The words that come to mind to describe the sound Steely Dan produced on this album include lush, dense, layered, integrated, and lyrical. When I was a teenager and I heard Royal Scam, followed by Aja, I thought I was hearing perfection - and they WERE truly great albums. But I think Gaucho is next level stuff. It is a masterpiece of songwriting, composition, sound engineering and performance.
Hey everyone! So... we read the lyrics. Much to my surprise, Nick read them before I did. It is truly crazy how much you can groove to while they talk about a drug dealer! 😂 Thanks for watching! ❤️ P.S. TRAILER to Aja Documentary REACTION!!! ua-cam.com/video/2qW0UekzRok/v-deo.html
A basketball player is at the top of his game, living the high life, everything shiny in a glaze of cocaine. But "living hard will take it's toll." Steely Dan are often about hipsters who are just about to crash or crashing in their lives, even though from the outside (and from the inside, in denial of consequences) everything looks so glamourous and exciting. Like in Do It Again where the protagonist does bad things he knows are bad, but can't stop. Gaucho has been one of my fave SD albums since it came out in '80. All the songs are great. Third World Man is a wonderful closer with it's sad wistfulness, and for a long time we thought that was the final word from Steely Dan. The next we heard was a Fagen solo track in the animated movie Heavy Metal. Then came the solo albums Night Fly, and Becker's Eleven Tracks of Whack. Doesn't everybody love Steely Dan?😃 Can't wait for the next reaction!
Here are the credits for Glamour Profession: Donald Fagen - lead vocals, backing vocals, synthesizer, electric piano Tom Scott - tenor saxophone, Lyricon, horn arrangement Michael Brecker - tenor saxophone Rob Mounsey - piano Steve Khan - guitar Steve Gadd - drums Anthony Jackson - bass Ralph MacDonald - percussion Valerie Simpson, Lesley Miller, Frank Floyd, Zack Sanders - backing vocals
That’s not unusual for them. The underworld of drug dealers is a common theme for them. Listen to Time Out of Mind on Gaucho also, and of course, Kid Charlemagne off of The Royal Scam.
Steely Dan work on every level.which is why they are my fav band. Dont forget the incredible R&B in their too. I' m a dj and i drop this in the middle of a set and the dancefloor packs !
The titular track of Gaucho is a favorite of mine. At first I didn't care for it back in 1980, but after several repeat listenings it grew on me and now I love it. I'd consider it a must reaction for y'all.
Being a Steely Fan my whole life, ( I was in my teens in the 70's) I listen today and their music stills as fresh as it did back then. In 2000 they released Two Against Nature to critical acclaim. It is an awesome album for which they won Grammy's for Album Of The Year, Best Pop Album, Best Engineered Album, Best Pop Performance by Duo or Group for the song "Cousin Dupree" which I really hope you both will be able to react to in the near Steely Dan future. It's a catchy upbeat tune with sort of a family related obsession type lyrics. I always appreciate when I see todays generation discovering the music of my generation. Music definitely unites us all in way or another. Thank you to you both or Muchas Gracias a los dos!!
I agree any Steely Dan is fine But ROYAL SCAM is there best album with every track is a banger Green Earings first guys. Plus must do FM by The Dan it’s an amazing track. Love sharing the the journey down the Dan rabbit hole. Amazing channel peeps. 🤟
@@integraleric That's what's so great about the Dan, right? I know better than to argue with any Dan fan about which album or song is best... hell, I change my mind every time I switch to a different album. Last week it was Countdown to Ecstasy, LOL...
Listening to your reaction mid-song sparked an idea that hadn't occurred to me 'til now, even though I've been a Dan fan since the '70's and saw them live four times. Every little detail in their music enhances the whole, in a way rarely seen. I really enjoy your reactions, seeing new people truly appreciate great music I've always loved is heart warming for me. Great job, thanks!
Top notch; that said you can find 40 candidates for your own Steely Dan Greatest Hits - this one is certainly on mine. One of their classiest fade-outs and the LYRICS and the disco bounce and Donald's voice and the groove and the instrumentation and the Hollywood segment. It's gorgeous.
Love this video guys. You've just discovered the Dan's sneakiest masterpiece: something new to discover with each listen. That lush bass is played by the legendary Anthony Jackson! Think you'd love Time Out Of Mind on the same album
You might argue Almost Gothic is by far their most underrated masterpiece. Even most “Dan fans” barely know of it- same with Pixeleen off of their Everything Must Go album
Hell of a bridge in this track , if I may , quite a bit of bridges , they are phenomenal song writers composing at its finest , STEELY DAN music hands down undisputed
I bought this vinyl album back in 1980 when it was released. I have literally heard this song dozens and dozens of times over the years..... and every time I listen to it I hear something "new" that I had not heard before. There are so many layers in this track as well as most of their other work. This is a masterpiece of musicianship as well as production/engineering.
So smooth! Everything you expect from this great band is delivered with this superb song. Wonderful vocals, great melody and lyrics, and the production is second to none as usual.
Eh, lyrical content has never mattered much to me; they're just there to shape the tone of the vocal(s), as far as I'm concerned. I'm always there for the *music* first and foremost.
"Glamour Profession" is one of my favorite Steely Dan songs. Of the lyrics, the first thing I noticed was 'crashing the backboards'. Because I like playing basketball.
Steely Dan's "comeback" album _Two Against Nature_ won the Grammy for Album of the Year in 2001, and I've only seen a few reactions to songs from it. Try "Gaslighting Abbie", "Cousin Dupree" or (especially) "Jack Of Speed".
I grew up with Steely Dan, my all-time favorite band! Hard to describe their music, they're in a league of their own. To listen to the music and the lyrics is like walking through a dream, it's imagination and incredible music that melts into your subconscious and lands in your soul... nothing ever touched me the way this group did... and still does!
