Steely Dan- Aja (First Listen)

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  • čas přidán 7. 09. 2024
  • Welcome to the JPMP CZcams channel! We hope that you enjoy our clean content as we share our thoughts and reactions exploring artists and music we're unfamiliar with.
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Komentáře • 320

  • @thewilythylacine
    @thewilythylacine Před 4 lety +117

    The guy on the left is the equivalent of Britney Spears trying to understand quantum physics.

    • @robmorrison1043
      @robmorrison1043 Před 4 lety +17

      That may be the funniest and most accurate comment of all time!

    • @davidw2460
      @davidw2460 Před 4 lety +5

      @@robmorrison1043 I think the guy on the right is the kid that used to play Mikey on the old Life Cereal commercials - "Give it to Mikey, he won't eat it, he hates everything".

    • @alansimpson100
      @alansimpson100 Před 4 lety +4

      That is SO accurate.. I can't stop laughing

    • @timothymaier1908
      @timothymaier1908 Před 4 lety +2

      i am still laughing! You are so SPOT ON. Kind of like a Dead Kennedy's fan listening to Hayden's Cello Concerto LMAO Britney Spears and string theory : )

    • @sjd5750
      @sjd5750 Před 3 lety +3

      He's the type of guy that would be more interested in background lighting being in sync with the music than the music itsel.........Wait!..What?....Exactly.

  • @escobedf
    @escobedf Před 5 lety +49

    Aja - one of the greatest music compositions ever!

  • @jimbricker4982
    @jimbricker4982 Před 5 lety +77

    Posting this without getting to your reactions yet, but the AJA album is a solid 5 from stem to stern. Perfection.

    • @Profoundaj
      @Profoundaj Před 4 lety +3

      Stuff of legends

    • @KR-vk2wx
      @KR-vk2wx Před 4 lety +3

      @Cockney Red... I know what you mean. It took me several listening before I got Gaucho. But once I did, I was in for a treat. Sometimes you're just not in a listening mood at first. But once you HEAR the music, then it becomes quite clear.

  • @scottmcgregor562
    @scottmcgregor562 Před 5 lety +46

    The drummer on this song is Steve Gadd. He is a beast. He can do anything in any style and any genre. After their second album Steely Dan were only Donald Fagen and Walter Becker and just recorded and released albums. They were notorious for making the musicians playing on their songs to do 30 and 40 takes for each song. Also all of their songs were meticulously charted out on sheet music. You had to be an excellent musical site reader. Steve Gadd asked to have a run through to familiarize himself with the music. He then told the producer and engineer to go ahead and roll the tape to record. He played the entire song the way it was charted out out perfectly in one take. Becker and Fagen were blown away. No musician ever got one of their songs on the first take.

    • @scottmcgregor562
      @scottmcgregor562 Před 5 lety +3

      @James Smith check out Rick Beato "The Greatest Drum Solo" video. Rick is an amazing musician and producer. In this particular video he explains how this went down. Of course the drum solo is all Gadd, but the rest is chart. Doesn't matter though. Everything about his playing is unique. Nobody even plays cowbell like that guy.

    • @scottmcgregor562
      @scottmcgregor562 Před 5 lety +1

      Ok.

    • @Brax1982
      @Brax1982 Před 4 lety

      These kind of tall tales are always like "cool story, bro" to me. Rick Beato likes to hype up his favorite artists. But apparently he didn't even tell it like this.

    • @scottmcgregor562
      @scottmcgregor562 Před 4 lety +1

      @@Brax1982 I read this in Modern Drummer back in the day. The article was just called The Drummers of Steely Dan. Fortunately I have giants of reason to respond to my comment to set a simpleton like me straight.

    • @Brax1982
      @Brax1982 Před 4 lety

      @@scottmcgregor562 Haha. Don't be like that. Well, it's part marketing, part nostalgia. It's like with the "making of" videos when everyone involved praises everyone else as if it was the best thing, ever. At some point it becomes a thing of legend and hard to believe. I guess this all originates from the human need for some type of religion. Who knows, maybe it is true.

  • @matthewlee6168
    @matthewlee6168 Před 5 lety +82

    I am absolutely flabbergasted by how underwhelming y'all find Steely Dan.

    • @jpmp1201
      @jpmp1201  Před 5 lety +4

      I've been loving the 2 songs I've heard from them!
      -JP

    • @MissAstorDancer
      @MissAstorDancer Před 5 lety +4

      @@jpmp1201 JP, you are a very open-minded listener!!!! Keep it up! It will bring you so much joy!!!

    • @nattijeff
      @nattijeff Před 4 lety +2

      Must everyone love what you love? C'mon man, most of these videos they act as if the like it to get more subs. I appreciate their honest reaction.

