STEELY DAN is not a rock band, it is a FUSION JAZZ or JAZZ FUSION band. You can thank the immortal MILES DAVIS for the genre. Miles caught hell for infusing rock into traditional Jazz when he released the album IN A SILENT WAY. Check it out. Thank you Miles Dewey Davis.
@@HLG1962 jazz fusion had more electronic & hard rock influences. This is closer to 80/90’s smooth jazz before it was a thing. Steely Dan appealed to rock, soul, and jazz fans.
When formats changed from AM radio to FM radio the broadcast was "clear" with no static at all unlike the old AM signal. Music quality changed forever.
Agreed about the quality change (less noisy signal), but the history is a bit more complicated than a “format change”. AM didn’t go away. I’ll try not to get into the weeds, but FM was created to compete with AM, which technology was owned by one company. AM stands for Amplitude Modulation-think how high and low the wave goes. FM stands for Frequency Modulation-how many waves are squeezed into a cycle of the signal. (I’m sure this is badly explained, so if you’re curious, just check the Wikipedia pages for AM and FM.)
@@MarcosElMalo2 FM would play what was considered "Censored" and "TOO brash" for AM listeners. FM radio was underground and in my area, Boston MA, 104.1 FM WBCN was the leader in this music. DJ's Charles Laquidara and Peter Wolf, who is from The J. Geils Band fame, lead the charge in playing this style of music.
Yes.. but it took one guy to change it all. Stereo fm radio was around for a few years but the only music on it was symphony and opera, mainly because, tho some few rich people had fm mono car radio, stereo fm radios were very expensive and only available in home console TV/stereo phonograph systems. So, for some few years there was no thought of broadcasting popular music on fm. It was Friday night, late summer of '69, my stepfather always listened to symphony music on KMET Los Angeles and around 10 pm suddenly this guy comes on and says, "we're going to try something new." He began to play rock album cuts!! In stereo!! For two hours!! B Mitchell Reed.. and he did two hours on Friday and Saturday nights for a month or so, then slowly extended the play hours for several months. It was a miracle.. absolutely a miracle. And that's the rest of the story.
Those are some of my favorite SD songs, too. Along with Black Cow. Unfortunately, those songs will be lost on these two. They don't have the sophistication to understand SD.
Steely Dan has been sampled a lot in Rap and Hip Hop music. Pretty sure Kanye sampled Kid Charlemagne and Beyoncé sampled Black Cow. They might recognize more than we think.
I run Black nightclubs in SE Texas (Mostly R&B and Zydeco) and I played Tina Marie "Square Biz", Phil Collins "In the Air Tonight", Tom Tom Club "Genius of Love", this song and then Toto "Georgie Porgie" before the DJ started to spin. The crowd asked for more "white boy music". Who knew!?
Fagen & Becker were very Unique founding members of Steely Dan. They hired session musicians to work on each song....the best session musicians too and had a sound of pop,jazz,rock all at once. Loved these guys!
You could play any of 20 or so tracks from this magical band. Followed them since first hearing on the radio in '72 and finally saw them in London in 2009.
"FM (No Static at All)" is the title theme song for the 1978 film "FM". Musically, it is a complex jazz-rock composition driven by its bass, guitar and piano parts, typical of the band's sound from this period; its lyrics look at the album-oriented rock format of many FM radio stations at that time.
FM radio had just started to take over the airwaves when this song came out... before that if you were driving around or at a party... you had the radio on an AM radio station... sifting through the static to find a station playing your favorite music over the single in dash speaker. The discussion on Jazz or Soft Rock will always float around Steely Dan... but it was considered rock at the time.
Invented in the early 30s, first FM stations in the late 30s. But the big change was the development of STEREO FM in the early 60s, which led to “Album Oriented Rock” stations in the late 60s and 70s. AM was mono (not stereo), and the format of pop music stations was to play single 45 rpm records, with DJ chatter and advertising in between. The first AOR stations would play longer blocks without commercials, even whole sides (generally on the late night shows). This also signaled a shift in how people bought records. Whereas before, 45s were more popular, the trend was toward 33 1/3 rpm (rotations per minute) LP (long playing) albums.
@@izzonj The FCC didn't open the tap for FM until '68 but by 1978 listenership to FM stations exceeded that of AM stations in North America." FM History. This song came out in '78 and the same for the movie.
That's not quite true. The FM radio revolution happened during the mid '60s. Steely Dan came in the '70s. The big differences were in the rules under which they operated, increased fidelity and stereo!
