I started Steely Dan mid-August of 2020. Generally, I'm somewhat turned off by perfectly polished studio music, but Steely Dan are the major exception to that rule. If you want to get into their music, I recommend listening to their debut and going up to Aja. You aren't likely to find many better peaks from a band or artist, which is why they're one of my favorite artists I started listening to in 2020.
Can't Buy a Thrill (1972): A-
Countdown to Ecstasy (1973): A [Originally: A-]
Pretzel Logic (1974): A+ [Originally: A]
Katy Lied (1975): A- [Originally: B+]
The Royal Scam (1976): B
Aja (1977): B+
Gaucho (1980): B-
Donald Fagen: The Nightfly (1982): B+
Alive in America (1995): C
Two Against Nature (2000): B-
Can't Buy a Thrill (1972):
The nice, soft vocals and harmonies, Baxter's bright guitar, and Fagen's organ all work wonderfully together to juxtapose one thing: the many many tragic lyrics. A criminal who's not worth hanging on "Do It Again," a self-loathing backdoor man on "Dirty Work," and one cruel king replaced with another for the people of Nottingham on "Kings" and that's just the first three songs. In fact, "Midnite Cruiser" was the only song I found to not have an impressive lyric. The jazz and Latin influences work nicely to make a unique and cohesive sound for the album and, in particular, strengthen songs like "Only a Fool Would Say That," "Reelin' in the Years," and "Brooklyn (Owes the Charmer Under Me)," the latter of which even incorporates some country with a pedal steel guitar. And Steely Dan know how to end an album on a high note: "Turn That Heartbeat Over Again" is a nice tale of a heroin addict who prays his heart doesn't stop before he turns his life around. A-
Countdown to Ecstasy (1973):
That Steely Dan were unhappy with some of these takes only furthers how competent these guys are in the studio. Their polished instrumentation and seemingly effortless soloing command respect and their studio aptness equal that of anyone at their peak. Better yet, they continue rolling out sharp, witty lyrics about dark subjects--who doesn't love a good song about drugs? "Razor Boy" sounds innocent until you realize the title is a metaphor for the Grim Reaper and "King of the World" is about a guy who has a sardonic attitude about his inevitable demise from radiation. The repeated phrase "Las Wages," sung by back-up vocalists on "Show Biz Kids" can certainly get irksome, but you know what else is irksome? Show Biz Kids. And anyway, "Bodhisattva" has my most favorite guitar solo. A
Pretzel Logic (1974):
Where Can't Buy a Thrill was a bit all over the place--the three different singers didn't help with that in retrospect--and Countdown to Ecstasy was Steely Dan without time to perfectly polish their songs--no one would ever notice without listening to this album of course--Pretzel Logic is Steely Dan at their most pure and focused, without impurities or fat in songs, and also at their most fun. "Parker's Band" is dedicated to convincing people to listen to jazz musician Charlie Parker, the band covers the instrumental "East St. Louis Toodle-Oo" note for note, and I'm sure they enjoyed writing "Any Major Dude Will Tell You." Steely Dan makes room for some tragic lyrics too like "Charlie Freak," where a homeless man sells his gold ring for drugs, which he overdoses on, but as always, thematically, they aren't without purpose. I'm sure the lyrics on "Pretzel Logic" aren't without purpose either, but I still haven't figured out what they mean. A+
Katy Lied (1975):
I miss the speedy, soaring guitar work of Jeff Baxter but Becker and the other studio guitarists are quite competent throughout the album, most notably on "Black Friday" and "Daddy Don't Live in that New York City No More." Fagen nicely leads the jazzier numbers "Doctor Wu" and "Your Gold Teeth II," but also rolls out his most cynical, disillusioned lyrics yet. Mostly strong songwriting and you aren't like to notice the diminished sound quality that caused Becker and Fagen such distress, but many of the songs, "Everyone's Gone to the Movies" and "Chain Lighting," don't have the smooth melodies that have become Steely Dan signatures. A-
The Royal Scam (1976):
First off, Carlton is a great guitarist and I'm a sucker for great guitar, but Carlton isn't Jeff Baxter and the guitar solo on "Bodhisattva" is still my favorite. Catchy though this whole album is, the lyrics are often disappointingly straightforward ("The Fez" and "Everything You Did") and the only great songs are "Kid Charlemagne" and "The Royal Scam," the latter being about America for immigrants. I like "Haitian Divorce" and "The Caves of Altamira" but even these feel like the first time Steely Dan songs have lost something from the pursuit of perfect records. Fagen's voice sounds off too. B
Aja (1977):
Because the eight minute "Aja" already starts feeling dragged out by the fourth minute, I stupidly opinioned on my original review that most of the songs were too long--wasn't that a little vague? Only upon revisits did I realize that the title track was the only culprit of such an offense. While I would still favor more than seven songs on one album from this band, side two--blending the jazz of Countdown and the fun of Pretzel--doesn't have a dull second, not to mention "Deacon Blues" (on side one) is one of the best songs in their entire discography. But studio perfectionism on this level has its flaws, one of which is that everything feels too calculated. B+
Gaucho (1980):
While this has the studio production that made Aja one of their strongest selling albums, the missteps here are bound to give even Aja’s biggest fans some pause. "Gaucho" feels longer than "Aja" despite being half its length and "Time Out of Mind” might be the dullest song they've put on record. There's usually a few seconds--maybe a pleasant riff (sometimes even a whole solo like on "Third World Man")--on each song that shows they've still got it, but they sure aren't exhilarating anymore. Robert Christgau even nicknamed it Countdown to Lethargy. I'm not so harsh--it sounds fine when you're listening to it, but it’s unlikely to ever inspire a complete revisit. B-
Donald Fagen: The Nightfly (1982):
Fagen's solo debut proves definitively who the genius and creative force of Steely Dan was. More pop than anything Fagen had previously done, the album is fun and exciting the same way Pretzel Logic. The album also puts to rest who the real jazz enthusiast of the band was, and if you followed my Steely Dan reviews, you'll know I came around to their jazzier stuff much slower. So another album I could see growing on me even more. B+
Alive in America (1995):
This album from the studio perfect wizards was destined to fail no matter how much merit it had. The only real take away here is that I should listen to the studio version of "Kid Charlemagne" again. C
Two Against Nature (2000):
I know I went back on my claim that the songs on Aja were too long, but make no mistake, this is certainly the case here (even though the average length of these songs is shorter than on Aja). The melodies are nice, but they mostly aren't catchy or fun or ear-grabbing, so they drag after three minutes. Only do "Two Against Nature" and "Jack of Speed" keep me attentive and satisfied. B-
