Larry "Mr. 335" Carlton was incredible on this album. His guitar solo on Kid Charlemagne is one of the greatest ever, but to my mind, that intro solo to start Don't Take Me Alive is simply another level. You're right, his tone is something else. The whole album is amazing. Great reaction!
This album with Larry Carlton on Kid Charlemagne and Don’t Take Me Alive and his solo album Room 335 made me go buy a Gibson 335 and a Mesa Boogie Mark 3 combo. I know Larry used a little Fender Princeton or a Deluxe Reverb cranked on The Royal Scam sessions. He was using a Mesa on Room 335 and went to the Dumble amps by the early 80’s and has used them ever since.
I take some small comfort that a younger generation is moved and appreciates great music that came before them - such riches seem to be fading from memory.
Yeah, I'm right with you. The best intro I've ever heard. His solo on Kid Charlemagne is great, of course. But it doesn't carry the impact of an intro. And at 16 bars long, to boot. Right on!
Here At The Western World is a SD song that is only on a best of compilation, it is solid fire, and didn’t make this album. This album, Aja, and Gaucho in order topped off an incredible 3-4 years of music perfection. You Verdy were rocking to the music, rightly so. But lyrically in true SD fashion, so much fun figuring them out.
Larry is the GOAT. Any style, any tempo he can create something so original and creative. One of a kind. Musicality on the guitar at the highest level.
Larry Carlton and Jeff "Skunk" Baxter were Two of the best studio musicians employed by Steely Dan, one band that has such a unique sound that they are in a class all by themselves
IMO, The Dan doesn't have a single bad song in their entire catalog. My all time favorite group. They don't make them like the Dan anymore. I love your channel VERDY. Keep up the great work!
I sincerely hope she won't take this comment as disrespectful in the least... But, I really like this kid... She's so capable of experiencing the music many of us grew up with and felt so passionately about in our youth. She's also dead honest with her thoughts, feelings and emotions about music. It's just great to see someone her age enjoy it as we did when this was on the radio... I'm probably 3 times her age, so kid sounded correct... Love the album side reactions.. Radio stations used to play albums at midnight.. They'd even say "Get your tapes ready"... bet the record companies hated that suggestion...
You may be surprised, when younger people have the opportunity of learning art or science, history, music, they can appreciate it and understand it, just understand their world
Many of those from younger generations still have the openness and desire for critical understanding to seek the meaning (and feeling) of art from the artist, both in context of when it was created and how it can still apply to the present, integrating those messages into how they understand themselves and the world. You could redact the first sentence from your original comment and I’d be fine with that. Two times her age and feel the same way about Verdy.
There was an era when listening to radio-singles SUCKED and folks stopped doing that. They all had cassette players and bought whole albumbs for weeks of consumption. ;Singles-Radio was soooo passé, and everyone had many favorites that Radio would never play.
@@RoSaWa386-33 A proto form of community ID standards where broadcasters bound by fear of FCC standards (that were then aligned with societal standards of morality who could manufacture moral panic out of thin air, at any time and for any reason) dictated what DJs played on air as a business decision. When I see the words “Radio Edit” in a tile, it evokes all of that.
Steely Dan has some of the most brilliantly engeneered albums ever! Great sound and music like this needs to be listened either on good headphones or quality speakers to really appreciate how far ahead they were! just brilliant!
I love your reaction to hearing each song kick off, so much a similar reaction we had back in the day when it was released. Sitting in front of the stereo, fine Columbian already inhaled, and sit in quiet amazement as song after song washes over you. If Aja is the sweet, refined sugar for your soul, then Royal Scam is the raw cane sugar cut in the field and gnawed on for its natural unrefined greatness. Keep up the great reactions, enjoy the music - as you know all too well, you can only hear them for the first time.... once.
All the fantastic musicianship, tone , texture and grooves are at the service of the hypnotic changes that always happen in Steely Dan compositions. The chord progressions are mesmerizing and even when a section is totally unexpected, when it occurs, you immediately realize it makes perfect.
Excellence. ALL beginning in the writing of course... But also in the arrangements, the playing, the mixing, the production, the instrumentation, the use of background vocals, dynamics... NO weak spots ANYWHERE. Musical perfection? Hard to say, it doesn't seem to me those two words make sense together. Musical excellence, as close to perfection as anyone. Ever.