What can you say about steel dan and doobie brothers. With Steely's bizarre chord changes and off the wall lyrics, they could always find that groove. When I try to tell younger kids about all the unbelievable music we had back then, they don't relate, but you guys truly can. What a TREAT!!
Thanks for doing this song! I have held for 35 years that Gaucho is the finest thing that has ever been done in a recording studio (The Wall being a close second).
If someone put a gun to my head and forced me to choose only one favourite SD track, I would probably choose Babylon Sisters. PS. One of the reasons I like your channel is that you focus mostly on the music and not the lyrics. I think there are enough channels who (over-)analyse the meaning of the lyrics when sometimes it’s simply that the words just happen to sound good in terms of phrasing or enhances the mood and feel of the song.
For me, AJA/Home At Last from AJA, and this plus the unbelievably haunting Third World Man from this album. I can't imagine what you'd have to say about Third World Man. There's almost nothing like it out there....
From the same album,try Time Out Of Mind. It has Mark Knopfler solo’ing. Yes,THAT Mark Knopfler. He was flown in for the session,recorded his section,and was then flown back to England. He said that Fagen was utterly obsessed with perfection,and threw away parts recorded by the great musicians of the day,because it wasn’t quite right. That cutting room could make a brilliant double album!!
I've discovered most of your stuff at about a year old. I guess there was a point where you knew every Steely Dan song that you were going to listen to was going to be an absolute masterpiece. They are truly the Perfection of music. Enjoyed it as usual I still get tears in my eyes every time I watch you guys listen to something.
hey you 2 ? what better way to have to drag my sorry butt into work on NEW YEARS day then to binge on your Steely Dan reaction video's ! thanks for playing this music for us.
The guitarist on this track was Steve Khan, check out his album The Blue Man and the track to check out is called The Little Ones.. .It will blow your mind (especially the horn section arrangements).
Great choice. A very cool Dance-like track, great chord changes, great hook, exquisite arrangement and piano solo by Rob Mounsey, tasty and soulful guitar solo fills by Steve Khan.
Love SD . All their music has such subtle delivery but is just so well constructed! It seems very simple but is very layered and complex. I love these guys! Been a huge fan for years. Cant wait for the patreon video. Going to be a blast! Thanks for this video! Great as usual
Thank you so much for your discovery of Steely Dan. The part in the video where Lex mentions not wanting to try to focus on the lyrics... so you can both immerse yourself in Dan's wonderful music is so true... Fagen's lyrics are often so complex and having some unexpected meaning only adds to their appeal. Sorry for the long post... but like many Steely Dan songs, the lyrics have a lot of the references, many obscure even in the age of the internet. First verse is referring to a baseball player as 6:05 - "Outside the stadium" refers to a 1970 story of pitcher Dock P. Ellis Jr., a pitcher with the Pittsburgh Pirates who had flown to LA to try LSD and came back still under the influence when the game started at San Diego Stadium. Dock Ellis later confessed to being "as high as a kite" during the game. Dock later in his career pitched a no-hitter on LSD. It was the '70s afterall. What does shine the silver bowl mean? Its' a drug reference about cocaine. "Coke" was massively popular by the late 70s-early 80s (see disco... LOL) especially in LA, and what else would somebody be doing when they "shine the silver bowl," if not smoking cocaine. Second verse "Jack with his radar, stalking the dread moray eel" is a reference to Jack Carlton Reed, a pilot and distributor for cocaine transports during his heyday and about a then popular DJ for LA radio, Russ O'Hara, who went testifying against Drug Lord Carlos Lehder in a notorius drug case and against Jack Reed after “he watched” him dancing with his girlfriend “from the darkness”. Third verse is about “Celluloid bikers” the “Hollywood Fame” like the movie producer Robert Evans (best known for his work on Rosemary's Baby, Love Story, The Godfather, Chinatown), famous and rich then and known for notorious use of cocaine, who was later convicted of cocaine trafficking. I KNOW RIGHT? Fagen and Becker could make beautiful music out of some pretty complex topics... as witnessed... In short... Glamour Profession is about mis-adventures of specific LA folks with illegal drugs in the late '70s and does a deep dive about these successful guys who all get involved deep in the drug business when it was 'the next big thing' and glamourous... get burned and get out.
Your reaction to this Steely Dan song is SPOT ON especially with headphones on. I remember hearing this song on the FM radio in my car and this is completely different. There is layer after layer of EAR CANDY. You just get lost in the layers of auditory delight.
Your love of Steely Dan is so joyous and makes me so happy. I've loved SD since I was a kid and I still love them. Fun fact about this song - it was the replacement on Gaucho after another song that Don and Walter really loved got accidentally erased (that song is called "The Second Arrangement" and Donald has played it live a couple of times). I think it would be awesome of you to do a listen to the lost Gaucho, which is outtakes and several songs that were written for the album but didn't make it; a few of them are just Don on Piano and Walter on bass but you can really hear how good they were as songwriters, but there are also full band takes of songs like "The Second Arrangement" and, probably tied near the top of my life of favorite Dan songs, two songs that didn't make the album called "The Bear" (one of the few Dan songs I can't remotely figure out what it's about) and "Kulee Baba," which is such an incredible and weird song it's nuts that they didn't think it good enought on include. Anyway, you should do a reaction video of listening to the lost/outtakes, I think you'd love it.
