Steely Dan is what you get when you put 2 perfectionists in a studio. They went until they got what they wanted and called in whatever hired gun they needed to get a sound.
@alphaomega60624 ай бұрын
From the Aja documentary ""perfection is not what they are after [...} they wanted something you can listen to over and over" The speaker suggesting that they went to perfection and then past it to get where they wanted to be.
@marmyafia63074 ай бұрын
@@alphaomega6062 Yeah, they got to the point of perfection and then dialled it back a bit!
@robertjewell97274 ай бұрын
On the song Haitian Divorce the sound of the guitar was fed through what's called a "talk box" which makes the guitar have a vocal quality.
@ianhampton12084 ай бұрын
Made famous by Peter Frampton on his hit single Show Me The Way, but used to better effect by Joe Walsh on Rocky Mountain Way.
@robertjewell97274 ай бұрын
@@ianhampton1208 right! 👍
@chandlerbryan17934 ай бұрын
The box takes the output from the guitar amplifier and sends the sound through a plastic tube into rhe guitarist"s mouth, where he/she shapes it into a microphone.
@mike-jm9rs4 ай бұрын
@@ianhampton1208 Hi Ian, one more I can think of is Sweet emotion by Aerosmith.
@starbursttalent39244 ай бұрын
@@ianhampton1208 MADE FAMOUS EARLY BY JOE WALSH !!!
@scifimonkey34 ай бұрын
That relentless riff in the royal scam is such an ear worm and everyone weaves their individual brilliance around it.
@grahamokeefe94063 ай бұрын
I love in the song The Royal Scam, the way the chorus feels like it's about to go into double time but it never quite gets there before falling back into the half time verses.
@ianhampton12084 ай бұрын
The line in Everything You Did, "Turn up the Eagles, the neighbours are listening" prompted a reply from Don Henley on the Eagles' Hotel California, with the line " They stab him with their Steely knifes, but they still can't kill the beast".
@excrono2 ай бұрын
Reminds me of how Lynyrd Skynard responded to Neil Young’s “Southern Man” in “Sweet Home Alabama”, but much more bluntly than with than with this Eagles example.
@richardbarton61464 ай бұрын
The Royal Scam is a masterpiece!!! That sound on Larry Carltons guitar was amazing and the drums were perfect and the Little muffled Trumpet gave it that "New York" sound .
@mynameispaul05304 ай бұрын
Always loved the way Steely Dan integrated horns with backup singers and other instruments.
@smffeb584 ай бұрын
Back in the days of Papa Doc Duvaliers reign in Haiti, one of the tourist business setup was a quickie divorce, thus the name Haitian Divorce. The tale is one of Babs and Willie marrying, fighting, and Babs off for the above mentioned. She gets pregnant by a local, prior to returning to the US, and reconciliation with Willie. As always, wry, fun, off beat SD lyrics, with a reggae beat, and a voice box guitar wah wah away!!! 😉😂
@alphaomega60624 ай бұрын
The song was inspired I believe by someone (one of the engineers?) telling the war story of his quickie divorce during a break in the studio.
@bsemmel6227 күн бұрын
I like your commentary and I do understand what you mean. You don’t really have to say much of anything, I just enjoy watching your facial expressions. They say it all! I can see your appreciation for this very sophisticated music. It definitely reaches you. I love seeing someone of your generation enjoy Steely Dan.
@et2petty4 ай бұрын
Haitian Divorce the guitar is playing through a "talk - box",,,, the sound bypasses a speaker and goes through a plastic tube and comes to the player's mouth. The sound then goes to a singing microphone. Made famous by Jeff Beck and Peter Frampton
@mjwaldrep4 ай бұрын
I have to say I have a new appreciation for this album. Thank you for reacting to it!
@nedeast68454 ай бұрын
all good music grows on you
@livenhfree2 ай бұрын
My favorite band. Since 1972. Amazing composers. Amazing talent. Thank you.
