Rock/Blues/Jazz Fusion by Steely Dan

[Lionel Mandrake]

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[PennyK]

1. My one, my only

I love the Dan. Have seen them a bunch of times, also Donald in a solo show at Westbury Music Fair. Listen to some every day!
Smart, cynical, funny, and oh-so-beautiful!

[Lionel Mandrake]

3. Donald Fagen is a genius.

His harmonies don't fit any musical genre, but they are beautiful. For example, consider this:

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[Lionel Mandrake]

18. And here are the lyrics (also, I believe, by Donald Fagen)

DONALD FAGEN
"New Frontier"
Yes we're gonna have a wingding
A summer smoker underground
It's just a dugout that my dad built
In case the reds decide to push the button down
We've got provisions and lots of beer
The key word is survival on the new frontier
Introduce me to that big blonde
She's got a touch of Tuesday Weld
She's wearing Ambush and a French twist
She's got us wild and she can tell
She loves to limbo, that much is clear
She's got the right dynamics for the new frontier
Well I can't wait 'til I move to the city
'Til I finally make up my mind
To learn design and study overseas
Have you got a steady boyfriend
Cause honey I've been watching you
I hear you're mad about Brubeck
I like your eyes, I like him too
He's an artist, a pioneer
We've got to have some music on the new frontier
Well I can't wait 'til I move to the city
'Til I finally make up my mind
To learn design and study overseas
Let's pretend that it's the real thing
And stay together all night long
And when I really get to know you
We'll open up the doors and climb into the dawn
Confess your passion your secret fear
Prepare to meet the challenge of the new frontier

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. That was great! Thank you, my dear Lionel Mandrake.

I really enjoyed the great sound.

[Lionel Mandrake]

6. My dear CP,

Thank you for replying. I'm glad you enjoyed the music.

[olddots]

4. what a concept ... intellegent music .

thanks I forget how great they are sometimes .

[seveneyes]

5. Lay down your Jackson and you will see

[DFW]

7. I saw them perform in Düsseldorf about ten years ago

One of the best live concerts I have ever seen.

[Lionel Mandrake]

8. Live concerts are the best kind,

unless you're a fan of the Grateful Dead.

[The Second Stone]

9. Venetta

Nuff said.

[DFW]

11. I actually caught a good live gig of theirs once

Fillmore East in NYC, 1970.

My brother-in-law used to be a roadie for them, and he confirmed that they were not always good live by any means. I've heard that the Byrds were inconsistent, too.

The one live gig I missed and really wanted to hear was lost forever by accident back in 1968 or 1969. A friend of mine had done the sound for the Ambassador Theater in Washington, D.C., which was D.C.'s short-lived version of the Fillmores. My band actually had the honor of playing there four times. We backed up Canned Heat (original line-up), Junior Wells, the Youngbloods and were in one gig with all local bands. My friend had to do a sound check one time when we were all in his van with our stuff, and he asked us to bring it in and play so he could do a more accurate sound check. So there we were on a Saturday afternoon actually playing at the Ambassador theater. Something to tell our grandchildren, we thought. Then some guy came down out of nowhere and asked who we were. We said we were called the Clockwork Orange (3 years BEFORE the film came out, remember, so no one knew what our name referred to), and who was he? He said, "I own this place." OOPS!! We said we were very sorry for the noise, and that we were just helping out for a sound check. He said, no, it's fine, and by the way what were we doing that night? Well, as of that second, NOTHING!!

Anyway, this guy also did the sound for other live gigs around D.C., and he had recorded a concert by Spirit in northern Virginia. I heard about ten minutes of it, and he has promised to play it for me some day when he had time. He never did, and when I met up with him again about 10 years ago, he said he had lost the recording. I made a noise very similar to the one Charlie Brown supposedly makes every fall when Lucy pulls the football away before he can kick it.

[Lionel Mandrake]

13. You must have read the book

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess (who hated the movie). Kubrick's movie includes a ménage à trois with two beautiful young women and Alex, sped up and accompanied by the music we associate with The Lone Ranger. This comic scene is nothing like the rape of two ten-year-old girls in the book. But I digress.

That's a great story about your experiences in the wonderful world of music. Being a musician, a writer, and a language genius, you have obviously led an interesting life.

I'm looking forward to a sequel to your novel.

[DFW]

14. Actually, I AM working on a second book.

It's slow going, as my workload has increased instead of decreased, and with my wife's injury, the normal summer slowdown hasn't given me an extra free second. Maybe in Cape Cod this summer......

[Enthusiast]

10. I am crazy about Steely Dan.

That is all.

But right now I'm listening to the Grateful Dead. No, it is not a contradiction.

[lastlib]

12. Took me a LONG time to realize.....

...just how GOOD those guys really were. Now all I can say is, WOW-WOW-WOW!!

They put it all together like few bands ever have!

[Tom Ripley]

17. Me too. When I was younger I just associated Steely Dan with free cocaine from older people, but...

I now appreciate their genius.

[progressoid]

15. "The Making of Aja" is great fun to watch/listen to.

First time I watched it, I had a huge smile on my face for an hour.

[Lionel Mandrake]

16. Thank you for posting this video.

I watched it straight through. It's like a book I couldn't put down. I hardly noticed the time going by.

[cyberswede]

19. Let George Do It