tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post8458283512252150786..comments2024-03-29T10:24:43.685-04:00Comments on SleuthSayers: R.I.P. Walter Becker, Musician and Noir AuthorLeigh Lundinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-40024449061203679802017-09-07T13:04:38.059-04:002017-09-07T13:04:38.059-04:00Thanks, Janice, Steve and Art, for chiming in.
An...Thanks, Janice, Steve and Art, for chiming in.<br /><br />And Steve you are absolutely correct. Shorter played sax on the title track, "Aja," and he wasn't the only all-star featured on SD's work. On the track "Aja" alone you had Timothy B. Schmidt of the Eagles and Poco on backing vocals, Michael Omartian on piano, Joe Sample on electric piano, Larry Carlton on guitar, the great Victor Feldman on percussion, and Steve Gadd(!?!) fresh from a stint in rehab killing that drum track, including the solo at the end. Cut it in a single take, too.<br /><br />And that's just on one song!<br /><br />Great musicians were lining up to play on Steely Dan's stuff. <br /><br />And as Steve rightly points out, most of their stuff seemed better suited to piano, and that was intentional. Becker once said that all he used to teach himself guitar was a book of jazz piano chords he got as a kid.Brian Thorntonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14164348967846859987noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-41642536571770530702017-09-07T09:02:33.377-04:002017-09-07T09:02:33.377-04:00Terrific post, Brian -- I've known so many Ste...Terrific post, Brian -- I've known so many Steely Dan songs over the years, of course, but I've never actually listened to an album of theirs start to finish or listened as closely to the lyrics as it seems now I should've. Count me among those people (in this case) who find new appreciation (sadly) for artists only at their passing, when tributes like this make it clear how much they accomplished, how much they meant. Thanks for sharing.<br />Art Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02409008167752619352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-45877426271313719992017-09-07T08:58:41.645-04:002017-09-07T08:58:41.645-04:00Great tribute, Brian.
The band stopped touring at...Great tribute, Brian.<br /><br />The band stopped touring at some point because the "group" became Becker and Fagen and a varying group of session aces who assembled the songs track by track. I know Rick Derringer and Jeff Baxter were among them, along with Larry Carlton. And didn't Wayne Shorter play on Aja? <br /><br />I had all the Steely Dan LPs. I also had songbooks for their music and discovered it was light years more complex than their contemporaries. I never mastered some of their standard chords because nobody else used them and they were probably easier to play on piano than guitar.<br /><br />But, as you point out, people notice the WORDS. Yes, dark, often cynical, but a lot of them are funny, too.<br /><br />An anthology based on their songs sounds like a great idea. I can already think of several songs that would work.<br /><br />Call it Deacon Blues. Or Black Friday. Or...<br /><br />Thanks for posting this.Steve Liskowhttp://www.steveliskow.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-58665789938324689192017-09-07T08:11:02.801-04:002017-09-07T08:11:02.801-04:00A fine tribute!A fine tribute!janice lawnoreply@blogger.com