    • @jeffbergstrom
      @jeffbergstrom Před 4 lety +4

      I read a comment elsewhere on CZcams (sorry, forget where) that Steely Dan is the band you start to love once you know how to listen to music. I remember when I was their age I was a bit meh with Steely Dan...I liked them but not wowed by them. Fast forward 20 years and wow...just an amazing band. The talent and composition and performances are all outrageously good. Becker/Fagen were perfectionists and it shows.

    • @cryptotharg7400
      @cryptotharg7400 Před 4 lety +2

      Steely Dan is "popular" music for grown-ups. 😎

  • @joelbrittain6379
    @joelbrittain6379 Před 5 lety +37

    The sax solo was by Wayne Shorter. A giant in the jazz world, to call him one of the greatest sax players of the 20th century would not be an overstatement.

    • @jpmp1201
      @jpmp1201  Před 5 lety +3

      It worked perfectly in the song. Pure bliss.
      -JP

    • @KatieRoss72
      @KatieRoss72 Před 4 lety +2

      Joni Mitchell says so absolutely loves him

  • @stevegirardmedia2255
    @stevegirardmedia2255 Před 4 lety +92

    I want to give u guys the benefit of the doubt... but at times you’re like 2 first year art students critiquing Picasso or Kandinsky.
    (... really Manny, though)
    Steely Dan reached creative and musical heights very few groups ever reach.
    They blended rock, jazz, blues, country - just about every genre - to create their own space and legacy in music.
    Manny has listened to 2 SD songs and still believes Miley Cyrus’ catalog is stronger. 🙄
    There are several albums of SD’s evolution, and you would benefit by diving in... if that’s possible for a generation grooving on auto tune and stolen samples.
    (Had to get in the obligatory ‘old guy’ screed)

    • @jaysonbiggs8979
      @jaysonbiggs8979 Před 4 lety +2

      Damn! It IS hard being patient with some of the younger generation.

    • @charsibaba6960
      @charsibaba6960 Před 4 lety +3

      Nailed it lol Love hearing guys who know very little about music criticize artists.

  • @TheCornishCockney
    @TheCornishCockney Před 5 lety +42

    As a Danhead of many many years,i remember the first time i heard Aja too and it took several plays before i "got" it,since that eureka moment,i rate Aja as their masterpiece in a career of masterpieces.
    The fact its not for everyone is strangely satisfying.
    Steely Dan fanatics would know what i meant by that immediately.
    Heres one for ya,Thin Lizzy - The Rocker.
    if you dont bang your collective heads together for that one,then night school pottery classes is all thats left for two sad individuals.....but I'm sure it wont come to that.
    And if for some reason,that doesn't do it,there is help.
    The Rolling Stones - Starfucker (all about a groupie)

    • @MorehJosiah
      @MorehJosiah Před 4 lety

      In 77, I was in 7th grade and I would put it on the turntable and then run to the store and try to return before the next track came on. I didn't get it either but shortly thereafter I turned into a musician IRONICALLY inspired by Wayne Shorter's work here and THEN.......

    • @samechick
      @samechick Před 4 lety +1

      Aja is my favorite album of all time, audio perfection.

    • @alanparsonsfan
      @alanparsonsfan Před 4 lety +1

      SD not being for everyone was, I think, precisely their intent. And to be so very good that, if you really were into music, you could not possibly ignore them.

    • @sinenominecc
      @sinenominecc Před 4 lety +2

      Masterpiece in a career of masterpieces. Amen.

  • @samechick
    @samechick Před 4 lety +2

    It will never get better than the Dan.

  • @spiderbass65
    @spiderbass65 Před 5 lety +27

    Drummer is Steve Gadd....this was his first take.

    • @jml-rj5re
      @jml-rj5re Před 3 lety +2

      Two takes. Pieced together.

  • @rogercarter1265
    @rogercarter1265 Před 4 lety +33

    Its hilarious listening to newbies analyzing genius music like Steely Dan. These guys have no idea. Try listening to the Dan for a few decades like some of us. Maybe then you’ll get it. This is as painful as Taylor Swift doing a critique of Beethoven.

    • @samechick
      @samechick Před 4 lety

      It's funny but also at times a little infuriating.

    • @garyglaser4998
      @garyglaser4998 Před 4 lety +2

      I know. The guy on the left thinks a lot of himself. LOL.

    • @jaysonbiggs8979
      @jaysonbiggs8979 Před 4 lety

      Wow! You nailed it. Unfortunately.