With Steely Dan, my appreciation initially was with the quality of their music. Like you said Nick, every instrument and note has a purpose. Their songs end up individual masterpieces on their own. You enjoy the Jazz vibe and the tight arrangements like listening to Miles Davis. After you fall in love with their music, and play it incessantly, you start looking at the lyrics and you get another surprise and appreciation, like getting that prize at the bottom of a box of Cracker Jack as a kid. You find their very dark, cryptic tongue in cheek subjects of many of their songs then gain another level of appreciation for their music. "Geez, I'm grooving to a song about a drug dealer" (Kid Charlemagne). With that, Steely Dan's music NEVER tires for me 5 decades later. Their music I can safely say is the "fix" in my life since I never took drugs.
Enjoying your Steely reaction vids very much - always a treat for us Dan fans to see the music being appreciated by the next generation. Btw, the superb guitar solo on this is by Steve Khan, a really underrated player who also plays the solo on 'My Rival'. Check out his solo album 'The Blue Man' - very Steely-esque!
Gaucho is a great album. I have it on vinyl and use the cover as framed (in glass) wall art. Next, please dive into some songs from the album Countdown to Ecstasy, specifically Bodhisattva, which showcases the "fun" side of Steely Dan. The other song on this album I highly recommend is King of the World; the guitar work in the background, once you listen for it, is exceptional. Thanks again for bringing this music to those who did not grow up with it, and for those of us who did but love hearing it again and enjoyed by another generation.
The joy of music is what makes your channel so fun! NicknLex, I love your appreciation for all types of music, plus I love the fact that you turned me on to Porcupine Tree!!! How did I miss them??? Totally blow off the people who say "how could you not have heard this or that", or that your not being truthful.. Who are they to make judgements?! I consider myself knowledgeable about music...yet I missed Porcupine Tree! Now I'm making up for lost time and binging! Thanks for the great reactions, they're all great, but my fave was Carpet Crawlers...that song makes me emotional, too! Be Well Stay Safe ☮ & ❤
Magnificent piano solo by Rob Mounsey. Gaucho is Steely Dan's jazzy/funk Storytelling album about Los Angeles (L.A.). Anthony Jackson on bass. The guitar was Steve Khan. Khan's guitar tone is more similar to Walter Becker than for example, Larry Carlton on Third World Man or Kid Charlemagne or Don't Take Me Alive, etc.
Some trivia for you - the phenomenal guitarist is Steve Khan, son of the prolific lyricist Sammy Cahn. The family name is actually "Cohen". Sammy Khan wrote the lyrics for many, many Frank Sinatra hits. Music runs in the family. We just saw Steely Dan perform Gaucho + hits at MAYO Performing Arts Center in Morristown NJ on 11/4. It's an absolutely kick-ass, can't miss 13 piece band with 4 horns, 2 lead guitars, 3 "Danettes" backup singers, keys, bass, drums. And 50 years later, Donald sounds clean, vibrant, spot on and snarky as ever. If you get a chance to see them live, you will absolutely love the experience.
@@NicknLex Yeah, he's brilliant. Can't imagine a more perfect fit than Khan for Glamour Profession. Silky smooth, but edgy and original with no cliches. This is certainly one of my top 10, maybe top 5 Steely Dan songs. I call the style "Disco Noir" based on the smarmy, unctuous characters and dark subject matter. Quite a departure from the party and romance attitude of late 70's disco.
This song always brings back the memory of driving from my home in Vermont to Orlando, Florida and I hit the Orlando palm tree, mossy oak cityscape in bright daylight and this song came on the radio and it felt like the opening track to a movie I was the main character in. There was a lot on the horizon. It seemed perfect.
So I really wanted to comment about just how versatile Steely Dan is as a band but my conscience is taking me in another direction. I'm going to make my first NicknLex request ever. Please follow up and make that call to your father. How great would it be when you are having trouble communicating that your love for music could be the thing that opens up the dialog between you and your dad again? I may not know your father but he must have some really good qualities for you to have become the caring person you are today. You hit the jackpot in getting a father-in-law like Mario so why not double down and work on getting the relationship with your father to where you want it to be. I'm willing to bet that you making that call will be worth it and that it might be something that your dad will appreciate too. Sending positive thoughts your way.
Thank you raider fan, you saved me from tryin to figure out how to say what You did! Spot on! My Dad paseed Sept 2021 but we were close....I could not imagine him passing and us being involved with each other
@@alansmith7626Sorry for your loss Alan. I'm in the same boat. My dad has passed and wouldn't we love to have another chance to talk to our fathers. i was asked in an interview once " If you could have dinner with any person from past or present history who would it be." My answer was easy.......my dad. In my experience the older you get the more you come to understand the importance of family.
@@raiderfan346 I feel exactly the same way. My dad passed away when I was 19, and all these years later I still miss him -- he was the best man I've ever met. Just thinking now about sharing with him some of the music I've heard and enjoyed over the years chokes me up, as I've now really come to appreciate the music HE liked that I kind of dismissed while he was alive, and I know music I've heard after he passed that he would love too. That dinner question is easy for me as well, but I'd never want the dinner to end.
Nobody can put SD in a box and that's why I love them so much. When people recommend Green Earrings they are right. Pretzel Logic is another one of my favorites.
@@michelemichele3375 I love your sense of humor and enthusiasm. Maybe Nick and Lex will grace us with their reaction to this funky banger soon, But there are just so many "favorites" it could take some time.
When Alexia said " This is the band we were looking for" I was like! YES!!!.... Steely Dan is the band that musicians listen to. All of the muso's I know have this Album, Royal Scam and Aja. The three albums at their peak of creativity... The Nightfly by Donald was also in that era!
You two made a comment about the intention of Donald Fagen‘s voice on this track, and to me his voice and vocal phrasing on this track sound exactly like how a saxophone is played, and yes I do believe he intended it to come across that way. To me this song with it’s opening chord progression is both space-age and otherworldly. They put it out in 1980, but it sounds like something I would imagine that would come out in 2050. It’s World Lounge Music before there ever WAS World Lounge Music If this is yacht rock, then they INVENTED yacht rock, and any yacht rock that came after it was just pure cheap imitation. It’s both incredibly advanced, yet accessible at the same time. It is both nostalgic AND futuristic, which to me is the thing that makes this song pure genius.