In the late 60s, it became profitable to pay attention to detail in recording with the advent of widespread FM radio in Stereo. Groups like the Beach Boys and Beatles became studio monsters. Steely Dan took it too an almost absurd level of perfection. Try to give every note a voice. FM means Frequency Modulation. The audio is carried on the Frequency Wave which is constant. (as opposed to AM which is carried on the Amplitude wave which is NOT constant). ALL modern radio communication (Satellite, microwave, cell phones, Television) uses FM-type modulation above 88 Mhz. This a clearer signal and allowed for the development of Stereo sound. Because FM radio has a higher frequency than AM, it does not travel as far. The lower the frequency, the big the Waveform. So while FM sounds better, it has a limited range and is perfect for selling locally. AM signals have unlimited range at night. So they are required to cut signals at dusk. Bad sound, poor reception or interference = bad format for music.
Steely Dan’s sound always epitomised New York for me when I was a young girl growing up in London in the 70s, I have never visited but would love to one day.
And Blues, and Soul, and Funk, and eventually Disco. Even Classical could easily get in there. Wasn't that maybe the greatest part? That whole era had no rules. I know that every band I ever played in was hyphenated. Jazz-Blues-Funk, or maybe Country-Rock-Blues etc.
Steely Dan is one of the most recognized band without being recognized. You ask people if they like Steely Dan and a lot of people are like "Who?" Then you can play them a dozen songs that they have heard and recognize. Same thing with E.L.O.
Steely Dan were a group of jazz musicians who played pop, rock with with jazz inflections called fusion. Dan were known for their fondness of 11 and 13th extensions to the chords they used so much so they became known as Steely Dan chords.
SD has a ton of great songs that are well worth the dive down the rabbit hole…My Old School, Kid Charlemagne, Hey Nineteen, Bodhisattva, Dirty Work, Josie, Green Earrings, Sign in Stranger and so many more! Even if you don’t have time to react to more SD, you should definitely listen to them on your own.
You forgot “Peg”, that song will lock in anyone who doesn’t know SD and make em wanna hear more.. but awesome list nonetheless! “Hey Nineteen” is a guaranteed good time as well, but is there really ANY SD songs that aren’t stellar smooth classics??
@@moonlitegram Ahhh.. good to know. It’s just a really great starting point for people. If there’s any band worthy of a deep dive it’s Steely, but often takes a while for them to realize it. Then they start saying “wow, they can do know wrong..” and all the comments are lighting up like “yeah, KEEP GOING!” 😂🤷
@@CANDOKNOWHOW Oh, I think its just that their song selection process seems to entirely be generated from their live streams. And in the live streams all the songs are selected by the audience through polls whose poll options come from suggestions in the chat. So they're not really picking songs out to react to. They just have a themed live stream a few times a week, and react to whatever songs win those nights and then upload them in the following days.
I love Green Earrings. It's so funky. That whole Royal Scam album is a gem. I know Aja is usually ranked #1 by SD fans but for me it's Royal Scam as far as some of my all time fav SD songs.
the great thing about being alive during the 60's and 70's is that nobody really worried about categorizing the music. Steely Dan played Steely Dan, just like David Bowie did David Bowie and Stevie Wonder did Stevie Wonder. Today each set of music will find it in dozens of different genres. What did the Beatles play? Everything.
This is known as fusion rock. They had a way of incorporating all different styles of music and masterfully blend them together . Only steeley dan can pull this off.
I always thought the idea was that if you tuned into an FM station (as opposed to AM) while you're entertaining the ladies, you won't get any static, from the station or the ladies. Cool music. Nice and smooth.
The answer to your question is yes! It is all of those things. This is gonna be a pretty big rabbit hole for you guys! I’m sure you’ll get plenty of suggestions 😜
They were one of my favorite bands, back in the day. Such clever lyrics, and a distinctive sound without every song sounding alike. They mainly used studio musicians on their albums, with Walter Becker and Donald Fagen being the two constants and the songwriters. So many good albums with so many great songs on them! Definitely a lot of fusion going on; they mixed funk and rock and jazz and came up with their own sound. They had plenty of hit songs, but you have to listen to the full albums to hear some of their best songs, and there are too many songs to name individually! Probably my favorite lines from one of their songs is from the song "Pretzel Logic," from the days when platform shoes were a big fashion thing - "I stepped up on the platform; the Man gave me the news; He said you must be jokin' son, where did you get those shoes?" Clever, clever writing.
Steely Dan could play it ALL, Rock,Soul, Funk Jazz and a touch of Classical when you hear the strings in this song. This song had all 5 genres just in this one song and their music was just so smooth and sophisticated. Extremely gifted Fagen and Becker !!!