"The Caves of Altamira" is one of my favorite of the lesser known Steely Dan songs. I love the comparison of cave paintings to Hollywood. Ancient movies. Larry Carlton does indeed have great tone on guitar. It's a sound that a lot of guitarists have tried to emulate.
This album features the superb guitarist Larry Carlton (among many other great musicians). He worked on several Dan records but also played on a ton of records in the 70s. His work with Joni Mitchell on her Asylum records in the 70s (Court and Spark, Hissing of Summer Lawns and Hejira being the best of the lot) are highlights for both artists. He also recorded many records under his own name, which I still need to find time to explore at some point.
Glad you enjoyed this. You seem to like Steely Dan as much as I do. I owned the Royal Scam back in the 70's and played it constantly. Caves of Altamira still holds up today and is my favorite Steely Dan song. You have a keen ear for detail. Well done young woman!
Really? That’s one of my least favorite Steely Dan albums. I bought all of theirs, and this is the one that I never listened to very much because I just couldn’t get into it.
One of my most favorite albums! I love rockin’ out with you Verdy! I can clearly see that you are deeply and genuinely enjoying and absorbing this incredible music 🔥🎶
Warms my heart to welcome another Steeley Dan fan into the fold!! There are only a handful of songs in their repertory that aren't perfect. Highly recommend doing Aja next. And please do Joni Mitchell's Court and Spark and Hejira. I dare you!! Thank you for what you do. It is incredibly encouraging to know there is at least one person under 50 that gets what makes great music.
Bernard Purdie was the drummer on all tracks except Don’t Take Me Alive and Everything You Did. He’s 84 and hasn’t missed a beat! He’s still a monster on the drums!!
Verde dear, This is my favorite "Dan album of all time.. They are perfectionists and next level musicians... Bernard Purdie with his drumming was so good..
Love your reaction to John Klemmers sax solo @8:45. It has such a bitter sweet tone to it. So glad to see it caught your attention. Really enjoying your reactions to some of my fave music.
Correctumundo. But all the Aja recording industry dweebs can't bear da overt political innuend-oos so "the best" defaults to that fluffer nutter sandwich, Aja...
They are possibly the best produced albums in the industry. Very often, testing new speakers is done by audiophiles by putting on a Steely Dan album…any of them.
Musically, absolutely. But, in typical Donald Fagen style, the lyrics are a double entendre for wearing a prophylactic, or a "fez" as in: "ain't never gonna do it without the fez on."
Every album of steely dan is classic and perfect to me....the only song of theirs that I could never get into was "Everyones Gone to the movies", and the silly drumming from Jeff Pocaro (I hope i am not a heretic)
It's great to see you digging the same music I was grooving to, over 40 years ago! Steely Dan is great and their production and arrangements have been top notch since the start. Good stuff!!
I agree very much with BelowSeaLevel. I love all the Dan albums, but love this one above all others. I collected each as it was released, looked forward to that 1st and all subsequent plays on album, 8-track, cassette & CD. But Royal Scam was that perfect blend of genres that generated the signature Dan sound - midway between rock/pop & jazz... balanced, melodic, powerful, singable. I never get tired of it. Aja /Gaucho is the end of their journey, where they've left most of their pop/rock roots behind.
Another of my staple 'go to' Maestro's and as always your Reactions because it's evident You actually and always 'feel' the music continue to be captivating. Still miss seeing more of your air guitar gestures as it added even more content to the song but still a genuine reaction to an iconic album. Thanks ☺️
I've watched your reaction video for "Aja" many times, because I'm happy to see you enjoy that brilliant album so much. I would recommend "Gaucho" because it has a more similar sound to "Aja" (more 'jazzy') than "The Royal Scam", which has a bit too much funk for my tastes - except for "The Caves of Altamira," which, I feel, is one of the top 10 songs Steely Dan ever recorded.
If you like this fusion of jazz, funk, and rock, I recommend David Bowie's Station to Station. It was released around the same time as this and is one of his best.
I first heard Kid Charlamange as a child, I was already in love with Steely Dan anyway, at age 8, I loved Reelin' In the Years,, and their music, even at the age of 11, like Ricky Don't lose that Number....later on, I learnt what the lyrics were referring to, and it made me love Steely Dan and their songs even more, I bought every album and every song of theirs, I am just amazed that Donald and Walter actually know me, and understand me in their music, and wrote it for me, when you start playing imaginary instruments and singing silently along, you are a Dan Fan, welcome aboard
Yes, this mix and composition of sounds infused together never seems to disengage the listener from enjoying the unique steely dan signature music ,even after 40 odd years of replaying it.
