PS: Dieter, thanks for that cool info. on Steely Dan.

Mr. G, which one is "IGY"? I posted "Black Cow" and "Aja" from that album long ago. That instrumental part in "Aja" is my favorite by them. One can get his mind lost for a while in that one, but not on Samsung or Apple tablet speakers!

PS: Mr. Ganderson, from my wording, I guess you'd figure I differ on the Doobie Brothers. I liked their rock stuff. There is hardly a filler tune on "The Captain and Me" or "Stamped", or, come to think of it, "What Were Once Vices are now Habits" either.

OTOH, I do like Michael McDonald's "Takin' it to the Streets." It IS more jazzy, but it's got a got a great sound. I was disappointed by "Minute by Minute". It may have been good stuff, but it was a big change from "Black Water", "China Grove" or "Neil's Fandango".

I saw Michael McDonald on a pier in Los Angeles filming a video. A couple of Mexican kids were talking and I overheard "Los Doobie Brothers" (No, not "Los Hermanos Doobies"). I just had to speak up: "That's the man who single-handedly ruined the Doobie Brothers". I'm not sure they completely took that to heart.

PS Mr. Miller- You’re right about The Nightfly”. A friend of mine named his two cats “Ruby” and “Maxine”. “IGY”could be one of the most cynical songs ever written, right up there with “Only a Fool Would Say That”.

“New Frontier” is one of my all time faves.

And speaking of Steve Miller, “Jet Airliner” rolled up on my phone while I was walking the dog today- but the Paul Pena version, not the Steve Miller version. Wonderful.

PS

The Caves of Altamira
Chain Lightning
Peg

Donald Fagen-The Nightfly is a winner that is still in heavy playlist rotation.
The 1980's as the last era of a golden age of music and movies?

PS
The Doobies, in either of their iterations never floated my boat, although I really like “Pure as the Driven Snow” and yes, “Minute by Minute”, which is on the aforementioned NY Rock and Soul Review. Oh and I love love love “Black Water”.

It’s interesting that both these bands significantly changed their sound mid career
SCTV did a funny bit once with McDonald dashing from studio to studio to lay down various backing vocals.

PS Becker's and Fagan' college years: "They never came out of their room, they stayed up all night. They looked like ghosts in black sweaters and skin so white that it looked like yogurt. Absolutely no activity, chain-smoking Lucky Strikes and dope." Fagen himself would later remember it as "probably the only time in my life that I actually had friends." - Nerdy, no?
wikipedia

PS: Mr. Ganderson, thank you for all the great notes on Steely Dan. Yeah, these guys were a really intelligent sort, compared to the average band, one can tell by the clever lyrics. On Michael McDonald, unfortunately, I know him mostly as the man who single-handedly ruined the Doobie Brothers. (He just completely changed their style with the "Minute by Minute" album.)

PeterIke, I am listening to "Barrytown" now. Great tune, which is the main thing, as lyrics can't make up for a bad tune. I haven't heard this since listening to the whole album long ago. Thanks for writing in.

PS
Now do "Barrytown"!

PS
A bit more Steely Dan errata:

there’s an album called The New York Rock and Soul Review, from 1991- Fagen rented out the Beacon and put together an all star band- Mike McDonald, Charles Brown, Phoebe Snow, the Brigati brothers from the Rascals- they did some Steely Dan numbers, and some old chestnuts like “Groovin’ “, “Knock on Wood”, etc. fun.

“What a Shame About Me” from Two Against Nature, is pretty much the same plot as Harry Chapin’s “Taxi”, except it’s not cloying and maudlin.

PS.
Pretzel Logic, (another great tune, by the way) the album, was really the last album by the band called Steely Dan. After it was Becker (RIP) and Fagen and a bunch of really good studio guys like Larry Carlton, Steve Gadd, Jay Graydon, and the ubiquitous Michael McDonald

Saw them live once- it was enjoyable, but disappointing, as they played pretty much right-off-the-record arrangements. Guess I’ve seen too many Dead shows..

Like Warren Zevon, Becker and Fagen continued to do good stuff for a long time- The album Two Against Nature (2000) stands up to any of the old stuff; and there are good tunes on The Nightfly, Morph the Cat, and Everything Must Go. “Everything Must Go” is a great song.

There are a couple albums floating around of pre Can’t Buy a Thrill tracks - worth a listen- a great, slow smoke- filled room-y version of “Brooklyn (Owes the Charmer Under Me) “ and a cool number called “Let George Do It”.

And, while I’m at it, the liner notes for Can’t Buy a Thrill are very clever.

“ High time for a walk on the real side
Let’s admit the bastards beat us
I move to dissolve the corporation
In a pool of Margaritas
So lets flick out all the lights
Light up all the Luckies
Crankin' up the afterglow
Cause we're goin' out of business
Everything must go“

Might be an epitaph for today' no?

A number of years ago at “My Old School” we used to have something called the senior variety show. A lot of lip-synching and inside jokes, which if you weren’t on the inside weren’t all that’s funny. Actually even if you were on the inside they weren’t all that funny. Most years though I’d try to get a student band together and do a song, usually of my old faves. All modesty aside, we did pretty well; in I think it was ‘98 we did John Hiatt’s “Memphis in the Meantime” - knocked ‘em dead! One year there was a kid who was a very talented saxophone player and arranger and we ( when I say we I mean he) put together a version of Steely Dan’s “Black Cow” : we had horns, chick back-up singers, the whole deal! Pretty darn good if I do say so myself!