Dave James Posted September 15, 2004 Report Share Posted September 15, 2004 From "Babylon Sisters": "We'll jog with show folk on the sand Drink kirschwasser from a shell San Francisco show and tell Well I should know by now That it's just a spasm Like a Sunday in T.J. That it's cheap but it's not free That I'm not what I used to be And that love's not a game for three." Fagan & Becker are the Cole Porters of rock and roll. Up over and out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrJ Posted September 16, 2004 Report Share Posted September 16, 2004 With years of hindsight, I'm impressed not only with the literacy of the lyrics and the incredibly high level of musicianship in their work, but also how FUNNY a lot of their songs were. Back in the late 70's seemed EVERYONE in rock (particularly the "FM rock" crowd that would gravitate towards Steely Dan - not the disco folks, who were partying too much to care) took themselves just a little too seriously. That includes critics, who used to slam them for being overly precious/serious/boring. I just don't get that, nothing could be further from the truth. SUBVERSIVE would be word that comes to mind, there were some real hand grenades sprinkled throughout their songs - musical and lyrical - that people seemed to have completely missed. I love to listen to their stuff on my new listening system, it really does the recordings justice. Particularly enjoying the tune "Pretzel Logic" the other day, which has a typically understated but brilliant Walter Becker guitar solo and some really funny and incredibly evocative lyrics - all layered over a modified blues structure and filtered through a late '70s, Los Angeles FM rock prism (held in the hands of Boston college boys who loved jazz, Atlantic soul, and the blues!): "I would love to tour the Southland In a traveling minstrel show I would love to tour the Southland In a traveling minstrel show Well I'm dyin' to be a star And make them laugh Sound just like a record on the Phonograph Those days are gone forever Over a long time ago Oh yeh" "I have never met Napoleon But I plan to find the time I have never met Napoleon But I plan to find the time" "'Cause he looked so fine Upon that hill They tell me he was lonely He's lonely still Those days are gone forever Over a long time ago Oh yeh" "I stepped up to the platform The man gave me the news He said you must be joking son Where did you get those shoes?" "Well I seen 'em on the TV The movie show They say the times are changin' but I Just don't know Those days are gone forever Over a long time ago Oh yeh" Some of those phrases are almost like the best haiku in their perfection. For sure Becker and Fagan's body of work has to be a contender for the most timeless and artful collection of songs and recordings popular music has ever produced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alon Marcus Posted September 16, 2004 Report Share Posted September 16, 2004 A blindfold test by Walter Becker http://www.steelydan.com/blindfold.html B-) B-) B-) B-) B-) B-) B-) B-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Man with the Golden Arm Posted September 16, 2004 Report Share Posted September 16, 2004 found long ago whilst googling about Warne Marsh & put this on the 'nessa spam' thread but maybe good here too. just to check out what these guys really like! During the recording sessions for Gaucho, Donald and Walter were preparing to leave New York for Bayshore Studios in Miami when at the last minute the prospect of a late-winter avalanche of college kids deterred them, so they stayed in Manhattan. But their publicist, Katie Valk, went anyway and wound up making front page news. A former lifeguard, Valk pulled a man from a Cadillac Seville which had plunged into a creek and revived him. "Bystanders rescue five from car in Indian Creek," the Miami News headline read. When she returned to New York, Becker sent a limo to the airport to pick her up and then feasted with her on a box of stone crabs she had brought back. Valk's comments on the whole episode? "Everybody knows press agents use their mouths more than their heads anyway." "Donald and Walter? Yeah, they've been down to hear us this week. They offered to record the band, mainly to have a record of it, if only for themselves." So said Warne Marsh in 1980 after some dates at New York's Village Vanguard. And Fagen and Becker, who rarely appear in public, weren't the only wones who crawled out of the woodwork to catch him. A few months later, Fagen and Becker asked New York Times journalist Robert Palmer to write the sleeve notes for Apogee, the album they had produced for Marsh and Pete Christlieb. When Donald Fagen visited Palmer's apartment and scoured through his 10,000 album collection, he pulled out the only disc he wanted to hear: a particular Becker and Fagen favorite, Warne Marsh's 'All Music' on the Nessa label. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wesbed Posted March 22, 2005 Report Share Posted March 22, 2005 Tonight I started with Horace Parlan, transitioned to Stanely Turrentine, and ended with Steely Dan. I can't get enough of "West of Hollywood." I'm way deep into nothing special Riding the crest of a wave breaking just west of Hollywood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Alfredson Posted March 22, 2005 Report Share Posted March 22, 2005 A blindfold test by Walter Becker http://www.steelydan.com/blindfold.html B-) B-) B-) B-) B-) B-) B-) B-) Ha! Some really funny moments in there. I like this one: (8) EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER. Promenade (from Pictures at an Exhibition, Cotillion). 1972 WB: At first I thought that was gonna be a power trio playing an instrumental version of "Incense and Peppermints." Then I realized it wasn't gonna be that, but I still wished it would've been, 'cause that would've been better than what it was: a ponderous series of unrelated minor triads played on an organ, then there was a solo played on a Moog synthesizer or some such piece of equipment. Not my cup of tea. Maybe it was Emerson, Lake & Palmer. One star Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wesbed Posted March 22, 2005 Report Share Posted March 22, 2005 I wonder if this is worth purchasing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free For All Posted March 22, 2005 Report Share Posted March 22, 2005 I plan on picking it up out of curiousity. I can't imagine what the jams will sound like, though. Her shows are seldom disappointing. The Bill Evans show is a must-have, BTW. Really great IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzmoose Posted March 22, 2005 Report Share Posted March 22, 2005 Wow...I'm tempted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeweil Posted March 22, 2005 Report Share Posted March 22, 2005 Is there any website with all the lyrics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alankin Posted March 22, 2005 Report Share Posted March 22, 2005 I wonder if this is worth purchasing? Arrived this morning. On tap for later this afternoon... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wesbed Posted March 22, 2005 Report Share Posted March 22, 2005 Is there any website with all the lyrics? http://www.steelydan.com/lyrics.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeweil Posted March 28, 2005 Report Share Posted March 28, 2005 Is there any website with all the lyrics? http://www.steelydan.com/lyrics.html Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzdude Posted March 30, 2005 Report Share Posted March 30, 2005 It's fun trying to decipher the lyrical meaning to SD. Some years ago I was able to figure out what the lyrics to "Pretzel Logic" are about. The song is about the rise of Hitler and fascism in Germany. On "Two Against Nature" the song "Jack of Speed" is about Teddy Kennedy and what happened at Chappiqudick with Mary Jo Kopetnick (wrong spelling) in 1969. That was fairly easy to figure out. "Pretzel Logic" was harder. You have to know some of the history of the rise of fascism in the 1920's in Germany culminating in Hitler becoming der Feurher in the early 1930's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wesbed Posted March 30, 2005 Report Share Posted March 30, 2005 It's fun trying to decipher the lyrical meaning to SD. Some years ago I was able to figure out what the lyrics to "Pretzel Logic" are about. The song is about the rise of Hitler and fascism in Germany. The thing I enjoy about Steely Dan lyrics is that for every scenario that person 'A' can think of, person 'B' can think of another equally explanitive scenario. The Steely lyrics have filled my mind with all sort of positive visions through the years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Johnson Posted March 30, 2005 Report Share Posted March 30, 2005 It's fun trying to decipher the lyrical meaning to SD. Some years ago I was able to figure out what the lyrics to "Pretzel Logic" are about. The song is about the rise of Hitler and fascism in Germany. The thing I enjoy about Steely Dan lyrics is that for every scenario that person 'A' can think of, person 'B' can think of another equally explanitive scenario. The Steely lyrics have filled my mind with all sort of positive visions through the years. Completely agree. The lyrics fit whatever situation you wish. The mark of a good lyricist...or even...a cunning linguist! (sorry) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzdog Posted March 30, 2005 Report Share Posted March 30, 2005 Just goes to show you how SD lyrics can bring up a multitude of connotations, each different to a man. Jack of Speed is in fact or at least I deciphered it as a song in fact, about speed, "yes Teddys rolling now most everynight...skating backwards at the speed of light, he's changed...". The relationship between the two antagonists is definetly challenged by the things Teddy is indulging in. The guyshere kind of go along with my hypothesis But the guys If you've ever heard the original lyrics on this (I believe they played it live in 93/94), they are slightly more overt. Chain Lightning is definetly about Nazi Germany and sideshow rallies that tended to dominate the day. The fever dreams website is pretty cool, however, when i am listening to the Dan my mind is not so much on the lyrics, per se, but