Their background singer’s were guests from another band, the Eagles. Tim Schmidt, Glenn Frey, Don Henley... It’s almost impossible to measure the musical wealth assembled in this group here. The Eagles plus Steely Dan equals...immeasurable greatness, and great music.
This is one of the straight up, greatest bands of all time. Any genre. I feel like with their great arrangements and uses of various instruments and styles, they transcend age, era, everything.
Your remark about this sounding “new” , to me, says that these musicians accomplished the sacred act of creating timeless musical treasures. I think this music came out in the 70’s, a long way back.
Love that you guys are doin Steely Dan. They are in their own genre...total fusion. When FM radio arrived it changed everything for the music industry. Put on an AM music radio station and you 'll understand! It was all we had for a long time
This song is an ode to FM radio. In the late 60's and early 70's FM radio technology had just been made cheaply available to the public and we loved the lack of static and the ability to convey the richness of the music that AM just couldn't do. Early on a lot of FM stations were "album stations" where they would play whole sides of albums.
Steely Dan started as Jazz musicians playing Rock music since there was no real market for new Jazz acts. They began incorporating elements of Jazz into their music, which was known as "Fusion". By the time of their album "Aja" they were essentially a Jazz band
@@lewisjohnson8297 Originally they were a band. Becker and Fagen had no interest in touring constantly, and since they were getting the songwriting royalties they didn't have to. The rest of the band was missing out on the money generated by touring and resented the pair's reluctance to tour. They also didn't care for the increasing traffic of guest musicians in the studio and one by one they stepped aside, except for Dias, who stuck around for another decade
You can never go wrong with Steely Dan! Their music is always exquisite. You can’t really put them in a box or a category. They’re kind of their own genre. Whatever it is, it’s always great 🌺✌️
Us "old timers" (I'm 61) remember that in the 1970's FM (Frequency Modulation) was in a battle with the already established AM (Amplitude Modulation) and AM did not want to give up their dominance in the market. When I was a kid all you could get radio wise, car, house, or otherwise was an AM mono radio, but that's where all the music was at that time anyway so it really wasn't a problem. AM just couldn't compete with FM though once it was affordable enough to get up and broadcasting. Mostly because FM wasn't as susceptible to static interference from electric appliances or other sources, and you could broadcast it in that new format called "Stereo" (which really wasn't that new, it had been available in phonograph records for years) ... AM radio tried to compete, but the best they could come up with for a short time was "dual mono". So, FM had stereo, and even for a very brief time "Quadraphonic" broadcast capability, but one thing that did hold it back was that it did have shorter range and required more power to broadcast stations and towers much like a VHF TV signals and therefore higher expense to operate. But, the demise of AM was written on the wall by that time and FM quickly became the dominate music platform. Take care and thanks for the great entertainment. William C. in Indiana, aka Bionicycle.
This is jazz fusion. Most all of SD's music has a jazz influence, even the more "rockin" ones. This band was later designated (by some) as "yacht rock" for its smooth sound.
The thing about Steely Dan is that they have 100% their own sound. They sound like no one who came before them and no one has sounded like them since. They carved out their own niche of jazz/funk/pop/rock. They were huge in the 70's and early 80's. Many many hits that still get air time these days.
Steely Dan is in a class of their own. This is soft rock with definite jazz influence. First time I ever heard this version! The main version features some killer guitar licks.
I love you guys. I'm a lifetime musician and fan. Here's a tip. Don't worry about it when you can't label an artist as a certain genre (jazz, soft rock, etc.). People want to throw genre labels on EVERYTHING. And yet much of the great music doesn't fit comfortably in any one label because it fuses the influences of more than one genre ............ For instance, this song by Steely Dan brilliantly blends elements of soft rock, jazz (great jazz hornplayer Pete Christlieb makes a guest appearance on sax). Similarly, the Beatles play a variety of music with elements of folk, rock, British Music Hall, R&B and rockabilly! I love how you guys recognize the different elements. So don't drink the kool-aid that every artist has to fit within a certain genre label,
I love Steely Dan today as much as when it first came out. Grew up with am on mom’s car stereo. Wasn’t until I started high school when fm started to become a big thing. Then 8-track and cassettes where big thing. You were the big dog if your car radio had built in 8-track tape player.😎
I had just turned 13 when this dropped. Steely Dan has been a huge part of my life for over 4 decades. A whole lot of fun times while Becker and Fagan were audibly painting in the background. And if you were a teen through your early 30 back then, those songs will have some crazy stories to tell by most of us 😬😂😂😂😂
Let me just say, this is Steely Dan, that's what you're hearing, their in a class of their own, no one like them, saw them in concert a few times and the first time l was around 22, they've been in my life ever since 😉 ✌
Texturally rich. So satisfying. Being so young you will never know the thrill when FM radio arrived and you didn't have to deal with the AM sound waning as you approach a traffic light or something.
