 in the US.[28]
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Becker and Fagen took a break from songwriting for most of 1978 before starting work onGaucho. The project would not go smoothly: technical, legal, and personal setbacks delayed the album's release and subsequently led Becker and Fagen to suspend their partnership for over a decade.[34]
Misfortune struck early when an assistant engineer accidentally erased most of "The Second Arrangement", a favorite track of Katz and Nichols,[35] which remained lost until a recording was discovered in 2020.[36][37] More trouble—this time legal—followed. In March 1979,MCA Records bought ABC, and for much of the next two years Steely Dan could not release an album. Becker and Fagen had planned on leaving ABC forWarner Bros. Records, but MCA claimed ownership of their music, preventing them from changing labels.[35]
Turmoil in Becker's personal life also interfered. His girlfriend died of a drug overdose in theirUpper West Side apartment, and he wassued for $17 million. Becker settled out of court, but he was shocked by the accusations and by thetabloid press coverage that followed. Soon after, Becker was struck by a taxi while crossing a Manhattan street, shattering his right leg in several places. He was left hospitalized as work on the album's final mix was just beginning, and he was only able to collaborate with Fagen and Katz via telephone.[35]
More legal trouble was to come. Jazz composerKeith Jarrett sued Steely Dan forcopyright infringement, claiming that they had basedGaucho's title track on one of his compositions, "Long As You Know You're Living Yours". Fagen later admitted that he had loved the song and that it had been a strong influence. The lawsuit was settled, and Jarrett was added to the song as a co-writer.[38]
Gaucho was finally released in November 1980. Despite its tortured history, it was another major success. The album's first single, "Hey Nineteen", reached No. 10 on the US charts in early 1981, and "Time Out of Mind" (featuring guitaristMark Knopfler ofDire Straits) was a moderate hit in the spring. "My Rival" was featured inJohn Huston's 1980 filmPhobia. Roger Nichols won a third engineering Grammy award for his work on the album.
Steely Dan disbanded in June 1981.[39] Becker moved toMaui, where he became an "avocado rancher and self-styled critic of the contemporary scene."[40] He stopped using drugs, which he had used for most of his career.[41][42][43] Meanwhile, Fagen released a solo album,The Nightfly(1982), which went platinum in both the US and the UK and yielded the Top-20 hit "I.G.Y. (What a Beautiful World)". In 1988, Fagen wrote the score ofBright Lights, Big City and a song for its soundtrack, but otherwise recorded little. He occasionally did production work for other artists, as did Becker. The most prominent of these were two albums Becker produced for the Britishsophisti-pop groupChina Crisis, who were strongly influenced by Steely Dan.[44] Becker is listed as an official member of China Crisis on the first of these albums, 1985'sFlaunt the Imperfection. For the second of the two albums, 1989'sDiary of a Hollow Horse, Becker is only listed as a producer and not as a band member.
In 1986 Becker and Fagen performed onZazu, an album by former modelRosie Vela produced by Gary Katz.[45] The two rekindled their friendship and held songwriting sessions between 1986 and 1987, leaving the results unfinished.[46] On October 23, 1991, Becker attended a concert byNew York Rock and Soul Revue, co-founded by Fagen and producer/singerLibby Titus (who was for many years the partner ofLevon Helm ofThe Band and would later become Fagen's wife), and spontaneously performed with the group.
Becker produced Fagen's second solo album,Kamakiriad, in 1993. Fagen conceived the album as a sequel toThe Nightfly.[citation needed]
Becker and Fagen reunited for an American tour to supportKamakiriad, which sold poorly despite a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. With Becker playing lead and rhythm guitar, the pair assembled a band that included a second keyboard player, second lead guitarist, bassist, drummer, vibraphonist, three female backing singers, and four-piece saxophone section. Among the musicians from the live band, several would continue to work with Steely Dan over the next decade, including bassistTom Barney and saxophone playersCornelius Bumpus andChris Potter. During this tour, Fagen introduced himself as "Rick Strauss" and Becker as "Frank Poulenc".
Later that year, MCA releasedCitizen Steely Dan, a boxed set featuring their entire catalog (except their debut single "Dallas"/"Sail The Waterway") on four CDs, plus four extra tracks: "Here at the Western World" (originally released on 1978's "Greatest Hits"), "FM" (1978 single), a 1971 demo of "Everyone's Gone to the Movies" and "Bodhisattva (live)", the latter recorded on a cassette in 1974 and released as a B-side in 1980. In 1994, Becker released his debut solo album,11 Tracks of Whack, which Fagen co-produced.
Steely Dan toured again in 1994 in support of the boxed set andTracks. In 1995 they released a live CD,Alive in America, compiled from recordings of several 1993 and 1994 concerts. The Art Crimes Tour followed in 1996, including dates in the United States, Japan, and their first European shows in 22 years. After this activity, Becker and Fagen returned to the studio to begin work on a new album, which would be recorded between 1997 and 1999.
