This is the first and only Steely Dan record to have the same drummer and bassist on all tracks. As a side note, Walter Becker played bass on every track on this record as well as Keith Carlock playing drums on all tracks. The song seems to be about American consumerism and conformity or the end of civilization as we know it, or both.Įither way, “The Last Mall,” is a great track and great guitar work by Walter Becker. “The Last Mall,” is a great example of Steely Dan presenting us with a nice happy sounding tune containing some deep dark and depressing subject matter. In the second verse we hear a little call and answer between Fagen’s vocal and Becker’s guitar similar to the one in the tune “Pretzel Logic.” Becker takes a solo around the 2:06 mark followed by more call and answer. The tune starts off with Walter Becker’s guitar and his trademark sound and groove backed by a bouncy shuffle rhythm played by Keith Carlock on drums, reminiscent of Donald Fagen’s “I.G.Y.:
Opening up our list is “The Last Mall,” from the latest (and perhaps last) Steely Dan album Everything Must Go. However, in the end, this article is a tribute to all the great musicians who played on these recordings. Their songs are filled with quirky lyrics about sketchy characters and Donald and Walter’s childhood memories and failed relationships. Steely Dan’s albums are saturated with impeccably recorded songs with amazing jazz voicings from what seems like another planet. This article presents forty of Steely Dan’s greatest guitar tracks. From Walter Becker, Denny Dias and Skunk Baxter who were permanent fixtures to the likes of Larry Carlton, Elliott Randall, Rick Derringer, Lee Ritinour, Jay Graydon, Dean Parks and Steve Kahn. Steely Dan’s list of guitar players reads like a who’s who of the music business. When it comes to Classic Rock, the guitar has to be the quintessential rock instrument. Steely Dan’s recordings have been infused with some of the most iconic and brilliant guitar solos in classic rock history. The point of this article however is to cover one particular aspect of Steely Dan’s work. In 1974, with the release of Pretzel Logic, Fagen and Becker would use studio musicians exclusively for their albums, with Dias and Baxter returning as hired guns on later records. Most band members fail miserably in the recording studio. It takes a special type of musician to play the parts perfectly when the red light goes on.
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Becker and Fagen seemed to have come to a realization early on that the utilization of professional studio musicians enabled them to capture the sound they were looking to place on vinyl. The recordings also featured a host of brilliant session musicians. In 1972, the group moved to California and recorded their first album entitled Can’t Buy A Thrill. They would keep this same basic lineup for their first three albums. The new members included Jeff (Skunk) Baxter on guitar, Jim Hodder on drums and David Palmer (Dirty Work) on vocals. Walter Becker and Donald Fagen recruited some great talent to replace the fired band members. Eventually, Becker and Fagen took over the band and fired them all the original musicians except Diaz. The birth of Steely Dan began in 1970 when guitarist Denny Dias placed an ad in The Village Voice looking for a keyboard and bass player who had “Serious Jazz Chops!.” Fagen and Becker answered the ad and began playing and recording in Dias’ basement in Hicksville, Long Island. After college, Fagen and Becker would work on various musical projects such as film scoring and recording with Jay And The Americans from 1970-1971. They headed up several bands in college including one called Bad Rock Group which featured comedian Chevy Chase of Saturday Night Live fame on drums. Donald Fagen played keyboards while Walter Becker played bass and guitar. At college, they were both studying to become literature majors.īesides their literature studies, Fagen and Becker had serious musical interests as well to put it lightly. The two met at Bard College in Annandale, New York in the 1960s. The core members of Steely Dan have always been Donald Fagen and the late Walter Becker who passed away in 2017. I’m sure there are still some people who think there is a guy named Steely Dan who’s been recording pop songs since the 70s. In fact, for a large portion of their career Steely Dan has not been a band at all. Steely Dan is a band that is sometimes categorized as yacht rock or soft rock etc.
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