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Remember, it's easier to criticise than create!
Remember, it's easier to criticise than create!
“Theory is something that is written down after the music has been made so we can explain it to others”– Levi Clay
Kid Charlemagne will always remain the definitive guitar solo, and also be one of the most challenging to get absolutely right. No wonder it remains a favourite to study and deconstruct at The Guitar Institute and the like. The phrasing, melody, interpretation of the chords etc and it's probably Carlton's finest single piece of work. In fact, I picked up the Lick Library Steely Dan DVD by Tom Quayle - it's great for learning the more popular SD tunes and the backing tracks are superb to play along to. Highly recommended!
From their roster of live guitar players, I caught the mid-90s tour with Wayne Krantz and he did a good job but from other footage I've seen, I prefer Drew Zingg and he's my fave as sound and style wise, he's closer to Carlton. I always thought the one guitarist who should've been on an SD album was Robben Ford.
Fagan, and Becker for that matter, are task masters. I'm not sure if I like them in interviews, and they're very high brow, but they are the bosses and they want the best and that control reflects in their body of work and the quality of the classic tunes. I also remember reading about the SD session Mark Knopfler was asked to play on for the Gaucho album - it was probably at the height of his career. He said it was one of the most nerve wracking things he'd ever done and I can't even remember if his parts were pulled (need to look that one up).
I always said that if I had the brains, understanding and capability to do a music degree, my thesis would've been on Steely Dan, or err...ABBA.
There's a couple of SD tribute bands that do a good job, Nearly Dan, Gas in the Car and Stanley Dee. If you took the best elements from all of them, then you'd have a truly great band. The guitarist in Stanley Dee is a particularly fine player and is worth a listen and he uses a 339, Fender HRD, Line6 M9 and something like a Jester pedal for his overdrive.
http://www.stanleydee.co.uk/?page_id=1119
Oh, don't get me started on The Nightfly. A desert island disc if ever there was one!
Becker is a great guitar player in his own right.
Is it the greatest album ever made?
It might be.
I love everything about Steely Dan. I love all the drummers they have had. Years ago I was in a record shop somewhere in Holland and was browsing the Steely Dan bootlegs. I had just decided which one to buy when the shop owner rushed out from behind the counter shouting:
"No! You must buy this one! Peter Erskine is on this one!!!"
He then put the album on to make his point.
It is much better than I remember.