Donald Fagen is one of the greatest musical minds that has ever graced the world of rock, and his standards are impeccably high as a result. Firstly, his standards are high for himself. When he was writing with Steely Dan, he would always ensure that he and the band were doing as much as they could in order to get the most out of a studio session.
Read MoreThey are famously one of the most dedicated studio bands of all time, being both creative and ruthless in equal measure. Enough stories of them being meticulous task masters from behind the mixing board to suggest that at least some of them are true. It means that, out of any band in the 1970s, they were willing to cast judgments on all kinds of fabulous instrumentalists.
Read MoreThe art of songwriting is something that people have devoted their lives to understanding, with Steely Dan even giving up life on the road in a bid to pursue perfect songs.
Read MoreWhen a song lands perfectly in a major motion picture’s score, it can become its own character within the entire experience.
Read MoreThere’s something entirely contradictory about labelling Steely Dan’s music as ‘Yacht Rock’. The label embodies something carefree, devoid of the stresses and anxiety of dry land life that can only be soundtracked by jazz-infused melodies. There’s an ease to the entire genre that was non-existent in the career of Steely Dan.
Read MoreThe duo invented their own chord, which they could use to give their songs a jazz feel without being overly jazzy. It was called the Mu Major, and it was similar to a suspended second chord; however, it contained a major or minor third, which you don’t tend to see when dealing with suspended chords. This meant that they could play standard minor and major chords, but give them more texture without making the track sound too jazzy.
Read MoreThe Songwriters Hall of Fame has announced its 2024 induction ceremony and award gala details. The 53rd annual gathering will be held on Thursday, June 13, at the Marriot Marquis Hotel in New York City. [...] This year’s event will celebrate the exceptional contributions of Hillary Lindsey, Timothy Mosley (Timbaland), Dean Pitchford, Donald Fagen, Walter Becker (Steely Dan), and the iconic members of R.E.M., Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe. These luminaries, with their remarkable body of work, have left an indelible mark on the music industry.
Read MoreThe Eagles performs Friday, Feb. 2, 2024, at the Moody Center in Austin on 'the long goodbye tour'
Read MoreDespite their incessant performance of the hokey cokey with the fashionable side of music, one thing that cannot be denied is Steely Dan‘s impressive command of their instruments. The duo of Donald Fagen and Walter Becker may be constantly fighting a ebb and flow of appreciation from the musical world, with the band arguably one of the most polarising groups in the history of rock and roll, but they know what they’re doing in the studio.
Read MoreOn his debut solo album, Donald Fagen trades cynicism for nostalgia in a song cycle that lands midway between Proust’s madeleine and Mr. Peabody’s Wayback Machine. In tracks set in the late ’50s and early ’60s, when their author was soldiering through adolescence, he revisits the era’s aspirations and fears with the optimism and innocence of his proxy protagonists. The worldview mirrored in his sardonic tone with Steely Dan is softened, if not entirely jettisoned, in favor of songs that retain an affectionate glow.
Read MoreDonald Fagen led a crack band through Steely Dan's greatest hits Friday night at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. Always keeping a low profile, never appearing in gossip columns, and definitely not wrecking any hotel rooms, Becker and Fagen minded their own business, cranking out songs that merged rock and pop with a heavy dose of jazz, coupled with lyrics that might be called subversive. They were, as Rolling Stone termed them, “the thinking fan’s top 40 band.”
Read MoreYou won’t get much crossover between American jazz rock legends Steely Dan and British prog-rock gods Genesis. Both share a common love for complexity and a certain intellectual bent, but the way the two acts bring their visions to life is completely different. Steely Dan were all about fitting classic R&B ethos into harmonically complicated packages, with some dashes of rock, funk, and pop thrown in to make them commercially viable. Genesis, at least in its initial form, had no worries about mainstream: they were a distinctly English form of progressive rock, with extremely long excursions that could blend time signatures, key signatures, and nursery rhymes together.
Read MoreMusician says he’s already recorded demos for what will be his first solo effort since 2012’s Sunken Condos
Read MoreDonald Fagen will release two live albums in September. ‘Northeast Corridor: Steely Dan Live’ will be the first Steely Dan live album in 25 years. Fagen will also release the solo ‘The Nightfly Live’.
Read MoreHe was a brilliant perfectionist behind one of rock’s most eccentric bands – even if he preferred life in the shadows.
Read MoreAs Donald Fagen prepares to kick off a tour with his new band the Nightflyers -- named after his first solo album, 1982's The Nightfly, he's being circumspect about Steely Dan partner Walter Becker's health.
Read MoreFans of Steely Dan — we see you lurking in either the “literature” or “true crime” section of the bookstore — have great reason to thank Brian Sweet’s mother for having him.
Read MoreWhy open a Steely Dan review talking about Traffic? Because while the Dan was its usual stellar self in this tour closer, the seldom-seen Winwood surprised the crowd of around 9,000 by generating some of the evening’s finest musical sparks.
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