Steely Dan’s music is a serious business – crafted, polished, full of word games and references to Proust and Freud. Much like the men themselves By John L. Waters The Guardian “I like the neon, I love the music,” deadpans Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen on “Green Book.” “Anachronistic but nice.” That might describe “Everything Must […]
The Backpages Interview
This week sees the release of “Everything Must Go,” the follow-up to Steely Dan’s Grammy-grabbing “Two Against Nature.” BARNEY HOSKYNS discusses war, economics and online smut with WALTER BECKER and DONALD FAGEN RBP: It’s ironic that you’re now on Reprise. Shouldn’t you have been on that label from the start? WB: Well, in fact we […]
Dan Dares Again
They made it big — and lost it even bigger. Now, Steely Dan are back, with a new philosophy and a new album. And the thinking man’s hippies sound better than ever. By Robbin Eggar Times of London Donald Fagen and Walter Becker have always been too clever by at least two-thirds. They are so […]
Reassessing Steely Dan’s ‘Aja’
By Trevor MacLaren Aja Steely Dan ABC Records 1977 When it comes to fusion, most critics consider jazz’s acceptance of rock, but not rock’s acceptance of jazz. That has been quite unfortunate, since when it comes to the music of Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, better known as Steely Dan, many have missed out on […]
Elliot Scheiner Interview
By Maureen Droney MixOnline.com I once heard a group of established engineers debate who was the best all-around engineer. It should have been a difficult question, given the opinionated nature of the average audio professional. But in a few minutes, they were in agreement: Elliot Scheiner. Another story: Not long ago, three producer/engineer/owners of a […]
Steely Dan: Reelin’ in the Accolades
By Stephen Humphries Christian Science Monitor In the rollicking 1973 Steely Dan song, “My Old School,” Donald Fagen defiantly sang, “I’m never going back to my old school.” But last Friday, he did. Thirty-five years after spending a summer studying at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Fagen returned, this time bringing his longtime […]
Now, Berklee is Steely Dan’s Old School
Rock Vets Accept Honorary Degrees With Terse Wisdom By David Abel Boston Globe For commencement addresses, which often can induce drowsiness or produce a panoply of platitudes, the bloviation quotient was minimal. Not surprising, perhaps, for the men behind Steely Dan, who have been recording albums filled with slick tunes and sly, dark lyrics for […]
Steelydan.com: No Static At All
By Joel Brown Boston Herald BOSTON — Next weekend, Walter Becker and Donald Fagen — better known as Steely Dan — will be in town to accept honorary degrees at the Berklee College of Music commencement. They’ll also attend a student concert in their honor at the college, which Fagen briefly attended back in the […]
Nature Boys
By Mark Felsot RockDaily.com It took four years of eligibility, but on March 19, jazz-rock brainiacs Steely Dan were finally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The honor was truly a momentous occasion for guitarist Walter Becker and singer-keyboardist Donald Fagen, but you wouldn’t know it by their nonchalant demeanor at the […]
Steely Dan Interview
By Joshua Klein AV Club Lost in the furor over Eminem’s nomination, the oddness of Steely Dan’s recent Grammy for Album Of The Year was somewhat overlooked. In some respects, that’s perfectly in tune with a career characterized by quiet subversiveness. Donald Fagen and Walter Becker spent the bulk of the ’70s sneaking their cryptic, […]