This song was written as the theme song for a movie called... "FM". The movie was about the DJs working at an FM "Album Oriented Rock" Music radio station in the 1970's (it was an inspiration for the TV show "WKRP In Cincinnati").
Steely Dan mixed rock, jazz, fusion, funk, soul and even some reggae as they cut their own groove. Keep going down this rabbit hole. You'll enjoy the ride!
It's a fusion. Steely Dan is famous for fusing genres together. They're masters of their craft.
IMO they really started to fuse rock and jazz, on the album, The Royal Scam, ( my fav album by my fav band) and really fused it up on AJA
Yup, you can call it jazz rock or fusion rock or soft rock as long as you call it Steely Dan !!
Always had the best studio musicians…always trying to find that perfect sound for their songs. Got to love them…so many Great songs
@@CJ-Fischer They themselves were the best studio musicians, I heard that's how they got their break for a record contract.
STEELY DAN is not a rock band, it is a FUSION JAZZ or JAZZ FUSION band. You can thank the immortal MILES DAVIS for the genre. Miles caught hell for infusing rock into traditional Jazz when he released the album IN A SILENT WAY. Check it out. Thank you Miles Dewey Davis.
Steely Dan is a genre all to themselves. No one else sounds like them. They have the perfect bluesy, jazzy, rock blend that is uniquely them.
Joe Jackson did a good imitation in the 80s.
@@HLG1962 jazz fusion had more electronic & hard rock influences. This is closer to 80/90’s smooth jazz before it was a thing. Steely Dan appealed to rock, soul, and jazz fans.
Scott, You hit the nail on the head! They are in a class by themselves. A very tasty class indeed!
Called Fusion..... My favorite band!!!!
I've heard this song thousands of times since the late 1970's, still fresh as ever.
Nowadays I think they call this Yacht Rock. At least in Illinois and Michigan!
Pretty sure everybody’s heard this 1000 times since the 70s
@@wild8757 But To Have New Listeners From The Late 2000's Enjoy Our Deep Grooves From The Late 60's to Mid 80's Is Much Appreciated - Aloha - MB
When formats changed from AM radio to FM radio the broadcast was "clear" with no static at all unlike the old AM signal. Music quality changed forever.
Absolutely.
Agreed about the quality change (less noisy signal), but the history is a bit more complicated than a “format change”. AM didn’t go away. I’ll try not to get into the weeds, but FM was created to compete with AM, which technology was owned by one company. AM stands for Amplitude Modulation-think how high and low the wave goes. FM stands for Frequency Modulation-how many waves are squeezed into a cycle of the signal. (I’m sure this is badly explained, so if you’re curious, just check the Wikipedia pages for AM and FM.)
@@MarcosElMalo2 FM would play what was considered "Censored" and "TOO brash" for AM listeners. FM radio was underground and in my area, Boston MA, 104.1 FM WBCN was the leader in this music. DJ's Charles Laquidara and Peter Wolf, who is from The J. Geils Band fame, lead the charge in playing this style of music.
Going under a bridge was the worst!
Yes.. but it took one guy to change it all.
Stereo fm radio was around for a few years but the only music on it was symphony and opera, mainly because, tho some few rich people had fm mono car radio, stereo fm radios were very expensive and only available in home console TV/stereo phonograph systems. So, for some few years there was no thought of broadcasting popular music on fm. It was Friday night, late summer of '69, my stepfather always listened to symphony music on KMET Los Angeles and around 10 pm suddenly this guy comes on and says, "we're going to try something new."
He began to play rock album cuts!! In stereo!! For two hours!! B Mitchell Reed.. and he did two hours on Friday and Saturday nights for a month or so, then slowly extended the play hours for several months.
It was a miracle.. absolutely a miracle.
And that's the rest of the story.
It's hard to find any group smoother than Steely Dan🤘
Word.
The Doobie Brothers? I prefer Steely Dan, but some might argue for the Doobies. Either way, prepare to sail away on an ocean of smoothitude. 😉 🛥
smoother than an Ice Rink, and as cold too :D
So smooth you can hear the cocaine being cut in the background, and your shirt pops two buttons open when you listen.
@@MarcosElMalo2 The Doobie Brothers with Michael McDonald...I forget Michael was on several of Steely Dan albums before he joined the Doobies.
Omg seen these guys twice in L.A. back in the day.thr greatest rock jazz you will ever here.😁
Brad & Lex, you'll love their "Deacon Blues", "Josie" and "Kid Charlemagne"!!!
