In a few years, we're gonna be talking about Becker and Fagen in the way we talk about Gershwin, Stevie Wonder, Lennon/McCartney . . . you name it. Those 2 white boy oddballs married pop, jazz, funk and soul like no other, before or since.

"We weren't just after perfection. We worked past perfection so it would sound organic and natural." That's the very essence of why Steely Dan was so great.

At 1:42 Donald remarks about his own singing, "this is when I was singing like Jerry Lewis, remember that?" Walter replies "yeah, that was a very fertile period for you." LMAO!

Guys, listen to what Donald and Walter were saying: "WE ANSWERED an ad in the Village Voice [...] Must have Jazz chops..." THEY answered an ad. But I am LOVING this! I watched the documentary a couple of years back, but you Gentlemen add that special sauce! Thank you! I cannot wait for the next session; don't make us wait too long!

They’re a couple of nerds but lawd did they master craftsmanship. Icons. ❤❤❤

Early Steely fans probably remember having friends that didn't quite get the music. They didn't really fit in with rock radio. Then knowing they never toured we usually heard "they are not even a real band". But we always waited for the next album to be even more amazed.

Your appreciation for their quality of music is so nice to see and wonderful. growing up with the sound of Steely Dan was something that I don’t think in today’s world anybody can even imagine being played out there. it’s nice to see others appreciate a group of guys who really appreciate the sound they made and the people they worked with there’s no other Steely Dan

I absolutely love the fact that you two are reacting to this great AJA documentary in this Classic Albums series. This is such a great detailed dive into not only Steely Dan history but the HOW and WHY they created this masterpiece. And the interviews with not only Donald and Walter, but the session musicians in particular, are absolutely priceless. You guys doing this deep dive is so perfect, because you will know and appreciate the intricacies of this complex jazz fusion. Thanks guys, great idea! Your appreciation and love for Dan music will become even greater after hearing this whole thing. True masters of their art. This is COOL MUSIC HISTORY.

They broke up, because Becker's heroin addiction became problematic, plus the Gaucho album had been difficult including a law suit over the title song..

It was actually Donald and Walter who answered the ad in The Village Voice. Denny Diaz was the one who placed the ad, and they drove out to Long Island to meet him and audition for his band.

Larry Carlton was essential to many Steely Dan songs. It's his solo on Kid Charlemagne that many consider the best ever.

Deacon Blues was #19 in Billboard, most definitely a hit.

Walter's heroin addiction got out of control. He moved to Hawaii to clean up and grow avocados.

Steely Dan is the most underrated band of all time. But anybody’s favorite band knows about them for sure, because they were quite simply - genius - on a scale with the 20th century masters, Armstrong, Ellington, Sinatra, and the Beatles. Do not stop what you are doing fellas. Your show is 🔥

Y’all bringing me to church with these Steely Dan episodes every week!

Their budget was $1 million so back then it was a lot of money, the most ever spent on any album at the time.

These guys were just nothing short of astounding in their writing and arranging. Nobody better.

Black Cow 2 Tbsp chocolate syrup 6 ounces Coca-Cola or root beer 1 Tbsp cream 1 scoop chocolate ice cream

It's wonderful to hear other people that appreciate music that feeds the soul.

I adore Deacon Blues for the very fact that it has so many layers and his voice adds a mournful tone to it. And Bernard on percussion is the ultimate! Fantastic....my favorite album of theirs

When I was a kid Arby's had a Black Cow drink which was a milkshake with vanilla ice cream, root beer, and chocolate syrup.

"perfection is not what they are after [...} they wanted something you can listen to over and over" That is what amazes me, I've listened to SD since the 70s and yet still every song sounds fresh and almost like hearing it for the first time, every time.

You done did it! You done hired the hitmaker Bernard Purdie

Hicksville Long Island ? My hometown ! Also the hometown of legendary artist Billy Joel !

Another enjoyable reaction. Thanks guys!

