Thanks for the wonderful review. You were spot on with the history of the band. I became a huge fan in 1972, as all of us did in high school in LA. Turns out it was luck and perhaps fate that my friends in school were Jeff Porcaro and his brothers, Mike and Steve, along with Steve Lukather, Paich-Toto. When Jeff got hired to play with SD in 1973, it was just so perfect. That's Jeff on Night By Night and double drumming with Gordon on Parkers Band. He was 19 years old. And then Katy Lied, that's our friend playing drums! Mind blowing. We got to see SD live a number of times in 1974 with Jeff and Hodder and Micheal Mcdonald, who Jeff introduced to Becker and Fagan. Got to meet and drink and smoke upstairs with my favorite band. Life can be very strange. What great memories, RIP Jeff and Mike P.
Steely Dan are one of the greatest and most underrated bands ever. All seven of their 1972 to 1980 albums are classics. They are up there with Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, peak era Stones, Kinks and Who, The Doors. True pioneers of rock music with their brilliant songs and intricate jazz rock arrangements. The aforementioned seven albums represent one of the greatest sustained album runs of the rock era. Great video 👍
Of all the groups you named, Steely Dan is the one I still listen to a regular basis. I've pretty much gotten burnt out from 50 years of classic rock but somehow Steely Dan remains interesting and fresh. I have the recordings of the others but I hardly ever play them.
Hi James , such a good overview .. I’ve all the 70s albums and like them all , consistently great sounding when it comes to the 70s they have to be in the conversation as americas greatest👍..
I did not know that you were a Dan fan James. Fabulous job. Without sounding crazy. Back in the day the band would have been honored to have you reviewing this album. I really appreciated the Beach Boys references. Way to go J~ Rob/Boston
It took me a very long time to get into Steely Dan, despite friends encouraging me to give them a chance. A friend lent me a copy of The Nightfly, which I loved immediately, I still didn't get into the band until long after. Now, I do really like them. I even got a copy of Aja in a thrift shop 13 or 14 years ago. Lots of great information in this video 👍
A head phone band really explains Steely Dan. They definitely pushed the boundaries but then always got lumped into being just a studio band. I did see a Fagen a few years ago perform, it was quite good. Great deep dive James, I always love when you do these
Excellent review, James. I grew up with SD thanks to older siblings in the house. Katy Lied is my personal fave. Black Friday, Bad Sneakers, Dr Wu, Your Gold Teeth II. Just incredible compositions and performances. There's nothing else quite like the Dan.
Steely Dan do seem to be the archetypal 'older sibling's band' don't they. I never had an older sibling though. Love all those songs you mention from KL.
Hi James, great review, Steely Dan are my dads favourite band so I had a lot of exposure to them growing up. Not really properly explored their albums but your review has convinced me this is a good a place as any to start. Know and like a lot of the most popular tracks on here already such as Night By Night and Pretzel Logic and Rikki is an all time classic and had always been a favourite.
Thanks Ross. I think PL is a good place to start as the album is definitely quite Beatley-y. The melody line of 'Barry Town' is strikingly similar to the verse parts of 'Tell Me What You See'. 'With a Gun' is quite like 'I've Just Seen a Face' in feel/style, and 'Through With Buzz' almost sounds a bit Wingsy!
Hey James. I’ve been a big SD fan since the beginning. Pretzel gets overlooked definitely. Was lucky enough to see the band at the Beacon Theatre in NY about 14 years ago. They can recreate everything live that they do in the studio. Great review. Cheers.
Hi Martin. Wow, you saw 'The Dan' - I'm jealous! I have seen footage of them live and they do seem very accomplished. Just Donald now of course, shame.
Top review of an excellent album James 😀🍿🎸🎶 Steely Dan are a really great band; my introduction to them was the album ‘Katy Lied’ which I remember buying a Vinyl copy of it one Saturday on Huddersfield Outdoor Market over 10 year ago; it made inroads into other really great albums of theirs 😀👌 ‘Pretzel Logic’ is very good; I definitely must revisit it after checking out this glowing review; love these Spotlight reviews James; keep up the fantastic work as ever and hope you having a grand weekend 😊👍
Absolutely brilliant James. Especially rikki don’t lose that number, any major dude will tell you, Barry town and Parker’s band. Great lyrics and musicianship. A real gem.
