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Henry
Moonbeam
Henry
Perhaps someone might bother to answer your question if you provided a musically understandable description of what you believe is lacking from the Steely Dan songs that were chosen in the World Cup tournament.
I would suggest that you express your lack of affection in terms that are more musically descriptive than "whitewashed dullness." Perhaps then someone could reasonably answer your question. After all whatever meaning you intended for rather vague "whitewashed dullness," the reader needs to interpret the expression in the context of your rather contrarian and strident distaste for such marvelous musical performers such as: The Beatles, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Steely Dan and Vampire Weekend.
I should note that the song Aja was included in the World Cup Tournament, so it is likely that whatever your distaste is for Steely Dan it was not particularly ameliorated on the Aja album. There is no reason that I am aware of to believe that Fagen and Becker had a major transformation after the release of Katy Lied and then changed dramatically again after the release of Aja.
My distaste for The Beatles, The Who, Led Zeppelin, et al is not contrarian. I just don't like them.
Steely Dan, on the other hand, I don't dislike. There are elements in their music that I can appreciate, and even a song that I can enjoy ("Reelin' in the Years").
What I mean by the whitewashed sound is that it sounds like they could be performing in any lounge in any restaurant in any place in the world, and the vocals are generally without much feeling in my view. They could be the house band for SNL for all I know.
Come to think of it, I do remember "Aja" being part of the World Cup, and there was a weird little synth that came in toward the end that I wished was around a bit longer. It was one of their songs I found the most interesting.
Thanks for the clarification. The vocals on Reelin' in the Years were done by someone other than Fagen (the voalist was David Palmer - Palmer quietly left the group during the recording of the second album, soon hooking up with Carole King, with whom he wrote the 1974 #2 hit "Jazzman". So, Can't By A Thrill (1972) may be the only album on which you can avoid the Fagen vocal stylings.
In my view, the vocals are not any more emphatic on Aja than SD's other albums. Quite the contrary, the Aja persona is more laid back, more jazzy than some of the other albums where SD rocks out a bit more. As usual there is an exception and that is the song "Peg" in which Michael McDonald's vocals should be more to your liking than Fagan's.
Even though Aja is more consistently solid (each and every song) than other SD offerings it is not my favorite. Others (especially Henrik) clearly prefer Aja to SD's other offerings, and with good reason I am sure.
Besides Peg, other singles from Aja were Josie and Deacon Blues. You might find the lyrics in Deacon Blues a bit fun as Fagen wants a name when he loses to contrast Alabama's Crimson Tide and their winning ways.
While I enjoy Black Cow and Home At Last, I am not confident that you will find them particularly appealing. While I consider I Got the News to be the weakest track on the Album, it is still worth a listen (for most folks).
I would like to know how you rate the Aja offerings compared to the songs I used in the World Cup, perhaps I could change things up if I get to manage SD again.
Thanks for the description! I think you hit on something with the vocals. "Laid back" is really not my thing vocally or musically.
l've never thought of Steely Dan's 70s music as laid back. I say its their balanced style that turns off the kind of music listeners that are mostly staying in their corner expecting for everything to be like what they're used to. I frequently see others mention Prince & Steely Dan as their favorite artists. I grew up with a lot of Prince and I like a lot of his songs. I had his debut as the only Prince LP in my top 500, but he would peak later on inconsistent albums (1979-1984).
Georgie
l've never thought of Steely Dan's 70s music as laid back. I say its their balanced style that turns off the kind of music listeners that are mostly staying in their corner expecting for everything to be like what they're used to. I frequently see others mention Prince & Steely Dan as their favorite artists. I grew up with a lot of Prince and I like a lot of his songs. I had his debut as the only Prince LP in my top 500, but he would peak later on inconsistent albums (1979-1984).
I am not in a position to speak for Moonbeam. But, the laid back vocals are relative to the pop vocalists that I hear Moonbeam rave about, e.g., Madonna and Annie Lennox. I appreciate Prince but Steely Dan has been one of my faves since 1972 and Prince was never close to being one of my favorites. Steely Dan provided great music with exquisite composition, production, and instrumental virtuosity - especially with their horns and guitars. But, in my view what makes Prince special is his creative rhythms and use of percussion. As much as I love Steely Dan, I do not remember their percussion and rhythms as the strength of their creativity and virtuosity. I also vaguely remember others disagreeing with me on this point.
Henry, how can you say that David Palmer does the singing on Reeling In The Years? He only sings 2 songs on that album and clearly that's not one of them. I also disagree about the rhythm. They don't rely on it, but there's still a lot of it. I still don't understand why some describe them as complex/difficult and others say stiff/predictable. An example of the balance that I'm talking about.
Georgie
Henry, how can you say that David Palmer does the singing on Reeling In The Years? He only sings 2 songs on that album and clearly that's not one of them. I also disagree about the rhythm. They don't rely on it, but there's still a lot of it. I still don't understand why some describe them as complex/difficult and others say stiff/predictable. An example of the balance that I'm talking about.
Mea Culpa on the Reelin' in the Years vocal.
As I noticed a few minutes ago, Palmer does vocals on Brooklyn and Dirty Work (as I recall SD's first single).
While I don't find any innovative percussion in SD's works, they were remarkably precise and tight. They weren't straightforward or predictable in my view, and they worked magic with whatever complexity they brought to their songs.
Steely Dan's first single was Dallas/Sail the Waterway in '72. Dlrty Work was never a single or b-side.
Georgie
l've never thought of Steely Dan's 70s music as laid back. I say its their balanced style that turns off the kind of music listeners that are mostly staying in their corner expecting for everything to be like what they're used to. I frequently see others mention Prince & Steely Dan as their favorite artists. I grew up with a lot of Prince and I like a lot of his songs. I had his debut as the only Prince LP in my top 500, but he would peak later on inconsistent albums (1979-1984).
Props to For You! I certainly find it to be weaker than his celebrated stuff, but it definitely has its charm. "Just As Long As We're Together", "Soft and Wet" and "In Love" are firm favorites.
As a Prince fan, I also come across many fellow fans who also list Steely Dan as a favorite, and Aja in particular. I never really sought them out and was hoping this AM World Cup would give me the impetus I needed to explore them more. While I wouldn't say the music itself is laid back (I'd say it's more sophisticated than laid back), the vocals do seem rather sterile. I guess I was hoping for something with a bit more teeth. Perhaps I need to listen to them outside of the context of a song here and there.
Georgie
Steely Dan's first single was Dallas/Sail the Waterway in '72. Dlrty Work was never a single or b-side.
I thought is was Do It Again. Thanks for the info.
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