That “blown out” sound you mention is a muted trumpet. The growl is done with plunger mute, but the smooth buzz comes from a Harmon mute. As a trumpet player and Harmon lover this track always started out with bonus points.
Ah, here we are at my favorite Steely Dan song - some of the finest lyrics of any song I know. The Dan's lyrics can often be obscure, obtuse, even obscene. But here they find a higher level. And the tale it tells still goes on today. The letter home isn't telling them that things aren't so great here. Just the opposite. It's just bravado, telling them it really is a paradise here, and that just encourages more to come. The royal scam is self-perpetuating.
In the homes of all kinds of immigrants to the US, you used to find pictures of saints on their walls… often the pope or President Kennedy for Irish immigrant families! So for all their faith, these island people had the saints… but became sinners because of the things they may have had to do to stay alive. This is a story loop… the suffering immigrants write to those back home that it’s great, causing more to get on the US-bound boats and suffer the same ‘scam’.
Peak Dan. The artwork of the cover of the album is a perfect companion to this track. The Royal Scam has been a feature throughout history, but especially here in the New World. I'm reminded of the tune "Unbelievable" from Dylan. It’s undeniable what they’d have you to think It’s indescribable, it can drive you to drink They said it was the land of milk and honey Now they say it’s the land of money Who ever thought they could ever make that stick It’s unbelievable you can get this rich this quick
Yay Justin, this album is one of those great albums by a good group that is better than their greatest hits album. Obvious to me Steely Dans best effort.
Steely Dan is pure genius. Their sound, the musicality, and those lyrics. Fun, smooth, intellectual, sensational across the board. Having seen Steely Dan in concert numerous times, they are among the best evenings I've had listening to live music. I miss Walter, but so glad that Donald continued to tour. Steely Dan brings back so many memories and their sound is so unique and special. Smooth 70s. Donald's vocals are just beyond. So much so that I also really dig his solo venture, "The Nightfly." That is another great experience. Steely Dan is among my top three favorite bands, along with classic, pre-80s Genesis.
Yeah I think they know a lot of these different things because they were all hauling dope😊 through the trade winds... They were worldly indeed. But you know what probably made these guys so creatively genius? They probably come from good families who had a lot of readers in the family. Readers are creators
With the exception of Aja, I wasn’t into Steely Dan growing up. Thanks to your channel, I’ve rediscovered SD. This album is on pace to be my album of the year for 2024. I think I like it more than Aja! 👍
@@jaybird4093 I love making playlists… one of life’s small blessings. Remember how it used to be? I feel like it’s a reward for all the blank we had to go through but we were def blessed with fantastic music right and left, up and down… some crap but what’ll you expect?
My favorite SD album, just above Aja...but who really cares. I have them both. 🙂 The music really fits the lyrics on this one, as they usually do. Great writing.
So perfect. I love everything by them. You really cannot do wrong listening to them. My personal favorite is Katy Lied. I'm sure you'll get around to it. Donald Fagan's solo work is also very good.
I've loved listening to Steely Dan now for over 50 years. Some people say that the first album you buy by a band will be the favourite, well in a way that could be true because the first SD album l bought was Pretzel Logic and it is indeed my favourite album of theirs, but l think it's more to do with the shorter melodic songs such as With a Gun ,Through With Buzz and Barrytown. Aja a favourite of many fans, is a wonderful achievement but almost too polished and sophisticated for me, don't get me wrong, l played it the other day and thoroughly enjoyed the listen but it's Pretzel Logic (The Royal Scam second) for me.
i used to be Numbed by this band's sound , now I dig the vibes . No Stress. No Static. Barrytown was the story of my life in the late nineties. This song could be Reality Hidden i.P.S!
The Royal Scam is a better album than Steely Dan's Greatest Hits album. Very much unlike Aja, which was a very disappointing follow up. I was expecting Aja to be as great as Royal Scam, but I only found one song on Aja that is as great as nearly all the songs on The Royal Scam.
One person says album X is the best thing they've ever heard, then someone else says it's the worst thing they've heard! I see comments on songs that to me aren't that marvellous but people rave about it, l see virtually no comments on songs that l love and wonder why?
Steely Dan's music contains so many chord changes, cryptic, edgy and ironic lyrics, and an iconic drum and sax solo at the same time! Not to mention the many genres they touched on: rock, jazz, funk, r&b, country, reggae, latin, etc. Yet they didn't take risks? LOL
What most forget to mention is the song's steady beat or as they call it "Samey". It's meant to resemble a march which is the song's meaning being about Puerto Rican immigrants arriving in NYC in the 1950s.