Hi James, enjoyable and interesting video. Pretzel Logic is not my go-to Steely Dan album. So, I found myself learning a lot about the album from the video. I will need to sit down and listen to the record again. All the best - Steve
For years the only Steely Dan album I had was Katy Lied which I really liked and is probably still my favorite but as I got older I decided to start getting their other releases. I enjoyed hearing your observations and how their songs on Pretzel Logic had a new conciseness. I've always liked the cover of that album. I always thought that maybe they were listening to some Van Morrison and how he liked to use jazz musicians and bring in instruments that were not often used on pop/rock arrangements. They were certainly unique with some of their lyrical content. Great review.
Hi Randy. Interesting point about Van, I don't know if Fagen and Becker had heard Astral Weeks, but that record must have been influential on the music scene generally with the Modern Jazz guys on the record. Thanks for watching.
Hi James. I really like Pretzel Logic. It's my favourite Steely Dan album, and like you, it was the first SD album that I got into. Didn't know much about the background to the album or the band to be honest though. I came to SD quite late (only really in the last few years). Great video, Jack
Thanks Jack. In terms of favourites I go between Pretzel Logic and Katy Lied, though Pretzel is edging it at the moment as I think it has a stronger second side.
Great review James. I got into ' The Dan' during the late 90s when all their back catalogue was being reissued on CD with new band liner notes etc..I had the Greatest Hits 1972-78 on vinyl, but was interested to hear the deep cuts so I bought several including Pretzel Logic and Katy Lied, which were probably my two favourites..as you pointed out, it was before their sound got too smooth and audiophile- like...That said, I always quite likes Fagans' solo album The Nightfly, particularly the song ' New Frontier' and the stylish video set during the 50s of the American family settling into their nuclear fallout shelter in the back garden. It was interesting how you made those parallel s with Sheer Heart Attack, I could see where you were coming from, but would never have thought of that. Highlights for me on Pretzel, are definitely ' Ricki' ' Barrytown' and ' Any Major Dude'..and I agree, the title track has a great groove too. All in all a great review of one of their best records.
Thanks Rob. I was just listening to The Night Fly in the car this morning during the school run. I think Katy Lied is another very strong album though maybe trails off a bit on the second side.
Love all of the 70s albums, Katy Lied is the turning point for me where they started a run of 4 incredible albums, but Pretzel Logic and their first 2 have some great tracks. Still haven’t been able to get into their 2 comeback albums though
Amazing band. In theory I should loathe them for all the jazziness, but their songs were so good; the wit, the sleaze, the tunes. Saw them in the 2000s, which is something I never thought I’d say. Closest alternative to them? For me, the original 10cc line up; different music but genius musicians, clever lyrics and totally different to anyone else.
Annandale, so My Old School must have been at least semi-autobiographical then...never thought of a Beatles influence, will have to go back and listen more closely...haven't heard the story about the drummer, horrific...been hearing some of their songs again on the radio while out and about, very sophisticated, catchy and pleasing to the ear but with that snidely ironic edge or bite that only Dan could do. I have to listen to Any Major Dude again, always liked that one. Cheers!
The Jim Gordon story is tragic beyond belief; think he died in prison just a couple years ago after decades inside. I don't really hear The Beatles influence on other Dan albums, but it's definitely there in tracks such as 'With a Gun' (calls to mind 'I've Just Seen a Face'), and 'Through With Buzz', which almost has a Wings vibe in places!
Probably my third favorite album from Dan. And here is a piece of trivia - Rikki was the wife of one of Fagen's professor, and he wanted to sleep with her and slipped her his number.
Yes! I knew that and forgot to mention it. Also forgot to mention how the verse melody of 'Barry Town' is nicked from 'There's a Place' by The Beatles.
It may not be my favorite Steely Dan LP overall (that title belongs to either Can't Buy A Thrill or Aja) but Any Major Dude will always be my favorite Steely Dan song.