ça me fait toujours plaisir quand les jeunes découvrent et "sentent" ma musique préférée du temps où j’avais le même âge qu’eux maintenant. Greetings from Houston.
Verdy, great to see your appreciation for this!! Your reaction shows your understanding of the amazing performances!! I just saw Steely Dan again two months ago when they opened for the Eagles. Again, great reaction!!
You just listened to the front side of one of the best albums ever produced. Everybody's got their own taste but, to me, I can't think of one better. Looking forward to side two.
Although Aja is considered their "pièce de résistance" (and rightfully so) I believe The Royal Scam is Steely Dan's finest album. Every track absolutely slaps, the groove is relentless throughout, and the songwriting and musicianship is beyond elite level...there is just no comparison in all of modern music.
Yes although Aja is undoubtedly a wonderful album, for me though it's almost too polished and sophisticated. Pretzel Logic is my favourite with its shorter highly melodic tunes such as Through With Buzz, Barrytown, With a Gun and the superb title track. The Royal Scam is second choice.
22:55-They went full brass on that one, Verdy-Chuck & John Findley with John Klemmer. Royal Scam was pretty much Becker, Fagan and lots of guest Musicians, including Rock Hall of Fame backup vocal girl team : Vernetta Fields, Clydie King and Shirlee Matthews, who you already heard on the Aja LP. Can't wait for the side 2 reaction to the title track.
There are no bad Steely Dan songs. Realize that all these sings are done by jazz and rock session musicians, some playing just what they feel fits the song.
It *was* a sax I could also be completely wrong about this. Lovely reaction to one of my absolute favourite LPs. It's nice to see new listeners being so immediately entranced by something 48 years young. Doesn't it sound good? Isn't it well produced? isn't the instrumentation magnificent? What a fine voice! etc. I'll enjoy your next reaction to side 2 hopefully soon. I'm certain that you'll be equally as moved and impressed. The 'Extraordinary Men Of The Groove' don't miss on any of their albums, but The Royal Scam is where they really hit stride. It paid off enough to fund Aja the most expensive album ever (to that date). That one delivered a shed-load of sales and prizes. .
That is You asleep on the Album cover....dreaming of Steely Dan's music. How did you do that? You were meant to listen to this, your other self back in the 70s. How surreal! Be Born Again My Friend! XXX
Hey there! You have this taped! From someone who's age makes me completely suspect. I am so enjoying. Amazing the variety in subject. Guys are just incredible.
So cool to see a new Dan Fan "get it" instantly. That's a high music I.Q. right there.
Don't Take me Alive is my favorite on this album.
The best intro guitar solo ever. Kicks some serious ass!
Don't Take Me Alive is a personal favorite...but they are all superb
Larry "Mr. 335" Carlton was incredible on this album. His guitar solo on Kid Charlemagne is one of the greatest ever, but to my mind, that intro solo to start Don't Take Me Alive is simply another level. You're right, his tone is something else. The whole album is amazing. Great reaction!
This album with Larry Carlton on Kid Charlemagne and Don’t Take Me Alive and his solo album Room 335 made me go buy a Gibson 335 and a Mesa Boogie Mark 3 combo. I know Larry used a little Fender Princeton or a Deluxe Reverb cranked on The Royal Scam sessions. He was using a Mesa on Room 335 and went to the Dumble amps by the early 80’s and has used them ever since.
@@SIXSTRING63 I have a 335 (among many others) to this day.
I always wish they wouldn’t fade out too soon, just as Larry is getting going!😊
As much as I'd like a 335 I'm gonna have to (happily) go with his Sire H7 or H7F as my next addition.
I had this album wore it out. Love Kid Charlemagne one of my favorites. Interesting Larry Carlton said he doesn’t remember how to play the solo, haha.
John Klemmer played the tenor sax solo on Caves of Altamira. Best. Mike.
Don't take me alive will always be my favorite.
What a _GREAT_ selection !!!!!
*STEELY DAN,* one of my all time favorite groups !!!!!