    • @redplanet9162
      @redplanet9162 Před 4 lety

      @roger Carter be nice! I know what you mean but don't be a snob. But yeah it is painful at times 😆 Some newbies Do get it tho. But very few

    • @eboethrasher
      @eboethrasher Před 3 lety +2

      Dude. The ENTIRE concept of these channels is to react to songs you have never heard. What you are suggesting goes against that entirely. Could you critique the Dan perfectly upon hearing your second song if it was Aja? Know what you are commenting on before you go off with your gatekeeping. I've been listening to Aja since the 80s, so of course I know that this song is the pinnacle of pinnacles. But I watch these reactions to see people take a journey into enjoying new music. Don't act all superior, educate.

  • @scottishpride222
    @scottishpride222 Před 5 lety +16

    As a kid i hated when My dad played steely dan, Donalds voice annoyed me to Bits, but now im forever grateful that he did.

  • @melaniefelsher4356
    @melaniefelsher4356 Před 4 lety +9

    This album was said to be so well produced that it used to be used to check speakers and sound systems.

    • @eboethrasher
      @eboethrasher Před 3 lety

      oh fuuurrrr shuurrrreee. The album is a masterpiece.

  • @golgiapparatus1428
    @golgiapparatus1428 Před 5 lety +45

    Try Kid Charlemagne by Steely Dan

  • @robertleeluben
    @robertleeluben Před 4 lety +2

    The masters of writing happy sounding songs about dark subjects.

  • @tbloopner
    @tbloopner Před 4 lety +1

    oh and FYI, what Bonham plays on 'fool in the rain' and what you hear on 'home at last' is called the Purdy shuffle, 4.4 time, actually set to 12/8, polyrhythmic. 4 sets of four quarter note triplets and a back beat on the three

  • @jimhardiman3836
    @jimhardiman3836 Před 4 lety +11

    Yes Donald Fagen is the king of the Schmaltzy vocal inflection, but that's part of the Steeley Dan vibe and charm. Love it or leave it.

  • @wpollock1
    @wpollock1 Před 5 lety +17

    I don't disagree with you often, but I think this is a stone 5. Steve Gadd on drums is fantastic. This is a song, however, that is split in two parts - lyric and non lyric sections. I think multiple hearings of it to appreciate it fully. Just my vote.

    • @jpmp1201
      @jpmp1201  Před 5 lety

      I liked the song a LOT; not a 5 since that means it really "does" something to me on a personal level, but i've been enjoying it since this vid.
      -JP

  • @helgar791
    @helgar791 Před 5 lety +23

    So he likes the drummer triplets but can't appreciate Wayne Shorter soloing over 3 key changes and a change in time signatures. Why am I not surprised?

    • @NRobles93
      @NRobles93 Před 4 lety

      Rhythm is king. Rhythm is more native to the audience ear.

    • @cirenosnor5768
      @cirenosnor5768 Před 4 lety +2

      Hel Gar - Yeah, I know. I think sophisticated music like Steely Dan is more thoroughly appreciated by musicians. Even if they don’t like the material, the level of musicianship is understood by most open minded musicians. He appreciates the triplets while a musician is more likely to say “were those drums done in one take?” or “who’s on sax?” -never mind the production values here. Gotta say, after watching this, their opinions have no value for me
      1 second ago

    • @eboethrasher
      @eboethrasher Před 3 lety

      @@cirenosnor5768 I've got cookies for you based upon how little value your statement has for me.

    • @cirenosnor5768
      @cirenosnor5768 Před 3 lety

      eboe - I’m sorry...who are you again? I was responding to Hel Gar’s post. So I’m rather dumbfounded as to why I should care how little value my statement means to you. Stay in your lane

  • @gerrycoogan6544
    @gerrycoogan6544 Před 3 lety +4

    Dude on the left makes me think of a dog sniffing a chess set. It'll never figure it out and nobody can make it understand.

  • @leehenderson8132
    @leehenderson8132 Před 2 lety

    FIRST STEELY DAN IS MY MOST FAVORITE MUSIC EVER.EVER.I LISTEN TO THEM OVER AND OVER.SEEN THEM TWICE AND MISS SIR WALTER BECKER ALOHA BRUDDA.

  • @iloveanimals1662
    @iloveanimals1662 Před 4 lety +2

    I worked in a Vegan restaurant in the Lake District in the 70,s and Steely Dan were played on loop

  • @hillarysloveletterstolorne1496

    Aja my favorite Steely Dan song, by far. It will grow on ya too:) thanks for the reaction.

  • @haha69sexnumber
    @haha69sexnumber Před 4 lety +8

    Wayne Shorter on tenor sax on this track. A legend

  • @davidhattman7649
    @davidhattman7649 Před 4 lety +5

    My friend do you really know what song structure is?

