I'm kinda curious about that cassette running order, actually. It could almost work. Keep in mind a lot of times LP's were sequenced so that the louder, more dynamic cuts were the first on each side because they'd have the best fidelity. Relegated to the inner grooves they couldn't be as loud and wouldn't sound as good. But that kind of sequencing might not always be the best. Never knew that. In my review I'm working on I already suggested someone who should cover it . . . and surprisingly it's a related act! Great minds, I guess!
Hearing "Doctor Wu" on the radio...well, so much for my idea that it never would have gotten airplay based on the lyrics! Okay, yer probably the fifth or six person in this discussion to single out these particular songs- the consensus choices seem to make it pretty clear what the "weak links" on Katy Lied seem to be. As pointed out earlier in the discussion, it's the vocal harmonies. Fagen chanelled that "Chain Lightning" sound in the vocals on at least a couple of the Nightfly tunes. You would be pretty much correct in yer assertion of Becker's guitar playing as far as recent years go- noodling scales up and down the fretboard- but back in Steely Dan's heyday it was obvious that the man could play that guitar (and bass) when he wanted to. As I've stated in a few Steely Dan discussions, for all the great solos Skunk, Carlton, Randall etc played on their records, Becker could hold his own among them. Too late now to wonder, of course, but I ask myself, "So what the hell happened with his playing over the years?" By the time Becker and Fagen regrouped for Kamakiriad, Becker's playing more or less had already taken on that 'noodly' vibe- he literally sounds like a different guitar player from in the old days. Not to sound flippant, but maybe it was down to the drugs that added that bit of fire to his playing in the seventies... Hey, those guys shoulda started a band or something! Oh wait... Sure, but that post if fifteen years old. It'd be nice to get some fresh insights from Our Host on the subject. Sadly, of course, ultimately he was not. F--kin' cancer... Like I said, to me Michael McDonald sounds like Mickey Mouse with a wee bit of Kermit The Frog thrown in for good measure. I am not a fan of his voice and I would indeed be in the minority when I say his vocals are a hindrance to the song sometimes (as far as Steely Dan goes his caterwauling on "Time Out Of Mind" drives me up the wall). Give me the Katy Lied masters so's I can mix McDonald's voice out.
I've made a playlist of the running orders for the tapes/ 8 tracks for the first four albums. None of them are particularly satisfactory, and the Katy Lied one works the least well.
What a great clip. I have not seen that before. Thanks for posting it. It made me think about some of their trademarks in how they subverted the blues structure and I realized on songs like Pretzel Logic and Bodhisattva, they keep away from the V chord sometimes completely as in the case of Bodhisattva (substitutes?) or they get to the V chord and then back to the I in a round about fashion root wise and don't really use it strongly like a 12 bar blues. They soften the use of the dominant chord in the blues context. Because of that, their blues are usually never 12 bars. Some 16 bars. I don't know if that makes sense. Correct me please if I am off base.
His "Live From The Showboat" is an amazing performance with his telepathic band. Phil Woods - Live from the Showboat (1977) - YouTube
OK, so I've had the first 3 tracks of Citizen SD disc 3 on repeat, and it's really only served to remind me that I'd already done extensive listening way back when in deciding not to bother putting these 3 on my ipod. Your Gold Teeth II - pleasant enough. Kind of a late night jazz feel to it. Wouldn't sound out of a place on a 60's Blue Note release or maybe a Chick Corea or Herbie Hancock album. But just when you think they're gonna give you another singalonga chorus, they kill it on the "rollllll". And you know damn well with these two that they did it on purpose! Any World That I'm Welcome To - I really don't get this one. Too stop-start. It almost feels like they had a few left-over bits of songs and just hacked them together. Worst song on the album, for me. Throw Back The Little Ones - OK this one's got potential. There's plenty going on here, but then it's over just as you were getting into it. Can't help wondering how good this could have been if they'd done it in a more Countdown To Ecstasy extended workout style. Oh wait, just a minute! Did he just say "hot licks and rhetoric"? Now what does that remind me of? Hang on....hang on....I'm getting it...."all these hot licks and rhetoric surely do you no harm"....damn....what's that from....ah, got it....KANSAS!!! Hopelessly Human (from Point Of Know Return). Kansas were ripping off Steely Dan! Who would'a thunk it?
Just want to know something about Dr Wu and the "taste" he's supposed to bring. Don't "taste" in slang American English also mean simply an alcoholic beverage? I'm thinking of that Frank Zappa character Lonesome Cowboy Bert and his line, sung to a waitresss (I think) in a bar: "and I'll buy you a taste"... Hence the SD song would still remain "airable" (drug-free lyrics)?.. Or does something else in the lyrics ascertain that they actually refer to drugs?
Totally agree about the Manhattan Transfer feeling on 'Chain Lightning', I feel I should be drinking an 'Old Fashioned' while listening to it.
Taken in the context of the verse: "Don't seem right, I've been strung out here all night/I've been waiting for the taste you said you'd bring to me"- "strung out" means withdrawal (presumably from heroin or some other opiate), "taste" is a drug colloquialism for a small amount of a substance- just enough, in other words, to keep the withdrawal symptoms at bay.