Think you should react to Supertramp(Crime of the Century) you will love the keyboards, singers and great songs!!! Fantastic album)
Great Rock band with a Jazzy Edge!!
I take some small comfort that a younger generation is moved and appreciates great music that came before them - such riches seem to be fading from memory.
Guitar intro to "Don't Take Me alive" is the best ever. (IMHO)
Yeah, I'm right with you. The best intro I've ever heard. His solo on Kid Charlemagne is great, of course. But it doesn't carry the impact of an intro. And at 16 bars long, to boot. Right on!
Steely Dan, in whatever incarnation, incredibly talented musicians, amazingly well written music, still so good after all these years.
Here At The Western World is a SD song that is only on a best of compilation, it is solid fire, and didn’t make this album. This album, Aja, and Gaucho in order topped off an incredible 3-4 years of music perfection.
You Verdy were rocking to the music, rightly so. But lyrically in true SD fashion, so much fun figuring them out.
Larry is the GOAT. Any style, any tempo he can create something so original and creative. One of a kind. Musicality on the guitar at the highest level.
Larry Carlton and Jeff "Skunk" Baxter were Two of the best studio musicians employed by Steely Dan, one band that has such a unique sound that they are in a class all by themselves
Denny Dias just as good, if not better
IMO, The Dan doesn't have a single bad song in their entire catalog. My all time favorite group. They don't make them like the Dan anymore. I love your channel VERDY. Keep up the great work!
I sincerely hope she won't take this comment as disrespectful in the least... But, I really like this kid... She's so capable of experiencing the music many of us grew up with and felt so passionately about in our youth. She's also dead honest with her thoughts, feelings and emotions about music. It's just great to see someone her age enjoy it as we did when this was on the radio... I'm probably 3 times her age, so kid sounded correct... Love the album side reactions.. Radio stations used to play albums at midnight.. They'd even say "Get your tapes ready"... bet the record companies hated that suggestion...
My thoughts exactly. I love it when young people immediately "get" the music from the time when I was her age.
You may be surprised, when younger people have the opportunity of learning art or science, history, music, they can appreciate it and understand it, just understand their world
Many of those from younger generations still have the openness and desire for critical understanding to seek the meaning (and feeling) of art from the artist, both in context of when it was created and how it can still apply to the present, integrating those messages into how they understand themselves and the world.
You could redact the first sentence from your original comment and I’d be fine with that. Two times her age and feel the same way about Verdy.
There was an era when listening to radio-singles SUCKED and folks stopped doing that. They all had cassette players and bought whole albumbs for weeks of consumption. ;Singles-Radio was soooo passé, and everyone had many favorites that Radio would never play.
@@RoSaWa386-33 A proto form of community ID standards where broadcasters bound by fear of FCC standards (that were then aligned with societal standards of morality who could manufacture moral panic out of thin air, at any time and for any reason) dictated what DJs played on air as a business decision. When I see the words “Radio Edit” in a tile, it evokes all of that.
You cant miss with Steely Dan. Love their music and have seen them in concert.
Another example of the simple fact the 70s produced some of the greatest music of all times
How true, best decade for music without question.
I was 16yo when this came out. One of my top 10 favorites to this day. Play it often. Have all SD albums and CD’s.
Me too, I gotz the outtakes and the bootlegs. There aren't many (any other) artists I go completist.
Yes it is! in the caves of Altamira the sax solo is brilliant. Great reaction!
Steely Dan has some of the most brilliantly engeneered albums ever! Great sound and music like this needs to be listened either on good headphones or quality speakers to really appreciate how far ahead they were! just brilliant!
I love your reaction to hearing each song kick off, so much a similar reaction we had back in the day when it was released. Sitting in front of the stereo, fine Columbian already inhaled, and sit in quiet amazement as song after song washes over you. If Aja is the sweet, refined sugar for your soul, then Royal Scam is the raw cane sugar cut in the field and gnawed on for its natural unrefined greatness. Keep up the great reactions, enjoy the music - as you know all too well, you can only hear them for the first time.... once.
Saturday morning, having coffee, with Ms Verdy and Steely Dan. Doesn't get much better than this. ❤👍
When Jimmy (Page) is chilling at home, he plays Steely Dan!
