By Bill Ellis
Memphis Commercial Appeal
The long Walnut Grove traffic lines said something special was happening at Shelby Farms on Saturday.
It was more than a pleasant weekend evening outdoors. It was rock-jazz giant Steely Dan in the band’s only regional show of their current tour, and some 6,365 paying fans made sure they were there.
Few musical reputations ever grow by rarely touring — Steely Dan’s is among them. Each show feels like an event, which the Memphis concert was. Playing two sets over several hours, the Grammy-winning band — led by longtime songwriting partners and frontmen Donald Fagen and Walter Becker — ran through a wealth of Dan history. And they seemed to be having a blast doing it.
The set list, which eschewed some obvious hits — “Reelin’ in the Years” and “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” — felt like it was put together for the band’s enjoyment foremost. And that made such unusual picks as “The Caves of Altimira,” “Home at Last” and “Parker’s Band,” all great album tracks, standouts on stage as well.
Yet whether the choice was the older “Haitian Divorce” or “Godwhacker” from the new album “Everything Must Go,” the Steely Dan sense of style — a complete harmonic world unto itself coupled with a healthy, often hilarious dose of cynicism — has remained fully intact.
So has the musicianship of the group’s two leaders. Fagen, whose eccentric yet complex tenor voice always sounded wizened (and wise) beyond its years, has aged well, while his keyboard playing has taken on a darkly beautiful, impressionist hue.
Full of creative, chromatic twists and turns, the impressive guitar work by six-string master Becker gave new lease to many a studio memory.
Blessed with a strong live mix, the 13-piece band, largely changed out from Steely Dan’s mid-’90s tour, was amazing to behold and included such stalwart pros as onetime Doobie Brothers saxophonist Cornelius Bumpus, trombonist Jim Pugh and Clinton, Miss., drummer Keith Carlock.
For many people at the most-attended show of the Shelby Farms Music Series, seeing Steely Dan was the highlight of the summer.
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