Vagabond Synth Nerd’s Journal Vol. 277 - MoMA Collection-Style Timeless Live Albums - Part 5: American Rock Edition

Is it possible to recreate that sound? Can they defy the fate of being an impossibly perfect band?!

The “American Rock Edition Part 5” of this permanent-collector-level live album series features a renowned live recording by the famously perfectionistic band Steely Dan. When it comes to Steely Dan, some may feel that they belong more to the jazz or fusion category than to rock music, but their music is undeniably high-quality pop songs.

Steely Dan is a one-of-a-kind band created by two musical mavericks: Donald Fagen, the keyboardist, vocalist, and composer/arranger, and Walter Becker, the bassist, guitarist, and composer/arranger. Among all the rock and pop bands I’ve listened to, Steely Dan stands at the very top, and their music is something no one else can imitate.

I’ve almost never seen a band try to cover Steely Dan’s music. The reason is simple: Steely Dan’s music is far too difficult. They use jazz tension chords and slash chords, so someone like me, who doesn’t have a great ear, can’t copy them. I can manage early tracks by Eric Clapton or The Doobie Brothers, but Steely Dan is so difficult that it’s almost impossible. In addition, Steely Dan’s music requires a horn section of about three horn players. In Steely Dan’s music, the counter-melodies and obbligato lines played by the horns are essential elements, and without horns, it’s hard to get anywhere close to their sound. I believe this is one of the reasons why no cover bands appear attempting to replicate Steely Dan.

Steely Dan released divinely crafted albums such as the historic masterpieces The Royal Scam, Aja, and Gaucho. The legendary stories surrounding these albums may also contribute to discouraging people from attempting to copy them. In the first place, Steely Dan occupies a very unusual position within the world of rock music. Their lineups changed frequently, and rumors of the band breaking up circulated many times. There was no end to members who lost patience with the band’s direction and left. Many highly skilled musicians were part of the group at various times, including Jeff Porcaro from TOTO on drums, Jeff “Skunk” Baxter from The Doobie Brothers on guitar, and session guitarist Denny Dias. It seems that many musicians also experienced difficult periods, such as Michael McDonald, who was only used for backing vocals in Steely Dan. Michael McDonald is a major keyboardist and vocalist who reached No. 1 on the U.S. charts and won a Grammy Award with “What a Fool Believes”, but even he went through such circumstances…

The final form of Steely Dan

Through repeated lineup changes, Steely Dan was eventually reduced to just two members: Donald Fagen (keyboards) and Walter Becker (bass). What they did was bring in highly skilled musicians who matched their musical vision (and not just one), and have them play dozens of takes until they could record a guitar solo that satisfied them, which is a highly unusual method.

A well-known story tells of the album Aja and the track “Peg”, for which they brought in four accomplished guitarists: Jeff Baxter, Rick Derringer, Jay Graydon, and Elliott Randall. Each guitarist played many takes, and the final take chosen was the 30th take by Jay Graydon—a legendary anecdote. This was for a solo of only about 12 bars. They were obsessed with it and treated it with utter seriousness. If all four guitarists played the same number of takes, then out of 120 takes, 119 were discarded. This is just one example; if they had applied the same method to every part of every track, it raises the question of what music really is. But they were a certain kind of musician. The music that resulted was astonishingly refined and structured, imbued with a certain kind of madness.

The natural question arises: is it even possible to perform such an album live? By assembling top-tier musicians, they succeeded in recreating tracks close to their ideal on a live album.

■ Recommended Album: Steely Dan - Alive in America (1995)

Released in 1995, this was Steely Dan’s first official live album. The assembled members included drummers Dennis Chambers and Peter Erskine, bassist Tom Barney, guitarist Drew Zingg, pianist Warren Bernhardt, and saxophonist Chris Potter—musicians who carried the torch of the jazz world. Peter Erskine was the renowned drummer of Weather Report at its peak. Dennis Chambers was the number one drummer in bands such as the Brecker Brothers Band, the John Scofield Band, and the Mike Stern Band. It’s clear that Donald Fagen and Walter Becker were focused on rhythm. The highly intricate and precise sound of Steely Dan is brilliantly recreated by these skilled musicians.

Recommended Track: “Green Earrings”

A track from the album The Royal Scam. The tightness of the rhythm section hits you immediately. On the studio recording, the rhythm cutting is handled by a Hohner clavinet, but on the live album, this role is taken over by the guitar’s rhythm cutting. The guitar solo after the break on the studio version is a brilliant solo starting with Larry Carlton’s picking harmonics. In the live version, Drew Zingg delivers a solo that is just as impressive as Larry Carlton’s. The latter part features an excellent acoustic piano solo by Warren Bernhardt!

Recommended Track: “Peg”

A track from the album Aja. How did Drew Zingg reproduce the legendary 30th take solo by Jay Graydon? In the first half, he nearly copies Graydon’s phrases, while in the second half he takes a different solo approach. Here, you can catch a glimpse into the pride of the musicians. Technically, Drew Zingg surpasses Jay Graydon (in terms of approach outside the rock style), and being able to hear that is one of the joys of the live performance.

Recommended Track: “Aja”

Donald Fagen’s vocals on the live take are almost indistinguishable from the studio version. This is because, in many parts, Steely Dan’s vocal arrangements blend Fagen’s voice with female vocals. On the live album, three female vocalists reproduce this almost perfectly. Steely Dan’s unique sound is not just Donald Fagen’s voice alone—it becomes truly Steely Dan only when combined with the three-part female harmonies. On this live version of Aja, that matte, resonant voice is reproduced flawlessly.

Musicians, Album, and Recommended Tracks Featured This Time

• Artists: Donald Fagen, Walter Becker, Dennis Chambers, Peter Erskine, Drew Zingg, Warren Bernhardt, and others
• Album: Alive in America
• Recommended Tracks: “Green Earrings”, “Peg”, “Aja”

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