Steely Dan - Ultimate Playlist
To honor Donald Fagen on his birthday, I present to you Steely Dan - The Ultimate Playlist filled with my favorite tunes by the band. Enjoy!
Deacon Blues
"If a college football team like the University of Alabama could have a grandiose name like the 'Crimson Tide' the nerds and losers should be entitled to a grandiose name as well" said Donald Fagen.
Pretzel Logic
Fagen has stated that the lyrics are about time travel. According to FAQ writer Anthony Robustelli, the "platform" referred to in the song's bridge is the time travel machine.
Haitian Divorce
"This song refers to the alleged ease of divorce in Haiti. It also parallels this with the ease with which some people fall into, out of, and back into love" according to Genius.
(Read more: https://genius.com/Steely-dan-haitian-divorce-lyrics)
Rose Darling
"Katy Lied" was the first album the group made after they stopped touring, as well as their first to feature backing vocals by Michael McDonald.
Don't Take Me Alive
"A classic Steely Dan character, a desperate and alienated narrator, has apparently taken hostages and negotiates first with the police, then himself, as he considers his fate." (Source: https://genius.com/Steely-dan-dont-take-me-alive-lyrics)
My Old School
'My Old School' tells the story of a May 1969 drug bust at Bard College in Dutchess County, New York. The incident happened while both Fagen and Walter Becker were students there.
Show Biz Kids
'Show Biz Kids' was the first single from the 1973 album "Countdown to Ecstasy". It reached number 61 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Any World (That I'm Welcome To)
My favorite lyric from this tune is "I only know I must obey, this feeling I can't explain away". Chills!
FM
Donald Fagen explained to American Songwriter that he and Becker were in California finishing up "Aja" when they were called to develop a song for a film soundtrack: "There was a film called FM and we were asked to do the title song," Fagen recalled. The only requirement for them was that the song had to be about FM radio.
King Of The World
In a 1974 performance, Becker stated: "This next song scares me half to death. It’s a tale of terror and loathing in the far-flung future."
Source: https://genius.com/Steely-dan-king-of-the-world-lyrics
Rikki Don't Lose That Number
The song's guitar solo features Jeff "Skunk" Baxter who soon after joined The Doobie Brothers. "Rikki" is named after writer Rikki Ducornet, who Fagen had a crush on in college
Josie
Seguin Gazette-Enterprise reviewer J. J. Syrja said of the song: "a tasty ditty about a community girl in the truest sense of the word...The lyrics describe the boys of the neighborhood celebrating the return of a fun-loving girl named Josie who may have a shady past and anticipating the debauchery that may ensue...she may be returning from prison".
Do It Again
'Do It Again' reached number 6 on the US charts in 1973, making it Steely Dan's second highest-charting single.
Peg
This song's guitar solo was attempted by seven top studio session guitarists, including Robben Ford and recurring guitarist Larry Carlton before Jay Graydon's version became the "keeper". He worked on the song for about six hours before the band was satisfied.
Another track featuring Michael McDonald who provided multi-tracked backup vocals in the choruses. Keyboardist Paul Griffin can also be heard talking and improvising background vocals in the final chorus and fadeout section.
Only A Fool Would Say That
'Only a Fool Would Say That' is essentially a diss track with lyrics aimed at John Lennon. In 2024 American Songwriter said the song was accusing Lennon of "being out of touch with reality."
Dirty Work
This song tells the story of a man having an affair with a married woman. The lyric "Like a castle in its corner in a medieval game" references the chess piece the rook, with chess being a hobby of Becker's. David Palmer provides vocals on this track.
Bodhisattva
Arun Starkey wrote for Far Out Magazine: "listeners believed that the track was a means of the band fully dedicating themselves to Buddhism with lines such as “Bodhisattva/ Would you take me by the hand” and “Bodhisattva/ I’m gonna sell my house in town”, the reality is very different. The root of their decision-making is actually one of the most sardonic pieces in their arsenal.
Fagen would later explain that the song is 'sort of a parody on the way Western people look at Eastern religion – sort of oversimplify it. We thought it was rather amusing – most people didn’t get it.'"
Read more: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/bodhisattva-misunderstood-favourite-steely-dan/
Reelin' In The Years
Rolling Stone described 'Reelin' In The Years' as "a prime early example of what would become the Dan's trademark vibe, marrying a sardonic kiss-off to an ex to a bouncy shuffle groove, and adding on some white-hot guitar dazzlement courtesy of Elliott Randall to bring the whole thing home." In the same interview, Fagen stated "It's dumb but effective", with Becker following with "It's no fun."
Hey Nineteen
Basically, a song about dating a nineteen year old. The narrator, a man in his early thirties, contemplates a romantic encounter with a girl whom he has nothing in common.
Doctor Wu
Believe it or not, Doctor Wu, is a real person!
"Dr. Jing Nuan Wu (1933-2002), an acupuncturist and artist formerly based in Washington D.C....helped [an unidentified member] of the band to overcome drug addiction in the mid-70s, hence the lyrical tribute." (Source: http://steelydandictionary.com/d)
Kid Charlemagne
The lyrics of this tune were loosely inspired by the rise and fall of the San Francisco-based LSD chemist Owsley Stanley, as well as other images of the counterculture of the 1960s:
Bad Sneakers
According to Record World, this song "pieces together bits of the L.A. r&r experience while stranded outside of Radio City Music Hall." I see it as a love letter to the San Fernando Valley...shout out Magnolia Blvd.
Check out the full playlist made by yours truly my Junior year of college:
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