I second all of these. I would definitely love to see those videos.
Those are some of my favorite SD songs, too. Along with Black Cow. Unfortunately, those songs will be lost on these two. They don't have the sophistication to understand SD.
Steely Dan has been sampled a lot in Rap and Hip Hop music. Pretty sure Kanye sampled Kid Charlemagne and Beyoncé sampled Black Cow. They might recognize more than we think.
My old school gets my vote for favorite SD song
I run Black nightclubs in SE Texas (Mostly R&B and Zydeco) and I played Tina Marie "Square Biz", Phil Collins "In the Air Tonight", Tom Tom Club "Genius of Love", this song and then Toto "Georgie Porgie" before the DJ started to spin.
The crowd asked for more "white boy music".
Who knew!?
this band is the definition of cool.
Fagen & Becker were very Unique founding members of Steely Dan. They hired session musicians to work on each song....the best session musicians too and had a sound of pop,jazz,rock all at once. Loved these guys!
You could play any of 20 or so tracks from this magical band. Followed them since first hearing on the radio in '72 and finally saw them in London in 2009.
"FM (No Static at All)" is the title theme song for the 1978 film "FM". Musically, it is a complex jazz-rock composition driven by its bass, guitar and piano parts, typical of the band's sound from this period; its lyrics look at the album-oriented rock format of many FM radio stations at that time.
Listen to Steely Dan with my Dad.So many layers in their compositions and so relaxing...amazing!
The smile on Lexie's face is priceless! Welcome to The Dan!
I Agree, I get a kick out of lexie!😊
FM radio had just started to take over the airwaves when this song came out... before that if you were driving around or at a party... you had the radio on an AM radio station... sifting through the static to find a station playing your favorite music over the single in dash speaker. The discussion on Jazz or Soft Rock will always float around Steely Dan... but it was considered rock at the time.
Invented in the early 30s, first FM stations in the late 30s. But the big change was the development of STEREO FM in the early 60s, which led to “Album Oriented Rock” stations in the late 60s and 70s. AM was mono (not stereo), and the format of pop music stations was to play single 45 rpm records, with DJ chatter and advertising in between. The first AOR stations would play longer blocks without commercials, even whole sides (generally on the late night shows). This also signaled a shift in how people bought records. Whereas before, 45s were more popular, the trend was toward 33 1/3 rpm (rotations per minute) LP (long playing) albums.
LOL yep my first car was a 71 VW with a AM radio and just one speaker in the center of the dash.
FM had taken over by the time this song came out, but this was written for the soundtrack of the movie, "FM," about a radio station.
@@izzonj The FCC didn't open the tap for FM until '68 but by 1978 listenership to FM stations exceeded that of AM stations in North America." FM History. This song came out in '78 and the same for the movie.
That's not quite true. The FM radio revolution happened during the mid '60s. Steely Dan came in the '70s. The big differences were in the rules under which they operated, increased fidelity and stereo!
Steely Dan has SO many outstanding songs. Massive catalog.
Kid Charlemagne and Kings are two of my favs.
have listened to them for 50 years and this is in my top 5 songs by them..pure brilliance
Some of the best musicians assembled on Steely Dan records, every record is great
Classic STEELY DAN. ❤️
They were way ahead of their time...a band that are/were on top of their craft, glad i saw them in 2022
One of my favorite songs ever. The sax player is incredible.
Probably my favorite Steely Dan song. It’s a whole vibe.
The LEGENDARY Iconic Steely Dan ❤❤❤❤
Can't go wrong with Steely Dan!!! 💞
Absolutely correct!
When you come to love Steely Dan you know your music tastes have evolved to the next level.
In the late 60s, it became profitable to pay attention to detail in recording with the advent of widespread FM radio in Stereo. Groups like the Beach Boys and Beatles became studio monsters. Steely Dan took it too an almost absurd level of perfection. Try to give every note a voice.
FM means Frequency Modulation. The audio is carried on the Frequency Wave which is constant. (as opposed to AM which is carried on the Amplitude wave which is NOT constant). ALL modern radio communication (Satellite, microwave, cell phones, Television) uses FM-type modulation above 88 Mhz. This a clearer signal and allowed for the development of Stereo sound.
Because FM radio has a higher frequency than AM, it does not travel as far. The lower the frequency, the big the Waveform. So while FM sounds better, it has a limited range and is perfect for selling locally.
AM signals have unlimited range at night. So they are required to cut signals at dusk. Bad sound, poor reception or interference = bad format for music.
The production and engineering quality of Steely Dan is always top notch. Love listening to them on my old vinyl.