I think you're right about the drugs. I think what's going on is that 'strung out' can mean three things - 95% about being wasted on heroin but also it means when someone is dragged into something - 'you strung me along for this?'. Then 'Katy' is 'heroin' in this song- he personifies it. So we have the personification of heroin stringing out Fagen in two ways. He had some heroin/ 'katy' earlier so he's strung out all night but he's also been waiting for more all night like he's waiting on someone to give him 'Katy' and that's when 'addicted to his own heroin Dr. Wu' shows up. "Katy tried (heroin tried to help me) I was halfway crucified/I was on the other side of no tomorrow (I felt strung out like I was going to die tomorrow) You walked in (Dr. Wu walked in) And my life began again (Wu gave Fagen more 'Katy') Just when I spent the last plaster I could borrow (Fagen is an addict who's given up all his money and used up his friends to get more 'Katy') Are you with me Dr. Wu?/are you really just a shadow of the man that I once knew/are you crazy are you high" (Dr. Wu is now 'high on his own supply' or so they say.) Are you with me doctor? (Another play on a phrase - when a doctor has a dying patient in a hospital bed and they say 'stay with me' - as in stay alive cause your vital signs don't look good.) ______________ Then later "Katy Lies" you can see it in her eyes- (still about heroin lies to you about your life but you know what you're getting into) But imagine my surprise when I saw you (I know what to expect from heroin but I'm surprised Dr. Wu is now a heroin addict himself) She is lovely, she is sly- has she finally got to you - more about 'Katy' as a name for heroin. The last line in the last verse changes to 'can you hear me doctor'- by the end of the song Dr. Wu has overdosed.
I've been waiting for someone else to say this. Pretty much the ONLY thing I don't like on any Dan albums are MM's backing vocals. I don't know if it's from a childhood spent hearing his voice with the Doobies or solo on radios in dentist offices and friend's parents cars in the 1980s, but on any SD song he sings on he cuts right through and completely overwhelms everything. I do NOT like it.
Precisely my take on the song. The fade-out is Wu slipping away, probably permanently. Phil's playing gets more frantic at the end, which mirrors the situation.
I'll drink to that! (And I'm not trying to initiate any ganging-up/bashing on Michael McDonald or anything- I know the guy has his fans...it's just clearly some people like myself or Dr Beatle definitely aren't!)
Not piling on, but rather adding to what I was saying...usually when a famous singer sings backup on another band's records, you can kind of pick them out. "Oh yeah, I can tell he/she's there in the background." (think Paul and John on the Stones' "We Love You," for example). But as soon as MM sings on a Dan song, he completely takes over to the point that you could be fooled into thinking it was a Doobie Brothers song . I don't know if it's the way he was mixed or if his voice just has that certain something that cuts through, but it sticks out like a sore thumb on EVERY Steely Dan song he sings on.
Katy jumps outta the speakers at cha. Whatever went wrong in the tracking which resulted in this oddly mixed album, it is punchy and radio ready, and it won't let down a good audio playback system. Gold Teeth II - that solo is amazing, beyond anything else out there really. Have you heard that boot where they go "holy f#%^" after that solo is nailed into the track? The disc was called Stone Piano in its European legit issue. The Dan knew right away that this solo was a keeper! Daddy - the groove they got going here is was is deeper (imo) than ARS, I love the line "he don't celebrate Sunday on a Saturday night no more, he don't get tight every night pass out on the barroom floor". This is great great stuff and production so slinky and fun.
There's been a bunch of people who loved McDonald's stuff on Steely Dan and a second bunch that really doesn't like it. I lean more to liking his contributions but I can see why people can take or leave his voice. Interesting that he made this much of an impact either way on just a couple of songs.
The convo has mostly avoided the 900 lb. gorilla that is Mr. LaPage, but I gotta say that the backing vocals behind "soon it will be too late / bobbing for apples can wait" are divine.
Pretzel Logic - It sounds to me like the Dan were trying to streamline thing a bit after CTE failed to match the sales figures of the previous album. The longer jams featured on songs such as "King Of The World" and "Your Gold Teeth" are axed in favor of more commercial songs with shorter solo breaks. I know that some fans view this album as a step down. There are few filler tracks on side 2 ("Charlie Freak" and "Through With Buzz") but they are still quite enjoyable. The only track that I never warmed up to is the Duke Ellington cover.
it's not my favorite song on the album but it's decent enough. i think Any World would've been a perfect closer and Throw Back the Little Ones would've worked better somewhere in the middle. as a matter of fact i often close with Any World and end up not listening to Throw Back.
One thing I just noticed about "Daddy Don't Live In That New York City No More" is that it is a rare Steely Dan song with no vocal harmonies/backing vocals. I think Fagen isn't even double tracked like he usually is, he's just got sort of a phased effect on his voice (unless that's a side effect of the DBX?) Yeah, I'm not sure if we should touch that one Drug talk is one thing, fun between consenting adults is another thing, but implied paedophilia is another thing entirely. Let's leave it at that. IMO "Everyone's Gone To The Movies" isn't one of Becker and Fagen's better moments. It does sorta stick out, but i can appreciate it for the homage/novelty that it is. My wife noticed it, though- first time she heard it, she said, "They didn't write this one, did they?" Becker and Fagen denied any connection, but it's worth pointing out that "East St Louis Toodleoo" is mentioned/referenced a few times in Naked Lunch, and in a couple of other Burroughs novels as well. I agree- as I said in my Katy Lied breakdown, I would have preferred it if "Any World" and "Little Ones" swapped places on the album, "Any World That I'm Welcome To" to me sounds like an album closer. I really don't like "Throw Back The Little Ones"...as far as the 'classic seven' albums go, "Little Ones" is pretty much tied with "Turn That Heartbeat Over Again" as my least favourite Steely Dan song, it just rubs me the wrong way.
