Denny and Skunk were a terrific team up. I love the solo on Boston Rag. Back in the day, as a guitarist discovering the band for the first time, Boston Rag grabbed me and threw me into the water 😂
Great choices! Great playing! It's definitely quite a challenge to narrow them down to five, even eight with your honorable mentions. Thanks for putting in the considerable amount of work to do this and for sharing it - very fun to watch and hear!
Your hard work really paid off. Well done! I love your taste in music. My dad introduced me to Steely Dan back in the 70's. I was lucky to have been raised with diverse music in our household. Thanks for sharing!
dude you absolutely nailed this one; the only omission for me would be the 'do it again' sitar sounding deal as an honorable mention...anyway you killed it brother; blessings alwayzz brother
Well well, posted 3 hours ago, and already 13 comments and 52 likes, very nice, your amazing talent is being recognized! Great solos and of course great renditions, too! Thank you and an honorable mention to your finger tips 😁. Cheers!
Fun post - this is such a great moment in guitar music fans lives, some of the best music of an incredible genre played so tastefully! So glad to see this, thanks! 👍🎸🍄🙏
I've been tabbing Reelin in the years, I like your chromatic approach to the starting phrase, I was sliding it... otherwise identical on both our tabs. Nice work on this video!! Guitar soloing from actual musicians is so much more than the dime a dozen mechanical shredder solos out there.
Anybody who knows anything about Steely Dan and guitar solos would say Denny Diaz solo in Do It Again is by far the best Steely Dan solo and one of Rock and Rolls best solos ever
Sigh… it’s very sad that decades later people are still talking in absolutist terms like, “ this is the best solo, no this is the best solo and if you don’t agree with me, you’re a dumbass.” There’s no such thing as best or worst. There’s only music. And sometimes music calls the tune, pun intended. So much depends upon how the listener is feeling in that particular moment. For example, I heard Steely Dan‘s songs when they came out for the very first time. It was the early 70s and for those of you who don’t know about that particular decade, there was shit going on, people dying, President, getting assassinated, police were knocking heads in Chicago, and we were trying to stop the gorilla exchange that the President of the United States insisted on calling the Vietnam war, even though Congress had never declared war on that tiny little country that ended up kicking our fucking asses all over the planet. So when I hear a Steely Dan song and whatever great solo that goes along with it, my experience is colored by the history that I have when I heard that song. And, of course, science now knows that the music we hear when we hit adolescence, and our hormones are flying all over the place, that music is so incredibly powerful to us that it’s scary. So let’s take a step back. Let’s say that the person who compiled this list didn’t hear any Steely Dan songs until 10 or 15 years after they came out. They were a little older, a little more grown-up 1985, for example, compared to 1975 was relatively peaceful. And so in relationship to one another those historical periods of time place are two different listeners in completely different psychological niches. And this is going to affect how we feel about the songs the notable solo guitar pieces contained there in, and all the rest. Musicians know the truth, most of us, and that is simply that there is no football game like competition about who’s better or who’s best. Would love to just sit back and listen to the music! So try this at home. Pick a Steely Dan song. Pick one that you like, but it isn’t necessarily your all-time favorite. Listen to it after a really hard day at work. Take some notes about how you felt. Then listen to the same song on a Sunday afternoon after you’ve had some time to rest and maybe you had a great day with the family or whatever. Listen to the song you’ve just gotten some bad news. Listen to the song after you’ve had great sex with your partner. I think you will begin to see what I’m talking about. that our frame of reference has a lot more to do with how we feel about a certain piece of music, then we might imagine.
@@janicemartin7560I believe Deny Diaz ‘s solo was improvised on the electric sitar , while Carlton’s was worked out , either way, both incredible solos !
Don’t take me Alive is the greatest intro ever. Kelly 61K followers. Well done. The funny thing about Steely Dan is they would have 4 or 5 guitarist come in and lay a solo down. Some of them never knew if any of their work would get picked.
Excellent job and excellent choices. I personally love Carlton's 'Third World Man' solo. I heard an interview with their current guitarist Jon Herrington who said it's the only solo that Fagan and Becker wanted him to play note for note (not even Kid Charlemagne). 'Bodhisattva' is ridiculous, and 'Do it Again' is pretty great too. I think Denny Dias is criminally underrated.
Wow Kelly. I have returned to the fold after being gone for a while. You inspired me when I took guitar back up and now I'm 1/20th as good as you. I don't think I'll catch up.