Ultimate. Steely Dan's best song.
Best party anthem ever made. So cool its flows effortlessly.....
This is one of four different versions of the song.
Steely Dan always feels new…TIMELESS!!! 🤘🏼😎
They are masters of Jazz Fusion. You guys were right.
It’s called fusion, rock and jazz melded together, but still considered rock.
It's called Steely Dan, a genre of it's own.
Jazz/rock fusion... simply the best... smooth...
the best kind of dad rock. Sophisticated dad rock. Quiet night in? Dim the lights, pour a whisky and let the Dan flow...
It’s so good how young people react to this timeless music from half a century ago. They were masters
Never tire of Steely Dan. 🥰
Steely Dan’s sound always epitomised New York for me when I was a young girl growing up in London in the 70s, I have never visited but would love to one day.
Steely dan blended genres, some jazz, some rock and a touch of funk.
Great Song,, Great Group,, You Can't Go Wrong With Steely Dan..Legendary Music Icons.
The 70s was the decade of Fusion. Jazz, Folk, Rock, Country were blended.
And Blues, and Soul, and Funk, and eventually Disco. Even Classical could easily get in there. Wasn't that maybe the greatest part? That whole era had no rules. I know that every band I ever played in was hyphenated. Jazz-Blues-Funk, or maybe Country-Rock-Blues etc.
Funky bass on this one.
Steely Dan is one of the most recognized band without being recognized. You ask people if they like Steely Dan and a lot of people are like "Who?" Then you can play them a dozen songs that they have heard and recognize. Same thing with E.L.O.
It's rock with jazz, blues, and all kinds of influences. The music of Steely Dan is really in a genre all its own
Steely Dan were a group of jazz musicians who played pop, rock with with jazz inflections called fusion. Dan were known for their fondness of 11 and 13th extensions to the chords they used so much so they became known as Steely Dan chords.
It’s tight some of the best musicians in their time, their album AJA is simply a masterpiece
One of the best albums ever made.
Gaucho too
@@robhws love Gaucho as well. But there’s something about Aja. Kind of like Kind of Blue by Miles Davis. Just something about it.
It’s the album I put on for my first runs on the ski slopes. Keeps me from killing myself in the early morning.
Great reaction to a great classic. FM radio was what we used to listen to in the car. I still do. LOL.
SD took up me to the path of Smooth Jazz and I've been a happy man ever since.
You can never go wrong with Steely Dan! 👍
SD has a ton of great songs that are well worth the dive down the rabbit hole…My Old School, Kid Charlemagne, Hey Nineteen, Bodhisattva, Dirty Work, Josie, Green Earrings, Sign in Stranger and so many more! Even if you don’t have time to react to more SD, you should definitely listen to them on your own.
You forgot “Peg”, that song will lock in anyone who doesn’t know SD and make em wanna hear more.. but awesome list nonetheless!
“Hey Nineteen” is a guaranteed good time as well, but is there really ANY SD songs that aren’t stellar smooth classics??
@@CANDOKNOWHOW they've reacted to Peg :D ua-cam.com/video/cpTsBtXmvmo/v-deo.html
@@moonlitegram Ahhh.. good to know.
It’s just a really great starting point for people.
If there’s any band worthy of a deep dive it’s Steely, but often takes a while for them to realize it. Then they start saying “wow, they can do know wrong..” and all the comments are lighting up like “yeah, KEEP GOING!” 😂🤷
@@CANDOKNOWHOW Oh, I think its just that their song selection process seems to entirely be generated from their live streams. And in the live streams all the songs are selected by the audience through polls whose poll options come from suggestions in the chat.
So they're not really picking songs out to react to. They just have a themed live stream a few times a week, and react to whatever songs win those nights and then upload them in the following days.
I love Green Earrings. It's so funky. That whole Royal Scam album is a gem. I know Aja is usually ranked #1 by SD fans but for me it's Royal Scam as far as some of my all time fav SD songs.
the great thing about being alive during the 60's and 70's is that nobody really worried about categorizing the music. Steely Dan played Steely Dan, just like David Bowie did David Bowie and Stevie Wonder did Stevie Wonder. Today each set of music will find it in dozens of different genres. What did the Beatles play? Everything.
EXACTLY!
This is known as fusion rock. They had a way of incorporating all different styles of music and masterfully blend them together . Only steeley dan can pull this off.
I always thought the idea was that if you tuned into an FM station (as opposed to AM) while you're entertaining the ladies, you won't get any static, from the station or the ladies. Cool music. Nice and smooth.