There is a district in Jamaica called St.Johns , where I believe a lot of migrants to New York in the late 19th & early 20th centuries came from on the promises of plentiful ,easy and well paid jobs that probably didn’t exist and found themselves having to compete with many other already established ethnic groups. There is an area in Queen’s known as Jamaica. The reference to the “letter” received back home could be either describing a life of organised crime or a cover up of how badly they’re doing to reassure their folks , who probably got into debt to send them there.
I really, really need to hear all their albuns. Seriously... And what a strange horn, hahahaha I know you've already heard a song by LEGIÃO URBANA, but there are some incredible songs to listen to from this 80s post-punk band, especially since you know they like good lyrics: 'Faroeste Caboclo', which is an epic progressive folk rock song entirely based on lyrics (you won't believe how long it is), telling a tragedy that could easily be a movie and with strong universal sociopolitical issues typical of the ghetto; 'Eduardo e Mônica', an upbeat acoustic piece with a striking bass and which tells a typical love story between a silly boy and a college girl, very positive and cute; 'Ainda É Cedo', which also tells a story of love, but one that went wrong and is more reflective, with an instrumental reminiscent of early U2; 'Índios', a tense post-punk song about Brazilian indigenous peoples that, apparently, draws a good parallel with the American ones; 'Pais e Filhos', a blues that tells a sad and reflective story about a girl and the often difficult relationship between parents and children; 'Monte Castelo', a pompous song that is like a musical collage that combines a poem by Camões, a Portuguese poet, and a biblical passage.
An album I heard at a friend’s home, didn’t really hear it better till I bought Citizen, a compilation of all their albums. Some, call out “samey” or repetitive or whatever, don’t get that vamping or droning, variation on a theme, or meditative tunes have different purposes… if all songs lived in a box of your choosing, music would be boring indeed.
@@Owlstretchingtime78 this is the thing. It's not that they're bad at their instruments, in fact quite the opposite. It's just lift music for jazz fans.
"Dan" fans giving punk rockers a run for their money as most sensitive JP poasters. "Peg" was my first exposure to them and remains my favorite. A short sweet bop with bonus Michael MacDonald burbles in the background. Otherwise, it's good music for when your dance partner is a shopping cart.
I have nothing against SD, but no song by theirs that i've heard has done anything for me. A non-band to me. Whatever, have a great Sunday everyone and JP!
@@lifespanofafry1534 I'm not a big fan of Steely Dan. But this album of theirs is better than their greatest hits album. They struck a nice nerve with this one. The deep cuts on it are better than nearly all of their hits on other albums.
@mikeloomis687 No. And if I were to, you would misconstrue what I have said while going off on your own opinions and invalidating mine. I know how you people work.
@@Owlstretchingtime78 Michael is a little bit slow and still new to the aspect of people having different opinions. He goes into panic name calling mode whenever different opinions cross his path.
@@lifespanofafry1534 It's about being honest not having different opinions. If I were JP I would tell you all to get lost. This is the only reaction channel that has trolls on Steely Dan videos. It hurts JP's content.
@MichaelTrogdon1990 You need to rethink your whole ideology pal. We're people giving our honest opinions, and one of those is a dislike for Steely Dan. Pull yourself together man!
I see the Steely Dan hater is back amongst us ! Haven’t you got something better to do with your time (probably not) I know go and listen to something you might enjoy There must be some kind of dross out there you like
This is my favourite Larry Carlton album. A fantastic guitar player!
That “blown out” sound you mention is a muted trumpet. The growl is done with plunger mute, but the smooth buzz comes from a Harmon mute. As a trumpet player and Harmon lover this track always started out with bonus points.
One of their very best songs and albums. I bet you approve. Let's go see...
Ah, here we are at my favorite Steely Dan song - some of the finest lyrics of any song I know. The Dan's lyrics can often be obscure, obtuse, even obscene. But here they find a higher level. And the tale it tells still goes on today. The letter home isn't telling them that things aren't so great here. Just the opposite. It's just bravado, telling them it really is a paradise here, and that just encourages more to come. The royal scam is self-perpetuating.
I think this is a great song, great closer, great lyrics just perfection.
My favorite Steely Dan album is the one I’m playing at the moment
Perhaps the best album-ending song of all time? I think so!
In the homes of all kinds of immigrants to the US, you used to find pictures of saints on their walls… often the pope or President Kennedy for Irish immigrant families!
So for all their faith, these island people had the saints… but became sinners because of the things they may have had to do to stay alive.
This is a story loop… the suffering immigrants write to those back home that it’s great, causing more to get on the US-bound boats and suffer the same ‘scam’.
Peak Dan. The artwork of the cover of the album is a perfect companion to this track. The Royal Scam has been a feature throughout history, but especially here in the New World. I'm reminded of the tune "Unbelievable" from Dylan.
