Look! I know that this was initially inspired by an actual event and everything, but I have my own wild-brained impression of this and I'm not giving it up. "The End" by The Doors tells you that, "He went into the room where his sister lived and he, paid a visit to his brother"... His brother and sister are dead. He's a killer. That's what he does. In this song, Dad's dead.
This will be long but worth it. I can't believe no one has posted this. "Don't Take Me Alive" off of "The Royal Scam" is about David Sylvan Fine, the youngest of the Sterling Hall bombers (at the University of Wisconsin- Madison) who was captured ins San Rafael, California in January of 1976. Despite the title of the song he WAS taken alive, spent three years in prison and eventually became a paralegal in Oregon. FIRST STANZA: This is a David Fine (also known as William Fewes) inner monologue as the 'agents of the law' (FBI or, as they are known, "federal agents") surround his room in San Rafael to arrest him for the Sterling Hall bombing in 1970. He was one of four men that bombed the building on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus because it housed the Army Mathematics Research Center. (Three others were injured.) The 'luckless pedestrian' is the only casualty of the Sterling Hall bombing, researcher Robert Fassnacht. REFRAIN: In the press, David Fine's father was listed as a bookkeeper or salesman in the Portland, Oregon area. Not a "bookie" or anything else nefarious - just an honest middle-class working professional of the time. All of the Sterling Hall bombers statements after the fact, specifically said that they did not plan for anyone to be injured by the bomb - which was retaliation for the infamous Kent State massacre. The fatality and other casualties were simply the result of bad timing. And Fine was unarmed at the time of apprehension. ("I don't want to shoot no one.") The "crossing" line is likely refers to the aftermath of Mr. Fine's hard work (and money) to get him into the Engineering program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, only to have him become a radical who was (incorrectly) associated with the Weather Underground. And, of course, the "Don't take me alive" line which adds the element of danger. After the bombing when all four went on the run and even during his arrest, there is no record of Fine making that statement. Call it "artistic license" on Steely Dan's part - but the bombing DID make headline news at the time and was a big event. The "Got a case of dynamite, I could hold out here all night" lines refer to the actual bombing of the building itself. There was no mention of dynamite or anything else being present when Fine was apprehended - so once again, this is 'artistic license'. SECOND STANZA: The first couple of sentences refer to Fine's hearing in San Francisco AFTER his arrest. According to newspaper accounts, he was smiling, cordial and comfortable in the courtroom and had no real remorse. So, as he sat on the stand, captured after more than five years on the run, he would perceive the crowd as "evil". The crowd, on the other hand, would be happy to capture one of the criminals in what was at that time, the largest bombing on U.S. soil. (The 1995 Oklahoma City bombing would eclipse it.) The remaining lines of this stanza reference his job while on the run and living in San Rafael - 'warehouseman' (according to one paper) or as a traffic manager for a small electronics company in Santa Monica ("the mechanized hum of another world"). There inside the dark ("no sun is shining") warehouse, as William Lewes (or Lewis), the police weren't after him ("no red lights flashing"). But, left alone in his hours of work there, he knows who he really is and what he's responsible for. (Look up his testimony in San Francisco and you'll know what I mean.)
Thank you for giving the history and relevance of this song. As a Canadian, I knew nothing about these events, other then the “Kent State” part. I love Steely Dan and appreciate their music…..but don’t always get their context or cultural references. Thanks again 👍🇨🇦😎
You picked a deep rabbit hole with these guys. You can pick any song of theirs and their musicianship will amaze you. They are perfectionists and it shows in every song they do. One of the greatest bands in Rock.
The Dan's lyrics were often extremely cryptic. This song is prob an exception. Mate, you have discovered the wonderful Steely Dan. I'm envious. You are in for some exceptional treats.
A few Dan song lyrics are straghtforward, I think this one is ... just a great narrative from the perspective of a desperate fujitive. Any larger meaning might be that any seemingly harmless person can snap ("I'm a bookkeeper's son, I don't want to hurt no one"}, perhaps dealing with a mental disorder including paranoia. ... A current-day interpretation of the lyrics could be desire for "Death by Cop"
Yeah you're right. These kids are lucky listening to these first time reaction songs from our Generation. It doesn't matter if you're turned on to our music the week it was released or 50 years later. I still remember the Thrill of listening to "Don't take me Alive" by Steely Dan 45 years ago.
Steely Dan as a band eventually became a nucleus of just two members - Donald Fagan and Walter Becker. They would hire THE best session men, so for instance on this track we have the wonderful Larry Carlton, also known to Steely Dan as Mr 335 due to Larry's fondness for a certain Gibson guitar. They fused jazz with funk and rock but in a style totally unique to them. And they could also do country and blues etc. They're a one off not just musically but the craftsmanship of the recording process also definded them as in a league of their own. Their album Aja is regarded by many as being almost perfect in its capturing sound onto vinyl. Sonically unmatchable. Sound engineers when testing speakers would use Aja to do just that. So dig deep my friend and be prepared to be deeply impressed by the one and only Steely Dan.
The one from Layla is more well-known, but that doesn't mean it's better. I love the Layla one, but it's repetitive, there is no repetition in Carlton's awesome intro.
