Hats Off to Citizen Steely Dan

“America’s finest maybe non-rock band”…..Robert Palmer, New York Times, 1977.

That quote may be an apt description for Steely Dan, a musical act that clearly cannot be defined by conventional words. Actually, Steely Dan is not a band at all–two pretty unassuming, nerdy guys named Walter Becker and Donald Fagan are really who make up Steely Dan–they employed sessions players and other musicians in the recording studio to help them produce their albums. Steely Dan didn’t scrape the bottom of the barrel in recruiting musicians, either–people like Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, Rick Derringer, Jeff Porcaro, Timothy B. Schmit, Jim Keltner, Michael McDonald, Steve Gadd, and Flo & Eddie all made appearances on Steely Dan albums at one time or another.

The music of Steely Dan was a refreshing change when it appeared in 1972 or so–millions of listeners who were tired of the excesses of the ’60’s embraced Steely Dan because it was “thinking man’s” rock ‘n roll. Becker and Fagan wrote and recorded music that was humorous, sarcastic, witty, sardonical, and cynical, most often couched in obscure themes. The music accompanying these lyrics was super-eclectic–it was a good mix of pop and rock ‘n roll, but with heavy jazz influences, and a touch of the classical style that these obviously musically fluent guys must have been formally exposed to in their learning years. In other words, folks, Becker and Fagan were educated musicians who had jazz and classical training, and were well-versed in musical theory and all those technical things that most musicians who play by ear (like me) cannot begin to comprehend.

Citizen Steely Dan–1972-1980 is a comprehensive collection of the music of Steely Dan during that period. I hesitate to refer to this collection as a “greatest hits”–even though Steely Dan had some commercial success, the vast majority of their music didn’t
receive overwhelming air play. The obscurity of much of this music is exactly why it’s so appealing–a true Steely Dan fan is like a member of a cult, able to quote any song from any album, no matter how arcane the song or its’ subject matter is. This music was not meant to be consumed by the masses, only by those who could appreciate the intricate musical arrangements and the sometimes veiled messages contained in the lyrics.

There are four CDs in this collection, containing over five hours of Steely Dan music, and the selections pretty much define what this duo was all about. Do It Again and Reelin’ In The Years were Steely Dan’s first commercial successes, while My Old School remains my favorite Steely Dan tune of all time. Show Biz Kids features Rick Derringer playing a mean slide guitar.

Rikki Don’t Lose That Number makes good use of the word “number” as a pun on the slang term for a marijuana cigarette, while Pretzel Logic features music and lyrics every bit as quirky as the song’s title. Peg is a nice, uncomplicated pop offering with jazz stylings, while Hey Nineteen is a nostalgic commentary on how the youngsters of today fail to appreciate the music of the old masters. Deacon Blues revisits a little of that nostalgia in a smooth, laid back jazz mode, and Josie is a fine example of Steely Dan’s jazzy treatment of arcane and obscure subjects.

A huge booklet accompanies this boxed set, and it’s packed with so much information that it would probably take as long to absorb it as it would to listen to this collection.

This might be the best boxed set ever assembled–I don’t mean that just because the music is superior. It’s packaged well, the information about the albums and musicians involved is detailed, and there’s a lot of good data on Becker and Fagan, past, present and future.

Thank you for reading.