Great choice James and a really good album but I got into a barney with a Steely Dan online group when I suggested that there were nine great tracks but Barrytown and Parker's Band were as skippable as any Dan songs ever were. Each to their own. I remember hearing that Steely Dan would not play the title track for many years but, if true, never found out why. BTW, Sara Niemietz does a mean version: ua-cam.com/video/wcud61ydCiA/v-deo.html&ab_channel=SaraNiemietz
Thanks Paul, I'll check out that link. I forgot to mention in the video that Wilco did a decent cover of 'Any Major Dude'. I would agree that 'Parker's Band' is a bit skippable, but I love 'Barrytown'. Also forgot to mention that the melody line is borrowed from 'Tell Me What You See' by The Beatles.
I’m just not a fan. Every song on this album sounds like it could be the background soundtrack to a cheesy, formulaic 70s tv show (maybe Kojack, as you mentioned) Rikki Don’t lose that number is the exception. I love the main riff that they rip off of Horace Silver, and the lyrics are fun.
Well, you might want to compare the verse melody of 'Barry Town' to the verses of The Beatles song 'What You See Is Me'. Fagen went on record about liking the Fabs and being influenced.
Thanks for the wonderful review. You were spot on with the history of the band. I became a huge fan in 1972, as all of us did in high school in LA.
Turns out it was luck and perhaps fate that my friends in school were Jeff Porcaro and his brothers, Mike and Steve, along with Steve Lukather, Paich-Toto.
When Jeff got hired to play with SD in 1973, it was just so perfect. That's Jeff on Night By Night and double drumming with Gordon on Parkers Band. He was 19 years old. And then Katy Lied, that's our friend playing drums! Mind blowing.
We got to see SD live a number of times in 1974 with Jeff and Hodder and Micheal Mcdonald, who Jeff introduced to Becker and Fagan.
Got to meet and drink and smoke upstairs with my favorite band. Life can be very strange. What great memories, RIP Jeff and Mike P.
What a great comment, and amazing stories - thanks!!
Steely Dan are one of the greatest and most underrated bands ever. All seven of their 1972 to 1980 albums are classics. They are up there with Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, peak era Stones, Kinks and Who, The Doors. True pioneers of rock music with their brilliant songs and intricate jazz rock arrangements. The aforementioned seven albums represent one of the greatest sustained album runs of the rock era. Great video 👍
Brilliant comment, couldn't agree more! Thanks Charles.
Of all the groups you named, Steely Dan is the one I still listen to a regular basis. I've pretty much gotten burnt out from 50 years of classic rock but somehow Steely Dan remains interesting and fresh. I have the recordings of the others but I hardly ever play them.
Hi James , such a good overview .. I’ve all the 70s albums and like them all , consistently great sounding when it comes to the 70s they have to be in the conversation as americas greatest👍..
Thanks Rob, appreciate you watching and glad you enjoyed it.
I did not know that you were a Dan fan James. Fabulous job. Without sounding crazy. Back in the day the band would have been honored to have you reviewing this album. I really appreciated the Beach Boys references. Way to go J~
Rob/Boston
Thanks Rob, I've been into Steely Dan for quite a while now and have done videos on them before but not for a while. Hope you're well!
It took me a very long time to get into Steely Dan, despite friends encouraging me to give them a chance. A friend lent me a copy of The Nightfly, which I loved immediately, I still didn't get into the band until long after. Now, I do really like them. I even got a copy of Aja in a thrift shop 13 or 14 years ago. Lots of great information in this video 👍
I came to them relative late too, probably around the early noughties. Better late than never!
Excellent review James, lyric explanations especially enlightening! A great album.
Thanks Mark, glad you enjoyed it.
A head phone band really explains Steely Dan. They definitely pushed the boundaries but then always got lumped into being just a studio band. I did see a Fagen a few years ago perform, it was quite good. Great deep dive James, I always love when you do these
Thanks Steve, amazing that you got to see Fagen live. I don't know if he'll come to the UK again now, he must be pushing 75.
Excellent review, James. I grew up with SD thanks to older siblings in the house. Katy Lied is my personal fave. Black Friday, Bad Sneakers, Dr Wu, Your Gold Teeth II. Just incredible compositions and performances. There's nothing else quite like the Dan.
Steely Dan do seem to be the archetypal 'older sibling's band' don't they. I never had an older sibling though. Love all those songs you mention from KL.