  • @bobziadie2988
    @bobziadie2988 Před 4 lety +1

    The dude in the left is kind of clueless. This song is eight minutes of musical perfection. The amount of music in this song is insane and the number of different instruments used is amazing. Name another song that uses an xylophone in it. Step up your appreciation for one of the great groups of all time.

  • @charsibaba6960
    @charsibaba6960 Před 4 lety

    As musicians say "they don't know , and they don't know they don't know "

  • @TexasMagnolia
    @TexasMagnolia Před 5 lety +5

    Steely Dan...so smooth.

  • @pepitoperez9616
    @pepitoperez9616 Před 4 lety +3

    Steely Dan, an amazing band. One of the very few groups admired by jazz musicians. Please, think about that.

  • @tonyallen4265
    @tonyallen4265 Před 5 lety +6

    SD's deeper cuts are my favs: With a Gun, Any Major Dude, Razor Boy, Here at the Western World, Through with Buzz, Chain Lightning.

    • @MorehJosiah
      @MorehJosiah Před 4 lety

      That's interesting that you mentioned Pretzel Logic tracks. I envisioned the song "Western World" to come right after "Any Major Dude" even though I believe it was written years later for the FM soundtrack

    • @danalogue
      @danalogue Před 4 lety +1

      Maxine and The Goodbye Look from The Nightfly by Donald Fagen.

    • @robertpaulsr7312
      @robertpaulsr7312 Před 4 lety

      Yes! Absolutely!

  • @rmac1042
    @rmac1042 Před 4 lety +2

    Wayne is playing tenor. Steve Gadd’s outro is one of the greatest drum solos in pop music!

  • @davidcarroll1883
    @davidcarroll1883 Před 4 lety +9

    It's really fun watching your generation listen to and try to understand the music my generation grew up with. You will never understand "Kid Charlemagne." One hint: it's about drugs.

    • @SucculentSoul7
      @SucculentSoul7 Před 4 lety +2

      david carroll I just rolled my eyes and laugh at these guys’ comments. They are what they are... kids. Smdh. I don’t even know why they try to do this without researching about the genius behind Steely Dan first to get a real appreciation that no other artist today will ever reach such perfection.

    • @britishrocklovingyank3491
      @britishrocklovingyank3491 Před 4 lety +2

      It's because the kids are boring. It's is so depressing. I want them to rebel and be amazing but they are only dull and bland. A generation of drying paint.

    • @31wst83
      @31wst83 Před 4 lety

      @@britishrocklovingyank3491 Couldn't agree with you more...a very dull, lifeless, generation.

    • @maxbeardsley2128
      @maxbeardsley2128 Před 4 lety

      @@31wst83 some... lol, im 18 and Steely dan is my favorite band by a long shot. I prefer this music over autotuned vocals and sampled fake instruments... there's just something that's present when real musicians get together in the studio and record an album as great as this one

    • @eboethrasher
      @eboethrasher Před 3 lety

      Here's a clue, when in doubt, stick with Wheaton's law: Don't be a dick. Don't assume they won't figure out from the lyrics of Kid Charlemagne that those lyrics are about drugs. Hell, I didn't know that it was about Stanley Oswley himself until I read about it somewhere else.

  • @karenscales5077
    @karenscales5077 Před 4 lety +1

    Masterpiece

  • @boxofstars5491
    @boxofstars5491 Před 5 lety +17

    Like all music, you should let it take you on the journey first and when the journey has finished you can recount the trip. Seems to me that you seem to spend too much time breaking it down second by second whilst listening and consequently miss the journey. Try living the music and you may end up visiting places you have not been before. This Steely Dan track (and album) are technical masterpieces, whether you like them or not is personal choice.
    Love the repartee for entertainment but I find it a bit frustrating listening to a breakdown of a technically brilliant piece like this, into "bite size" pieces which when taken in isolation no longer make any artistic sense. Great that you listen to music like this as it is so important that it gets to be heard by a wider audience.
    Manny, if you don't get Steely Dan I think you have a very long journey ahead. Keep it up, the vids are great.

    • @MissAstorDancer
      @MissAstorDancer Před 5 lety

      "Aja", both the song and the entire album, are the kind of song where you should sit back comfortable, close your eyes, tune out the world, and let the music take you, like you said, Boxofstars! Then, let your viewers see your smiles break out and your body move as you react to the music. Don't worry so much about interacting with the camera. And don't forget to notice the fantastically clever lyrics in any song by The Dan!

    • @boxofstars5491
      @boxofstars5491 Před 5 lety +5

      @@MissAstorDancer If only the idea of spending an hour with Steely Dan was normal. Earth would be a much more chilled place to be.

    • @tallykev6608
      @tallykev6608 Před 4 lety

      Great reply!