It’s undeniable what they’d have you to think
It’s indescribable, it can drive you to drink
They said it was the land of milk and honey
Now they say it’s the land of money
Who ever thought they could ever make that stick
It’s unbelievable you can get this rich this quick
I like this song more every time I hear it. It’s escalated for 20 years since I first heard it. It bounces hard.
What a great, epic song to close an album
Yay Justin, this album is one of those great albums by a good group that is better than their greatest hits album. Obvious to me Steely Dans best effort.
Steely Dan is pure genius. Their sound, the musicality, and those lyrics. Fun, smooth, intellectual, sensational across the board.
Having seen Steely Dan in concert numerous times, they are among the best evenings I've had listening to live music.
I miss Walter, but so glad that Donald continued to tour.
Steely Dan brings back so many memories and their sound is so unique and special. Smooth 70s.
Donald's vocals are just beyond. So much so that I also really dig his solo venture, "The Nightfly." That is another great experience.
Steely Dan is among my top three favorite bands, along with classic, pre-80s Genesis.
Yes they're great! Was going to see them a few years ago, but the show was cancelled :(
The city of St. John = San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Yeah I think they know a lot of these different things because they were all hauling dope😊 through the trade winds... They were worldly indeed. But you know what probably made these guys so creatively genius? They probably come from good families who had a lot of readers in the family. Readers are creators
With the exception of Aja, I wasn’t into Steely Dan growing up. Thanks to your channel, I’ve rediscovered SD. This album is on pace to be my album of the year for 2024. I think I like it more than Aja! 👍
Heresy!
Kidding, my favorite SD thing is Citizen, which all of it, everything . I just let it play all the way through.
@@-davidolivares Citizen doesn't have the other two Steely Dan albums. Check them out and the solo albums by Fagen and Becker.
@@MichaelTrogdon1990
I have them. Live albums too, solo and SD. Also have some solo stuff, I do need a couple three things. Don’t Tin Foil Hat me sir.
@@-davidolivaresThis summer, I listened to the entire SD discography in order on Spotify. I should’ve done it years ago. :)
@@jaybird4093
I love making playlists… one of life’s small blessings. Remember how it used to be? I feel like it’s a reward for all the blank we had to go through but we were def blessed with fantastic music right and left, up and down… some crap but what’ll you expect?
My favorite SD album, just above Aja...but who really cares. I have them both. 🙂 The music really fits the lyrics on this one, as they usually do. Great writing.
Whoa! This is a great one! Now you know it too, JP!
So perfect. I love everything by them. You really cannot do wrong listening to them. My personal favorite is Katy Lied. I'm sure you'll get around to it. Donald Fagan's solo work is also very good.
I've loved listening to Steely Dan now for over 50 years. Some people say that the first album you buy by a band will be the favourite, well in a way that could be true because the first SD album l bought was Pretzel Logic and it is indeed my favourite album of theirs, but l think it's more to do with the shorter melodic songs such as With a Gun ,Through With Buzz and Barrytown. Aja a favourite of many fans, is a wonderful achievement but almost too polished and sophisticated for me, don't get me wrong, l played it the other day and thoroughly enjoyed the listen but it's Pretzel Logic (The Royal Scam second) for me.
Best album, best tune.
Second best after Pretzel Logic 😅
i used to be Numbed by this band's sound , now I dig the vibes . No Stress. No Static. Barrytown was the story of my life in the late nineties. This song could be Reality Hidden i.P.S!
This is my favorite SD album.
I can see that, although I like Aja best. The seeds are all here on this one. Both are five star.
The Royal Scam is a better album than Steely Dan's Greatest Hits album. Very much unlike Aja, which was a very disappointing follow up. I was expecting Aja to be as great as Royal Scam, but I only found one song on Aja that is as great as nearly all the songs on The Royal Scam.
One person says album X is the best thing they've ever heard, then someone else says it's the worst thing they've heard! I see comments on songs that to me aren't that marvellous but people rave about it, l see virtually no comments on songs that l love and wonder why?
Steely Dan's music contains so many chord changes, cryptic, edgy and ironic lyrics, and an iconic drum and sax solo at the same time! Not to mention the many genres they touched on: rock, jazz, funk, r&b, country, reggae, latin, etc. Yet they didn't take risks? LOL
What most forget to mention is the song's steady beat or as they call it "Samey". It's meant to resemble a march which is the song's meaning being about Puerto Rican immigrants arriving in NYC in the 1950s.
I always heard that as the city of St. Charles -- my bad hearing plus listening on a cassette without the lyrics.
There is a district in Jamaica called St.Johns , where I believe a lot of migrants to New York in the late 19th & early 20th centuries came from on the promises of plentiful ,easy and well paid jobs that probably didn’t exist and found themselves having to compete with many other already established ethnic groups. There is an area in Queen’s known as Jamaica. The reference to the “letter” received back home could be either describing a life of organised crime or a cover up of how badly they’re doing to reassure their folks , who probably got into debt to send them there.