In 2000 Steely Dan released their first studio album in 20 years:Two Against Nature. It won four Grammy Awards: Best Engineered Album – Non-Classical, Best Pop Vocal Album, Best Pop Performance by Duo or Group with Vocal ("Cousin Dupree"), and Album of the Year (despite competition in this category fromEminem'sThe Marshall Mathers LP andRadiohead'sKid A). In the summer of 2000, they began another American tour, followed by an international tour later that year. The tour featured guitaristJon Herington, who would go on to play with the band over the next two decades. The group released thePlush TV Jazz-Rock Party DVD, documenting a live-in-the-studio concert performance of popular songs from throughout Steely Dan's career. In March 2001, Steely Dan was inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame,[47][48][49][50] at the ceremony playing "Black Friday" and teaming withBrian May to perform "Do It Again".[51][52]
In 2002 during the recording ofEverything Must Go, Becker and Fagen fired their engineer Roger Nichols, who had worked with them for 30 years, without explanation or notification, according to band biographer Brian Sweet's 2018 revision of his bookReelin' in the Years.[53]
In 2003 Steely Dan releasedEverything Must Go. In contrast to their earlier work, they had tried to write music that captured a live feel. Becker sang lead vocals on a Steely Dan studio album for the first time ("Slang of Ages"—he had sung lead on his own "Book of Liars" onAlive in America). Fewer session musicians played onEverything Must Go than had become typical of Steely Dan albums: Becker played bass on every track and lead guitar on five tracks; Fagen added piano, electric piano, organ, synthesizers, and percussion on top of his vocals; touring drummerKeith Carlock played on every track.
To complete hisNightfly trilogy, Fagen issuedMorph the Cat in 2006. Steely Dan returned to annual touring that year with the Steelyard "Sugartooth" McDan and The Fab-Originees.com Tour.[54] Despite much fluctuation in membership, the live band featured mainstays Herington, Carlock, bassistFreddie Washington, the horn section ofMichael Leonhart,Jim Pugh, Roger Rosenberg, andWalt Weiskopf, and backing vocalistsCarolyn Leonhart and Cindy Mizelle. The 2007 Heavy Rollers Tour included dates in North America, Europe, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, making it their most expansive tour.[55]
The smaller Think Fast Tour followed in 2008, with keyboardistJim Beard joining the live band. That year Becker released a second album,Circus Money, produced byLarry Klein and inspired byJamaican music. In 2009 Steely Dan toured Europe and America extensively in their Left Bank Holiday and Rent Party Tour, alternating between standard one-date concerts at large venues and multi-night theater shows that featured performances ofThe Royal Scam,Aja, orGaucho in their entirety on certain nights. The following year, Fagen formed the touringsupergroupDukes of September Rhythm Revue with McDonald,Boz Scaggs, and members of Steely Dan's live band, whose repertoire included songs by all three songwriters. Longtime studio engineer Roger Nichols died ofpancreatic cancer on April 10, 2011.[56] Steely Dan's Shuffle Diplomacy Tour that year included an expanded set list and dates in Australia and New Zealand. Fagen released his fourth album,Sunken Condos, in 2012. It was his first solo release unrelated to theNightfly trilogy.
The Mood Swings: 8 Miles to Pancake Day Tour began in July 2013 and featured an eight-night run at theBeacon Theatre in New York City.[57] Jamalot Ever After, their 2014 United States tour, ran from July 2 inPortland, Oregon, to September 20 inPort Chester,New York.[58] 2015's Rockabye Gollie Angel Tour included opening actElvis Costello and the Imposters and dates at theCoachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. The Dan Who Knew Too Much tour followed in 2016, withSteve Winwood opening. Steely Dan also performed atThe Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles with an accompanying orchestra.
The band played its final shows with Becker in 2017. In April, they played the 12-date Reelin' In the Chips residency inLas Vegas andSouthern California.[59] Becker's final performance came on May 27 at the Greenwich Town Party inGreenwich, Connecticut.[60] Due to illness, Becker did not play Steely Dan's two Classics East and West concerts atDodger Stadium andCiti Field in July.[61] Fagen embarked on a tour that summer with a new backing band, The Nightflyers.