@larryclark54224 ай бұрын
Steely Dan is known as your favorite band's favorite band
@Frankincensedjb1234 ай бұрын
Green Earings has some of the best guitar work you'll hear on any Dan album. And btw, that sound on the guitar for Haitian Divorce uses a talk box, a tube that is connected to the microphone that the guitarist puts his mouth around to shape the sound. The solo here is another fine example of more Dan guitar excellence. Fagan and Becker (RIP) were some of the most eclectic, disciplined, musical perfectionists you'll ever find. They often employed studio musicians. If they discovered a band wasn't working out with a certain song, they'd shelve those songs and look for another band that could play them. So they were basically playing musical bands, or groups of musicians, with every album and song. I think that while recording Aja, they ended up using some forty musicians. The Dan is one of those very rare bands in which you'll find almost every song has some merit, some better than others, but you'd rarely find a clunker. Amazing talents.
@briangray004 ай бұрын
Stellar rhythm section on Green Earrings. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/eJmid7SGqK7SfX0.html - Extended version, with vocals and lead.
@lucasroth79224 ай бұрын
Steely Dan, your favorite bands favorite band 🔥✌🤘🎶
@Thirdwind24 ай бұрын
No... No ....
@paullacroix5274 ай бұрын
Good reaction Verdy. Steely Dan is a very special band to people that grew up in the 70's. They released an albumn every year. 1972, 1973,1974,1975,1976,1977 and 1980. Also, Donald Fagen who wrote, sang, played keyboards and was really the man (his co-writer was Walter Becker) is a musical genius. I always say congratulations to any young person who listens to The Dan (that's what we called them) because they are special. I hope your next Dan request is Gaucho. It's even smoother than Aja. I know you've for sure heard the song 'Heh Nineteen' before. Enjoy your reactions..
@leojmorts4022 ай бұрын
Please, continue with this outstanding band. You are on the way to discovering an astounding journey with this band!
@dansavoie50874 ай бұрын
I had a few friends who's older brothers were part of bands. One was even a lead vocalist and those older brothers would introduce music to their younger brothers. In turn my friends would introduce me to that same music. In 1973 one of my friends walked over to the family turntable in the parlor of his home, took a record out of an album cover with what looked like aliens on it ( " Countdown to Ecstasy" was the album, their 2nd my first )and said"listen to this guitar playing". That was my first introduction to "Steely Dan". The song was "My old School". I fell in love with their music and the name because my name was Dan. Then I fell out of love of their name when I found out where they got the name "Steely Dan from.... But stayed in love with their music for 50 years and counting. ✌️
@KWC334 ай бұрын
The best song on the Royal scam is the royal scam!
@williammckay92294 ай бұрын
I have 4 best songs on this album. Kid Charlemagne, Don't take Me Alive, Haitian Divorce and Royal Scam. All the others are second best.
@keithjones73904 ай бұрын
@@williammckay9229 It's a matter of opinion, nobody can say what's best and worst, personally l love Caves of Altamira
@gregalbright52204 ай бұрын
I just love watching you react to music! I know you feel the music as well as hear it. You have to love Steely Dan! They brought a unique style to rock music. I knew you would love them!
@philiphill66973 ай бұрын
Your relentless smile sums up how good this album really is.
@user-zr2eb4rn8j4 ай бұрын
Yes, it is a B side, but a damned good one. Love to see you stick your toe into the jazz rock fusion pond. You might like it.
@makethebestofwhatsaround31134 ай бұрын
The best album of 1976… or any other year.
@philt4346Ай бұрын
the whole horn section gets a blow each using a mute, quite the forgotten sound. I was only lamenting with friends the other day the absence of trombone in pop music nowadays, crazy but it was all over the 1980s.
@ottokriete115324 күн бұрын
the guitar solo on Haitian divorce is by Dean Parks.......... helluva guitar player
@buddystewart20204 ай бұрын
On the Royal Scam, when you said, there's no way that's a guitar, that's a trumpet.
@roundtownKen4 ай бұрын
Not a trumpet. A guitar with the "wah's" made by the shape of the players mouth near a plastic tube... fed into an amplifier.
@scottmoquin4 ай бұрын
Hey Ari....it's a muted trumpet on "The Royal Scam".