The answer to your question is yes! It is all of those things. This is gonna be a pretty big rabbit hole for you guys! I’m sure you’ll get plenty of suggestions 😜
They were one of my favorite bands, back in the day. Such clever lyrics, and a distinctive sound without every song sounding alike. They mainly used studio musicians on their albums, with Walter Becker and Donald Fagen being the two constants and the songwriters. So many good albums with so many great songs on them! Definitely a lot of fusion going on; they mixed funk and rock and jazz and came up with their own sound. They had plenty of hit songs, but you have to listen to the full albums to hear some of their best songs, and there are too many songs to name individually! Probably my favorite lines from one of their songs is from the song "Pretzel Logic," from the days when platform shoes were a big fashion thing - "I stepped up on the platform; the Man gave me the news; He said you must be jokin' son, where did you get those shoes?" Clever, clever writing.
Spot on. Some brave songwriting and arrangements going on with Steely Dan.
Yes a great line
Yes. Everything he said.
Steely Dan is "Top Shelf" rock and roll.
"don't take me alive" by SD gave me the chills......
I got a chill seeing this comment. “I’m a bookkeeper’s son …”
You'll definitely get into SD's 'Kid Charlemagne' if you give that a listen - Oh and I'd call it Jazz Funk :)
Their BEST jam, IMHO
Steely Dan, musical geniuses in the jazz rock fusion genre. Musical perfection.
Steely Dan could play it ALL, Rock,Soul, Funk Jazz and a touch of Classical when you hear the strings in this song. This song had all 5 genres just in this one song and their music was just so smooth and sophisticated. Extremely gifted Fagen and Becker !!!
Lex is really feeling Steely Dan. They’re awesome !
Their background singer’s were guests from another band, the Eagles. Tim Schmidt, Glenn Frey, Don Henley...
It’s almost impossible to measure the musical wealth assembled in this group here. The Eagles plus Steely Dan equals...immeasurable greatness, and great music.
This is one of the straight up, greatest bands of all time. Any genre. I feel like with their great arrangements and uses of various instruments and styles, they transcend age, era, everything.
These guys are fantastic musicians. Try #1 hit “Reeling In The Years”
Your remark about this sounding “new” , to me, says that these musicians accomplished the sacred act of creating timeless musical treasures. I think this music came out in the 70’s, a long way back.
Love that you guys are doin Steely Dan. They are in their own genre...total fusion. When FM radio arrived it changed everything for the music industry. Put on an AM music radio station and you 'll understand! It was all we had for a long time
How can Steely Dan always deliver? Massive volume of quality fun music.
Thank you for getting around to this band again. So many more great songs from them to get to.
This song is an ode to FM radio. In the late 60's and early 70's FM radio technology had just been made cheaply available to the public and we loved the lack of static and the ability to convey the richness of the music that AM just couldn't do. Early on a lot of FM stations were "album stations" where they would play whole sides of albums.
I freakin' LOVE this band. Fave song.
It's hard to put steely dan in a category but always sweet sounding, recorded to perfection.
You know you're old if you saw the movie when it was new in 78. I was only 9, but remember it well
I NEVER tire of Steely Dan's music!
I was thinking the same thing.
The fact u both were swaying to the Dan shows me you dig them
Probably one of the biggest Rock/Jazz fusion bands ever they're collection is huge
Steely Dan started as Jazz musicians playing Rock music since there was no real market for new Jazz acts. They began incorporating elements of Jazz into their music, which was known as "Fusion". By the time of their album "Aja" they were essentially a Jazz band
As I understand it, Steely Dan are 2 guys from New Jersey, who write and arrange music, then collect the musicians that they think can play it best.
@@lewisjohnson8297 Originally they were a band. Becker and Fagen had no interest in touring constantly, and since they were getting the songwriting royalties they didn't have to. The rest of the band was missing out on the money generated by touring and resented the pair's reluctance to tour. They also didn't care for the increasing traffic of guest musicians in the studio and one by one they stepped aside, except for Dias, who stuck around for another decade
At least that's what Wikipedia says
@@lewisjohnson8297 Just Donald Fagen (b. Passaic,New Jersey). Walter Becker was born in Queens, NY.
They float around different genres. True masters of their craft.
Kid Chalemagne and Hey nineteen must be next!
You can never go wrong with Steely Dan! Their music is always exquisite. You can’t really put them in a box or a category. They’re kind of their own genre. Whatever it is, it’s always great 🌺✌️
steely dan is the best. jazz chords rock music. sooo chill. pool vibes. the electric guitar is there and its super tasty. great reaction.
It's Jazz- Rock- Blues Fusion.