That was excellent, thank you! Bernard looks so relaxed when he plays behind the kit. The Perdie shuffle is so cool. I wish they had a little bit of Steve Gadd playing drums on the title track "AJA". Or at least heard their impression of the experience with a mention and a photo. From what I understand. They flew Steve to LA from New York and he laid down the drums reading the chart, first time and nailed it in one take. They're all on unbelievable levels.

The Purdy Shuffle. Monster.

Hi La and Che .. when I was a kid in the 60’s in Brooklyn.. there was a chocolate milk drink called “black cow” … it was delicious 😋

Yes, it was a hit. Heard it all over the radio.

Fascinating look behind the scenes and the sheer amount of work,allied with their legendary perfectionism gave us unique grooves. I have never heard a bad SD tune.

Hey fellas. If you're like me, you appreciate the back story as much as the music. It's so interesting to watch Walter and Donald at the board pulling out individual tracks and then hearing from the individual musicians and get their take on the Aja sessions. As you can see, some incredible musicians participated on this album and of course, the results were stellar. Thanks for reacting to this. Peace.

This is GOLD.

An all time favorite ❤

Love the genuine excitement on your faces hearing the isolated tracks. I'm reacting the exact same way- you guys are truly fellow Steely Dan superfans. Great stuff.

Awww. Cut it right at one of my favorite parts. I love the story about Purdie's signs!

The key to Steely Dan for me is the drums. Purdie, Porcaro, Gadd, Keltner, Moratta, Chambers, Lawson, Carlock and that just who I can think of right now. I'd love to see Dave Weckl join for a tour. Even has that same dry personality as these guys. Could be Fagan's brother:) Anyway, Love the channel. This is a treat rewatching this with you guys. Thanks and can't wait for Pt.3!

Becker is very deadpan as you observed, but he's also the one who came up with a lot of the very acerbic ironic and wry humor in the lyrics. He's just very very dry.

The word that always jumps out at me after watching this documentary is Respect!

You guys were talking about how expensive these records were to make. The earlier albums weren’t anything all that crazy. They took a while by most bands standards but everyone knew they were perfectionists and were gonna make something really good and of course the records were selling well. They also toured in 72, 73, and 74. After they stopped touring the studio work got really intensive and the albums took longer, needed more expensive equipment and they also needed to pay the dozens of studio musicians and special guest appearances. There’s a famous story where they were recording one of the later 70s records and it was late at night so Donald and Walter said “ok let’s call it a day we’ll see everyone tomorrow” and everyone kinda looked around at each uncomfortably and Donald said “what’s wrong why is everyone acting weird” and someone said “well Donald, tomorrow is Christmas”. They were such workaholics they didn’t even realize they were working on Christmas Eve. By most accounts Gaucho was the most expensive of their albums which makes sense because they kept running into snags during the recording. An assistant engineer accidentally erased the master of their favorite song and what was most likely gonna be the lead single (second arrangement) they also recorded an entire other albums worth of songs only to be scrapped and basically start over with a new direction. They also had their genius engineer Roger Nichols build them a drum machine because they wanted to hear what an exact perfect drum performance would sound like. Nichols apparently said “well if you give me $150,000 I could build something that answers that question” so they gave him the money. The album cost at least a million dollars which in 1979 or so was an insane amount of money, about 4.5 million in today’s money. For an album that only contained 7 songs! I guess it was only natural that they would have to take a break after it because they were completely burned out. Walter moved to Hawaii to get off heroin but Fagen kept working and came out with his amazing debut solo album The Nightfly in 82

I'm loving he reaction guys! I own the DVD of this and did not hear it through ears that knew Lord Tariq and Peter Gunn. Your reaction to Donald's "Uptown baby..." is priceless!!! Those of us that have heard this know that you cut this with a major cliff hanger!!! The Bernard sign story!

And this, sirs, is what craft is all about. I don't know if the two of you see this in your own sphere as producers, but I hope that it inspires you to take the same kind of approach to your own craft. The results, as you have seen time and time again with SD, is nothing short of brilliance. Be brilliant in your approach to your craft where you are.

Oh NO!! A part THREE!! hahhaha. Can't wait..lol

So glad you guys liked this, I knew when you saw that little snippet and dug it that the whole documentary would do it for you... Peace!! I can't believe you stopped it at "he'd set up these signs".. lol Congratulations!!