Arguably among the best guitar solos you will ever hear - one amazing musical idea after another from the incredible Larry Carlton - a frequent contributor to the Steely Dan sound.
Glad a young man like you has ventured into Steely Dan's outstanding catalog. The 'Luckless Pedestrian" is some innocent bystander taken down by the standoff. "No Red light Flashing" is that that what he becomes is someone without rules or even the desire to do anything remotely within the confines of the law now. I grew up as a 9 year old hearing this music in 75 and the 70's were the best and most diverse era of Rock, Soul and Jazz fusion. You are fortunate to now be hearing all of this for the first time. Peace!
Luckless pedestrian is someone who got caught in the crossfire during a shoot-out. He's holed up in a building, surrounded, he screwed over his mobbed up dad, a "book maker" or bookkeeper for the mob by stealing his money, so he has nothing left to lose. He'll go out in a blaze of glory if he has to.
Some context needs to be supplied. Prior to about 1964, most chart hits were performed by singers or singing groups, backed up by a band supplied by their record label. It was a different era, completely, from what you grew up within. Then came the Beatles and the British invasion, and we kids were amazed that they not only sang, but played their own instruments, and wrote their own songs. Oft times popular singers put out records using songs written by songwriters who worked for the record companies. "Hits" were manufactured, following pretty much the same formula, based on what had always worked in the past. It was corporate safe and cautious. The Beatles changed everything. Personally, I liked the Beatles' music, but based upon their music alone, they would not, IMHO, deserve the billing history has bestowed upoon them. But they were massive groundbreakers in music history, and they should be revered for that role, too. The impact of The Beatles and all of the British bands did not change everything overnight. Lots of American musicians also hopped aboard the write, play, and perform freight train. We thought it stupid for artists to just sing songs written by other people because the record companies told them too. (Watch "That Thing You Do" some evening for a visual explanation of the system back then). We also fled AM radio and its "Top 40" format that repeated the same songs 24/7 for a flock of newly formed FM stations (FM radio hardly existed back then) whose DJs played whatever they liked no matter if you had ever heard of the band or the song. It was a era full of wonders and exploration. With new radio outlets for their art, and the chance to break the chains placed upon them by the big record companies, musical artists joyously broke with the past and started to put out all sorts of non-formulaic songs and albums. Many of these artists borrowed heavily from other musical genres. Country rock was quite prominent, and I'd argue this period was the birth of what is now called "New Country" in America. Prog groups borrowed heavily from classical music, with ELP being the prime example, but Yes and Genesis, too. Fusion rock featuring sounds and methods of composition from other genres replaced formulaic record company rock music. And along came Steely Dan, mixing rock with jazz. It is glorius music. I'd guess that a lot of prominent jazz musicians were eager to dip their toes into the rock music market by lending their jazz sensibilitess to Fagan and Becker, a couple of obsessed perfectionists who long declined to tour for fear they could not perfectly reproduce their studio recordings. If nobody has mentioned this previously, no, "Steely Dan" is not one guy. It's just a very clever name. "Steely Dan" is the nickname for the steel dildos once commonplace before the advent of plastic vibrators.
"Don't Take Me Alive"'s lyrics might loosely allude to the James Cagney gangster classic _White Heat_ (1949), which ends with a scene where a psychotic criminal (Cagney) attempts to flee from police by climbing to the top of a chemical tank. He doesn't have dynamite, but at one point the police chief warns his men not to shoot unless they have a perfect target, because the tank is "a stack of dynamite". ua-cam.com/video/OjzKiEs_pHI/v-deo.html And the perfect outro music! 😏 ua-cam.com/video/yUMAmI5YcBQ/v-deo.html
Every Steely Dan song from 1972 to 1980 is fantastic! 60+ songs will give you a career worth of reactions. My favorite is Aja off of the album Aja. 8 minutes of deep jazzy bliss. You will thank me later. Just subscribed. Great interesting commentary, intelligent analysis and good delivery.
While they don't really tell you what he did to "cross his old man back in Oregon", he is so scared of his Father's retribution, that he'd rather die in this standoff than to let his father get to him. That's some serious fear. Always one of my favorite Dan songs, along with Deacon Blues and Aja.
It wouldn't hurt to read from the UA-cam site "Songfacts" for song meanings after you have given your first impression. They often quote interviews with the songwriters, and have stories about the recording of the songs. This really comes in handy with Steely Dan lyrics. (Especially look up "Babylon Sisters" for a taste of the band's perfectionism.) Back in the day, we would first listen to the music, and then listen to it again multiple times while reading the lyrics from the album cover, and still might not decipher the meaning. With all of the symbolism in lyrics it's a lot to expect oneself to figure them out on the first listen. The only downside is if you rob yourself of the opportunity to enjoy the music on the first listen, by just seeing it only as a vehicle for the lyrics - but then I look at it from an amateur guitarist's point of view.
*THIS* is what it's about (for me)... Watching you discover *great* music, as I am brought right back to when I was young. Simply wonderful! p.s. Audioslave "Like a Stone." 🤭😉😁
The funny thing is that this fella totally look like your stereotype Steely Dan fan of the late 70s, early 80s ... a guy into what they used to call "college music."
