This song never gets old. Neither does this album. Even though I've listened to it hundreds of times over the last 45yrs. Great stuff guys...

Next is Haitian Divorce, reggae heaven, only Steely Dan could do this song.

This is probably the most Zappa these guys ever managed. If you like this track, I think you guys would really jam on front to back listen to Apostrophe/Overnight sensation.

I never noticed how many change ups the drummer did during the first guitar solo until this listen. Good stuff, talent everywhere.

Haitian Divorce is coming next !!! You're gonna love that one for sure

I don't usually get too excited about the drums...... but........ MERCY. It's the great Bernard Purdie of course. There are always so many "layers" in a SD song.... but to me.... the drums really drive this track. Great reaction, guys. Take care.

When i think of consistently pumping out great music, i can't think of anyone who can match Steely Dan in terms of sheer numbers. Every time i think i've heard everything they have, i hear another song that blows me away.

LOL...I was watching for your reaction to Purdie's hi-hat sass 3:19 and Denny Dias' bridge solo immediately following...you didn't disappoint! 😂..Denny's solo reminds me of the warm summer days, beautiful hippy chicks...it was beautiful to be alive!

How can anyone not love Steely Dan? Is it possible? Awesome reaction! On to the incomparable Haitian Divorce!

Yes it’s Bernard Purdie on Drums, Chuck Rainey on Bass, Elliot Randell lead Guitar. All absolute studio masters

Green Earrings js a phenomenal tune! Wanna hear Steely Dan play reggae? If you haven’t done so already, PLEASE do Haitian Divorce from this same album. A total masterpiece of a song! 👍🏼🎸😎❤️

Ice Cube sampled this groove on his tune 'Don't Trust 'Em'. Bernard 'Pretty' Purdie on drums, Chuck Rainey on bass, Paul Griffin on keys, Denny Dias on the main, Jazzy lead guitar solo, Elliot Randall on the Bluesy guitar fills and on the crazy, ring modulator distorted guitar freak out at the end.

Just love your reaction to the iconic Bernard Purdie high hat work and guitar intro at the change up! I've listened to that song and album a thousand times or more and that change up is ridiculous! Kudos to Mr. purdie, inventor of the Purdie Shuffle. A master drummer!

This album is magical. The guitar work is out of this galaxy. I want whatever that dude was into...

I feel like I’m hearing these songs for the first time along with you guys. So much fun!

3:15 the moment we’ve all been waiting for

After half a century listening to them, I must confess, they are my favorite band too.

Funk'n A! So much to say about this tune...the drums, the BASS, the crazy guitar, the breakdown, the funky attack, the lyrics...yep, that's Bernard....he's a bad man! Some good moments on the remainder of the album, Haitian Divorce is different and it grows on you, and the Royal Scam has really sweet instrumentals. Your play list will keep growing as you listen to more of SD. Great Reaction!

That guitar riffing and soloing sounds like one pissed off pussycat that just got wet and is about to take it out on the world! That was Denny Dias (1st, and a founding member of Steely Dan) and Elliot Randall (2d, and I think he did the solo on "Reelin' in the Years", but not sure). Steely Dan never disappoints.

This album is fire!🔥🔥🔥

This is another band I've seen in concert a few times and the last time l saw them they opened up with this song, this took me right back there, THANKS 👍🥰 P.S. Can't wait for you to hear "Babylon sister ", it's on their Gaucho album 🤟

I LOVE that you two have the musical knowledge to pick out just how brilliant these two guys that were actually "Steely Dan" were! LOVE your reactions!

Heard years ago that Bernard Purdie (on drums) is credited with being the first to hit cymbals and then immediately snatch them making that high hat clap ala Sandy McKee of Cold Blood on the tune Shop Talk for example.

DAMN!!! You guys do GREAT reaction songs!!! 💯💯😎

Gotta check out steely dan glamour profession. One of the best base grooves.

Can you believe this album so far, just crazy. knew you guys would like this one, what a great piece of funk. And best part, song is about a non-repentant thief.

I have all their albums and this is my favorite song of them all.

Bernard Purdie talks about the drumming on this song in his interview with Rick Beato.🏝️

The BEST showcase example of Jazz and rock fusion that can be found. Of course, it's from the Dan.

Ice Cube sampled this song. It is enjoyable to watch you gentlemen discover The Royal Scam for the first time.

Those “three hits” (or sometimes a couple or trio of “push” beats) are frequently part of a *key transition* in the harmonic structure of a song. SD are big on key transitions within their songs. BTW I recently saw a chart on Twitter of “number of top songs with key transitions” charted by year, 70s to present. High in the 70s, then ever decreasing thru the years, to where in this decade,, practically no top songs have even a single key transition in them. Anyway, transitions, push-transitions, multiple sections, harmonic and rhythmic changes or flourishes...not to mention seamless melding of funk, r&B, jazz, pop, stellar musicianship, spacious arrangements with a lot of air and production with miles of sonic separation...just a fraction of what made SD special.

