This album features another set of my Steely Dan re-works
Ruby Baby
Not strictly a Steely Dan Track this is from Donald Fagen's Nightfly album. It's as close as he gets to classic Steely tracks. I always thought Fagen wrote it but it is actually a cover they did of a Leiber Stoller song. They know a
I.G.Y. (What a Beautiful World)
This is from Donald Fagen's Nightfly album. It's as close as he gets to classic Steely tracks like Doctor Wu.
I give it bit of a modern pop flavour with the sampled, repetitive vocal pattern There's loads of melody I could pick out on the guitar too, I'm pleased with the solo which is typically Dan-esque. You gotta dig their effortless key changes.
The Fez
If you don't know what a Fez is, it's a Moroccan hat worn popularly by comedic characters; Tommy "just like that" Cooper (UK) and Groucho Marx was apt to wear one in his more sartorial moments!
Steely Dan Trivia... This is the only Steely Dan song with a third credited writer, Paul Griffin, who also plays organ on the original song. On a BBC Online chat March 4, 2000, Donald Fagen said, "The Fez was recorded using a rhythm chart but there were a few bars missing and Paul Griffin, the keyboard player on the day, came up with a nice little melody, so we felt we should include him in the writer credits."
It originally appeared on the 1976 Royal Scam album.
Kid Charlemagne
This track features THAT guitar solo. It is rated by many as one of the top ten guitar solos of all time. The original guitarist on the record, Larry Carlton, pulled a real classic out of the bag and I kept putting off doing this track because I knew I had to recreate it note for note. It is such an integral part of the track I couldn't possibly just do my own solo, I had to do my version of it.
My Old School
Here I play organ for verse one and turn it acoustic guitars for the second. I recreate the first Skunk Baxter solo and do my own things for the second - it's what I would do had I played on the album.
Steely Dan Trivia... The "Old School" referred to in this song is Bard College in Annendale, New York, where Donald Fagen and Walter Becker met. The song is at least partially inspired by an event that occurred at Bard, where both Becker and Fagen, along with their girlfriends, were arrested in a pot raid on a party that was orchestrated by an ambitious young District Attorney named G. Gordon Liddy (hence the line "Tried to warn ya about Geno and Daddy G").
Green Earrings
At first glance this is a 12 bar blues and on one level it is but on another this is actually modal jazz with three tonal centres. Great to solo over, once you've worked out the key changes! It's a driving piece and I use a dirtier guitar sound to be in character. It's got a bit of a House beat lurking underneath if you can spot it!
Walk Between the Raindrops
This is typical Steely Dan territory, even though it was on Donald Fagen's Nightfly album (which I contend is the best album Steely Dan never released!). I use my American Clean tone on guitar for the melody, it's quite a complex piece but very satisfying whenever, in typical Steely Dan style, it changes key momentarily like modal jazz. It's short, but sweet!
Reelin' in the Years
Steely Dan Trivia. In Rolling Stone, September 17, 2009, Donald Fagan said,
It's dumb but effective.
Walter Becker added,
It's no fun"
Steely Dan Trivia... Elliot Randall, who was not a member of Steely Dan, stopped by on an invite from Jeff 'Skunk' Baxter while they were recording this and ended up playing the guitar solo. This was one of the first of many times Walter Becker and Donald Fagen would use studio musicians, and by their fourth album, nearly every player was a studio musician. Randall also played on their albums Katy Lied and The Royal Scam .
