Fifty years ago, “The Dan”, as true fans refer to them – fronted by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen – began their career with a mainstream rock sound and could have been mistaken for other popular groups of the era, which may have contributed to their early success. Well, that and loads of talent to spare. Their best known song was probably Stuck In The Middle With You. (Just kidding… who’s paying attention? That was really Stealers Wheel: Gerry Rafferty and Joe Egan’s band.)
No, actually, Reelin’ In the Years and Rikki Don’t Lose That Number were most likely Steely Dan’s best known tunes. As the seventies progressed, so did songwriters Becker and Fagen, their music becoming more jazz oriented. Today, they are often categorized in the jazz rock band or jazz pop genres.
Being just a kid in the seventies (and not knowing anything about anything), I was into rock music and mostly lost interest in Steely Dan after Rikki. Only slightly more mature now, I appreciate the whole of their work: it has subtlety, a deep texture, and a sophistication that was lost on me decades ago. Steely Dan is one of the underrated bands of popular music.
This artist is consistent when it comes to album covers and the tracks associated with them. No mixing and matching allowed! The album covers you see below were the albums Steely Dan released the tracks on. The years are the release dates of the album, not the single, which was usually the year after the album.
1972
Do It Again (5:57)
1972
Dirty Work (3:08)
1972
Reelin’ In the Years (4:36)
1973
Bodhisattva (5:17)
1973
Show Biz Kids (5:25)
1973
My Old School (5:45)
1974
Rikki Don’t Lose That Number (4:32)
1974
Pretzel Logic (4:31)
1975
Black Friday (3:42)
1975
Bad Sneakers (3:20)
1976
Kid Charlemagne (4:39)
1976
The Royal Scam (6:31)
1977
Aja (8:01)
1977
Black Cow (5:11)
1977
Deacon Blues (7:37)
1977
Peg (4:01)
1977
Josie (4:31)
1978
FM (No Static at All) (4:51)
1980
Babylon Sisters (5:49)
1980
Hey Nineteen (5:08)
1980
Time Out of Mind (4:13)