Great video! Loved your choices. Two solos that were not mentioned was the solo to Do it Again and the super mellow solo by Denny Dias on the title track AJA.
Steely Dan has some of the best guitar work in existence. The only one of these that I’ve learned in its entirety is Kid Charlemagne, which is a beast, and as you said, Larry Carleton’s mastery of playing beautiful melodies over complex chord changes is unmatched. I wish you had done the outro as well; it’s also awesome and shows Larry playing great stuff over less demanding changes.
I thought Larry sounded a little unconvincing trying to rock on Guitar 5. All his other stuff is more accomplished. I also feel number 3 is by far the best in the catalog. All 5 are pretty damn good! When you hear the milkman whistling your song, as a Beatle said, you know it's memorable. When the the general public can hum for quite an extended period of time, a guitar solo, you have "something to say" to quote Les Paul. The public can hum the Reelin' in the Years solo. P.S. - Outstanding playing.
Thanks for bringing in "Bodhisattva" - my hands-down, number 1 favorite solo on any rock album ever. I can't fault you for "Peg" or "Kid Charlemagne" - outstanding, but to me, Bodhisattva has them beat due to the interplay over the chord changes, the turn arounds and the exchange with the bass line.
Great choices, I doubt anyone would argue about Kid Charlemagne being the top solo. I also love Denny Dias' playing on Bodhisattva amongst others. Many thanks for your upload. PS Katy Lied was from 75 not 79.
@@artprince9163 It's subjective. For example folk coming from a rock background may appreciate Jay Graydon's double string whole tone bends on Peg , jazzers may prefer Larry Carlton on KC. There's no answer, just conversation.
As someone going through Bodhisattva at the moment there is a serious lack of lessons on how to get to all those notes in the solo, but honestly the whole song is a blast to play through on guitar. Denny Dias just throws so many notes at you that it's hard to remember. So yeah a tutorial on that one and My Old School would be amazing
Good stuff! When you have finished transcribing the other solos, perhaps you can do a tutorial of each of them this summer. Would be great and fun! 👍🏻🎸🖖🏻
I love your video. And you're playing as well. There are so many to choose from that any five people might have five lists. Personally, my favorite is the background guitar and solo in the new frontier. Yes that's Fagen Not steely Dan. Still, I'd like to see what you could do with that noodling relaxed yet highly focused guitar part. Sounds acoustic, but I doubt that it is.
Carlton’s one of my favorite all time players but to be fair some of these other solos seem even more creative guitar wise. They are all monsters of one kind or another! ❤
"When looking back on his career, Jimmy Page previously told Rolling Stone that his favourite Led Zeppelin riff was ‘Kashmir’. Outside of Led Zeppelin’s discography and his own work, though, the legendary guitarist names his favourite guitar solo of all time as Elliott Randall’s riff in ‘Reelin’ In The Years’ by Steely Dan during a 1999 interview with Classic Rock."
Your playing continues to show why you definitely should have gotten your break back in the day - amazing story and I'm so glad you decided to pick up the guitar again! How do you transcribe all of these - and how do you make choices regarding positions to best play some of the transitional parts?
When it comes to Stealy Dan. They just blow you away with their chord work. I have many many song books of different bands. And you may find maybe 4 chords in the songs. Stealy will have 15 or more.
Interesting bit of trivia on the Elliot Randall, Reelin' in the Years intro solo. What's on the record is the 2nd take. Elliot said he did a better take on his first try, but they thought he was just warming up and didn't hit Record. Oops! Wouldn't it be cool to hear that 1st take?!
Didn’t like Diaz in “Do it Again” … the song in general doesn’t really do anything for me. Kind of a song you learn when you’re 13 . However Mr. Diaz work in “Aja” is outstanding in my book… just brilliant !!
Is there nothing you can't play? Brilliant work!
Thanks mate!
Denny and Skunk were a terrific team up. I love the solo on Boston Rag. Back in the day, as a guitarist discovering the band for the first time, Boston Rag grabbed me and threw me into the water 😂
Great choices! Great playing! It's definitely quite a challenge to narrow them down to five, even eight with your honorable mentions. Thanks for putting in the considerable amount of work to do this and for sharing it - very fun to watch and hear!
Wow - really great job nailing down the VIBES of these solos!
Much respect!
I can barely play a few bends and as far as those octopus/caterpillar runs, well sir all I can do is watch you do it in amazement. Bravo!