They are in their own class

STEELY DAN WAS THE FIRST BAND THAT HEARD THAT MADE ROCK AND JAZZ WORK!! THEY SOON THEY JUST EVOLVED INTO PURE JAZZ AND THEIR MUSIC BECAME TIMELESS!! IT CAN PLAY AND MAKE SENSE IN ANY GENERATION!! 😂

Bernard Purdie reminds us the hi hat is the most fascinating instrument in music!

Only came across your channel today but glad I did , it helps that you're reacting to the Dan as they are one of the goats. I wouldn't call them a rock band as they're so much more than that. I look forward to seeing where you go after this album . If you're sticking with the Dan I'd go with Pretzel logic or maybe Fagen's first solo album , The Nightfly . Salutations from Ireland.

The SD song that no one reacts to is Here at the Western World. It did not appear on an album but I believe came from The Royal Scam sessions and was included on the Greatest Hits double album. You might react to Here at the Western World as you finish The Royal Scam.

Hey guys. I've been digging you digging the SD rabbit hole. I warned you about the gritty unpolished excellence here on 'Scam. As you said, "No filler on this one." Green Earrings is definitely driven by the bass and filthy drum work. Listen for the clavinet (keys) pushing things along with the rhythm guitar. It is probably Don himself on the clav. Walter Becker (RIP) was the original bass player (and guitar) and co-founder of SD with Donald. But Walter said he stopped bringing his bass guitar to the studio once he heard Chuck Rainey play bass with/for them. Believe it or not, this album gets even deeper before you're done. (I'm still waiting... 30+ years - to find a better album packed with more content than RS.) I think you'll like the islands you're headed for, guys. This gift does keep on giving. Happy Holidays and happy listening.

That look in your eye I don’t mind I don’t mind .. so cold

Bernard "Pretty" Purdie.on drums. You should really head over to Rick Beato's channel and check out his interview with Purdie. He talk about this song and many others of those he played on with Steely Dan.

Imagine going into the studio....and comin up with these songs.

Bernard Purdie high hat triple smash! Legendary!

Ha ha !! - love seeing people react to the ‘underwater guitar’ near the end. Seek the instrumental-only version of this album and you will be rewarded with stripped-down longer versions of tracks like Green Earrings.

Definitely in my top five of favorites!

Somewhere around here there's a rhythm section only version of this that is great to listen to.

Soul Sacrifice you guys are going to be blown awayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

This is funk at it’s finest. Super, Supreme ⭐️❤️

You have to see soul sacrifice by Santana live in wood stock. Crazy crazy percussion out of this world!!!!!!!!!!!

Funk, blues, jazz, hip hop, rock ... what genre didn't they cover.

thanks for reaction to music we lived , hoping youth & elders interest always remains

I love Doctor Wu.

seriously, you guys are the BEST.

Oh, I was waiting for you to get to this and I wasn't disappointed! Not even a little! Probably one of the best rabbit holes you can crawl down!

Check out how this was sampled on the old school classic Walk Into the Sun by Organized Konfusion

i enjoy you guys' reviews so much! You not only have good commentary but know what you're talking about. Good stuff.

Awesome reaction to an awesome groove. When you get the chance check out "FM (no static at all)". Used in the film "FM". Kind of a stand alone piece...

The use of 'mu chords' give them their unique sound.

They originally recorded a lengthy instrumental version of this song (It's on YT and it kicks ass, Jack). Then they just faded it out half way through and added the vocals.

Genius.

I can smell the crack i used to smoke to this song!!! Beautiful!!

You didn't acknowledge that amazing quick high hat drum fill in the middle of the song. You need to listen for it when you play the album in full

That key change into the solo is nasty.

I live all the guitar rakes

This is as close as they got to Gentle Giant. {Power and the Glory - you know you want to…}

There a little 5 note thing that plays through the song, that reminds me of some dastardly character twirling his moustache, after these green earrings, "na ah ah ah ah".

They know how to make music

Definitely one of my all time favorite bands. I don't have a single favorite artist but these guys are in my top ten. Their music seems to never get old.

Ice Cube sampled this song on ‘Don’t Trust E’m’

The opening lead note (a harmonic) sounds like a ring in a bell under that sizzling hi-hat..

Ooooo, funky!

Another great one with pumping up the funk!

AND THIS BLOWS FEZ AWAYYYYY! 😊YOU JUST NEVERRRRR KNOW GUYS!☝ CMON CHE, SABBATH OR STEELY, CMON! LOLOL 😊 I KNOW IT'S COMPLETELYYY DIFFERENT

That tambourine is everything!!!!

