Steely Dan. Any fans?

[TheTecknician]

I'm not a huge fan but a latter-day appreciator of their music. I only have one of their albums which is a compilation but it has some good songs. I think of those I've heard, I like 'Peg' and 'Hey Nineteen' the most. 'Deacon Blues' is a good song but it could do with being a little shorter!

My DD plays guitar and I can hear her in her room in the evenings playing stuff like Ventura Highway (America) and Stevie Nicks tunes. When TikTok is a force for good! She also has Peg on her 'cheesy' playlist - the nerve!

Having seen Nearly Dan the other day, I now feel the need to scratch the Steely Dan itch again. Apart from Nearly Dan and Simply Dan, can anyone recommend any more tribute bands please?

I love Steely Dan! I was first introduced to them in the 90s when I was 20 by a French guy I dated briefly. It wasn't love at first sound, but they grew on me and I've loved them ever since.

Don Fagan's voice is something else - so raw, soulful, unpolished, imperfect yet perfect!. Reminds me very much of of Phil Lynot who I also love.

Their music makes me think of hazy, warm summer days in the 70s, chilling out and having fun with friends. I was born in the 70s but wish I'd been born in the 50s or 60s as I'd have loved been a teenager or adult in the 70s.

Treated myself to this for my birthday.

@NellieJean I do! I did a quiz for my family last Christmas and this was one of the questions. Another was where did 10cc get their name? I’ll try to think of some more….

Happy birthday and what a great read I expect 🍾

Jonathan King was the inspiration for 10CC's name. The band was signed to UK, his record label. See also Beach Baby by The First Class.

@TheTecknician The answer I was looking for was 10cc is the amount of the average male ejaculation. Your answer could be right though.

I love Steely Dan. I’ve always been an avid listener to music on the radio. As a teenager in the 70s, I first heard them on Capital Radio. They played their singles: Back Jack, Rikki Don’t Lose That Number, FM. Also Annie Nightingale who had a weekend show on Radio 1. I’m off to find Peg on YouTube now, as I don’t remember that one.

Ah, yes! I recognise the tune of Peg, just not the song title. By 1977 my attention was more on punk rock.

@cheapskatemum I was into punk in 1977 too and have only got to appreciate Steely Dan in the past year or so. Still love the noisy stuff though. Went to see The Damned in April and going again in December. Still great. What bands did you like?

@CrowsInMyGardenhow long have you got? Off the top of my head: Buzzcocks, Clash, Sex Pistols, Stranglers, X Ray Specs, Slits, Adverts, Ramones, Damned, Undertones, Stiff Little Fingers, Members, Ruts, Dead Kennedys, Jam, early Boomtown Rats (apologies for lots of missing definite articles). Anything loud & raucous but still had the vestiges of a tune! Some became mainstream fairly quickly eg Generation X/Billy Idol, Blondie & Pretenders. I also loved Elvis Costello & this continued once he’d left punk behind, because his lyrics were so clever. I realise John Peel was my major source.

I remember John Lydon saying much more recently that they (Sex Pistols) didn’t actually hate bands such as Steely Dan & the like (not sure he referenced SD in particular, but definitely bands & artists that got played a lot on FM radio, eg Jackson Brown, Supertramp etc). But back in the late 70s one did have to nail your colours to the mast. I found that very tricky because I also loved disco: Sylvester, Earth Wind & Fire, Chic.

@cheapskatemum Loved all of those you listed. I am going to see John Lydon next Spring, he's do a Q&A event at my local theatre. I except he'll be entertaining. Sorry OP for chatting on your post!

Apologies from me too OP. @CrowsInMyGardenthat should be a very interesting night out. Since the mass hysteria after him swearing in the Bill Grundy interview, people have learned not to judge that book by its cover. I’ll start a new thread & reference you in the first post, as I have further questions for you! Feel free to ignore if you’re not up for it.

I started it in Music & @CrowsInMyGardendidn’t work as a link. Not sure why.

Nobody ever mentions my favourite SD song which is Change of the Guard. Such a succinct, clever, poppy 70s sound. Reminds me of long summer days in the year between O and A levels.

In a cafe in Bath and they're playing "Reelin'" in the background.

Thank you! I've just got to the bit where he's successfully auditioned for Steely Dan.

Yes it's good! Very 70s. My favourite from CBAT is Fire in the Hole, particularly the intro.

I generally prefer their later stuff though.

I haven't listened to Hey 19 in a while but surely Cousin Dupree is up there with Inappropriate Lyrics?

Didn't know that! Everyday"s a school day

And don’t forget “Everyone’s Gone to the Movies” from Katy Lied. A creepy neighbour luring teenagers to his den to watch pornography? Ugh! Great song, mind.

But to me it’s fine to write songs that aren’t supposed to be aspirational, but are about nasty sleazebags or unlikeable characters. Tbh the Dan have a ton of those. Not their fault if people think Hey 19 is celebrating that kind of thing. I had two dates with a dried out old perv in New York when I was 20 and I think it exactly captured that vibe tbh.

@PermanentTemporary

I absolutely agree. I've always loved the dark, "sleazy underbelly" aspect of Becker and Fagen's songwriting. One of my very favourite Dan songs is the lesser-known but wonderful "Here at the Western World"; this depicts, depending on your interpretation, the goings-on at a South American brothel frequented by a Nazi war criminal and his Dictator friend and sympathiser.

https://chasblaum.net/2019/01/12/steely-dan-here-at-the-western-world/

The dark subject matter in no way takes away from this being one of Becker and Fagen's most haunting, melancholy compositions. It's a damn shame it's not more widely known.