  • @Profoundaj
    @Profoundaj Před 4 lety +1

    Bro, Steely Dan/Donald Fagen is the real deal. The most critical thing about his lyrics and vocals is that you have to decipher them. Always a thought out and deep complex message. Thanks for the review.

  • @cat-o-matic
    @cat-o-matic Před 5 lety +3

    Nice tune, great album. 1977 had a bumper crop of great albums. Steely Dan is a love 'em or hate 'em band. Some people don't like blended Canadian whiskey, just like some people don't like New York/Boston jazz blended with LA rock. You can keep the bottle, but I'll take the tunes. Score it a big 'ol jazzy 3.6

    • @sidecardog5244
      @sidecardog5244 Před 5 lety

      Edward Ballew : Clue number 1: “Naked Lunch”

  • @Grizazzle
    @Grizazzle Před 5 lety +1

    Big fan of Steely Dan. Thanks for the listen!

  • @SPohl-zy4rz
    @SPohl-zy4rz Před 5 lety +2

    You're killin' me here. Fagen's (loner and somewhat haunting) vocals are the trademark sound of the Dan. There's always a story within those lyrics and in this case a bit sad and reflective. Becker and Fagen (the group's creators/composers) were English lit majors and their lyrics are poetry. The beauty, complexity and sophistication of their music is unmatched. p.s. Find the time to listen to Fagen and Becker's conversations about their music, i.e." the making of Peg." Also, Fagen's explanation of chord changes (in the video "Donald Fagen talks about Peg") is a fascinating glimpse into music theory and the way his mind works.

    • @MissAstorDancer
      @MissAstorDancer Před 5 lety

      Great post, very true and well-written! And I also recommend watching all of the "making of" vids with the guys! But it could be that doing that is only for the true Dan fanatic!

  • @stewlincs8377
    @stewlincs8377 Před 4 lety +2

    Steely Dan’s musicianship and production is amazing - a totally unique sound blending rock,pop and jazz. The lyrics bring another layer altogether - searing sarcasm and irony in most tracks. I guess you either get them or you don’t and these two don’t. I think this late 1970s recording is stunning and is probably only matched (but not bettered) in its era, by Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours album.

  • @derpherbert3199
    @derpherbert3199 Před 5 lety +5

    Hey, I hope the last 2 SD songs didn't make you feel like the band isn't for you. Aja is the unifying piece of a "concept album" with the other songs around it reflecting a more singular style/genre while Aja has to tie the whole Album together. It's a great pice of music but quite dense and may take a few goes at it. Other songs suggested may be completely different!

  • @SynergyCeleste
    @SynergyCeleste Před 4 lety +1

    FIRST of all, you need to listen to Various songs from their Catalog... I agree that Donald Fagen has an unusual voice, but he has awesome backup singers too. You NEED to watch the documentary on the making of AJA.. czcams.com/video/8sdMV9TzMkc/video.html
    "Becker and Fagen, renowned for their relentless perfectionism in the recording studio, recall the history of an album that was a year in the making, but rewarded with a Grammy Award and three hit singles. Steely Dan's Aja has proven to be one of the most outstanding jazz-rock albums in the history of popular music and now its story is told in this fascinating documentary."

  • @fifthhorseman6933
    @fifthhorseman6933 Před 5 lety +8

    Sade
    Her diamond life album is a one of a kind

  • @tugg59
    @tugg59 Před 4 lety

    luv this song 😊👍

  • @chrisbarlow2131
    @chrisbarlow2131 Před 4 lety

    Listening to Steely Dan is like looking at a work of art, like a painting. You find you have to keep looking and looking into it until you see it for what it truly is. The same can be said for The Dan. You need to listen to it again and again and the penny will finally drop.

  • @cordellsenior9935
    @cordellsenior9935 Před 4 lety +1

    Oy. Whoever said "Youth is wasted on the young" was spot on. What ignorant blasphemy. This is painfully amusing watching these young folks arrive at the inevitable conclusion that this award-winning recording industry classic is a thumbs up or down, while the rest of us folks who lived through it KNOW. It's like, right in the middle of it, we know you aint heard nuth'n yet. Not to mention this work of ART concludes with one of the greatest drum solos ever recorded (thank you Steve Gadd). Anything less than a 10 out of 10 means you now NOTHING about ANYTHING. Cruise ship music??? Wow. The iconic sardonic lyrics and harmonies this kid on the left found distracting. Imagine, these kids don't like Fagan's distinct and stylized voice and phrasings. He may not be a Sinatra but he's aint no Bob Dylan. (Then again these guys don't know who those people are either.) It's the perfect album, Aja; one of few ever laid down. Please move ahead and shovel some blissfully ignorant disrespect on Marvin Gaye's "What's Go'n On" album.