@johnnorman71804 ай бұрын
Trombone also
@Chromeostasis4 ай бұрын
Can’t wait for Gaucho, Katy Lied, etc., GREAT reaction as always!!! 👏👏👏🤝🤙
@buddystewart20204 ай бұрын
They are doing that sound with a talk box, Golden Throat was a popular one in the 70s, they have newer versions of it now. You stick a tube in your mouth, and you make vowel sounds with your mouth and it mixes it with what you play on the guitar, and produces that sound you are hearing. It's sort of a combination of human voice and guitar, sort of.
@sanzoftatooine4 ай бұрын
It basically turns the guitarist's skull into a speaker cabinet. Changing the shape of your mouth, or chewing on the tube, changes the tonal quality. Some folks who've seen talk boxes used live mistakenly assume that the guitarist is singing through it, but that's not the case. There's no air moving over the vocal cords.
@stuartdryer13524 ай бұрын
From the same era (70s, when I was ~ your age), check out the Dixie Dregs. You will like them!
@mike-jm9rs4 ай бұрын
Steve Morse 👍
@stuartdryer13524 ай бұрын
@@mike-jm9rs Good starting point: Punk Sandwich on the album Night of the Living Dregs.
@mega007604 ай бұрын
what a classic i bought the album cassette and cd, great reaction
@nedeast68454 ай бұрын
me too, I think Donald Fagen owes us a sneaky free download, considering all the times we fans have bought the CD,s vinyls, tapes, going back to Sun Mountain
@user-xj7hq1pp3x4 ай бұрын
This is the day OF THE EXPANDING MAAAAAN!
@Hartlor_Tayley4 ай бұрын
Thanks for all your quality reactions
@michaelbastraw14934 ай бұрын
That was indeed a muted trumpet during the royal scam. I believe that he was using a combination of straight mute and toilet plunger. Best. Mike.
@et2petty4 ай бұрын
Good morning Very. Glad you like steely dan
@DixieBlue4 ай бұрын
Steely Dan Albums (No Filler at All)
@williamosborne68664 ай бұрын
The voice-box guitar was done by Dean Parks, and modified by Walter Becker. This technique was made famous by Peter Frampton, and also used to great effect by others (most notably Joe Walsh (James Gang, Eagles, and solo), David Gilmour (Pink Floyd).
@DRAGON_FAN_TIM4 ай бұрын
At 19:40 its a trumpet with a mute
@chromabotia4 ай бұрын
Excellent!
@RedVynil4 ай бұрын
We used to do Haitian Divorce. That sound is called, a voice bag. I'm not sure how it works but, the guitarist has a clear plastic tube in his mouth that, I think, has the guitar sound pumped into his mouth and he can change the sound of the guitar by changing the shape of his mouth. Joe Walsh made it famous a few years earlier with his hit, "Rocky Mountain Way". Then Peter Frampton used it on his biggest hit, 'Do You Feel Like We Do" on his live album,. "Frampton Alive!"
@rpapplebee4 ай бұрын
The strange guitar noise you are hearing is called a talk-box.
@Stephen_M.4 ай бұрын
Great album!!
@hipgnotist7774 ай бұрын
Yay Steely Dan! Yay Verdy!
@slydogger4 ай бұрын
Just watched a video titled The #1 Rock Song from Each Year: 1970-2022 perhaps some content for a video. L8
@gregorydeckelman42624 ай бұрын
Yes that is a trumpet. But not just any trumpet. Its a muted trumpet. There are 4 kinds of technics used for muted sounds that can be made. 1) is using what is called a straight mute 2) is using a cup mute. Both of these mutes are inserted into the bell of the trumpet. 3) is a cup mute but it is hand-held and opened and closed against the bell of the trumpet.We have all heard this before. It is used for the famous effect in game shows when a player loses to get the wha-wha-wha-whaaaa effect 4) this last muting technic is done with only the hand being inserted into the bell. It is usually done by moving the hand back and forth in a cuping motion in and out of the bell, but can be done by cuping the fingers and the thumb together and inserting them into the bell. The other sound was indeed a trombone. It was a low sound because it was a bass trombone to be exact.
@submandave11254 ай бұрын
You forgot my personal favorite to use, the Harmon mute, which is basically a metal chamber inserted in the bell. It has a removable stem that can be left in place to provide a small bell that can be used with the off-hand as a plunger or take it completely out and get that classic Miles Davis sound.