1. Steely Dan was the name of a dildo they saw in a shop. 2. Steely Dan's lyrics are almost always taken from current events or life experiences. Stories about notorious killers, famous drug dealers, etc. 3. Steely Dan is a very deep dive. They never sound the same other than exceptionally clean, tight, and brilliant. There's a whole lot of jazz influence in their music and they use jazz phrasing and scales. This song is largely based on the University of Texas sniper, Charles Whitman, who killed 11 people and injured 31 back in 1966, from the observation deck of the university tower
Steely Dan was Donald Fagan and Walter Becker, for the most part. After their second album, they decided to dissolve their band and go with all studio musicians. Fagan is a perfectionist ( like Frank Zappa) and he would go through several different groups of musicians until he got the sound he heard in his head.
This is uniquely Steely Dan. No others like them. You haven't heard of them you have been living under a rock. They are at the top of the finest jazz, rock, folk band in the world that has ever existed. Bone up!
Don't Take Me Alive" off of "The Royal Scam" is about David Sylvan Fine, the youngest of the Sterling Hall bombers (at the University of Wisconsin-Madison) who was captured in San Rafael, California in January of 1976. Despite the title of the song he WAS taken alive, spent three years in prison and eventually became a paralegal in Oregon. The bombing was in retaliation for the Kent State Massacre. All four of the bombers were captured. There was a military mathematics building on campus which they blew up a little. There was one accidentally killed.
It isn't about anyone specific. It was just kinda crazy times in California in the 70s, and they said they were always reading these stories in the paper at the time about some nut in a stand-off with police, and wrote a song from the perspective of one of these people.
When it comes to perfectionism there's perfectionism and there's perfectionism then there's Steely Dan perfectionism 😅 It's on a completely different level! They could try several musicians for one single guitar solo before picking the first guy anyway!! Steely Dan were Donald Fagen (vocals, keyboards) and Walter Becker (r.i.p. guitar and sometimes vocals).
I remember when this happened. He had a few dynamite sticks enough to blow a hole in the police department across from his apt. Kept the cops at bay awhile claiming to have a case of dynamite. His Father was a "Bookeeper" for the mafia. Nice song great intro...
Going back in time to the beginning of your list to fill in all those I have not enjoyed since finding you and also have an interest. Looking forward to these.
Agents of the Law, with megaphones, saying all is forgiven (to persuade him to come out) mad dog, surrender. So, luckless pedestrian, must have got killed somehow, maybe by mad dog's get away car? He crossed his old man, maybe a fight, an argument where he crossed the line, maybe he did kill him, but I don't think so. And now, he's holed up in a building with a case of dynamite. Did he kill his dad, or is the luckless pedestrian the reason why he's hiding? Did he hold up a bank, or a shop? Ran over LP getting away. We don't know, do we need to know? We got the feel of the situation. He's not quite sane now, hearing the mechanized hum of another world. The next world?
Another band def worth tracking down for excellent guitar work is Thin Lizzy - their live album Live and Dangerous is a really good place to start with tracks like Warriors, Emerald, Cowboy Song and also Wishbone Ash and their album Argos. Enjoy.
Wow... just trying to imagine hearing this as your introduction to Steely Dan... what an excellent choice. Most of us heard a song called Do It Again as our first exposure: that was the first song on their first album. You could easily spend the rest of your life deciphering SD lyrics. I've been at it for 50+ years and still picking up new things. By the way, the incomparable Larry Carlton (aka 'Mr. 335') is playing TF out of his guitar on this track. SD was famous for hiring the greatest studio musicians in the business. Rick Marotta is the awesome drummer who also played on "Peg" one of their biggest hits.
A "professional" guitarist (played in bars w/no day job needed to pay the bills) told me back in the 80's that this song single-handedly caused a run on the models of guitar and amplifier that Carlton used on the song.
Your interpretation of each of their songs are telling different stories. Different for every single person but so fun. Ask your elders where they got their name LOLOL. They paint pictures with your senses and use music to just make you feel these crazy situationS I was thinking of Al Pacino in Dog Day Afternoon, until he becomes a hero. KEEP IT UP. Play FROZEN LOVE by BUCKINGHAM/NICKS . But only if you love great guitar work. They are more of a project than a group. Walter Becker passed. RIP
Pedestrian just means that you have no skin in the game, and as cops (with bullhorns/megahones, Agents) you're just here to do a job. They don't have a vested interest...Almost like a by-stander. Not caring why this guy is holed up...They just have to take him in, or take him down..Sounds like he wants to be taken down...The last part is simple (I think)..First, he addresses the crowd outside, and the (what he believes to be lies about him) mechanized hum, (almost like voices in his head) and no red light to STOP HIM, from doing something crazy...Because a mind like his is capable of anything..He's looking to commit suicide by cop, because he doesn't want to face his Dad, perhaps, or just the world, at large?..Whaddya think?