  • @rmac1042
    @rmac1042 Před 4 lety +3

    First of all, that’s not an alto. It’s Wayne Shorter on tenor. Secondly, the drummer is Steve Gadd. Victor Feldman is on piano.

  • @johnfontenault338
    @johnfontenault338 Před 3 lety

    Guys, thanks for the breakdown. I enjoyed your opinions. Please do some research on this song and its place in music history. By most this album, highlighted by this song, is one of the most influential. Steve Gadd's drum solo also historically one of the most technically challenging. There are breakdown videos that go into it in great detail. Love your reactions though as guys not from that era.

  • @peedy2k9
    @peedy2k9 Před 3 lety

    One of the very best examples of music in its truest form, played by some of the very best musicians of that time and beyond!!

  • @CthulhuWaitsDreaming
    @CthulhuWaitsDreaming Před 4 lety +1

    This song and "King Of The World" are my favorite Steely Dan songs.

  • @MrFballard
    @MrFballard Před 4 lety

    Context and personal experience is everything when giving these irreverent musical geniuses their pioneering due. So happy and grateful I lived and breathed the SteelyDan experience firsthand. My all-time favorite group! Keep listening you two...and your "reactions" will grow with age. It's not so much the subjectivity of the music that matters most...it's the living memories and creativity of an amazing generation...my generation. It's touches the very soul! Becker/Fagen recorded my generation with sublime irreverance and healthy self- deprication😎

  • @yes642
    @yes642 Před 5 lety +6

    Next Steely Dan song should be the Rock station classic Reelin' In The Years. My favorite Steely Dan song.

  • @wallacegrommet9343
    @wallacegrommet9343 Před 4 lety +2

    The audio equalization on your track is a bit bass heavy, but strangely the high range seems present, but almost no mid range

  • @BrianR.
    @BrianR. Před 5 lety +5

    Wow! Reviewing a good song and band. Time to go out and buy a lottery ticket.

  • @rmac1042
    @rmac1042 Před 4 lety +2

    You guys should understand the lyrics; they’re symbolic of the drug culture. The lyrics are genius.

  • @welles2002
    @welles2002 Před 4 lety

    With all due respect guys , but you have just wrote off one of the most original and creative songs ever recorded. I could go on for a month but I won't .

  • @alanatwood1243
    @alanatwood1243 Před 5 lety +3

    Royal Scam, title track. Listen, learn and love it.

  • @shanehenderson4809
    @shanehenderson4809 Před 5 lety +2

    well done boys showing great maturity.especially Justin.

  • @PeckiePeck
    @PeckiePeck Před rokem

    Sign of the guy on the left not getting it: talking through the slickest part of the song at 7:23.

  • @vincemiller682
    @vincemiller682 Před 5 lety +4

    Deacon Blues by Steely Dan

    • @MissAstorDancer
      @MissAstorDancer Před 5 lety

      Absolutely an EPIC, stunningly beautiful and heartbreaking song!

  • @astrogoodvibes6164
    @astrogoodvibes6164 Před 4 lety +1

    I'm always cool with folks who have varying tastes in music...just means more Steely Dan for me.

  • @Ralf09
    @Ralf09 Před 4 lety +1

    First comment is about the lights.... hello?

  • @robertkess9907
    @robertkess9907 Před 4 lety +1

    The master Steve Gadd on drums, man he brings it on this song. If you liked this, check out several live versions where the drummer (not Steve Gadd btw) just kills this song at the end.

  • @melvinwagner3989
    @melvinwagner3989 Před 4 lety +5

    A swing and a miss boys. I give you a two as reviewers.

    • @eboethrasher
      @eboethrasher Před 3 lety

      I give you a zero on your reading comprehension, to understand the difference between someone doing a first listen reaction video versus a true review. Normal reviewers listen to something multiple times before giving a review. These guys and other ones like them listen to the song once and immediately give their opinion. Those are called reaction videos. Imagine your first time you ever heard Aja, and the only other song you had ever heard by them was Do It Again. That's what these guys are working with.

    • @melvinwagner3989
      @melvinwagner3989 Před 3 lety

      @@eboethrasher excuses, excuses, excuses. These bitches couldn't review cookies and milk. My reading comprehension is fine too. It seems your intellect has suffered an emotional whack. I know music, I studied the Classics. Rock and pop are fun as well. I've seen a few of the reviewers on YT. These guys suck. At least on this review. Go back to your puzzles. I'm sure you are still figuring out what to do with the square peg.