Such a great idea to start this album today. Any day is a good day for Steely Dan. Thank you, Steven! So smooth. I love it! I think I remember you talking about Steve Khan a while back. He plays on 4 tracks plus lead on one of the tracks.
Yes, Steve Khan does the magical solo on Glamour. His father was Sammy Cahn, songwriter extraordinaire who wrote, (among other eternal classics), "Fly me to the Moon."
Hey CT, I don’t know if this is an offer you’d refuse (haha, Godfather reference), but I’d like to treat you to a year of NicknLex on Patreon. I’ll tell Lex to give you my email? Don’t know if it would work but I’m willing to try. ? ✨🤪
@@michelemichele3375 OMG Michele! That is a wonderful offer. That would be great if it could be done. I was already starting to lament the content I would be missing. I accept your offer. Thank you for being so sweet...
I agree with you, it's hard to take in every nuance of the song and the lyrics all at the same time in a first listen. It can be easy for us, that have heard the song thousands of times, to forget that. Nobody recommended Babylon Sisters? Holy crap, that's one of the best tracks on the album imho.
Absolutely agree. I don't think it's possible to do a first time reaction and fully analyse lyrics at the same time. But you could read the lyrics afterwards (if you have the feeling they could be interesting) and add a comment at the end of the video. Some songs (if it's not your average pop or rock song) have really great or surprising lyrics.
Time Out of Mind is a definite must listen for y’all.
YES PLEASE!
Yes please and Babylon Sisters....shake it
absolutely
Time out of mind features a guitar solo by Mark knopfler very subtle but effective!
The words that come to mind to describe the sound Steely Dan produced on this album include lush, dense, layered, integrated, and lyrical. When I was a teenager and I heard Royal Scam, followed by Aja, I thought I was hearing perfection - and they WERE truly great albums. But I think Gaucho is next level stuff. It is a masterpiece of songwriting, composition, sound engineering and performance.
also boujie, flamboyant, sardonic, glittered up af, catchy, subversive and tight as a mofo
I could listen to that piano all day long.
I love the way Fagen says 'quarter.'
It’s his Joisey accent coming out.
Like the way he says, "get outta heeeah" on Black Cow.
Red bee-eens and rice for a quarta.
“I feeya the monkay in yer sowell”
This song could easily be a movie. It’s a masterpiece
Hey everyone! So... we read the lyrics. Much to my surprise, Nick read them before I did. It is truly crazy how much you can groove to while they talk about a drug dealer! 😂 Thanks for watching! ❤️
P.S. TRAILER to Aja Documentary REACTION!!! ua-cam.com/video/2qW0UekzRok/v-deo.html
A basketball player is at the top of his game, living the high life, everything shiny in a glaze of cocaine. But "living hard will take it's toll."
Steely Dan are often about hipsters who are just about to crash or crashing in their lives, even though from the outside (and from the inside, in denial of consequences) everything looks so glamourous and exciting. Like in Do It Again where the protagonist does bad things he knows are bad, but can't stop.
Gaucho has been one of my fave SD albums since it came out in '80. All the songs are great. Third World Man is a wonderful closer with it's sad wistfulness, and for a long time we thought that was the final word from Steely Dan.
The next we heard was a Fagen solo track in the animated movie Heavy Metal. Then came the solo albums Night Fly, and Becker's Eleven Tracks of Whack.
Doesn't everybody love Steely Dan?😃
Can't wait for the next reaction!
Here are the credits for Glamour Profession:
Donald Fagen - lead vocals, backing vocals, synthesizer, electric piano
Tom Scott - tenor saxophone, Lyricon, horn arrangement
Michael Brecker - tenor saxophone
Rob Mounsey - piano
Steve Khan - guitar
Steve Gadd - drums
Anthony Jackson - bass
Ralph MacDonald - percussion
Valerie Simpson, Lesley Miller, Frank Floyd, Zack Sanders - backing vocals
@@mikenichols3965 Great comment. Yes, “illegal fun Under the Sun 🌞 “ ✨🤪
That’s not unusual for them. The underworld of drug dealers is a common theme for them. Listen to Time Out of Mind on Gaucho also, and of course, Kid Charlemagne off of The Royal Scam.
Wait till you do Kid Charlemagne!
One of the greatest songs I've heard in my six plus decades of seriously listening to recorded music. A magic carpet ride of a composition.
Steely Dan work on every level.which is why they are my fav band. Dont forget the incredible R&B in their too.
I' m a dj and i drop this in the middle of a set and the dancefloor packs !
The titular track of Gaucho is a favorite of mine. At first I didn't care for it back in 1980, but after several repeat listenings it grew on me and now I love it. I'd consider it a must reaction for y'all.
I shared the same experience. I sing it doing housework all the time!
It’s the best song on the record
Me too. I like many songs on the album now!
Weirdest chorus in history, absolute stroke of genius
@@jacksonwilliams8971 I wish I had a spangled leather poncho with studs that matched my eyes. Elevator shoes, too.
"I drove the Chrysler... watched from the darkness while they danced." Quintessential, jaundiced Becker/Fagen perspective.
Being a Steely Fan my whole life, ( I was in my teens in the 70's) I listen today and their music stills as fresh as it did back then. In 2000 they released Two Against Nature to critical acclaim. It is an awesome album for which they won Grammy's for Album Of The Year, Best Pop Album, Best Engineered Album, Best Pop Performance by Duo or Group for the song "Cousin Dupree" which I really hope you both will be able to react to in the near Steely Dan future. It's a catchy upbeat tune with sort of a family related obsession type lyrics. I always appreciate when I see todays generation discovering the music of my generation. Music definitely unites us all in way or another. Thank you to you both or Muchas Gracias a los dos!!
