By John Williamson Glasgow Herald GLASGOW, Scotland — In the world of Steely Dan, there’s the best part of 20 years has elapsed between their last two studio albums; time stands not only still, but resolutely to attention. With 13 musicians and singers on stage, all of whom wear their colossal technical ability as a […]
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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. […]
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, […]
Steely Dan Takes Fans Down Memory Lane
By Candace Murphy San Jose Mercury News Every concert has its turning point. That point in the evening when the melange of notes, phrases and musical stylings that have tumbled out of those immense amps and woofers suddenly aligns and makes nothing but perfect sense. It is a point of unexpected delirium. Saturday at Steely […]
Steely Dan Goin’ For It
By G. Brown Denver Post DENVER –In the ’70s, Steely Dan’s sleek, studio-perfect sound defied all conventions. Pop hooks mixed with jazz harmonies and chording. Complex time changes. A flair for wryly observant yet cryptic lyrics. It made Steely Dan one of the most influential bands in the development of rock music. Now, Donald Fagen […]
Steely Dan: Still Reeling
By Chris Macias Sacramento Bee This is not typical Steely Dan mode. The group — founded in 1972 by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker — rarely tours and hadn’t released an album since 1980’s “Gaucho.” But Steely Dan has emerged from pop music’s shadows this year with a new album (Two Against Nature) and a […]
Steely Dan Bridges the Gap
By Steve Hochman Los Angeles Times LOS ANGELES — “Here’s a tune from one of those albums in the mid-’70s,” said Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen, introducing the song “Night by Night” on Tuesday at the Universal Amphitheatre. In recent Steely Dan tours, there would have been unmistakable irony to that remark, since there had been […]
Steely Dan Makes a Few Concessions
By Mike Weatherford Las Vegas Review Journal There are some things Steely Dan’s members will do to conform to the modern demands of music marketing. And some things they won’t. “We stopped short of Jay Leno, actually. I didn’t want to spend that sad a night in the aftermath of it, really depressed,” says singer-keyboardist […]
Steely Dan: Still Amazing After All These Years
By Scott Lewis Portland Oregonian Steely Dan Not many bands can take seven years between tours and two decades between studio albums and sound like they haven’t missed a beat. But then, not many bands are like Steely Dan. While the Blazers took a break from the Western Conference playoffs, Steely Dan nearly filled the […]
The Guilty Pop Pleasures of Steely Dan
By Derk Richardson San Francisco Bay Guardian I’ve always felt a little ashamed about being seduced by Steely Dan. But I thought that was all behind me, reduced to the occasional nostalgic tug of hearing “Rikki Don’t Lose that Number” on classic rock radio. Wrong. Steely Dan is back with Two Against Nature, their first […]