The album this comes from, The Royal Scam, doesn't have a bad track on it. The lyrics are usually dark and often cryptic. And this one was probably their most dark and cryptic. Check out the title track, Kid Charlemagne, The Caves of Altamira, Haitian Divorce, and Sign In Stranger. When music writers make up their lists of best albums ever, for some reason they choose Aja, Can't Buy A Thrill, and maybe Pretzel Logic , but not this one. The are very mistaken!
Great reaction to this! You asked for some recommendations. "Comfortably Numb" live from the Pulse tour by Pink Floyd. David Gilmour's guitar solo on this is amazing, along with the greatest light show ever. "Marathon" by Rush live from Cleveland. If you like guitar, "Voodoo Child" by Stevie Ray Vaughn live from Austin, Texas. And another guitar virtuoso from Austin, Eric Johnson "Cliffs of Dover" the studio version. Trust me, you will be blown away.
Some of the teen angst of the 70s-the rebellion of youth mixed with the violence of the anti-war movement (Vietnam war era) and the civil rights/black power movement. This dynamic drove the anti-authority theme seen here and in countless other songs. It was a time when, for some, letting your hair grow long was a way to irk your old man while others were setting fires and marching in numbers not seen since. Of course with "the dan" much more is within for the initiates-not one myself.
Steely Dan is an odd combination of weird, dark lyrics with smooth light jazzy music. The juxtaposition should be jarring but it works. Smooth, yes but sly.
Mmm, Larry Carlton's guitaring is super smooth, whilst being heavy; such a technically accomplished musician. Check out Larry's Wikipedia entry; he's played with the best.
It's 9/5/2020 and this reminds me what happened with the man who shot and killed another man at a Black Lives Matter protest in Portland, Oregon after he went on the lam!!!
They started off as a full band, but eventually became the two songwriters (Donald Fagen on keys; Walter Becker on guitar) plus the best session musicians available (Larry Carleton is the lead guitarist in this cut). They started off mostly as pop/rock but became known for incorporating lots of jazz chords and voicings, etc. into their music...there's really no group like them. If you liked this one, try Kid Charlemagne (although it's a lot less straightforward lyrically) - there's another amazing Larry Carleton solo on that one too. Enjoy!
He writes so subjectively, so that no one understands what he's saying..Great music. Savant lyrics, that no one cares about. Never played this a second time.
Look! I know that this was initially inspired by an actual event and everything, but I have my own wild-brained
impression of this and I'm not giving it up. "The End" by The Doors tells you that, "He went into the room where
his sister lived and he, paid a visit to his brother"... His brother and sister are dead. He's a killer. That's what he
does.
In this song, Dad's dead.
The greatest crossover I've ever heard of. I want to pin this comment, what an interesting interpretation:)
That happened to a school mate of mine
This will be long but worth it. I can't believe no one has posted this.
"Don't Take Me Alive" off of "The Royal Scam" is about David Sylvan Fine, the
youngest of the Sterling Hall bombers (at the University of Wisconsin-
Madison) who was captured ins San Rafael, California in January of 1976.
Despite the title of the song he WAS taken alive, spent three years in prison
and eventually became a paralegal in Oregon.
FIRST STANZA:
This is a David Fine (also known as William Fewes) inner monologue as the
'agents of the law' (FBI or, as they are known, "federal agents") surround
his room in San Rafael to arrest him for the Sterling Hall bombing in 1970.
He was one of four men that bombed the building on the University of
Wisconsin-Madison campus because it housed the Army Mathematics Research
Center. (Three others were injured.) The 'luckless pedestrian' is the only
casualty of the Sterling Hall bombing, researcher Robert Fassnacht.
REFRAIN:
In the press, David Fine's father was listed as a bookkeeper or salesman in
the Portland, Oregon area. Not a "bookie" or anything else nefarious - just
an honest middle-class working professional of the time.
All of the Sterling Hall bombers statements after the fact, specifically said
that they did not plan for anyone to be injured by the bomb - which was
retaliation for the infamous Kent State massacre. The fatality and other
casualties were simply the result of bad timing. And Fine was unarmed at the
time of apprehension. ("I don't want to shoot no one.")
The "crossing" line is likely refers to the aftermath of Mr. Fine's hard work
(and money) to get him into the Engineering program at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison, only to have him become a radical who was (incorrectly)
associated with the Weather Underground.
And, of course, the "Don't take me alive" line which adds the element of
danger. After the bombing when all four went on the run and even during his
arrest, there is no record of Fine making that statement. Call it "artistic
license" on Steely Dan's part - but the bombing DID make headline news at the
time and was a big event.
The "Got a case of dynamite, I could hold out here all night" lines refer to
the actual bombing of the building itself. There was no mention of dynamite
or anything else being present when Fine was apprehended - so once again, this is 'artistic license'.
SECOND STANZA:
The first couple of sentences refer to Fine's hearing in San Francisco AFTER
his arrest. According to newspaper accounts, he was smiling, cordial and
comfortable in the courtroom and had no real remorse. So, as he sat on the
stand, captured after more than five years on the run, he would perceive the
crowd as "evil". The crowd, on the other hand, would be happy to capture one
of the criminals in what was at that time, the largest bombing on U.S. soil.
(The 1995 Oklahoma City bombing would eclipse it.)