  • @Divedown_25
    @Divedown_25 Před 5 lety +1

    Oh. Steely Dan. One of the most interesting what you call it, progressive jazz soul maybe. Softer than Yes but still with very surprising elements coming in, tempo shift and soft melodies in solos, but as always you either dig it or not. Me years of listening to progressive rock and jazz rock in the 70s simply loved it. They had a hiatus in the 80.s before regrouping again in the 90... One of the best groups out there. To close your eyes and just your heartbeat slow down

    • @jpmp1201
      @jpmp1201  Před 5 lety

      Yeah this was good. Thanks Peter!
      -JP

    • @Divedown_25
      @Divedown_25 Před 5 lety

      JPMP thanks for replying. Highly appreciated. Btw, i did not see that you have done Firth of Fifth by Genesis 1974. A masterpiece that you could add if you want some of the beat of “real• Genesis

  • @jaysonbiggs8979
    @jaysonbiggs8979 Před 4 lety +1

    The song is about Richard Nixon's return to China in 1977 after Watergate (1973-74) and his resignation. He was welcomed by the Chinese govt. as if he was still President. I remember seeing it on TV and the commentators trying to explain it. They couldn't. Nixon is the I and me in the song. Aja is China.

  • @dana_brooke_27
    @dana_brooke_27 Před 5 lety +1

    Great song..very jazz💖

  • @shith00k
    @shith00k Před 3 lety

    Like teaching my dog algebra. She wags her tail a lot but doesn't grasp the concepts. In this era of autotune, MP3, homogenous music it doesn't surprise me these fellas are in over their head's listening to the Dan.

  • @frankrios6507
    @frankrios6507 Před 5 lety +2

    Music to make you think .I think !

  • @CoronaryArteryDisease.

    Few musicians can do this song justice. This song REQUIRES multiples listens to understand what they are doing with musical theory and instrumental prowess.

  • @vineflower
    @vineflower Před 4 lety +1

    Guys, that cruise ship part is so hard to compose. The chord changes are so complex for anything that even resembles pop music. The fact that it sounds like cruise ship music is actually a statement to how good they are hiding such complex jazz in pop.

  • @robertweaver2960
    @robertweaver2960 Před 5 lety

    Don't overthink the vocals/lyrics. The musicianship is what sets this piece apart.

    • @jpmp1201
      @jpmp1201  Před 5 lety

      Definitely enjoy all the instrumentation.
      -JP

    • @MissAstorDancer
      @MissAstorDancer Před 5 lety

      I disagree with you, Robert. SD's lyrics are a trip all by themselves, even just reading them without the music! But the combo of their incredibly clever, cryptic, sarcastic and sometimes heartbreaking lyrics, and their memorable melodies, and the unmatched musicianship they insisted upon, are the things that make them so unique and genius! And the longer you listen to them (the more of their catalog you digest), the more Donald's voice grows on you!

  • @DonII1980
    @DonII1980 Před 3 lety

    Not triplets in the drum solo, those are 6 stroke rolls around the toms by the LEGEND himself, Steve Gadd!!

  • @paxwallacejazz
    @paxwallacejazz Před 4 lety +1

    The commenter who compared you two bozos to 1st year art students attempting to critique Kandinsky or Picasso hit the nail on the head. If you're trying to expand your ability to "hear" then you might want to begin to explore the connection between Harmony and human affective response. Between expressivity and structural ambiguity. You need to start with the origins of our modern tonal vocabulary ie. (Tempered tuning). Steely Dan like jazz and film music and the whole western tradition since Bach is the direct result what I'm trying to draw your attention to. Western music history is among other things a high speed composer driven power dive into higher and higher levels of chromaticism expressed both virtically and horizontally through melodic manipulation modulation and chromatically altered harmonies untill this largly invisible process brought about the 20th century crisis in tonality in the early 20th century. If you're interested start with Bernstein's Unanswered Question 6 lectures on You Tube from 1973 a time before the great dimming. But you guys "are" the high tech dark age at this point: the great dimming

  • @mhlevy
    @mhlevy Před 4 lety

    The entire album "Aja" is considered by many audio engineers, producers, and musicians, a nearly perfect album, both muscly and in the engineering and production. This was long before digital manipulation. There's a video out about the making of Aja, and it's well worth watching. Even before this album, Steely Dan was no longer a band, but a project by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, along with original SD guitarist Denny Dias. But the real leaders were Fagan and Becker, and since the mid-late 70s, they've worked with studio musicians, rather than having their own "band." Aja had the "who's who" of California studio musicians perform. On drums, they had Bernard Purdie, Rick Marotta, Jim Keltner, and playing on this song, the incredible Steve Gadd. They had the 2 top studio guitarists, Lee Ritenour and Larry Carlton, as well as Denny Dias and several others. They had the great Chuck Rainey (they had no need for another bassist!) They would have different line ups come in, mix the musicians around until they found the exact combination that sounded best to these 2 guys. I believe for one of the songs, they had 7 different guitarists play the solo, and they found one that worked better for them than any other. But the entire album is amazing.