Your hard work really paid off. Well done! I love your taste in music. My dad introduced me to Steely Dan back in the 70's. I was lucky to have been raised with diverse music in our household. Thanks for sharing!
Fantastic Kelly, What a way to start the day...Thank you.
dude you absolutely nailed this one; the only omission for me would be the 'do it again' sitar sounding deal as an honorable mention...anyway you killed it brother; blessings alwayzz brother
Incredible job on "Reelin'" Spot on !!
Great Job on those Beautiful Classic DAN Solos! Awesome!! 😎👍
🎸 🎸
So many great solos. Do it Again is IMO one of their best.
Well well, posted 3 hours ago, and already 13 comments and 52 likes, very nice, your amazing talent is being recognized! Great solos and of course great renditions, too! Thank you and an honorable mention to your finger tips 😁. Cheers!
Fun post - this is such a great moment in guitar music fans lives, some of the best music of an incredible genre played so tastefully! So glad to see this, thanks! 👍🎸🍄🙏
Surprised not to see the solo(s) from "My old School". But then there are so many fantastic guitar solos in S-D's songs!
Thank you so much. Brings Dan back....
Excellent! Also, bringing back my childhood days of the early to mid 70’s!
I've been tabbing Reelin in the years, I like your chromatic approach to the starting phrase, I was sliding it... otherwise identical on both our tabs. Nice work on this video!! Guitar soloing from actual musicians is so much more than the dime a dozen mechanical shredder solos out there.
...FYI jimmy page is on record as saying that's one of the best guitar solos ever
Anybody who knows anything about Steely Dan and guitar solos would say Denny Diaz solo in Do It Again is by far the best Steely Dan solo and one of Rock and Rolls best solos ever
You must not listen to the great Larry Carlton. He is brilliant on kid Charlemagne and dont take me alive
Sigh… it’s very sad that decades later people are still talking in absolutist terms like, “ this is the best solo, no this is the best solo and if you don’t agree with me, you’re a dumbass.”
There’s no such thing as best or worst. There’s only music. And sometimes music calls the tune, pun intended. So much depends upon how the listener is feeling in that particular moment. For example, I heard Steely Dan‘s songs when they came out for the very first time. It was the early 70s and for those of you who don’t know about that particular decade, there was shit going on, people dying, President, getting assassinated, police were knocking heads in Chicago, and we were trying to stop the gorilla exchange that the President of the United States insisted on calling the Vietnam war, even though Congress had never declared war on that tiny little country that ended up kicking our fucking asses all over the planet. So when I hear a Steely Dan song and whatever great solo that goes along with it, my experience is colored by the history that I have when I heard that song. And, of course, science now knows that the music we hear when we hit adolescence, and our hormones are flying all over the place, that music is so incredibly powerful to us that it’s scary. So let’s take a step back. Let’s say that the person who compiled this list didn’t hear any Steely Dan songs until 10 or 15 years after they came out. They were a little older, a little more grown-up 1985, for example, compared to 1975 was relatively peaceful. And so in relationship to one another those historical periods of time place are two different listeners in completely different psychological niches. And this is going to affect how we feel about the songs the notable solo guitar pieces contained there in, and all the rest.
Musicians know the truth, most of us, and that is simply that there is no football game like competition about who’s better or who’s best. Would love to just sit back and listen to the music!
So try this at home. Pick a Steely Dan song. Pick one that you like, but it isn’t necessarily your all-time favorite. Listen to it after a really hard day at work. Take some notes about how you felt. Then listen to the same song on a Sunday afternoon after you’ve had some time to rest and maybe you had a great day with the family or whatever. Listen to the song you’ve just gotten some bad news. Listen to the song after you’ve had great sex with your partner. I think you will begin to see what I’m talking about. that our frame of reference has a lot more to do with how we feel about a certain piece of music, then we might imagine.
You got that right buddy!!!!!
💯
@@janicemartin7560I believe Deny Diaz ‘s solo was improvised on the electric sitar , while Carlton’s was worked out , either way, both incredible solos !
Great video! My Old School is probably my 2nd favorite after Rikki.
Awesome episode KDA! So many favourites to choose from, but Reelin' In the Years just has a special spot with me
Well done! Love Steely Dan!
Simply incredible ! Love this ! Thank you
@@peterevans8598 cheers Peter, thanks!
Don’t take me Alive is the greatest intro ever. Kelly 61K followers. Well done. The funny thing about Steely Dan is they would have 4 or 5 guitarist come in and lay a solo down. Some of them never knew if any of their work would get picked.