The remaining lines of this stanza reference his job while on the run and
living in San Rafael - 'warehouseman' (according to one paper) or as a
traffic manager for a small electronics company in Santa Monica ("the
mechanized hum of another world"). There inside the dark ("no sun is
shining") warehouse, as William Lewes (or Lewis), the police weren't after
him ("no red lights flashing"). But, left alone in his hours of work there,
he knows who he really is and what he's responsible for. (Look up his testimony in San Francisco and you'll know what I mean.)
a masterpiece!
Ty!
Thank you for giving the history and relevance of this song. As a Canadian, I knew nothing about these events, other then the “Kent State” part. I love Steely Dan and appreciate their music…..but don’t always get their context or cultural references. Thanks again 👍🇨🇦😎
You picked a deep rabbit hole with these guys. You can pick any song of theirs and their musicianship will amaze you. They are perfectionists and it shows in every song they do. One of the greatest bands in Rock.
The Dan's lyrics were often extremely cryptic. This song is prob an exception. Mate, you have discovered the wonderful Steely Dan. I'm envious. You are in for some exceptional treats.
A few Dan song lyrics are straghtforward, I think this one is ... just a great narrative from the perspective of a desperate fujitive. Any larger meaning might be that any seemingly harmless person can snap ("I'm a bookkeeper's son, I don't want to hurt no one"}, perhaps dealing with a mental disorder including paranoia. ... A current-day interpretation of the lyrics could be desire for "Death by Cop"
Yeah you're right. These kids are lucky listening to these first time reaction songs from our Generation. It doesn't matter if you're turned on to our music the week it was released or 50 years later. I still remember the Thrill of listening to "Don't take me Alive" by Steely Dan 45 years ago.
Steely Dan as a band eventually became a nucleus of just two members - Donald Fagan and Walter Becker. They would hire THE best session men, so for instance on this track we have the wonderful Larry Carlton, also known to Steely Dan as Mr 335 due to Larry's fondness for a certain Gibson guitar.
They fused jazz with funk and rock but in a style totally unique to them. And they could also do country and blues etc. They're a one off not just musically but the craftsmanship of the recording process also definded them as in a league of their own. Their album Aja is regarded by many as being almost perfect in its capturing sound onto vinyl. Sonically unmatchable. Sound engineers when testing speakers would use Aja to do just that.
So dig deep my friend and be prepared to be deeply impressed by the one and only Steely Dan.
Why did you leave out the unsung Mr. Dan? I swear, Steely gets no respect. Best. Leo.
Is there a better guitar intro to a song anywhere? 👍
No.
Not that I have heard in sixty years of listening to rock music
The one from Layla is more well-known, but that doesn't mean it's better. I love the Layla one, but it's repetitive, there is no repetition in Carlton's awesome intro.
No, there is not. Larry Carleton literally slayed this intro and cemented his place in rock history with this effort. Flawless.
No
Larry Carlton kills it with the guitar in this song.
Arguably among the best guitar solos you will ever hear - one amazing musical idea after another from the incredible Larry Carlton - a frequent contributor to the Steely Dan sound.
Glad a young man like you has ventured into Steely Dan's outstanding catalog. The 'Luckless Pedestrian" is some innocent bystander taken down by the standoff. "No Red light Flashing" is that that what he becomes is someone without rules or even the desire to do anything remotely within the confines of the law now. I grew up as a 9 year old hearing this music in 75 and the 70's were the best and most diverse era of Rock, Soul and Jazz fusion. You are fortunate to now be hearing all of this for the first time. Peace!
Luckless pedestrian is someone who got caught in the crossfire during a shoot-out. He's holed up in a building, surrounded, he screwed over his mobbed up dad, a "book maker" or bookkeeper for the mob by stealing his money, so he has nothing left to lose. He'll go out in a blaze of glory if he has to.
LOVE Steely Dan. Their entire catalog is amazing. Such a unique and influential band.
Black COW by STEELY DAN
Check out “Reelin’ In the Years” by Steely Dan. Jimmy Page said the guitar solo in that one is his all time favorite.
Their song writing, chord changes were amazing. Plus they always brought in great studio musicians, most of them with strong jazz backgrounds.
Check out kid charlemagne too! Also Larry Carlton on guitar, they are an awesome band
The mechanized hum and no red light shining is his internal thoughts and his mind.
Soooooo fuckin' good, Steely Dan NEVER gets old !!!!
You should react to "green earrings" off the same album. Its one of my favorites :)
“Green Earrings” is one of my top ten SD tunes for sure.
Yes! Green Earrings is 🔥🔥🔥
Some context needs to be supplied. Prior to about 1964, most chart hits were performed by singers or singing groups, backed up by a band supplied by their record label. It was a different era, completely, from what you grew up within. Then came the Beatles and the British invasion, and we kids were amazed that they not only sang, but played their own instruments, and wrote their own songs. Oft times popular singers put out records using songs written by songwriters who worked for the record companies. "Hits" were manufactured, following pretty much the same formula, based on what had always worked in the past. It was corporate safe and cautious. The Beatles changed everything. Personally, I liked the Beatles' music, but based upon their music alone, they would not, IMHO, deserve the billing history has bestowed upoon them. But they were massive groundbreakers in music history, and they should be revered for that role, too.