I love Aja but I really think this is my favorite album by Steely Dan.
over the years, i choose to listen to this one more
loving the segment captions and your delighted face throughout
Duuuude! Don't take me alive with these incredible Steely Dan reactions.🎸👍
All the fantastic musicianship, tone , texture and grooves are at the service of the hypnotic changes that always happen in Steely Dan compositions. The chord progressions are mesmerizing and even when a section is totally unexpected, when it occurs, you immediately realize it makes perfect.
You're a Cool kiddo, Verdy! "Get along Kid Charlemagne..."
isn't that song about Owly?
@@blueboy4244 Yup, from beginning to end.
@@blueboy4244 Augustus Owsley Stanley III. Owlsley for short.
@@mtnvalley9298 The Bear 🙂
What an absolute killer of an album. So awesome to watch you hear these great riffs and arrangements.
Definitely my favorite album.
Excellence. ALL beginning in the writing of course... But also in the arrangements, the playing, the mixing, the production, the instrumentation, the use of background vocals, dynamics... NO weak spots ANYWHERE. Musical perfection? Hard to say, it doesn't seem to me those two words make sense together. Musical excellence, as close to perfection as anyone. Ever.
The weak point of SD is Donal Fagens voice. But I agree about anything else 😅
"The Caves of Altamira" is one of my favorite of the lesser known Steely Dan songs. I love the comparison of cave paintings to Hollywood. Ancient movies.
Larry Carlton does indeed have great tone on guitar. It's a sound that a lot of guitarists have tried to emulate.
Aja & Can't Buy A Thriill & Pretzel Logic All great albums by Steely Dan. Excellent Studio musicians and songwriters!
I would add Countdown to Ecstasy. Just killer.
@@jdbroders64 plus all the other ones; their quality levels are insane 😍.
@@briangray00 Can't argue with that!
Love all their wonderful albums, have to admit though that l could never get into Everything Must Go 😢
@@keithjones7390 I hear you. Not my cup of tea.
This album features the superb guitarist Larry Carlton (among many other great musicians). He worked on several Dan records but also played on a ton of records in the 70s. His work with Joni Mitchell on her Asylum records in the 70s (Court and Spark, Hissing of Summer Lawns and Hejira being the best of the lot) are highlights for both artists. He also recorded many records under his own name, which I still need to find time to explore at some point.
Steely Dan is so freaking awesome. One of my favorites. Their first several albums are just Fantastic! I love every song on this album.
Glad you enjoyed this. You seem to like Steely Dan as much as I do. I owned the Royal Scam back in the 70's and played it constantly. Caves of Altamira still holds up today and is my favorite Steely Dan song. You have a keen ear for detail. Well done young woman!
Caves of Altamira is one of my favourite Steely Dan songs.
Fantastic album, I have loved it since I was a teenager (many many years ago)! Don't Take me Alive is crazy hard rock guitar tone
Don't Take Me Alive is the killer track for me.
Some people would say The Royal Scam is Steely Dan's greatest album. And those people would be correct. 😉
Really? That’s one of my least favorite Steely Dan albums. I bought all of theirs, and this is the one that I never listened to very much because I just couldn’t get into it.
@@Wordsmyth8 Oh my...I guess you don't play an instrument, sorry for you
Definitely the best.
I prefer AJA over this, but it's cool that you like Royal Scam better. Honestly, all Dan is great!
Went downhill after this album in my opinion.
One of my most favorite albums! I love rockin’ out with you Verdy! I can clearly see that you are deeply and genuinely enjoying and absorbing this incredible music 🔥🎶
You’ve struck gold on this band! Production, musicianship, there are not many peers to compare to. Enjoy!
Warms my heart to welcome another Steeley Dan fan into the fold!! There are only a handful of songs in their repertory that aren't perfect. Highly recommend doing Aja next. And please do Joni Mitchell's Court and Spark and Hejira. I dare you!! Thank you for what you do. It is incredibly encouraging to know there is at least one person under 50 that gets what makes great music.
Bernard Purdie was the drummer on all tracks except Don’t Take Me Alive and Everything You Did. He’s 84 and hasn’t missed a beat! He’s still a monster on the drums!!
This is my favorite SD album. The look of pure joy on your face says it ALL. Side 2 is just as good. This is a desert island album for sure.
Verde dear, This is my favorite "Dan album of all time.. They are perfectionists and next level musicians... Bernard Purdie with his drumming was so good..
Love your reaction to John Klemmers sax solo @8:45. It has such a bitter sweet tone to it. So glad to see it caught your attention. Really enjoying your reactions to some of my fave music.