My favorite off that album is "West Of Hollywood" :-)
I agree any Steely Dan is fine But ROYAL SCAM is there best album with every track is a banger Green Earings first guys. Plus must do FM by The Dan it’s an amazing track.
Love sharing the the journey down the Dan rabbit hole. Amazing channel peeps. 🤟
Haitian Divorce! And I love Green Earrings too. But Haitian Divorce is so unique, Dean Parks and Walter Becker created the ultimate talkbox vibe...
I agree any Steely Dan is fine, But, like all my children, all their albums are my favotite! :-)
_Kid Charlemagne_ is the best song on TRS, and may be the best SD song, period. Smartest lyrics, best lead guitar, best all-around.
I have to agree. Royal Scam is probably their best. I also like Pretzel Logic.
@@integraleric That's what's so great about the Dan, right? I know better than to argue with any Dan fan about which album or song is best... hell, I change my mind every time I switch to a different album. Last week it was Countdown to Ecstasy, LOL...
Listening to your reaction mid-song sparked an idea that hadn't occurred to me 'til now, even though I've been a Dan fan since the '70's and saw them live four times. Every little detail in their music enhances the whole, in a way rarely seen. I really enjoy your reactions, seeing new people truly appreciate great music I've always loved is heart warming for me. Great job, thanks!
Steve Khan is the most underrated guitarist here and so tasteful. His solo albums are fantastic
Top notch; that said you can find 40 candidates for your own Steely Dan Greatest Hits - this one is certainly on mine. One of their classiest fade-outs and the LYRICS and the disco bounce and Donald's voice and the groove and the instrumentation and the Hollywood segment. It's gorgeous.
Again love your reviews and insights as always. That said, please don’t skip Babylon Sisters on Gaucho, it’s my favorite track!
The horn arrangement is stellar.
Definitely my favorite track on that album and one of my favorite SD tracks of all. Love the Purdie Shuffle.
It’s the best song on Gaucho 🐵
Drive west on Sunset to the sea. I love it. Babylon Sisters...shake it. Now it's in my head and will stay there for days. ❤️
@@eileendobbs8009 amazing lyrics. And this song had been in my head fro 40 years lol
perfect song
Love this video guys. You've just discovered the Dan's sneakiest masterpiece: something new to discover with each listen. That lush bass is played by the legendary Anthony Jackson! Think you'd love Time Out Of Mind on the same album
You might argue Almost Gothic is by far their most underrated masterpiece. Even most “Dan fans” barely know of it- same with Pixeleen off of their Everything Must Go album
@@lukekiefer5964Almost Gotic is amazing, but The Great Pagoda of Funn is INCREDIBLE!
Hell of a bridge in this track , if I may , quite a bit of bridges , they are phenomenal song writers composing at its finest , STEELY DAN music hands down undisputed
I bought this vinyl album back in 1980 when it was released. I have literally heard this song dozens and dozens of times over the years..... and every time I listen to it I hear something "new" that I had not heard before. There are so many layers in this track as well as most of their other work. This is a masterpiece of musicianship as well as production/engineering.
Only SD can make you groove to a song about high-level drug dealers in LA. I agree with you about first listening to the music with a band like SD.
So smooth! Everything you expect from this great band is delivered with this superb song. Wonderful vocals, great melody and lyrics, and the production is second to none as usual.
Eh, lyrical content has never mattered much to me; they're just there to shape the tone of the vocal(s), as far as I'm concerned. I'm always there for the *music* first and foremost.
ahh, the life of an la coke dealer
The drums are the glue that keeps on giving, frigging fantastic, after 30 years I am enjoying it more.
"Jack with his radar, stalking the dread moray eel, at the wheel with his Eurasian bride" ... jeez, the vignettes
"Glamour Profession" is one of my favorite Steely Dan songs. Of the lyrics, the first thing I noticed was 'crashing the backboards'. Because I like playing basketball.
Steely Dan's production quality is other worldly!
I love you guys, fellow Steely Dan lovers. I listen to them all the time. I love every song I wouldnt be able to pick a favorite.
Steely Dan's "comeback" album _Two Against Nature_ won the Grammy for Album of the Year in 2001, and I've only seen a few reactions to songs from it. Try "Gaslighting Abbie", "Cousin Dupree" or (especially) "Jack Of Speed".
What he said! 😁
Cousin Dupree and Jack of Speed are musts!
Dr. Wu is a really good SD song. Think it's on the Katy Lied album which is a very good album also.
That song is incredible. One of their best, for sure.
@@KyleS.1987 Katy is a great album!
The Phil Woods sax solo is gold!
Doctor Wu 👍🏽
I grew up with Steely Dan, my all-time favorite band! Hard to describe their music, they're in a league of their own. To listen to the music and the lyrics is like
walking through a dream, it's imagination and incredible music that melts into your subconscious and lands in your soul... nothing ever touched me the way
this group did... and still does!
When this came out i was 23..listened to it all the time..one of my top 50 albums ..much love to you both...Kent
Ah, the pervasive "I was ..." age statement. The need to relate 😉🤪😅
I have listened to them since 72 and continue to do so. Now you know why.
My fav. song, by my fav. band! THANK YOU!!
Another must listen from Gaucho is “Hey, Nineteen”.
I LOVE this song - it's all about the bass! So good.
What can you say about steel dan and doobie brothers. With Steely's bizarre chord changes and off the wall lyrics, they could always find that groove. When I try to tell younger kids about all the unbelievable music we had back then, they don't relate, but you guys truly can. What a TREAT!!