The impact of The Beatles and all of the British bands did not change everything overnight. Lots of American musicians also hopped aboard the write, play, and perform freight train. We thought it stupid for artists to just sing songs written by other people because the record companies told them too. (Watch "That Thing You Do" some evening for a visual explanation of the system back then). We also fled AM radio and its "Top 40" format that repeated the same songs 24/7 for a flock of newly formed FM stations (FM radio hardly existed back then) whose DJs played whatever they liked no matter if you had ever heard of the band or the song. It was a era full of wonders and exploration.
With new radio outlets for their art, and the chance to break the chains placed upon them by the big record companies, musical artists joyously broke with the past and started to put out all sorts of non-formulaic songs and albums. Many of these artists borrowed heavily from other musical genres. Country rock was quite prominent, and I'd argue this period was the birth of what is now called "New Country" in America. Prog groups borrowed heavily from classical music, with ELP being the prime example, but Yes and Genesis, too. Fusion rock featuring sounds and methods of composition from other genres replaced formulaic record company rock music.
And along came Steely Dan, mixing rock with jazz. It is glorius music. I'd guess that a lot of prominent jazz musicians were eager to dip their toes into the rock music market by lending their jazz sensibilitess to Fagan and Becker, a couple of obsessed perfectionists who long declined to tour for fear they could not perfectly reproduce their studio recordings.
If nobody has mentioned this previously, no, "Steely Dan" is not one guy. It's just a very clever name. "Steely Dan" is the nickname for the steel dildos once commonplace before the advent of plastic vibrators.
"Don't Take Me Alive"'s lyrics might loosely allude to the James Cagney gangster classic _White Heat_ (1949), which ends with a scene where a psychotic criminal (Cagney) attempts to flee from police by climbing to the top of a chemical tank. He doesn't have dynamite, but at one point the police chief warns his men not to shoot unless they have a perfect target, because the tank is "a stack of dynamite".
ua-cam.com/video/OjzKiEs_pHI/v-deo.html
And the perfect outro music! 😏 ua-cam.com/video/yUMAmI5YcBQ/v-deo.html
This group seems to have more staying power and sheer listenability, well, than just about
any band, in my opinion; this lyrical poetry.
Every Steely Dan song from 1972 to 1980 is fantastic! 60+ songs will give you a career worth of reactions. My favorite is Aja off of the album Aja. 8 minutes of deep jazzy bliss. You will thank me later.
Just subscribed. Great interesting commentary, intelligent analysis and good delivery.
Love love love steely Dan! Came here from your Dimash videos... browsing through your videos I love a bunch of the songs.
Definitely living under a rock. Listen to Kid Charlemagne
While they don't really tell you what he did to "cross his old man back in Oregon", he is so scared of his Father's retribution, that he'd rather die in this standoff than to let his father get to him. That's some serious fear. Always one of my favorite Dan songs, along with Deacon Blues and Aja.
this came out right after the movie Dog Day Afternoon
It wouldn't hurt to read from the UA-cam site "Songfacts" for song meanings after you have given your first impression. They often quote interviews with the songwriters, and have stories about the recording of the songs. This really comes in handy with Steely Dan lyrics. (Especially look up "Babylon Sisters" for a taste of the band's perfectionism.) Back in the day, we would first listen to the music, and then listen to it again multiple times while reading the lyrics from the album cover, and still might not decipher the meaning. With all of the symbolism in lyrics it's a lot to expect oneself to figure them out on the first listen. The only downside is if you rob yourself of the opportunity to enjoy the music on the first listen, by just seeing it only as a vehicle for the lyrics - but then I look at it from an amateur guitarist's point of view.
"I thought Pink Floyd was the name of a single person." Mister, you just made my day. Best. Leo.
Completely true story, ask my parents:)
"Which one's Pink?" ... Which song was that line in? Also a tribute band by that name I think.
Deacon Blues by Steely Dan is one of their hit songs and my favorite
*THIS* is what it's about (for me)... Watching you discover *great* music, as I am brought right back to when I was young. Simply wonderful!
p.s.
Audioslave "Like a Stone." 🤭😉😁
The funny thing is that this fella totally look like your stereotype Steely Dan fan of the late 70s, early 80s ... a guy into what they used to call "college music."
This track like ALL other Steely dan tracks is Flawless!
You have just entered another part of your brain 🧠! “Peg”!
Your Your reaction gave me goose bumps. Welcome to the rabbit hole of Steely Dan 🙏
Very astute Jazz observation. Back in the day Steely Dan Fans considered Steely Dan to be a Jazz Rock Band.
The weird thing about Steely Dan lyrics is that most of them would fit perfectly in a metal song.
1. Steely Dan was the name of a dildo they saw in a shop.
2. Steely Dan's lyrics are almost always taken from current events or life experiences. Stories about notorious killers, famous drug dealers, etc.
3. Steely Dan is a very deep dive. They never sound the same other than exceptionally clean, tight, and brilliant. There's a whole lot of jazz influence in their music and they use jazz phrasing and scales.