Love the Dan grew up with them
I really, really need to hear all their albuns. Seriously... And what a strange horn, hahahaha
I know you've already heard a song by LEGIÃO URBANA, but there are some incredible songs to listen to from this 80s post-punk band, especially since you know they like good lyrics:
'Faroeste Caboclo', which is an epic progressive folk rock song entirely based on lyrics (you won't believe how long it is), telling a tragedy that could easily be a movie and with strong universal sociopolitical issues typical of the ghetto;
'Eduardo e Mônica', an upbeat acoustic piece with a striking bass and which tells a typical love story between a silly boy and a college girl, very positive and cute;
'Ainda É Cedo', which also tells a story of love, but one that went wrong and is more reflective, with an instrumental reminiscent of early U2;
'Índios', a tense post-punk song about Brazilian indigenous peoples that, apparently, draws a good parallel with the American ones;
'Pais e Filhos', a blues that tells a sad and reflective story about a girl and the often difficult relationship between parents and children;
'Monte Castelo', a pompous song that is like a musical collage that combines a poem by Camões, a Portuguese poet, and a biblical passage.
Great song but, don't forget Donald voice.
An album I heard at a friend’s home, didn’t really hear it better till I bought Citizen, a compilation of all their albums.
Some, call out “samey” or repetitive or whatever, don’t get that vamping or droning, variation on a theme, or meditative tunes have different purposes… if all songs lived in a box of your choosing, music would be boring indeed.
Hey Justin! If you have time at some point could you do some more Roxy Music? You have started and not finished like three or four of their albums
Great song, great album, great band, great reaction. Not so great the musical taste of some people.
So you think it's realistic for every music fan to get weak at the knees for this bunch?
@@Owlstretchingtime78 this is the thing. It's not that they're bad at their instruments, in fact quite the opposite. It's just lift music for jazz fans.
@pentagrammaton6793 Too true. You may not agree, but that's why i despise The Eagles!
@@Owlstretchingtime78 For me, they are a great pop band with jazz touches. I love them, especially his five first albums.
@@pentagrammaton6793Not because it's jazz music for lifts, but they took no risks!
"Dan" fans giving punk rockers a run for their money as most sensitive JP poasters. "Peg" was my first exposure to them and remains my favorite. A short sweet bop with bonus Michael MacDonald burbles in the background. Otherwise, it's good music for when your dance partner is a shopping cart.
I have nothing against SD, but no song by theirs that i've heard has done anything for me. A non-band to me.
Whatever, have a great Sunday everyone and JP!
Don't feed the troll, people
@@dexstewart2450 Someone having a different opinion than you makes one a troll?
Throw me all the labels you have…
What’s wrong with you though? 🤨
@@lifespanofafry1534 I'm not a big fan of Steely Dan. But this album of theirs is better than their greatest hits album. They struck a nice nerve with this one. The deep cuts on it are better than nearly all of their hits on other albums.
OK, so name a band that you think is better musically? Go out on a limb.
@mikeloomis687
No. And if I were to, you would misconstrue what I have said while going off on your own opinions and invalidating mine.
I know how you people work.
Steely Dan! The safe reaction choice, jazz fusion lite. No ta.
Agree.
It’s never been about jazz fusion totally different genre! Christ any one with a understanding about jazz and rock would understand that
Bottom tier Steely Dan album, maybe the clumsiest and worst of their 70s output, and this is hardly the best song on it. Not a fan at all.
Too many trolls on your videos, JP. Your channel would be better if you would just block them.
Your interpretation of troll is lost on me. Does subjectivity ring any bells?
@@Owlstretchingtime78 Michael is a little bit slow and still new to the aspect of people having different opinions. He goes into panic name calling mode whenever different opinions cross his path.
@@lifespanofafry1534 It's about being honest not having different opinions. If I were JP I would tell you all to get lost. This is the only reaction channel that has trolls on Steely Dan videos. It hurts JP's content.
OK. I’m honest. I don’t like Steely Dan. What’s your issue?
Are you the thought police?
@MichaelTrogdon1990 You need to rethink your whole ideology pal. We're people giving our honest opinions, and one of those is a dislike for Steely Dan. Pull yourself together man!
Bit samey, cliched soft rock, nothing special. That brass is annoying too.
LOL
I see the Steely Dan hater is back amongst us ! Haven’t you got something better to do with your time (probably not) I know go and listen to something you might enjoy There must be some kind of dross out there you like
thanks for the bad take
As mentioned elsewhere, the safe reaction choice. There's something inherently wrong about music this mind numbingly smooth!
@@Owlstretchingtime78 damn right! No risks taken.