You Both Are Awesome & Steely Dan Is A Great Band For You To. Explore !! Much Love !! Thank You Both !!
THIS IS MY ALL-TIME FAVORITE STEELY DAN SONG!!!
I think it’s up there for me, too. There are still several more to discover but this one holds a special place!! Thanks for watching! 💕 Lex
Thanks for doing this song! I have held for 35 years that Gaucho is the finest thing that has ever been done in a recording studio (The Wall being a close second).
after requesting glamour profession on a few other reaction channels, this is the very first channel to actually react to it. THANK YOU!!!
If someone put a gun to my head and forced me to choose only one favourite SD track, I would probably choose Babylon Sisters.
PS. One of the reasons I like your channel is that you focus mostly on the music and not the lyrics. I think there are enough channels who (over-)analyse the meaning of the lyrics when sometimes it’s simply that the words just happen to sound good in terms of phrasing or enhances the mood and feel of the song.
This is EXACTLY how we feel! Thank you for your support and glad to have you here! :) - Lex
Babylon sisters - SHAKE IT! My all-time favorite Gaucho track…
Yes, it’s always fresh. It’s a perfect songs
For me, AJA/Home At Last from AJA, and this plus the unbelievably haunting Third World Man from this album. I can't imagine what you'd have to say about Third World Man. There's almost nothing like it out there....
Black Cow for me
From the same album,try Time Out Of Mind.
It has Mark Knopfler solo’ing.
Yes,THAT Mark Knopfler.
He was flown in for the session,recorded his section,and was then flown back to England.
He said that Fagen was utterly obsessed with perfection,and threw away parts recorded by the great musicians of the day,because it wasn’t quite right.
That cutting room could make a brilliant double album!!
gino vannelli hit song 'people gotta move' is a must. His music from the '70's istimeless ...
Gets better every time
Just seeing your reactions and your take on these songs is so wonderful! The music will last forever!
I've discovered most of your stuff at about a year old. I guess there was a point where you knew every Steely Dan song that you were going to listen to was going to be an absolute masterpiece. They are truly the Perfection of music. Enjoyed it as usual I still get tears in my eyes every time I watch you guys listen to something.
This song is one of my favorites from them! I’m so happy you decided to pick this one today!
Black Cow , so damned jazzy and funky , it takes you by the hand into a mini jazz performance...but this track 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Now we're talking , perfectly special music 🎹🎸🎶🎵🎷🎺🎼🎙🎺🎹🎶🎹🎸🎸🎻🎷🎷
hey you 2 ? what better way to have to drag my sorry butt into work on NEW YEARS day then to binge on your Steely Dan reaction video's ! thanks for playing this music for us.
This one gets even better the more you hear it.
Another good song from Gaucho is Time Out Of Mind. Thanks for the reaction.
You have so many more amazing moments to enjoy! 😎
😍 one of my favs! That outro! Steely dan disco party! Lol
Another great tune from the Great Steely Dan as with all their songs ❤️☝️💫 thanks for the reaction guys you’re the best ❤️☝️💫
The guitarist on this track was Steve Khan, check out his album The Blue Man and the track to check out is called The Little Ones.. .It will blow your mind (especially the horn section arrangements).
Their best track off of this album!
Steely Dan’s cynical and humorous lyrics are what takes their songs to the stratosphere, even though they take years and years to dissect.
Great choice. A very cool Dance-like track, great chord changes, great hook, exquisite arrangement and piano solo by Rob Mounsey, tasty and soulful guitar solo fills by Steve Khan.
Shout out to the sound engineers , I can’t believe this was recorded in the 70s
Love SD . All their music has such subtle delivery but is just so well constructed! It seems very simple but is very layered and complex. I love these guys! Been a huge fan for years. Cant wait for the patreon video. Going to be a blast! Thanks for this video! Great as usual
Thank you so much for your discovery of Steely Dan.
The part in the video where Lex mentions not wanting to try to focus on the lyrics... so you can both immerse yourself in Dan's wonderful music is so true... Fagen's lyrics are often so complex and having some unexpected meaning only adds to their appeal.
Sorry for the long post... but like many Steely Dan songs, the lyrics have a lot of the references, many obscure even in the age of the internet.
First verse is referring to a baseball player as 6:05 - "Outside the stadium" refers to a 1970 story of pitcher Dock P. Ellis Jr., a pitcher with the Pittsburgh Pirates who had flown to LA to try LSD and came back still under the influence when the game started at San Diego Stadium. Dock Ellis later confessed to being "as high as a kite" during the game. Dock later in his career pitched a no-hitter on LSD. It was the '70s afterall.
What does shine the silver bowl mean? Its' a drug reference about cocaine. "Coke" was massively popular by the late 70s-early 80s (see disco... LOL) especially in LA, and what else would somebody be doing when they "shine the silver bowl," if not smoking cocaine.
Second verse "Jack with his radar, stalking the dread moray eel" is a reference to Jack Carlton Reed, a pilot and distributor for cocaine transports during his heyday and about a then popular DJ for LA radio, Russ O'Hara, who went testifying against Drug Lord Carlos Lehder in a notorius drug case and against Jack Reed after “he watched” him dancing with his girlfriend “from the darkness”.
Third verse is about “Celluloid bikers” the “Hollywood Fame” like the movie producer Robert Evans (best known for his work on Rosemary's Baby, Love Story, The Godfather, Chinatown), famous and rich then and known for notorious use of cocaine, who was later convicted of cocaine trafficking. I KNOW RIGHT? Fagen and Becker could make beautiful music out of some pretty complex topics... as witnessed...
In short... Glamour Profession is about mis-adventures of specific LA folks with illegal drugs in the late '70s and does a deep dive about these successful guys who all get involved deep in the drug business when it was 'the next big thing' and glamourous... get burned and get out.