A Black Cow was originally an Ice Cream on a stick which later became a drink with the same flavors with chocolate syrup, vanilla and vodka.

Man this is fantastic!! Don't make us wait too long for part 3!

I’ve watched this video countless times before and must say that your reaction and Input are be far the best and most informative. Love your work

In 2021 Deacon Blues was listed at No. 214 on Rolling Stone's "Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time."

Yeah, they went to school, and they read the books.😊 Now they are teaching school and everybody is reading their books!😮

The original group included a guitar player named Skunk Baxter who played with many other bands including the Doobie Brothers,then became a military expert with the pentagon

Larry Carlton! One of the unsung heroes of Rock in the 70s🔥🤘✌🎶

Einsteins of Music

I think many of the greatest bands formed after ppl answered AD's in local papers, that's just how you did it pre-internet. Ozzy had an Ad that said "Ozzy ZIG needs gig" at a local music store I think, and Geezer answered. KISS found Ace & Peter Criss that way too, and I guess Becker & Fagen found Denny Dias that way too ha, although they commandeered HIS band! Haa..

What a masterpiece

7:45 I love the clarifier bro 😂

Time to do another Grateful Dead reaction. This video is Deal from 7/19/89 kzfaq.info/get/bejne/p8dllterqt-7iok.htmlsi=vyMyTvcxIRtKyjmN I picked this video specifically to get Che out of his "Reverse Deadhead" mindset, and show why live Dead blows studio Dead away. It's a smoking hot jam, with HD audio and video, that features all six band members. When the camera focuses on each one, you really notice his contribution to the song. And La, you are going to love the two drummers.

Terrific!

I line that will live in infamy...It was my number six pick....Deacon Blues...

I don't think they ever really broke up..? They just took breaks over the years. Then they got back together in the early 2000's...then Becker died. Yep, there were multiple hits off of this album. -Peg -Deacon -Josie & Black Cow all got heavy Airplay.

We nerdin out on some steeely woot!

Musical perfection and then some. I'm not a producer but I love this stuff too... watched it so many times. And remember, your lists can be fluid like Stephen A. Smith says

Lol. The break broke my heart a little. Teasing me. I am having such a good time because there is someone I can watch it with (watch again), who appreciates the details.

Multiple translations of the Black Cow - Ice Cream Soda and a well known adult alcohol version too !

Steely Dan wasn’t wasting the record company’s money. Every album had multiple hits on them. I was born in 1968 and since I rode the bus to school on my first day of Kindergarten, I’ve heard Steely Dan on the radio every single day. They didn’t need tour support, so MCA was able to allocate more money to radio (Payola, basically).

Deacon Blues was their fifth Top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the US, where it peaked at #19 in 1978. "Deacon Blues" remained in the Top 40 for eight weeks. Love you passion for Steely Dan

Black cow is a liquor drink, and a chocolate ice cream drink...It can get complicated. Different regions it can be called a Root-Beer Float, with root-Beer & chocolate ice cream, called a Brown Cow (a lot of people still call that a Black Cow. Where I grew up that was a root-beer float)..Black Cow is with Coke (to complicate it even further some people order it with vanilla Ice cream, which never made sense to me, but..)...Both stirred with cream and chocolate syrup..The Black Cow is a whole other thing. I think SD meant the counter soft drink.

I am loving this my dudes ❤

Steely Dan is your favorite band's favorite band! I love when you guys reacted to the Black Cow riff with DF "Uptown Baby"!! 😂😂😂😂 You guys are true Dan connessuiers reacting to this deep dive! Bring on Part 3!

