The Dan

I've got friends who love Steely Dan, and I've got friends who despise them. I genuinely can't understand how anyone who shares a lot of my tastes could find nothing more satisfying than punching Donald Fagen (except maybe punching Walter Becker). Me, I enjoy the subversive lyrics, the complex melodies, and the edge that no amount of slickness can cover up.

They didn't do an awful lot of live performances in their '70s heyday, but here's a version of "Reelin' in the Years" from one of them.



The guitarist we see at the beginning is Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, future Doobie Brother and Pentagon employee. The heavy, bearded guitarist is Denny Dias, looking for all the world like an Arkansas mechanic. The hyper tambourine man is David Palmer, who was the lead vocalist at the beginning as Fagen didn't have the confidence in his voice. Fortunately, he found it, and Palmer, who in critic Robert Christgau's great phrase "fit in like a cheerleader at a crap game," was gone before the second album's release.

If you're a Dan fan, you should enjoy this. If not... well, maybe you'll like tomorrow's entry anyway.