Cracking review and very interesting background to a super band. Well done mate. All the best. Dave✅✅
Thanks Dave! Will catch up with you soon on your channel.
Born in ‘71. Became a Steely Dan fan in 2024. Can’t get enough.
Good stuff!
Hi James, great review, Steely Dan are my dads favourite band so I had a lot of exposure to them growing up. Not really properly explored their albums but your review has convinced me this is a good a place as any to start. Know and like a lot of the most popular tracks on here already such as Night By Night and Pretzel Logic and Rikki is an all time classic and had always been a favourite.
Thanks Ross. I think PL is a good place to start as the album is definitely quite Beatley-y. The melody line of 'Barry Town' is strikingly similar to the verse parts of 'Tell Me What You See'. 'With a Gun' is quite like 'I've Just Seen a Face' in feel/style, and 'Through With Buzz' almost sounds a bit Wingsy!
Hey James. I’ve been a big SD fan since the beginning. Pretzel gets overlooked definitely. Was lucky enough to see the band at the Beacon Theatre in NY about 14 years ago. They can recreate everything live that they do in the studio. Great review. Cheers.
Hi Martin. Wow, you saw 'The Dan' - I'm jealous! I have seen footage of them live and they do seem very accomplished. Just Donald now of course, shame.
Top review of an excellent album James 😀🍿🎸🎶 Steely Dan are a really great band; my introduction to them was the album ‘Katy Lied’ which I remember buying a Vinyl copy of it one Saturday on Huddersfield Outdoor Market over 10 year ago; it made inroads into other really great albums of theirs 😀👌
‘Pretzel Logic’ is very good; I definitely must revisit it after checking out this glowing review; love these Spotlight reviews James; keep up the fantastic work as ever and hope you having a grand weekend 😊👍
Hi Sam. I love Katy Lied, particularly side 1. Thanks for watching, always appreciated!
Great review James. Have to get this album. Such a great band.
Thanks Matthew. Yeah, you need this record!
@ yes. Sounds great.
Absolutely brilliant James. Especially rikki don’t lose that number, any major dude will tell you, Barry town and Parker’s band. Great lyrics and musicianship. A real gem.
Hi James, enjoyable and interesting video. Pretzel Logic is not my go-to Steely Dan album. So, I found myself learning a lot about the album from the video. I will need to sit down and listen to the record again. All the best - Steve
Thanks Steve. Which one is your go-to?
@@jamesgriffithsmusic It would be Aja.
Good to hear, that comes in for stick from all quarters these days.
Yep great album. Night By Night is my favourite track. Fantastic playing and arrangement
A true classic. Every song is great and 'Any major dude' is truly magnificent.
Thanks!
For years the only Steely Dan album I had was Katy Lied which I really liked and is probably still my favorite but as I got older I decided to start getting their other releases. I enjoyed hearing your observations and how their songs on Pretzel Logic had a new conciseness. I've always liked the cover of that album. I always thought that maybe they were listening to some Van Morrison and how he liked to use jazz musicians and bring in instruments that were not often used on pop/rock arrangements. They were certainly unique with some of their lyrical content. Great review.
Hi Randy. Interesting point about Van, I don't know if Fagen and Becker had heard Astral Weeks, but that record must have been influential on the music scene generally with the Modern Jazz guys on the record. Thanks for watching.
Barrytown is one of the best songs ever commited to plastic! great video by the way!🦋
Thanks Kevin!
Really enjoyed this.
Charlie Freak!
Nice one, thanks. And compliments of the season!
Hi James. I really like Pretzel Logic. It's my favourite Steely Dan album, and like you, it was the first SD album that I got into. Didn't know much about the background to the album or the band to be honest though. I came to SD quite late (only really in the last few years). Great video, Jack
Thanks Jack. In terms of favourites I go between Pretzel Logic and Katy Lied, though Pretzel is edging it at the moment as I think it has a stronger second side.
@ PL and KL are the only two I have on vinyl. I definitely prefer PL, but KL has the best cover.
Great review James.
I got into ' The Dan' during the late 90s when all their back catalogue was being reissued on CD with new band liner notes etc..I had the Greatest Hits 1972-78 on vinyl, but was interested to hear the deep cuts so I bought several including Pretzel Logic and Katy Lied, which were probably my two favourites..as you pointed out, it was before their sound got too smooth and audiophile- like...That said, I always quite likes Fagans' solo album The Nightfly, particularly the song ' New Frontier' and the stylish video set during the 50s of the American family settling into their nuclear fallout shelter in the back garden.