The magic of guitarist Steve Khan.
The Best musicians! This is my favorite album of theirs.
Your reaction to this Steely Dan song is SPOT ON especially with headphones on. I remember hearing this song on the FM radio in my car and this is completely different. There is layer after layer of EAR CANDY. You just get lost in the layers of auditory delight.
You guys get even better looking while listening to Steely Dan hehe
Your love of Steely Dan is so joyous and makes me so happy. I've loved SD since I was a kid and I still love them. Fun fact about this song - it was the replacement on Gaucho after another song that Don and Walter really loved got accidentally erased (that song is called "The Second Arrangement" and Donald has played it live a couple of times).
I think it would be awesome of you to do a listen to the lost Gaucho, which is outtakes and several songs that were written for the album but didn't make it; a few of them are just Don on Piano and Walter on bass but you can really hear how good they were as songwriters, but there are also full band takes of songs like "The Second Arrangement" and, probably tied near the top of my life of favorite Dan songs, two songs that didn't make the album called "The Bear" (one of the few Dan songs I can't remotely figure out what it's about) and "Kulee Baba," which is such an incredible and weird song it's nuts that they didn't think it good enought on include. Anyway, you should do a reaction video of listening to the lost/outtakes, I think you'd love it.
You guys are the BEST!!!!!!!
Great reaction as usual.....aren't they just a treat to listen to ?
With Steely Dan, my appreciation initially was with the quality of their music. Like you said Nick, every instrument and note has a purpose. Their songs end up individual masterpieces on their own. You enjoy the Jazz vibe and the tight arrangements like listening to Miles Davis. After you fall in love with their music, and play it incessantly, you start looking at the lyrics and you get another surprise and appreciation, like getting that prize at the bottom of a box of Cracker Jack as a kid. You find their very dark, cryptic tongue in cheek subjects of many of their songs then gain another level of appreciation for their music. "Geez, I'm grooving to a song about a drug dealer" (Kid Charlemagne). With that, Steely Dan's music NEVER tires for me 5 decades later. Their music I can safely say is the "fix" in my life since I never took drugs.
🥰 YES! 😁 YES! 🤗 And YES!!!!! 😚 Let's do this! 😊🐰
Enjoying your Steely reaction vids very much - always a treat for us Dan fans to see the music being appreciated by the next generation. Btw, the superb guitar solo on this is by Steve Khan, a really underrated player who also plays the solo on 'My Rival'. Check out his solo album 'The Blue Man' - very Steely-esque!
Blue Man...yes! Got it on vinyl years ago.
Gaucho is a great album. I have it on vinyl and use the cover as framed (in glass) wall art. Next, please dive into some songs from the album Countdown to Ecstasy, specifically Bodhisattva, which showcases the "fun" side of Steely Dan. The other song on this album I highly recommend is King of the World; the guitar work in the background, once you listen for it, is exceptional. Thanks again for bringing this music to those who did not grow up with it, and for those of us who did but love hearing it again and enjoyed by another generation.
Yes to Bodhisattva. There are so many tracks left to explore. ✨🤪
This is the second time I listen to this song tonight. probably my 49th and 50th times I listen to it.
Perfect for a sunny saturday afternoon like this. Cheers from Buenos Aires
Girl is a lyric person, guy is a instrumental person. Amirite? First time watching you guys. I love these kind of dynamics in duo reactions
The joy of music is what makes your channel so fun!
NicknLex, I love your appreciation for all types of music, plus I love the fact that you turned me on to Porcupine Tree!!! How did I miss them???
Totally blow off the people who say "how could you not have heard this or that", or that your not being truthful..
Who are they to make judgements?! I consider myself knowledgeable about music...yet I missed Porcupine Tree! Now I'm making up for lost time and binging!
Thanks for the great reactions, they're all great, but my fave was Carpet Crawlers...that song makes me emotional, too!
Be Well Stay Safe
☮ & ❤
I’ve seen Steely Dan in concert many times all over the country and this is my favorite album. Third World Man during a summer drive is heaven.
Magnificent piano solo by Rob Mounsey. Gaucho is Steely Dan's jazzy/funk Storytelling album about Los Angeles (L.A.). Anthony Jackson on bass. The guitar was Steve Khan. Khan's guitar tone is more similar to Walter Becker than for example, Larry Carlton on Third World Man or Kid Charlemagne or Don't Take Me Alive, etc.
GAUCHO- Let's do this !
We used to laugh and sing along with this as we toiled in the dust and sweat of the cabinet shop where my friends and I worked in Jackson Hole Wyoming
Some trivia for you - the phenomenal guitarist is Steve Khan, son of the prolific lyricist Sammy Cahn. The family name is actually "Cohen". Sammy Khan wrote the lyrics for many, many Frank Sinatra hits. Music runs in the family. We just saw Steely Dan perform Gaucho + hits at MAYO Performing Arts Center in Morristown NJ on 11/4. It's an absolutely kick-ass, can't miss 13 piece band with 4 horns, 2 lead guitars, 3 "Danettes" backup singers, keys, bass, drums. And 50 years later, Donald sounds clean, vibrant, spot on and snarky as ever. If you get a chance to see them live, you will absolutely love the experience.
I have Steve Khan on Facebook!! I never knew he played on a SD record. I love his playing!!
@@NicknLex Yeah, he's brilliant. Can't imagine a more perfect fit than Khan for Glamour Profession. Silky smooth, but edgy and original with no cliches. This is certainly one of my top 10, maybe top 5 Steely Dan songs. I call the style "Disco Noir" based on the smarmy, unctuous characters and dark subject matter. Quite a departure from the party and romance attitude of late 70's disco.
Jean Luc Ponty's Mirage on the background...no words needed.