This song is largely based on the University of Texas sniper, Charles Whitman, who killed 11 people and injured 31 back in 1966, from the observation deck of the university tower
Steely Dan was Donald Fagan and Walter Becker, for the most part. After their second album, they decided to dissolve their band and go with all studio musicians. Fagan is a perfectionist ( like Frank Zappa) and he would go through several different groups of musicians until he got the sound he heard in his head.
WMalven the hay i heard it Walter Bekker had been reading William S Boroughs and was charmed by the weirdness.
This is uniquely Steely Dan. No others like them.
You haven't heard of them you have been living under a rock. They are at the top of the finest jazz, rock, folk band in the world that has ever existed.
Bone up!
Don't Take Me Alive" off of "The Royal Scam" is about David Sylvan Fine, the youngest of the Sterling Hall bombers (at the University of Wisconsin-Madison) who was captured in San Rafael, California in January of 1976. Despite the title of the song he WAS taken alive, spent three years in prison and eventually became a paralegal in Oregon. The bombing was in retaliation for the Kent State Massacre. All four of the bombers were captured. There was a military mathematics building on campus which they blew up a little. There was one accidentally killed.
It isn't about anyone specific. It was just kinda crazy times in California in the 70s, and they said they were always reading these stories in the paper at the time about some nut in a stand-off with police, and wrote a song from the perspective of one of these people.
Dethstrok9: I try to figure out the meaning of the song
Steely Dan: Lol - good luck, dude.
I’m 71 can’t and never will get this behind me stickey you are a brave man to step into this deep rabbit hole
I have always assumed the luckless pedestrian is someone he ran over in a police chase.
When it comes to perfectionism there's perfectionism and there's perfectionism then there's Steely Dan perfectionism 😅 It's on a completely different level! They could try several musicians for one single guitar solo before picking the first guy anyway!! Steely Dan were Donald Fagen (vocals, keyboards) and Walter Becker (r.i.p. guitar and sometimes vocals).
Caves of Altamira..very cool.
The break at 7:56 is the fugitive - a moment of calm in the madness - then he realizes there is no way out
I remember when this happened. He had a few dynamite sticks enough to blow a hole in the police department across from his apt. Kept the cops at bay awhile claiming to have a case of dynamite. His Father was a "Bookeeper" for the mafia. Nice song great intro...
He kept "boos?"😀 "bookkeeper "
Part of this was inspired by the Texas tower shooter massacre in the mid 60’s.
Going back in time to the beginning of your list to fill in all those I have not enjoyed since finding you and also have an interest. Looking forward to these.
Donald Fagen was always very cryptic with his lyrics. This is a song about a hostage standoff. It's reminiscent of D. B. Cooper to me, as well.
Agents of the Law, with megaphones, saying all is forgiven (to persuade him to come out) mad dog, surrender. So, luckless pedestrian, must have got killed somehow, maybe by mad dog's get away car? He crossed his old man, maybe a fight, an argument where he crossed the line, maybe he did kill him, but I don't think so. And now, he's holed up in a building with a case of dynamite. Did he kill his dad, or is the luckless pedestrian the reason why he's hiding? Did he hold up a bank, or a shop? Ran over LP getting away. We don't know, do we need to know? We got the feel of the situation. He's not quite sane now, hearing the mechanized hum of another world. The next world?
Another band def worth tracking down for excellent guitar work is Thin Lizzy - their live album Live and Dangerous is a really good place to start with tracks like Warriors, Emerald, Cowboy Song and also Wishbone Ash and their album Argos. Enjoy.
Wow... just trying to imagine hearing this as your introduction to Steely Dan... what an excellent choice.
Most of us heard a song called Do It Again as our first exposure: that was the first song on their first album.
You could easily spend the rest of your life deciphering SD lyrics. I've been at it for 50+ years and still picking up new things.
By the way, the incomparable Larry Carlton (aka 'Mr. 335') is playing TF out of his guitar on this track. SD was famous for hiring the greatest studio musicians in the business.
Rick Marotta is the awesome drummer who also played on "Peg" one of their biggest hits.
You are outstanding at dissecting the meanings of most of these songs.
Oh that Hendrix-sounding jazz band....just what I was thinki.....wait,...what??
Well done kid.....You will nail future songs with intellectual poise!...Start sneaking in Supertramp, and the Allman Brothers!
You'll not hear better vocal harmonies than on Dan tunes. Complex, eerie, powerful, unique and entirely apropos to the song.
A "professional" guitarist (played in bars w/no day job needed to pay the bills) told me back in the 80's that this song single-handedly caused a run on the models of guitar and amplifier that Carlton used on the song.
On a similar bent: Warren Zevon - Lawyers, Guns and Money, as an intro to Zevon's wonderful catalogue.
Your interpretation of each of their songs are telling different stories. Different for every single person but so fun. Ask your elders where they got their name LOLOL. They paint pictures with your senses and use music to just make you feel these crazy situationS I was thinking of Al Pacino in Dog Day Afternoon, until he becomes a hero. KEEP IT UP. Play FROZEN LOVE by BUCKINGHAM/NICKS . But only if you love great guitar work. They are more of a project than a group. Walter Becker passed. RIP
Rest in peace indeed.