This track is fantastic
Us "old timers" (I'm 61) remember that in the 1970's FM (Frequency Modulation) was in a battle with the already established AM (Amplitude Modulation) and AM did not want to give up their dominance in the market. When I was a kid all you could get radio wise, car, house, or otherwise was an AM mono radio, but that's where all the music was at that time anyway so it really wasn't a problem. AM just couldn't compete with FM though once it was affordable enough to get up and broadcasting. Mostly because FM wasn't as susceptible to static interference from electric appliances or other sources, and you could broadcast it in that new format called "Stereo" (which really wasn't that new, it had been available in phonograph records for years) ... AM radio tried to compete, but the best they could come up with for a short time was "dual mono". So, FM had stereo, and even for a very brief time "Quadraphonic" broadcast capability, but one thing that did hold it back was that it did have shorter range and required more power to broadcast stations and towers much like a VHF TV signals and therefore higher expense to operate. But, the demise of AM was written on the wall by that time and FM quickly became the dominate music platform. Take care and thanks for the great entertainment. William C. in Indiana, aka Bionicycle.
Thanks for the write up! Interesting :)
This is jazz fusion. Most all of SD's music has a jazz influence, even the more "rockin" ones. This band was later designated (by some) as "yacht rock" for its smooth sound.
Have you seen the web series, Yacht Rock HD, that coined the name? It’s pretty brilliant (but warning: it’s totally fictional).
The thing about Steely Dan is that they have 100% their own sound. They sound like no one who came before them and no one has sounded like them since. They carved out their own niche of jazz/funk/pop/rock. They were huge in the 70's and early 80's. Many many hits that still get air time these days.
Steely Dan is in a class of their own. This is soft rock with definite jazz influence. First time I ever heard this version! The main version features some killer guitar licks.
After 50 years, I still never get tired of The Dan. So great to see a new generation getting a taste.
I love you guys. I'm a lifetime musician and fan. Here's a tip. Don't worry about it when you can't label an artist as a certain genre (jazz, soft rock, etc.). People want to throw genre labels on EVERYTHING. And yet much of the great music doesn't fit comfortably in any one label because it fuses the influences of more than one genre
............ For instance, this song by Steely Dan brilliantly blends elements of soft rock, jazz (great jazz hornplayer Pete Christlieb makes a guest appearance on sax). Similarly, the Beatles play a variety of music with elements of folk, rock, British Music Hall, R&B and rockabilly! I love how you guys recognize the different elements. So don't drink the kool-aid that every artist has to fit within a certain genre label,
I love Steely Dan today as much as when it first came out. Grew up with am on mom’s car stereo. Wasn’t until I started high school when fm started to become a big thing. Then 8-track and cassettes where big thing. You were the big dog if your car radio had built in 8-track tape player.😎
Good call on the jazz vibe, Lex. That was one of Steely Dan's influences -- along with rock, the blues, soul, funk and R&B.
I had just turned 13 when this dropped. Steely Dan has been a huge part of my life for over 4 decades.
A whole lot of fun times while Becker and Fagan were audibly painting in the background.
And if you were a teen through your early 30 back then, those songs will have some crazy stories to tell by most of us 😬😂😂😂😂
They are no genre in particular and every genre in general. They are said to be "your favorite musician's favorite musician"! Incomparable!!
Their music layered, and builds up from their influences and how they mold them into their own style.
Let me just say, this is Steely Dan, that's what you're hearing, their in a class of their own, no one like them, saw them in concert a few times and the first time l was around 22, they've been in my life ever since 😉 ✌
Peg, reelin in the year, do it again. The Steely Dan rabbit hole begins!
We dug on jazz in the '70s. It was way chill.
Texturally rich. So satisfying. Being so young you will never know the thrill when FM radio arrived and you didn't have to deal with the AM sound waning as you approach a traffic light or something.
You can always tell when Steely Dan is playing definitely have their own sound
Steely Dan. Where various great drummers come to record and set aside their phenomenal chops and groove their asses off. lol
This song was written as the theme song for a movie called... "FM". The movie was about the DJs working at an FM "Album Oriented Rock" Music radio station in the 1970's (it was an inspiration for the TV show "WKRP In Cincinnati").
Jazzy funk is what I call this. Jazz fusion is so cool.
Steely Dan mixed rock, jazz, fusion, funk, soul and even some reggae as they cut their own groove. Keep going down this rabbit hole. You'll enjoy the ride!
Steely Dan is played a lot on the classic jazz stations. It was also popular on rock stations.
This track is both Jazz & Rock with elements of styles....a real fusion...loved your reactions guys thanks!
Steel Dan just had some of the top talent in their band. Their jazz influence is always great.