That was fun, thank you! I subscribed! If I ever pick up the guitar again, I will give a listen to your great channel.
Excellent job and excellent choices. I personally love Carlton's 'Third World Man' solo. I heard an interview with their current guitarist Jon Herrington who said it's the only solo that Fagan and Becker wanted him to play note for note (not even Kid Charlemagne). 'Bodhisattva' is ridiculous, and 'Do it Again' is pretty great too. I think Denny Dias is criminally underrated.
You play these licks so well. 😍
My 2nd favorite is the solo from THIRD WORLD MAN.
I agree with all of the others that you mentioned.
Thanks!
Superb work Kelly, thank you again and again!
For me, best is Danny Diaz's amazing "Do It Again" solo. One of the hardest solo's I have ever learned, that bloody timing is fierce !
Wow Kelly. I have returned to the fold after being gone for a while. You inspired me when I took guitar back up and now I'm 1/20th as good as you. I don't think I'll catch up.
Great video! Loved your choices. Two solos that were not mentioned was the solo to Do it Again and the super mellow solo by Denny Dias on the title track AJA.
Amazing solos, you are an incredible guitar player
Wow!! I been playing guitar for 45 years and still cannot pull off all those SD solos!! Awesome video you did 👍😎
Welp Kelly ya did it again,nice job and credit for your determination to get these creations done so well thanx Kelly!
my 5 favorites are: My Old School, Reelin in the Years, Bohidsattva, Peg, and Rikki Don't Lose That Number
Steely Dan has some of the best guitar work in existence. The only one of these that I’ve learned in its entirety is Kid Charlemagne, which is a beast, and as you said, Larry Carleton’s mastery of playing beautiful melodies over complex chord changes is unmatched. I wish you had done the outro as well; it’s also awesome and shows Larry playing great stuff over less demanding changes.
Awesome work…my favourite band!!
Kid Charlie!! Been trying to play that for about 4 years now! Defeltifly difficult. Great job!!
Jay’s lead on Peg is not only the greatest Steely Dan lead but is one of the greatest leads ever. By anyone.
Great job - a wonderful video- thanks
I thought Larry sounded a little unconvincing trying to rock on Guitar 5. All his other stuff is more accomplished. I also feel number 3 is by far the best in the catalog. All 5 are pretty damn good!
When you hear the milkman whistling your song, as a Beatle said, you know it's memorable. When the the general public can hum for quite an extended period of time, a guitar solo, you have "something to say" to quote Les Paul. The public can hum the Reelin' in the Years solo.
P.S. - Outstanding playing.
Incredible job on these sir!
Thanks for bringing in "Bodhisattva" - my hands-down, number 1 favorite solo on any rock album ever. I can't fault you for "Peg" or "Kid Charlemagne" - outstanding, but to me, Bodhisattva has them beat due to the interplay over the chord changes, the turn arounds and the exchange with the bass line.
Great choices, I doubt anyone would argue about Kid Charlemagne being the top solo. I also love Denny Dias' playing on Bodhisattva amongst others. Many thanks for your upload. PS Katy Lied was from 75 not 79.
I do not think KC is the top SD solo.
@@artprince9163 It's subjective. For example folk coming from a rock background may appreciate Jay Graydon's double string whole tone bends on Peg , jazzers may prefer Larry Carlton on KC.
There's no answer, just conversation.
YOU are much appreciated! Quite impressive.....
Well done ! I couldn't do that if my life depended on it :)
fav band from my much younger days and still the tunes sound enjoyable - great playing as always - too clever
I was too much of a metalhead in MY younger days. Didn't care for Steely Dan. Absolutely love them now.
Well played!
Great work, well played Kelly
Thanks Paul!
Brilliant playing sir.
As someone going through Bodhisattva at the moment there is a serious lack of lessons on how to get to all those notes in the solo, but honestly the whole song is a blast to play through on guitar. Denny Dias just throws so many notes at you that it's hard to remember. So yeah a tutorial on that one and My Old School would be amazing
Good stuff! When you have finished transcribing the other solos, perhaps you can do a tutorial of each of them this summer. Would be great and fun! 👍🏻🎸🖖🏻
Fantastic playing!
Let’s do this again…and again!
Well done
I love your video. And you're playing as well. There are so many to choose from that any five people might have five lists. Personally, my favorite is the background guitar and solo in the new frontier. Yes that's Fagen Not steely Dan. Still, I'd like to see what you could do with that noodling relaxed yet highly focused guitar part. Sounds acoustic, but I doubt that it is.
