I do think that a number of bands and singers have produced some quite good work in later parts of their career, but not as many people are as aware as they might be. Case in point: Long Road Out Of Eden. So, I do like checking out most recent albums as well as the hits.
"Oh by the way, which one's Pink?"Mort, you didn't refer to Steely Dan as "him"! I'm sure you're being droll or hit a stray key or two.
I could never get my mom to stop referring to Fleetwood Mac or Led Zeppelin as "him," no matter how many times I pointed out that they are groups.
My toes quietly curled when a woman in my office referred to U2 as "him" - I knew she was talking about Bono, but come on. What are they thinking?!
I must admit when I first heard of them I assumed Dan was the name of the lead singer. I was somewhat surprised, to say the least, to discover the real origin of the name and what it meant!
I never got confused with Fleetwood Mac, even as a child - I think I'd seen photos of the band and having a combination of male and female singers meant I always knew they were a band. I can totally understand the confusion with Pink Floyd (hence the Have A Cigar lyric AT quoted!).
I seem to remember TBS saying he sang on 3 Steeley Dan albums.
He did. Including my favourite album (so far), Aja.
EDIT: I've just listened to Donald Fagen's 2012 solo album "Sunken Condos". I think it's a good album and very much in the Steely Dan style. It may be unfair of me to say so after one listen, but I think the tracks would be 'good album tracks' on an album such as Aja. However, the 1970s-early 80s albums would have a few standout tracks such as 'Peg' or 'Josie'. None of the tracks on 'Sunken Condos' stood out like that.
I can see Steely Dan fans being very pleased with the album. But, I miss the lack of obvious 'singles'. Just my opinion, and one based on a single listen.
EDIT2: I've started listening to Fagen's previous solo album 'Morph The Cat'. The second song 'H Game' is more 'immediate' and single-like than anything on 'Sunken Condos'. However, I won't be able to listen to the whole album now as I have chores I don't want to leave and the shops open soon.
EDIT3: Spotify thinks it's a good idea to advertise Britney Spears' new album when someone's listening to Donald Fagen?
Last edited by Annoying Twit; 08-27-2016 at 03:55 AM.
Yeah, Spotify is always trying to sell me hip hop and I never listen to that rubbish.
Fagen is very critical of his voice (always has been, apparently) but he sounds great. His speaking voice is surprisingly youthful as well. I recently listened to his audiobook, Eminent Hipsters, which he narrates himself. It's a collection of essays. I particularly enjoyed his 2012 tour diary, which some people found mean-spirited but I thought was hilarious. It wasn't a Steely Dan tour; he toured with Boz Scaggs and Michael McDonald for a summer.
I'm enjoying 'Morph The Cat'. As well as 'H Gang' which has been getting stuck in my head, 'Security Joan' is damn catchy and the album is full of good songs.
I see that the Dan is doing a month-long (April) residence in Last Vegas - not exclusively, they also have shows in San Diego that month.
Does anyone know if they are still going to tour this summer? I don't see any dates scheduled and the year is getting on.