This was the pre Colubine era'
Pedestrian just means that you have no skin in the game, and as cops (with bullhorns/megahones, Agents) you're just here to do a job. They don't have a vested interest...Almost like a by-stander. Not caring why this guy is holed up...They just have to take him in, or take him down..Sounds like he wants to be taken down...The last part is simple (I think)..First, he addresses the crowd outside, and the (what he believes to be lies about him) mechanized hum, (almost like voices in his head) and no red light to STOP HIM, from doing something crazy...Because a mind like his is capable of anything..He's looking to commit suicide by cop, because he doesn't want to face his Dad, perhaps, or just the world, at large?..Whaddya think?
One of the best rabbit holes to go down try Do it again,Peg, Rikki don't lose that number and a ton more
We've done all of those, and many more, SD has become a favorite of mine:)
The album this comes from, The Royal Scam, doesn't have a bad track on it. The lyrics are usually dark and often cryptic. And this one was probably their most dark and cryptic. Check out the title track, Kid Charlemagne, The Caves of Altamira, Haitian Divorce, and Sign In Stranger. When music writers make up their lists of best albums ever, for some reason they choose Aja, Can't Buy A Thrill, and maybe Pretzel Logic , but not this one. The are very mistaken!
Thats Larry Carlton on guitar and kid charlemagne.
A street preacher has the megaphone, his father was a good man.
Great reaction to this! You asked for some recommendations. "Comfortably Numb" live from the Pulse tour by Pink Floyd. David Gilmour's guitar solo on this is amazing, along with the greatest light show ever. "Marathon" by Rush live from Cleveland. If you like guitar, "Voodoo Child" by Stevie Ray Vaughn live from Austin, Texas. And another guitar virtuoso from Austin, Eric Johnson "Cliffs of Dover" the studio version. Trust me, you will be blown away.
I just love to watch you listening w great music
You bear quite a resemblance to John Fogerty, when he was your age.
Some of the teen angst of the 70s-the rebellion of youth mixed with the violence of the anti-war movement (Vietnam war era) and the civil rights/black power movement. This dynamic drove the anti-authority theme seen here and in countless other songs. It was a time when, for some, letting your hair grow long was
a way to irk your old man while others were setting fires and marching in numbers not seen since. Of course with "the dan" much more is within for the initiates-not one myself.
The song details the tragic tale of the ne'er do wells from the early 80s Sean Penn, Timothy Hutton flick "The Falcon and the Snowman."
That movie has a wonderful soundtrack by Pat Metheny, and one track is sung by David Bowie!
Exceptional guitar 🎸
i had a feeling you would like
Luckless pedestrian probably was hit by his car during the escape
Aja is one of my favs more jazzy and killer drums
Absolutely. Steve Gadd! The best.
@@tonyallen4265 There is a guy Steely Ben he puts out steely dan lyric videos with pic that explain what the songs about well done too
Steely Dan is an odd combination of weird, dark lyrics with smooth light jazzy music. The juxtaposition should be jarring but it works. Smooth, yes but sly.
Never heard of Steely Dan? Buckle up. And hold on. Don't Take Me Alive will take your socks off!
Mmm, Larry Carlton's guitaring is super smooth, whilst being heavy; such a technically accomplished musician.
Check out Larry's Wikipedia entry; he's played with the best.
Also, how does the music make you FEEL?
Suicide by cop. Martyrdom.
You yougins don’t know what good music is/ was....... FANTASTIC!!!! On an 8 track tape in my boyfriends car.... those were the days!!!!
An early psycho shooter incident
“By the way, which one’s Pink?"
Doctor Wu
He’s in a tower at the Univ. Of Texas picking off people on campus. True story.
The opening chord is a bit fun and painful to play on guitar --- 355466 🤘
It's 9/5/2020 and this reminds me what happened with the man who shot and killed another man at a Black Lives Matter protest in Portland, Oregon after he went on the lam!!!
Red lights flashing is hell baby
They started off as a full band, but eventually became the two songwriters (Donald Fagen on keys; Walter Becker on guitar) plus the best session musicians available (Larry Carleton is the lead guitarist in this cut). They started off mostly as pop/rock but became known for incorporating lots of jazz chords and voicings, etc. into their music...there's really no group like them. If you liked this one, try Kid Charlemagne (although it's a lot less straightforward lyrically) - there's another amazing Larry Carleton solo on that one too. Enjoy!
Kid Charlemagne is straight up Breaking Bad. Love it!
Pink Floyd? yeah, he's cool.
Larry Carlton on guitar.
Your hair is so amazing gods in you
You are amazing
dope
If his old man were back in Oregon, he wouldn't mispronounce "Oregon".
Besides Sean Phillips this is my favorite t
It's all metaphorical it's a dude in a recording studio.
please check out charlie freak by steely dan,,,,,ty
Noir 70s Friends of Eddie Colye The Long Goodbye Killing of A Chinese Bookie Dog Soldiers that meta evil of post Vietnam.
He writes so subjectively, so that no one understands what he's saying..Great music. Savant lyrics, that no one cares about. Never played this a second time.