how the words and the music create a symbiotice whole, One cannot survive without the other. It seems to be a fact that Dan lyrics float too far abouve the heads of the casual music listener, I can't seem to find a girlfriend who apreciates them as much as I do. in facvt my last two serious girlfriends hated them as much as I love them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wesbed Posted March 30, 2005 Report Share Posted March 30, 2005 When I listen to Steely Dan, I often have thoughts of a seedy, underworld, existence of life. At other times a beach seen, warm weather, fun times, good booze, jazz, and good old American fucking around, day-to-day life. All the characters in the Steely tunes, to me, seem warm. Even the 'bad' characters give positive vibes and have something interesting to offer. When listening to Steely tunes I've never had the occasion to think of Hitler, Nazi Germany, Germany, or any part of Europe. Again, another individual perspective on the songs of the Dan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzmoose Posted March 31, 2005 Report Share Posted March 31, 2005 And of course, Rikki Don't Lose That Number is about smoking doobage with Rikki Lake while she foolishly bogarts the joint while rummaging through the fridge. Surely no one can argue with this interpretation... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzdog Posted April 1, 2005 Report Share Posted April 1, 2005 I always thought it was about Ricky Martin and smoking joits! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregK Posted April 1, 2005 Report Share Posted April 1, 2005 I've never tried to decipher the Dan's lyrics. And I hope they will never be explained to me. I might be disappointed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kari S Posted April 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2005 "Pretzel Logic" is about Hitler and the rise of the 'Third Reich'? Wow. Didn't see that one coming. I thought it was about some [delusional] guy who's lost his touch with reality and lives in his dreams of the past. Which...I guess makes sense now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aggie87 Posted October 11, 2007 Report Share Posted October 11, 2007 Guess this is as good a place to put this as anywhere. From MusicTap: Rhino is wrapping up the Donald Fagen catalogue with a trilogy package called The Nightfly Trilogy. The collected titles are Nightfly, Kamakiriad, and Morph the Cat. This package will contain 3MVIs (the relatives of DVD-A and DualDisc) and 4CDs. The MVI discs will feature the 3 albums in DTS 5.1, DD, and Advanced Resolutions (DVD-A) Stereo (48kHz/24Bit). Each MVI, which will house all music specific to each album, will also contain bonus tracks of rare and previously unreleased music, videos, lyrics, ringtones (what’s with these ringtones?), and web-links. The included extra CD will collect those same bonus tracks into one CD for easy play. The MVI discs will be beefed up with expanded booklets, each with liner notes and track-by-track commentary by Fagen. The first album, The Nightfly (1982), will add “True Companion,” “Century’s End,” and a live version of “Green Flower Street.” That album will also enjoy bonus video clips of “New Frontier,” and “Century’s End.” Kamakiriad (1993) will include added songs, “Blue Lou,” “Big Noise in New York,” “Shanghai Confidential,” and “Confide in Me,” along with an interview with Donald Fagin. The video content for Kamakiriad include clips of “Snowbound,” and “Tomorrow’s Girls.” The final album, Morph the Cat (2006), will mix in bonus live tracks of “Viva Rock & Roll,” “Hank’s Pad,” and a cover of Al Green’s “Rhymes.” Note that each MVI album contains all of the songs in additional MP3s, and will contain .pdf versions of the booklets as well. This truly exhaustive package is slated to drop on November 20 and will retail for $59.98, less if you look around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randyhersom Posted October 12, 2007 Report Share Posted October 12, 2007 When listening to Steely tunes I've never had the occasion to think of Hitler, Nazi Germany, Germany, or any part of Europe. When the dawn patrol got to tell you twice, they're gonna do it with a shotgun That's Night by Night from Pretzel Logic (that and Parker's Band are my favorite tracks). The title track I'm far less convinced about. Hitler as fashionista?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceH Posted October 13, 2007 Report Share Posted October 13, 2007 When listening to Steely tunes I've never had the occasion to think of Hitler, Nazi Germany, Germany, or any part of Europe. When the dawn patrol got to tell you twice, they're gonna do it with a shotgun That's Night by Night from Pretzel Logic (that and Parker's Band are my favorite tracks). The title track I'm far less convinced about. Hitler as fashionista?? "Well I don't even care If it's wrong or if it's right But until my ship comes in--- I live nighhht byyy night..." Okay, that's gonna be going through my head for the next day or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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