@gregorydeckelman42624 ай бұрын
@@submandave1125 number 3 in my comment is the plunger cup.
@submandave11254 ай бұрын
@@gregorydeckelman4262 I took that to mean the plunger (like the one used on the sink). I've always heard the stem of the Harmon referred to as the plunger because it's easy to use your hand to cover the small bell on the end of it. I've edited my original comment to be more clear.
@waynekerr35984 ай бұрын
Enjoy the solar eclipse later today, AV!
@SeaMark7824 ай бұрын
Becker & Fagan are composers not songwriters. Lots of writers out there, not many composers. They get what they want using musicians like a sonic tool (they may be tools too).
@user-yd9vr4gl2d4 ай бұрын
Great reaction I think it was a trumpet with a mute
@charliebrown30204 ай бұрын
Listen to Haitian Divorce about 100 more times and realize what the story is really about…makes it even better
@squidkid24 ай бұрын
This album has a lot of upbeat music but the lyrics are really dark especially the title track.
@BrewnoeАй бұрын
classic .. vs
@geroldreiser19213 ай бұрын
I like your full reviews very much! full honest important. I m a 60+ guy from Germany and have faith enough to make two proposals to you: Sweet Smoke - just a poke (progJazzSomething) Nektar Remember the Future (70ies Rock with PF melodies) 4 tracks = 2 Albums
Thats Walters talk box. ..At the Grotto, in the greasy chair, sits de Charlie with the lotion & the kinky hair😅, In the 70s people went to get quicky Haitian divorces, which meant, you could just be with someone else.. immediately, Brutal & sad.
@willlockler94333 ай бұрын
Pretty dam wonderful isn't it.
@chitownlee4 ай бұрын
The sound you don't recognize is a Talk Box.
@chitownlee4 ай бұрын
It's a trumpet with a mute.
@johnnorman71804 ай бұрын
There are trumpet and trombone on royal scam
@allenjones77224 ай бұрын
The vocals aren't great but the music is exceptional.
@baronofgreymatter144 ай бұрын
muted trumpet
@michaelheis6634 ай бұрын
Like Steely Dan but you have never returned to Stevie Ray Vaughan. The Sky is Crying is right up your alley.
@richardyoung35944 ай бұрын
Do you know who Burton Cummings is? I'm fairly certain you must, he's Canadian. Check out the Guess Who's recordings, 70's.
@swampfizzАй бұрын
I beg to differ....Aja is a squeak better
@hurricane19514 ай бұрын
Steely Dan's biggest flaw is fading out while a terrific guitar solo is playing. Frustrating on so many songs.
@excrono2 ай бұрын
This is so common in music that it’s a full on trope. Leaves the audience itching for more and to hit repeat. A band that subverts this is to some degree, is Supertramp; letting long solos play out especially for album closers.
@danmayberry11854 ай бұрын
Hmm .. speed up Everything You Did, and you're in Cousin Dupree territory.
@RedVynil4 ай бұрын
I never liked Steely Dan but, "Royal Scam" was probably their best song. My fave SD songs wouldn't even fill a full "best of" album. I doubt there's more than 6 songs.
@mjsmcd4 ай бұрын
Youv'e been snifffing red vinyl So what i'd expect
@keithjones73904 ай бұрын
Their wonderful songs are wasted on you then! 😅
@mondegreen97094 ай бұрын
Definitely one of the greatest albums with one of the worst album covers.
@keithjones73904 ай бұрын
I've seen a lot worse album covers!
@mondegreen97094 ай бұрын
@@keithjones7390 So have I, but was the music as good as this?
@keithjones73904 ай бұрын
@@mondegreen9709 No!
@Robert-xl4mm3 ай бұрын
Have loved the album cover since it came out - like the hole in his right shoe especially
@excrono2 ай бұрын
I can personally appreciate the meaning in this cover art.
@michaelbastraw14934 ай бұрын
On Haitian Divorce, they use a talkbox (se link below). What's unusual is that Dean Park didn't use it when he recorded his tracks. Walter Becker used the talk box after the fact in post-production. And all my years of playing and recording, I'd never heard of such a thing. Best. Mike. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk_box