Becker died from complications ofesophageal cancer on September 3, 2017.[62] In a note released to the media, Fagen remembered his longtime friend and bandmate, and promised to "keep the music we created together alive as long as I can with the Steely Dan band."[63] After Becker's death, Steely Dan honored commitments to perform a short North American tour in October 2017 and three concert dates in the United Kingdom and Ireland for Bluesfest on a double bill with the Doobie Brothers.[64] The band played its first concert following Becker's death inThackerville, Oklahoma, on October 13.[64] In tribute to Becker, they performed his solo song "Book of Liars", with Fagen singing the lead vocals, at several concerts on the tour.[65]
Becker's widow and estate sued Fagen later that year, arguing that the estate should control 50% of the band's shares.[66] Fagen filed a counter suit, arguing that the band had drawn up plans in 1972 stating that band members leaving the band or dying relinquish shares of the band's output to the surviving members. In December, Fagen said that he would rather have retired the Steely Dan name after Becker's death, and would instead have toured with the current iteration of the group under another name, but was persuaded not to by promoters for commercial reasons.[67]
In 2018, Steely Dan performed on a summer tour of the United States with The Doobie Brothers as co-headliners.[68] The band also played a nine-show residency at the Beacon Theatre in New York City that October.[69] In February 2019, the band embarked on a tour of Great Britain with Steve Winwood.[70] Guitarist Connor Kennedy of The Nightflyers joined the live band, beginning with a nine-night residency at The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas in April 2019.[71]
As of September 2021, the legal battle over the band's royalties was still ongoing, with Fagen speculating during an interview that "thousands of lawyers" were probably involved in the dispute.[72] In July 2023, theEagles announced Steely Dan would be the special guest of their The Long Farewell tour running from September to November 2023.[73] In October 2023, Steely Dan was forced to cancel dates in Denver and Indianapolis after Fagen was hospitalized with an undisclosed illness.Sheryl Crow replaced the band in Denver and theSteve Miller Band in Indianapolis.[74][75] The situation endured on November dates, asTedeschi Trucks opened the Atlanta shows, andThe Doobie Brothers performed as opening act in Charlotte, Raleigh, Lexington and St. Paul.[76] By January 2024, Steely Dan rejoined the Eagles in Los Angeles.[77]
Steely Dan's albums are notable for the characteristically 'warm' and 'dry' production sound, and the sparing use ofecho andreverberation.[citation needed]
Becker and Fagen favored a distinctly soul-influenced style of backing vocals, which after the first few albums were almost always performed by a female chorus (althoughMichael McDonald features prominently on several tracks, including the 1975 song "Black Friday" and the 1977 song "Peg").Venetta Fields,Sherlie Matthews andClydie King were the preferred trio for backing vocals on the group's late 1970s albums.[78] Other backing vocalists includeTimothy B. Schmit,Tawatha Agee,Carolyn Leonhart,Janice Pendarvis,Catherine Russell,Patti Austin andValerie Simpson.[citation needed]
Horn arrangements have been used on songs from all Steely Dan albums. They typically feature instruments such as trumpets,trombones and saxophones, although they have also used other instruments, such asflutes andclarinets. On their earlier albums Steely Dan featured guest arrangers and on their later albums the arrangement work is credited to Fagen.[citation needed]
Steely Dan use the add 2 chord, a type ofadded tone chord, which they nicknamed the "mu major". The mu major chord differs from asuspended second (sus2) chord, as suspended chords do not contain themajor (orminor) third.[79][80][81] In a 1989 interview,Walter Becker explained that the use of the chord developed from trying to enrich the sound of a major chord without making it into a "jazz chord".[82] In theSteely Dan Songbook, Becker and Donald Fagen state that "inversions of the mu major may be formed in the usual manner with one caveat: the voicing of the second and third scale tones, which is the essence of the chord's appeal, should always occur as a whole tonedissonance."[83]
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Steely Dan's lyrics are known for their cryptic nature, often laden with irony and containing cynical or philosophical themes. Much of the band's lyricism contains subtle and encoded references, unusual (and sometimes original) slang expressions, and a wide variety of "word games". The obscure and sometimes teasing lyrics have given rise to considerable efforts by fans to explain the "inner meaning" of certain songs.[84][85] Jazz is a recurring theme, and there are numerous other film, television and literary references and allusions, such as "Home at Last" (fromAja), which was inspired byHomer'sOdyssey.[86]
Lyrical subjects are diverse, but in Becker and Fagen's basic approach, they often create fictionalpersonae that participate in a narrative or situation. The duo have said that in retrospect, most of their albums have a "feel" of either Los Angeles or New York City, the two main cities where Becker and Fagen lived and worked. Characters appear in their songs that evoke these cities, such as inAja's title track, which in the opinion of Alex Pappademas, co-author ofQuantum Criminals, is a personification of Los Angeles.[87]: 169–170 In the song "Everyone's Gone to the Movies", the line "I know you're used to 16 or more, sorry we only have eight" refers not to the count of some article, but to8 mm film, which was lower quality than 16 mm or larger formats and often used forpornography, underscoring the illicitness of Mr. LaPage's movie parties.[88]
Many of the individuals in the band's lyrics are impulsive people in denial.[89] Some[who?] have argued that Steely Dan never wrote a genuine love song, instead dealing with personal passion in the guise of a destructive obsession.[90] Many of their songs concern love, but typical of Steely Dan songs is an ironic or disturbing twist in the lyrics that reveals a darker reality. For example, expressed "love" is actually about prostitution ("Pearl of the Quarter"), incest ("Cousin Dupree"), pornography ("Everyone's Gone to the Movies"), or some other taboo subject.[91] However, some of their demo-era recordings show Fagen and Becker expressing romance, including "This Seat's Been Taken", "Oh, Wow, It's You" and "Come Back Baby".
Current members
Current touring musicians[92]
Studio albums
145. Aja, Steely Dan
On the subject of changes in the music industry, Fagen – who sued Becker's estate over ownership of the band's intellectual property – said the situation regarding Steely Dan royalties was "a long story, constantly going on." "There are probably thousands of lawyers fighting about that right now, as we speak," he noted. "But more generally, these days it's all about streaming."
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