It was interesting how you made those parallel s with Sheer Heart Attack, I could see where you were coming from, but would never have thought of that.
Highlights for me on Pretzel, are definitely ' Ricki' ' Barrytown' and ' Any Major Dude'..and I agree, the title track has a great groove too.
All in all a great review of one of their best records.
Thanks Rob. I was just listening to The Night Fly in the car this morning during the school run. I think Katy Lied is another very strong album though maybe trails off a bit on the second side.
Love all of the 70s albums, Katy Lied is the turning point for me where they started a run of 4 incredible albums, but Pretzel Logic and their first 2 have some great tracks. Still haven’t been able to get into their 2 comeback albums though
I did a full video on Steely Dan a while back and ranked the albums, and I think I put Katy Lied first. Agree, not much into the later stuff.
Amazing band. In theory I should loathe them for all the jazziness, but their songs were so good; the wit, the sleaze, the tunes. Saw them in the 2000s, which is something I never thought I’d say. Closest alternative to them? For me, the original 10cc line up; different music but genius musicians, clever lyrics and totally different to anyone else.
Thanks Michael. Yeah, totally get the 10cc connection.
Annandale, so My Old School must have been at least semi-autobiographical then...never thought of a Beatles influence, will have to go back and listen more closely...haven't heard the story about the drummer, horrific...been hearing some of their songs again on the radio while out and about, very sophisticated, catchy and pleasing to the ear but with that snidely ironic edge or bite that only Dan could do. I have to listen to Any Major Dude again, always liked that one. Cheers!
The Jim Gordon story is tragic beyond belief; think he died in prison just a couple years ago after decades inside. I don't really hear The Beatles influence on other Dan albums, but it's definitely there in tracks such as 'With a Gun' (calls to mind 'I've Just Seen a Face'), and 'Through With Buzz', which almost has a Wings vibe in places!
Probably my third favorite album from Dan. And here is a piece of trivia - Rikki was the wife of one of Fagen's professor, and he wanted to sleep with her and slipped her his number.
Yes! I knew that and forgot to mention it. Also forgot to mention how the verse melody of 'Barry Town' is nicked from 'There's a Place' by The Beatles.
It may not be my favorite Steely Dan LP overall (that title belongs to either Can't Buy A Thrill or Aja) but Any Major Dude will always be my favorite Steely Dan song.
I think it's probably my favourite, though it might be a close tie with 'Bad Sneakers' from Katy Lied. I like their sweeter side.
Great choice James and a really good album but I got into a barney with a Steely Dan online group when I suggested that there were nine great tracks but Barrytown and Parker's Band were as skippable as any Dan songs ever were. Each to their own. I remember hearing that Steely Dan would not play the title track for many years but, if true, never found out why. BTW, Sara Niemietz does a mean version: ua-cam.com/video/wcud61ydCiA/v-deo.html&ab_channel=SaraNiemietz
Thanks Paul, I'll check out that link. I forgot to mention in the video that Wilco did a decent cover of 'Any Major Dude'. I would agree that 'Parker's Band' is a bit skippable, but I love 'Barrytown'. Also forgot to mention that the melody line is borrowed from 'Tell Me What You See' by The Beatles.
@@jamesgriffithsmusic Just listened to the Wilco version, too American for me. Felt that Guns and Roses or Bon Jovi were about to break out.
I’m just not a fan. Every song on this album sounds like it could be the background soundtrack to a cheesy, formulaic 70s tv show (maybe Kojack, as you mentioned)
Rikki Don’t lose that number is the exception. I love the main riff that they rip off of Horace Silver, and the lyrics are fun.
Ah well, you can't like everything.
@ Yeah, I’m probably in the minority opinion among the vinyl community on this one.
James, comparing SD to Queen is like comparing a shark to a circus clown. Beatles? Kidding....
Well, you might want to compare the verse melody of 'Barry Town' to the verses of The Beatles song 'What You See Is Me'. Fagen went on record about liking the Fabs and being influenced.