Steely Dan Tickets

Steely Dan
Steely Dan is an American jazz rock band. Walter Becker and Donald Fagen are the central core members of the band. The band saw the peak of its popularity in the 1970s, when it released six albums. The elements of jazz, rock, funk, R&B, and pop were blended together in these albums. The complex jazz-influenced structures and harmonies, literate lyrics and adroit musicianship are the characteristics of their music.The group enjoyed touring from 1972 to 1974, but later it became a purely studio-based act from 1975 to 1980. The band was remained inactive from 1981 through 1992 when Becker and Fagen parted ways. Returning with the 2000 release Two Against Nature and follow-up, 2003's Everything Must Go, they have since reunited.

History
Donald Fagen was born in Passaic NJ while Walter Becker came from Forest Hills, Queens. In 1967, they met at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York and began playing in local groups.

Demos (1968-1971)
A series of demos made (supposedly) between 1968 and 1971. This collection features approximately twenty-five tracks, and is known as "The Proto-Dan" or simply, "The Demos".

Can't Buy a Thrill (1972)
They released their debut album, Can't Buy A Thrill in 1972. The album was produced by Katz and recorded by Roger Nichols at ABC Studios. With many hit singles, the album was successful in making an immediate impression. The hit singles include "Do It Again", the Palmer-sung "Dirty Work" (later covered by Max Merritt), and "Reelin'.

Pretzel Logic. (1974)
With their third LP Pretzel Logic, Steely Dan returned to prominence in early 1974. It was a diverse set that produced another hit single, "Rikki Don't Lose That Number", a US Top Ten hit (#4 on the Billboard chart) which became yet another enduring FM rock radio staple. This LP is the only Steely Dan album to contain a song by another composer their cover of Duke Ellington's "East St Louis Toodle-oo".

The Royal Scam (1976)
The Royal Scam was released in 1976. It is considered the group's most guitar-oriented record, in part due to Carlton's contributions, and it also features legendary session drummer Bernard "Pretty" Purdie. "Kid Charlemagne" and "The Fez" became very popular among the fans.

Gaucho (1978-1980)
Before started writing songs for the follow-up to Aja, both Becker and Fagen took most of 1978 off.

Everything Must Go (2003)
Another album, Everything Must Go, was released by Steely Dan in 2003 . They also toured America thereafter. Walter Becker contributed his first lead vocal on a Steely Dan studio album on the song "Slang of Ages". Also, it is the first Steely Dan album since 1973 to feature the same drummer (Keith Carlock) on every track.

Steelyard "Sugartooth" McDan and The Fab-Originees.com Tour (2006)In the summer of 2006, the band embarked on a 33-date tour. The name of the tour is an homage to the fictional "inventor of the blues" presumably created by Becker and Fagen. The website, Fab-Originees.com, was simply a mirror of SteelyDan.com.

Heavy Rollers Tour (2007)
The band's Heavy Rollers Tour is scheduled to begin May 5, 2007, at the Beale Street Music Festival in Memphis, TN. North America, Europe, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand will be included in the tour.It is both the largest and most exhaustive Steely Dan tour ever. The words "Heavy rollers" are featured in the lyrics of the Gaucho title track ("We've got heavy rollers, I think you should know").

Musical and lyrical style:
Steely Dan's enigmatic, sardonically humorous and topical lyrics add to the appeal of the songs. Becker and Fagen have been successful in developing their own distinctive style very rapidly. They have also become one of the most accomplished and respected songwriting teams of their age.

Music
A distinctly soul-influenced style of backing vocal is favored by Becker and Fagen favor. Their first few albums were almost always performed by a female chorus.

The band has also earned the reputation for using session players such as Michael McDonald on their recordings. The session trio of Venetta Fields, Shirley Matthews, and Clydie King are used in their several albums.

Lyrics
A wide range of topics are covered in their songs. Most of their albums have a 'feel' of either Los Angeles or New York, the two main bases where Becker and Fagen lived and operated.