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, […]
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Steely Dan is Reeling in Recognition
By John Soeder Cleveland Plain Dealer Less than two weeks before their band, Steely Dan, would be welcomed into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker were still going back and forth about what to perform at the induction ceremony. “Hey, Walter, you know what I was thinking would be […]
Jazzin’ the Vibration
Walter Becker and Donald Fagen aka Steely Dan occupy a unique place in “rock” music. While much of their work sounds as though it’s been hauled straight out of the jazz canon, in 32 years they’ve only ever recorded one non-original tune… and that was Duke Ellington’s “East St. Louis Toodle-Oo.” Earlier this year (2000) […]
The Content Partners
By Robert Wilonsky Dallas Observer Steely Dan no longer exists. Forget about the name, despite what you read in this paper’s music listings; since when did “in print” mean “the truth” anyway? Walter Becker and Donald Fagen are sick to death of the name–ah, if only they had gone with one of their original choices, […]
Steely Dan Pegs Away
By Sarah Rodman Boston Herald Generally when a band takes a 20-year hiatus from making music, its return is heralded on the oldies circuit and VH1’s “Where Are They Now?” But when Steely Dan re-entered the pop music orbit in February with “Two Against Nature,” the album debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard charts. […]
Really, Dan Tours Again
Originally published on July 7, 2000 By Dan Aquilante New York Post There’s no middle ground. Either you love Steely Dan for its cerebral lyrics that float on its jazz-funk-pop fusion – or you hate their egghead noodling that is the epitome of boring ’70s pop. Steely Dan, which some call more of a concept than […]
Road Trip Highlights Combination of Genres
By Greg Haymes Albany Times Union Saratoga Springs, NY — Don’t call it a comeback. Despite the fact that the recent Two Against Nature is Steely Dan’s first new studio album in two decades, guitarist Walter Becker — who along with keyboardist-vocalist Donald Fagen helms the band — insists that another album never seemed all that far […]
Once Reclusive, Becker and Fagen Step Into Public Eye
By Tony Norman Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Somehow, when we weren’t looking, Steely Dan became part of the background static of our lives. When Donald Fagen and Walter Becker recorded “Do It Again” in 1972, they were a couple of wily obscurants still smarting from an unrewarding stint as songwriters at Manhattan’s legendary Brill Building. Though young, […]
CD Adds Modern Touch to ’70s Hits
By Vit Wagner Toronto Star In one of the more peculiar ironies in pop music history, Steely Dan went from being a ’70s studio band that didn’t tour to being a ’90s road act that didn’t have any new material to plug. But, like a weird, cosmic eclipse that occurs every few decades, the group’s […]
Steely Dan Takes on Life in ‘2vN’
By John Soeder Cleveland Plain Dealer Donald Fagen doesn’t consider himself a dirty old man. But he plays one — several, actually — on Two Against Nature, Steely Dan’s first new album in two decades. “There’s a certain amount of denial in older men who say they’re not attracted to younger girls or to women other than […]
