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Steely Dan - A Decade Of Steely Dan (1985)

Genre: Jazz Rock/Pop

They had it all: rich musical arrangements with memorable hooks, pugilistic prose-turned-poetry, stunning studio craftsmanship, great guitar solos and just enough jazz references to make the whole thing seem like a sly in-joke. As popular as they were in the '70s, Steely Dan somehow felt like the commercial underdog, their eyes on a prize beyond mere radio acceptance and record sales. Few musical acts succeeded at making music so perfect, so airtight, as them. Steely Dan began as an actual band, built around bassist/guitarist Walter Becker and singer/keyboardist Donald Fagen. Their proper debut album, Can't Buy A Thrill, yielded the first of many hits: "Do It Again" and "Reelin' in the Years." More singles followed, drawn from meticulously crafted albums produced by Gary Katz like Pretzel Logic, Katy Lied and Aja, by which time Steely Dan had become the band in the bubble, unsustainable outside of the rarefied studio air. Gaucho was a last gasp, and Steely Dan hung up their spurs, with Fagen pursuing a sporadic solo career. Becker and Fagen have since reunited for some concerts, and released a new album (Two Against Nature) in 2000. ~ Dave Connolly @ Buy Book at Lowest Price on Amazon

Steely Dan was really two guys mainly, with a rotating cast of great musicians around them. Those two guys were Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, and they possessed a wit and command over their music that is legendary. They weren't shy about asking for another take from a hired musician, let's put it that way. The music itself is rather clean and polished for the most part and the main grit comes from the biting, often times cynical and sarcastic lyrics. left up my alley, that.

Mostly collected here are their radio hits with little else in the way of revealing the mystique behind the Dan. It does offer up some great songs though with only a couple of notable ones missing, well notable in my mind, I'm sure others could name many more missing "essential" tracks. The two I miss most are "Dirty Work," and "Josie." But hey it does have "Do It Again," "My Old School," and "Kid Charlemagne," though so I can't really complain too much. You also get such hits as "Reeling In The Years," "Peg," "Hey Nineteen," and "Rikki Don't Lose That Number," among others. Fourteen tracks in all in fact, and most all of em quite good, with a sound so clean and crisp it will put many new cd's to shame.

If you're just a casual fan of Steely Dan like myself, this collection should work fine for you and save you lots of time and money tracking down their studio works. There is enough here to convince you to do just that though if you enjoy what you hear. A pretty damn good band with a wicked sense of humor. Worth checking into if you are unfamiliar with them and like good quality intelligent music with sharp musicianship. Lots of great guitar solos to be found here too, from some absolutely jaw-dropping players like Larry Carlton, Elliot Randall, and Jeff "Skunk" Baxter. ~ Review by brooky1969 @

Tracklisting:

1. FM (4:49)

2. Black Friday (3:39)

3. Babylon Sisters (5:52)

4. Deacon Blues (7:36)

5. Bodhisattva (5:19)

6. Hey Nineteen (5:10)

7. Do It Again (5:55)

8. Peg (3:57)

9. Rikki Don't Lose That Number (4:32)

10. Reelin' In The Years (4:37)

11. East St. Louis Toodle-oo (Duke Ellington and Bubber Miley) (2:48)

12. Kid Charlemagne (4:40)

13. My Old School (5:48)

14. Bad Sneakers (3:20)

Total Time: 68:02

Rating:
2.5 out of 5 by Book123