Great reaction guys. ✌️

Larry Carlton still doesn’t know who fired the shot that almost ended his life. The bullet, fired by a young man on a bicycle passing by his North Hollywood studio, tore through Carlton’s carotid artery, destroyed his left vocal chord and severely damaged the nerves leading from his shoulder to his left arm. Without a quick response from the paramedics, Carlton could have bled to death on the spot. The year was 1988. Carlton was one of the most respected and sought-after musicians in the world. He had played his signature Gibson ES-335 guitar on thousands of sessions with the top jazz, pop and rock acts in the business, including Joni Mitchell, Michael Jackson, John Lennon, Jerry Garcia, the L.A. Express, The Crusaders and Steely Dan. After extensive surgery, doctors told him he would be fine after several months of rehabilitation. Carlton, however, doubted if he would ever play the same as he had on all those great records of the ’70s. An odd thing happened, however. Carlton started playing even better.

Your reviews are fantastic!

It’s root beer with chocolate ice cream. My mom loved them!

BERNARD WAS A BEAST, GEEEEZZZZ!!! 😊

Great video guys, thanks.

They know, more or less, what a Black Cow is. They were discussing the regional variations. Go back and listen again. A Black Cow can be an Ice cream float, or an Ice Cream sundae. Some say it's a Root Beer soda, Some say it's vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup, whipped cream on top. Whatever it is, it's ice cream with variations.

Rootbeer with a bit of milk...my Swedish grandmother gave us black cows all the time....1960s

I was at the Viper Room on Sunset Blvd. in 2000 maybe one night to see a favorite local band and who sits in with them for a couple of songs? Larry friggin’Carlton. What an honor.

Walter had a serious drug habit, so Donald told him to go away and get his shit together. So Walter went off to Hawaii to get his act together, while Donald worked on a solo album.

There's a similar "making of" video for three of Grateful Dead's early albums called Anthem to Beauty. Should check that out.

"Deacon Blues" is my #1...... Today... lol What is, "Something a Steely Dan fan might say..."

good stuff

🤟😎❤‍🔥

Whenever my friends put on a few pounds it was the Day of the Expanding Man.

it's gonna take dudes like you two to bring real music back...seriously, you may think there is no way, but there is, Someone has to at least start it..make music, it is the one universal language...I gonna steal a quote..."build it, they will come"...

Deacon Blues was definitely a hit.

Black Cow= soda or shake or malt depending on what part of the country youre in. I moved from New York to LA and it's regional.

'Deacon Blues' is virtually my favourite song; my favourite set of changes. Who can resist a song that strong? ❤😊 In England - we left in Spring '64; I was 7 and a half, eldest of 4 kids - local talent quickly covered trans-Atlantic hits; R&B acts were particularly subject to this kind of appropriation, but it was commonplace around the world, even at home in the States: witness Pat Boone et al. The original version of 'Spanish Harlem' I heard was the real thing, much as I was a fan of Dusty Springfield and her brother & co., aka the Springfields. Was chuffed when she too, crossed the pond. Ex-pats everyone!😊❤ 18:34 Last edit, promise: Walter and Donald answered the ad. You know now.

In Chicago a black cow was a root beer float.

They ANSWERED an ad… jeeze

also, check out an amazing music documentary called Muscle Shoals. Incredible doc.

12:45 that part

They broke up in the 80s, but got back together in the 90s until becker's death in 2017.

Part 3 was s blocked. I need to see it!!!

Walter started out on bass. When they stopped touring guitarist Jeff "Skunk" Baxter left and joined the Doobie Brothers. Michael McDonald sang background vocals on the Katy Lied album and of course he also joined the Doobies. So there's a connection for sure.

Why did they break up Walter had a bad habit, bit of a brown head. On the album Gaucho his dealer was turning up to the studio and sitting in . Pissed Fagan off. Becker's girlfriend/partner OD and he got sued by her parents they claim it was his fault she got addicted and died.

THANK YOU TRY Boney James - “Be Here” ft. Kenny Lattimore (Live)

It's like a great movie that costs a lot.But it pays back big time

AJA cost 2 MILLION to record and produce- made many times that in sales when vinyl ruled and before the music industry became broken- with the new economics it’s hard to see a masterpiece like this album being made again

It’s a Rootbeer float!

It’s a root beer float!

You guys should read up on Larry Carlton. He was shot in the head while standing in his kitchen in Los Angeles and had to learn how to speak again as well as relearn how to play the guitar.