Damn straight. I'd say that each album is a different view on the musical ability of the Fagen and Becker. Each one has its own flavor that is definitely Steely Dan, but still unique.
Can't Buy a Thrill: Not as hi-fi, but still good stuff. More rock with some jazz influences.
Countdown to Ecstasy: Cool mix of Latin, Jazz, and rock. My Old School is probably my favorite tune from the album, but they're ALL good.
Pretzel Logic: To me, it sounds older than Ecstasy, almost like it should've come before it. That said, it's god more bluesy goodness as well as the standard Dan stuff.
Katy Lied: A great album. Bad Sneakers, Dr. Wu, and Your Gold Teeth II are the favorites here. But that's mostly just because I'm a huge piano fan (I play some too). Michael Omartian and that big ol' Bosendorfer sound absolutely wonderful.
Royal Scam: Probably the 'hardest' of all the Steely Dan albums. There's a very dark tone to the whole album. The songs explore controversies of the day and do so well.
Aja: By far the most popular Steely Dan album. Probably my favorite as well (look at my icon), but I've also done more listening with it than any other Dan album. All 7 of the tracks are superlative.
Gaucho: A very laid-back album. It has a very mechanical feel to it, but this is because of the use of a drum machine on most of the tracks. Still, it's great stuff.
Stuff I haven't listened to (shame!): The Nightfly, Kamakiriad (sp?), and Eleven Tracks of Whack.
Two Against Nature: Not enough listening to pass judgement. But from my listening so far, it feels like it's missing something that the classic albums had.
Everything Must Go: Not as good as the classic albums, but still VERY good. Great sound quality as well as some good tracks (Green Book, Godwhacker, Pixeleen are my favorites).
Something that I really don't like in these two later albums is the way Fagen's voice is REALLY up front in the mix. In the older stuff, his voice is burried a little more so it mingles more with the rest of the sounds. This makes the harmonies sound even more complex (at least that's what I hear).
So there you go. You really can't go wrong with any of the albums. Everything from Katy Lied on up are benchmarks of recording quality and mixing excellence (their engineers have won Grammys). I don't want to play favorites with albums. The best advice I can give is that you acquire all of the old albums from the 70s (and 1980).
Francious70 said:
Enh, I don't listen to them. My dad likes them tho, but they're a little before my time. And by a little, I mean a lot.
That's no excuse. I'm just a 17-year old college student, and I've been listening to them for years. Granted, my head was constantly being filled with old music and jazz by my dad and his CD collection, but still.
For me, there's something 'magical' about Steely Dan and their music. I can listen to newer music for awhile (such as Maroon 5), but it gets tiresome. I can literally sit down and listen to Steely Dan all day. There's so much more to hear in the tunes. As a jazz pianist (not anything to scream about, mind you), I'm absolutely astounded by the kind of stuff they throw into their songs. You try giving the chord changes from Aja, Doctor Wu, or My Gold Teeth II to some average band member from a pop group. They'll be lost. Fagen and Becker will throw in Mu Major chords (their name for a major triad with an added second) in place of a nomral major chord for a minor flavor change that helps to define their sound. So I guess what makes Steely Dan what they are would be the combination of musical complexity, first-rate musicianship, state-of-the-art recording, and just plain creativity (in eveything).
Well, that's a long, rambling post. But damn. I can't stress enough how 'audiophiles' (and everyone else) should listen to Steely Dan.