I had the fortune of seeing the Dan play the entire "Royal Scam" (plus hits) in NYC in 2009 when I was young and broke as hell, but paid up for these tix.. They played an 8-minute version of "Green Earrings" with this young, absolute virtuoso on guitar it was immaculate! Ever since I have worshipped this song.

I knew you guys wouldn't be disappointed with this great song! You were mentioning something about the chords Steely Dan used in their songwriting and I have a couple insights that might be interesting (or boring and completely irrelevant!😆 ). There were a couple types of chords they used in many (majority?) of their songs that contributed to the "jazzy", rich/lush and sometimes dissonant sound of their recordings. The first was the "mu" chord (their name for the specific chord voicing), which is a major chord with the addition of the 2'nd, so there is the dissonance between the adjacent 2'nd and 3'rd notes....ie. C mu-major chord on a keyboard: left hand- C bass note right hand- D, E, G (a "9" chord also would include the D note, but generally an octave up). On their later albums, they also used "type 2" mu chords which have the 3'rd of the chord in the bass and a common voicing they would use for this would be (for a type 2 C mu-major chord)... left hand- E bass note right hand- D, G, C (type 2 have less dissonance and a more open, jazzy sound...they're all over Deacon Blues and Black Cow). Another type of chord that they loved was "11" chords, which are major chords that would have the following notes of the scale if listed from low to high...1'st, 3'rd, 5'th, flat 7, 9'th, 11'th, but they're rarely played with that voicing. I generally play them with my right hand dropped down to the major chord one whole step below the chord root....ie. for a D11 chord: left hand- D bass note right hand- C, E, G It doesn't include all the notes, but it sounds pretty damn cool! (sorry about being so "verbose" in my response, but I thought you guys would be interested).

I enjoy them so much more now thanks I did at 8. 😂 I liked them then but love them now.

Again, Steely Dan! Your favorite bands favorite band! 🔥✌🤘

Like the new picture on your wall 😃 love watching your reactions.

I think the two guitar soloists are Denny Dias and Elliot Randall (who did the iconic opening to Reelin in the Years), IiRC. As a guitarist I can tell you soloing over the main riff is extremely difficult, they're using either m11 or 6/9 chords, can't recall for certain, no real tonal center, no "home base" for the solo to center around. Aside from that one of their easier songs to play, the fretboard fingering is the same just moved around the neck.

genius....plain and not so simple

One the funkiest tracks ever .. so much exquisite musicianship by all .Although, I would give the nod to the guitar sections...Denny Dias doing the lead guitar for the rockabilly style first part then Elliott Randall killing it on the second part as a perfect compliment to Denny. As always, great job reacting to this one gents.

The 4th or 5th time you listen to it is when you'll really appreciate it. ❤👍

As a Dan fan since the '70s I am LOVING your takes on all the band's songs. Loving. Glad to see this band live on in its original forms....plural. This song is about a thief....Bravo to you both. My all time fave Dan song is Dr. Wu from Katy Lied. Are no wrong answers. The blew us away in the '70s and '80s and forever. Think you guys would love The Boston Rag on earlier album Countdown to Ecstasy.

HERBIE HANCOCK AS A POP STAR A++++

I just watched a interview with Chuck Rainey and he said that The Royal Scam was a contractual obligation album that was owed to the record company before they went to a new label. This album was knocked out it a week. Which is lightning fast for the Dan. Such good music for only a week too.

Purdie's pocket. You fallin' in, you may get back out !

Hey, first off, dope reactions! Second…if you like Steely Dan, you should check out the Doobie Brothers. The bands have common members and the Doobies have Michael McDonald!

Nice to see TheFunk has hooked a couple more young Dan Fans! Keep groovin guys!

Let that bass bump and thump baby!

Love your channel and comment. Yea with air that going on the"triangle" being important. Ten te psycho guitar at end . Keep digging

Double sick guitar solos.

This is my favorite band too!

I agree He’s right about it being a noticeably faster steely Dan song. Thats why it stuck out so much to me, extra upbeat and alive. That whole album is crazy good, nice video

Easily one of my fav SD songs. Maybe my fav. Steely famous for bringing the best studio musicians together for their stuff.

Has anyone ever heard an explanation as to why the color green plays such a prominent role in so many Steely Dan songs?

Dont stop ot when the best lead is sbout to come it 😮You have to watch the live version with a full band 1993 at the shoreline CA

Pretty sure that guitar effect at the end of the song is a flanger.

The keyboard riffs in Earrings especially at the end are a bit of Chick Corea or Herbie Hancock sounding, revealing those jazz fusion funk influences IN REAL TIME!!

This sounds like old school east coast hip hop

I'm absolutely enjoying the ride, have you guys given any thought to which album you're doing next? Personally I'm hoping for Pretzel logic or Katie Lied.

That song was straight up PROGGY!! Man! Who was the guitarist? Tricks and techniques! 😮