Carlton’s one of my favorite all time players but to be fair some of these other solos seem even more creative guitar wise. They are all monsters of one kind or another! ❤
"When looking back on his career, Jimmy Page previously told Rolling Stone that his favourite Led Zeppelin riff was ‘Kashmir’. Outside of Led Zeppelin’s discography and his own work, though, the legendary guitarist names his favourite guitar solo of all time as Elliott Randall’s riff in ‘Reelin’ In The Years’ by Steely Dan during a 1999 interview with Classic Rock."
You are a boss, sir. That was enjoyable.
Your playing continues to show why you definitely should have gotten your break back in the day - amazing story and I'm so glad you decided to pick up the guitar again! How do you transcribe all of these - and how do you make choices regarding positions to best play some of the transitional parts?
All great - but I think we NEED to add "Any Major Dude". The solo might be short, but it's simply un-f'n-believable!
Cool video thank you
I'm guessing that this has been asked before ...wondering where/what you use for your backing tracks. Absolutely love your videos.
I find them all on UA-cam, then rip them to mp3
@@KellyDeanAllenGuitar
Thanks! 🙂
When it comes to Stealy Dan. They just blow you away with their chord work. I have many many song books of different bands. And you may find maybe 4 chords in the songs. Stealy will have 15 or more.
Steely --not Stealy
Absolutely NAILED “Don’t Take Me Alive” !!
*KILLER!* _Nailed it!_ 🎸😮🤘Gotta guve it up for "Bodhisattva," to boot! 💪🤠💡
Superb!
Thank you! Cheers!
Great video, thanks
Please do more of these!
Good job. You're the hardest working guy on UA-cam.
Any idea on how to add bookmarks below to divide things up?
Nailed it- GREAT. Maybe Night By Night?
All good solos. But I’d place Denny’s Do It Again at number one, hands down.
Quite agree.
My Friday has started off Rocking😊
Nice work
hard to argue, my faves are ehe solos in Boston rag and Gold Teeth, would love to hear you play them
Way to peg Peg.....
Great list...missed a few...
Then they recieved honorable mention
Excellent playing per usual...KDA
Nice picks.
Of course the playing was stellar but you nailed the tones…well done my man 👍
What backing tracks are you playing against or are you just muting the lead guitar track? Great tutorial!!!!!
Just backing tracks I found on UA-cam.
Great work, technical genius. I'd nominate "Reelin......" as no. 1 simply because it is so commercially hooky.
I agree totally
My fav is the solo from Green earring.
Interesting bit of trivia on the Elliot Randall, Reelin' in the Years intro solo. What's on the record is the 2nd take. Elliot said he did a better take on his first try, but they thought he was just warming up and didn't hit Record. Oops! Wouldn't it be cool to hear that 1st take?!
Love the staccato guitar style on My old School
‘Aja’ is pronounced with a long A for the first syllable: aye jah. Like it’s sung in the song.
Fagen pronounces ‘Bodhisattva’ : bow dis at vah
He's speaking Canadian.
Hey Kelly do you know what pedal was used for that sound on really in the years for the guitar solo?
@PeteChurch-tz7bk I don't know specifically, but it's definitely a fuzz pedal.
@@KellyDeanAllenGuitar That's what I thought Kelly what kind of fuzz pedal do you recommend?
Did one of those guitars say "This machine kills fascists" on it? Great tribute to Woody.
#3 was the #1 solo
Wonderfull
Unbelievable!
IMHO., Denny Diaz’ solo on Do It Again deserves a spot here. I don’t know why it always seems to be overlooked.
It's the best one too
F'ing awesome...
I know jay Good one
Damn!! Never truly appreciated Steely Dan back in the day as shredders were blazing up and down the fret.....now I do.
Hmm- I'd put "My Old School" in the mix somehwere!! That's one of the hardest I've ever tried to play!
Nice 👍
Denny Dias' Boditsava solo is sick
Denny dias' Aja solo is pretty sick too
One solo nobody EVER mentions is the Bird inspired intro to Parker`s Band. KATY LIED 1975!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love the Godin SD.
Didn’t like Diaz in “Do it Again” … the song in general doesn’t really do anything for me. Kind of a song you learn when you’re 13 .
However Mr. Diaz work in “Aja” is outstanding in my book… just brilliant !!
Waiting for my old school 🤗
So many great ones, I expected Bodhisattva to be in there