This song always brings back the memory of driving from my home in Vermont to Orlando, Florida and I hit the Orlando palm tree, mossy oak cityscape in bright daylight and this song came on the radio and it felt like the opening track to a movie I was the main character in. There was a lot on the horizon. It seemed perfect.
"Time Out Of Mind" is probably my #1 favorite track on Gaucho, and the title song is a favorite, too.
So ridiculously underrated is "Time Out of Mind." For me, that's right up there with any of their other hits.
Great reaction guys. Any Steely Dan album is a great album.
I love the story this song portrays
So I really wanted to comment about just how versatile Steely Dan is as a band but my conscience is taking me in another direction. I'm going to make my first NicknLex request ever. Please follow up and make that call to your father. How great would it be when you are having trouble communicating that your love for music could be the thing that opens up the dialog between you and your dad again? I may not know your father but he must have some really good qualities for you to have become the caring person you are today. You hit the jackpot in getting a father-in-law like Mario so why not double down and work on getting the relationship with your father to where you want it to be. I'm willing to bet that you making that call will be worth it and that it might be something that your dad will appreciate too. Sending positive thoughts your way.
Thank you raider fan, you saved me from tryin to figure out how to say what You did! Spot on! My Dad paseed Sept 2021 but we were close....I could not imagine him passing and us being involved with each other
@@alansmith7626Sorry for your loss Alan. I'm in the same boat. My dad has passed and wouldn't we love to have another chance to talk to our fathers. i was asked in an interview once " If you could have dinner with any person from past or present history who would it be." My answer was easy.......my dad. In my experience the older you get the more you come to understand the importance of family.
@@raiderfan346 Raider and Alan: you do your fathers proud 💕
@@michelemichele3375 Tears shed. Good tears. Thank you Michele.
@@raiderfan346 I feel exactly the same way. My dad passed away when I was 19, and all these years later I still miss him -- he was the best man I've ever met. Just thinking now about sharing with him some of the music I've heard and enjoyed over the years chokes me up, as I've now really come to appreciate the music HE liked that I kind of dismissed while he was alive, and I know music I've heard after he passed that he would love too. That dinner question is easy for me as well, but I'd never want the dinner to end.
Nobody can put SD in a box and that's why I love them so much. When people recommend Green Earrings they are right. Pretzel Logic is another one of my favorites.
Love all their albums, although maybe Everything Must Go not quite as much 😏. Pretzel Logic has been my favourite for a very long time though.
Green Earrings = another great track. I truly have too many favorite tracks. Lol. ✨🤪
@@michelemichele3375 I love your sense of humor and enthusiasm. Maybe Nick and Lex will grace us with their reaction to this funky banger soon, But there are just so many "favorites" it could take some time.
When Alexia said " This is the band we were looking for" I was like! YES!!!.... Steely Dan is the band that musicians listen to. All of the muso's I know have this Album, Royal Scam and Aja. The three albums at their peak of creativity... The Nightfly by Donald was also in that era!
You two made a comment about the intention of Donald Fagen‘s voice on this track, and to me his voice and vocal phrasing on this track sound exactly like how a saxophone is played, and yes I do believe he intended it to come across that way.
To me this song with it’s opening chord progression is both space-age and otherworldly.
They put it out in 1980, but it sounds like something I would imagine that would come out in 2050.
It’s World Lounge Music before there ever WAS World Lounge Music
If this is yacht rock, then they INVENTED yacht rock, and any yacht rock that came after it was just pure cheap imitation.
It’s both incredibly advanced, yet accessible at the same time.
It is both nostalgic AND futuristic, which to me is the thing that makes this song pure genius.
My favorite outro! Never want it to end
The song GAUCHO is my favorite, because it is so different. It is not as "commercial," but just super special. SUPER special.
nice one guys this trak ( like them all ) is superb, to me shorweded in your own perception of the lyrics.
Such a great idea to start this album today. Any day is a good day for Steely Dan. Thank you, Steven! So smooth. I love it! I think I remember you talking about Steve Khan a while back. He plays on 4 tracks plus lead on one of the tracks.
Yes, Steve Khan does the magical solo on Glamour. His father was Sammy Cahn, songwriter extraordinaire who wrote, (among other eternal classics), "Fly me to the Moon."
Hey CT, I don’t know if this is an offer you’d refuse (haha, Godfather reference), but I’d like to treat you to a year of NicknLex on Patreon. I’ll tell Lex to give you my email? Don’t know if it would work but I’m willing to try. ? ✨🤪
@@michelemichele3375 OMG Michele! That is a wonderful offer. That would be great if it could be done. I was already starting to lament the content I would be missing. I accept your offer. Thank you for being so sweet...
I’ll ask Lex to give you my email to start. I might have to send it to you and you sign up. Let’s see. ✨🤪
Or ... give Lex permission to give me your email. I’d need it to sign up for you. ✨🤪
I cry when I hear this song. Mr. Steve Khan everybody. Mr. Donald Fagen everybody. Steely Dan everybody!
This actually reminds me of Donald Fagan's solo work especially "The Nightfly".
I agree with you, it's hard to take in every nuance of the song and the lyrics all at the same time in a first listen. It can be easy for us, that have heard the song thousands of times, to forget that.
Nobody recommended Babylon Sisters? Holy crap, that's one of the best tracks on the album imho.
Absolutely agree. I don't think it's possible to do a first time reaction and fully analyse lyrics at the same time. But you could read the lyrics afterwards (if you have the feeling they could be interesting) and add a comment at the end of the video. Some songs (if it's not your average pop or rock song) have really great or surprising lyrics.
As is the title track. Jeff Porcaro's drumming on GAucho is a masterpiece.
Love it! very smooth 💞once again nighttime driving 👍 very nice thank you as always 🤗
Who couldn't love tbis