IMO, the best Steely Dan album.
Correctumundo. But all the Aja recording industry dweebs can't bear da overt political innuend-oos so "the best" defaults to that fluffer nutter sandwich, Aja...
Steely Dan has always 'moved me'. And due to their long existence and large catalogue, I always have some emotions tied to it, still, decades later.
The word just came to me-Steely Dan is relentlessly intentional. Best. Mike.
Where does that ending to 'Sign In Stranger' come from - Genius !!
I agree with everything SD songs are always well recorded and produced!
They are possibly the best produced albums in the industry. Very often, testing new speakers is done by audiophiles by putting on a Steely Dan album…any of them.
I've seen Steely Dan live many times over the years and their shows are always amazing. Walter Becker is definitely missed. 😢
The Fez sounds like it could have been a theme song to one of those cheesy 1970s game shows on television
Musically, absolutely. But, in typical Donald Fagen style, the lyrics are a double entendre for wearing a prophylactic, or a "fez" as in: "ain't never gonna do it without the fez on."
Or a 2020s reality show set in Amsterdam.
Thank you for bringing this classic album to light. And thank you for appreciating it.
Every album of steely dan is classic and perfect to me....the only song of theirs that I could never get into was "Everyones Gone to the movies", and the silly drumming from Jeff Pocaro (I hope i am not a heretic)
if i had to pick my favorite steely dan album i could not but this one is it i think maybe.
I love just by the look on your face that you're into this and, honestly, I haven't heard a bad Steely Dan song yet! Keep it up!
I wish I could listen to this for the first - or even the hundredth - time again. It's fun watching you hear it with new ears.
It's great to see you digging the same music I was grooving to, over 40 years ago!
Steely Dan is great and their production and arrangements have been top notch since the start.
Good stuff!!
Picking a favorite SD album would be like picking a favorite child..love them all equally!!
A Full tone from the guitar is a very correct way to describe a particular sound. This guitar is lightly distorted but still hot when it was hot.
Great album selection Miss Verdy :)
I agree very much with BelowSeaLevel. I love all the Dan albums, but love this one above all others. I collected each as it was released, looked forward to that 1st and all subsequent plays on album, 8-track, cassette & CD. But Royal Scam was that perfect blend of genres that generated the signature Dan sound - midway between rock/pop & jazz... balanced, melodic, powerful, singable. I never get tired of it. Aja /Gaucho is the end of their journey, where they've left most of their pop/rock roots behind.
One of my fav album of SD love it❤
Another of my staple 'go to' Maestro's and as always your Reactions because it's evident You actually and always 'feel' the music continue to be captivating. Still miss seeing more of your air guitar gestures as it added even more content to the song but still a genuine reaction to an iconic album. Thanks ☺️
Steely Dan mudou completamente minha visão sobre o que é música.
Hoje Steely é uma das minhas bandas favoritas.
The great Bernard Purdie on the drums.
I've watched your reaction video for "Aja" many times, because I'm happy to see you enjoy that brilliant album so much. I would recommend "Gaucho" because it has a more similar sound to "Aja" (more 'jazzy') than "The Royal Scam", which has a bit too much funk for my tastes - except for "The Caves of Altamira," which, I feel, is one of the top 10 songs Steely Dan ever recorded.
I know what you mean....and of course Donald took it further with Nightfly and Kamakiriad....it was his direction which maybe Walter didn't want to go
If you like this fusion of jazz, funk, and rock, I recommend David Bowie's Station to Station. It was released around the same time as this and is one of his best.
I first heard Kid Charlamange as a child, I was already in love with Steely Dan anyway, at age 8, I loved Reelin' In the Years,, and their music, even at the age of 11, like Ricky Don't lose that Number....later on, I learnt what the lyrics were referring to, and it made me love Steely Dan and their songs even more, I bought every album and every song of theirs, I am just amazed that Donald and Walter actually know me, and understand me in their music, and wrote it for me, when you start playing imaginary instruments and singing silently along, you are a Dan Fan, welcome aboard
How could you not enjoy this album. It's killer. I envy you getting to hear this music for the first time you lucky kid!!
Yes, this mix and composition of sounds infused together never seems to disengage the listener from enjoying the unique steely dan signature music ,even after 40 odd years of replaying it.
This album has its own sound compared to their others. It’s fantastic. The last song, the title track is one of their best.
I agree, the title track is fantastic, as is the title track to Pretzel Logic, one of my favourite songs ever.
ça me fait toujours plaisir quand les jeunes découvrent et "sentent" ma musique préférée du temps où j’avais le même âge qu’eux maintenant. Greetings from Houston.
Yes, that was a sax you heard played by John Klemmer
Verdy, great to see your appreciation for this!! Your reaction shows your understanding of the amazing performances!! I just saw Steely Dan again two months ago when they opened for the Eagles. Again, great reaction!!
You just listened to the front side of one of the best albums ever produced. Everybody's got their own taste but, to me, I can't think of one better. Looking forward to side two.
One of my favorites also the doobie brothers what were once vices are now habbits ! Be well ! 🤘
All the Dan Albums of the 70’s, Vices was great by the DB but my favorite of their’s was Captain and Me
You were made for Steely Dan and Steely Dan was made for you!
Elliot "Reeling In the Years" Randall's raking technique on Sign In Stranger - pure bliss.
That most definitely is a sax that you hear on Caves Of Altamira. But there are definitely horns/trumpet in the cut!
I love when i see a young person into SD.. I used to play SD all the time when my kids were small. They are in their 40's now and are Dan fans
Although Aja is considered their "pièce de résistance" (and rightfully so) I believe The Royal Scam is Steely Dan's finest album. Every track absolutely slaps, the groove is relentless throughout, and the songwriting and musicianship is beyond elite level...there is just no comparison in all of modern music.
Yes although Aja is undoubtedly a wonderful album, for me though it's almost too polished and sophisticated. Pretzel Logic is my favourite with its shorter highly melodic tunes such as Through With Buzz, Barrytown, With a Gun and the superb title track. The Royal Scam is second choice.
AJA least good, Scam second least good. They got too smooth, lost bite. Katy Lied my favorite. Then Thrill and Pretzel.
Sounds like an alto... love your reactions!
I love AJA but Royal Scam was always my favorite. Don't Take me Alive is the ring tone on my cel.
I love Aja too, but love Pretzel Logic and The Royal Scam even more!
Thanks for getting back to Steely Dan. This is my favorite album by them.
Wish the last 30 seconds could go on for 30 minutes! Whoa what a groove.Almost forgot you're doing the whole side! I meant Caves of Altamira.
22:55-They went full brass on that one, Verdy-Chuck & John Findley with John Klemmer. Royal Scam was pretty much Becker, Fagan and lots of guest Musicians, including Rock Hall of Fame backup vocal girl team : Vernetta Fields, Clydie King and Shirlee Matthews, who you already heard on the Aja LP. Can't wait for the side 2 reaction to the title track.
There are no bad Steely Dan songs. Realize that all these sings are done by jazz and rock session musicians, some playing just what they feel fits the song.
Loved seeing you groove to music from my youth. SD is amazing, front to back, any album.
If you listen closely, you can hear Michael MacDonald's backing vocals in the later verse in Kid Charlemagnne. :-)
Fabulous Album & Musicians, But damn the LYRICS 🎉🎉🎉❤😊
Love the Necromonger album design
It *was* a sax I could also be completely wrong about this. Lovely reaction to one of my absolute favourite LPs.
It's nice to see new listeners being so immediately entranced by something 48 years young. Doesn't it sound good? Isn't it well produced? isn't the instrumentation magnificent? What a fine voice! etc.
I'll enjoy your next reaction to side 2 hopefully soon. I'm certain that you'll be equally as moved and impressed.
The 'Extraordinary Men Of The Groove' don't miss on any of their albums, but The Royal Scam is where they really hit stride. It paid off enough to fund Aja the most expensive album ever (to that date). That one delivered a shed-load of sales and prizes.
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Think about the shape of a Fez on a different object......naughty but fun. ✌️
ahhh The Great Larry Carlton on guitar (Kid Charlemagne solos) Superb
That is You asleep on the Album cover....dreaming of Steely Dan's music. How did you do that? You were meant to listen to this, your other self back in the 70s. How surreal! Be Born Again My Friend! XXX
Hey there! You have this taped! From someone who's age makes me completely suspect. I am so enjoying. Amazing the variety in subject. Guys are just incredible.
I have not started to watch the video. Great album.