    • @michaelbaucom4019
      @michaelbaucom4019 Před 4 lety

      Walter Becker is an excellent bass player too, especially on the earlier Dan work. On Aja forward, he became more of a guitarist rather than bassist, especially when they started touring more

  • @yes642
    @yes642 Před 5 lety +6

    You've done a couple of Yes songs, but you haven't reacted to their most well-known song, Roundabout. Give it a listen!

  • @michaelnoviello6302
    @michaelnoviello6302 Před 2 lety +1

    Its simple...if you dont get this...you are just not cool!

  • @hamdemon99
    @hamdemon99 Před 4 lety

    The Power of Steve Gadd. Gets 'em every time.
    Steely Dan tracks are vastly different so explore them

  • @jimcole9751
    @jimcole9751 Před 4 lety +1

    Steely Dan is a very complex Band time changes many layers to the music. Lyrics can be very obscure and intellectual. Musicianship is second to none. Maybe you're just not mature enough intellectually to appreciate it.... but everybody's entitled to their opinion.

  • @jimmybalantyne5545
    @jimmybalantyne5545 Před 4 lety +1

    This, in a nutshell, is the problem with the internet. FFS.

  • @stevemartin4249
    @stevemartin4249 Před 4 lety +1

    Yeah, 'Do It Again' was a great song, but a "3' and a'4.4' ... for the likes of Larry Carlton, Wayne Shorter, and Steve Gadd? Well, you gave it a try, and maybe on 'first listen', can be forgiven. Check out the 'Three Listen Rule' ... czcams.com/video/NrjOo0A-bDc/video.html
    I know this kind of 'sharing' channel necessarily contains more than a bit of confidence-verging-on-vanity, but remember that when one finger points at a musical performance, three point back at your own ears - and a few of us see it, and can't help but to smile.
    Will give your ears a few more years to grow, and then suggest something a bit more challenging, like Herbie Hancock's 'Little One', Bill Evans' 'Time Remembered', Esperanza Spaulding's cover of 'Endangered Species', Oregon's 'Grazing Dreams', or Pat Metheny's 'First Circle' ... ooops ... Just realized you, Justin, DID listen to 'First Circle' and I upvoted that reaction. A thousand pardons. 😌
    But then ... I know someone will look at my suggestions - and suggest my ears need to age a bit as well. 🤣
    Cheers from Japan.

  • @jimbricker4982
    @jimbricker4982 Před 5 lety +1

    Donald Fagen's New York voice does take some getting used to. The drummer on that track is Steve Gadd, and that performance remains a clinic in groove, feel, and fury; a standard rarely surpassed since 1977 when AJA came out.
    I think the term Manny may had been searching for is "Yacht Rock."
    Recommendations for other Steely Dan: for something with a bit more tooth, try "Kid Charlemagne;" for even more Yacht, and with the best horn arrangements ever, try "Babylon Sisters."

  • @robmorrison1043
    @robmorrison1043 Před 4 lety +3

    Cruise ship music! LMAO. Your lost. I can never listen to your opinion again.
    LMAO! You didn't like the structure? Lol. The song is one of the classic all time masterpieces off one of the classic albums of all time. A MASTERPIECE IN ENGINEERING, RECORDING, PRODUCTION AND MUSICIANSHIP. You guys need to go on a cruise together and educate yourselves on quality music!

  • @billyruben2269
    @billyruben2269 Před 5 lety +8

    find something better I dare you

  • @fabioyamamoto292
    @fabioyamamoto292 Před 3 lety

    Dude, you guys almost didn’t know what a triplet is. Giving your opinion on SD is actually funny 😆

  • @jaysonbiggs8979
    @jaysonbiggs8979 Před 4 lety +2

    "The vocals detracted for you?" Goodbye. I'm out. For good. Have a nice day.

    • @eboethrasher
      @eboethrasher Před 3 lety

      I doubt they will miss you. I wouldn't.

  • @32anna2538
    @32anna2538 Před 3 lety

    thewilythylacine, you are absolutely right.

  • @masterofparsnips5327
    @masterofparsnips5327 Před 5 lety +4

    If you like this you should try Zappa, "Blessed Relief". Also Zappa "Peaches En Regalia" .. both instrumentals !!

    • @rmac1042
      @rmac1042 Před 4 lety

      John Duxbury No offense to you personally! Zappa was an asshole and treated his musicians like shit-holding back their pay and demeaning them! I heard this from a musician that was in his band. I’ve never cared for his material much anyway, but what I heard from others, including the previously mentioned musician, just reinforced my opinions of him!

  • @joefilter2923
    @joefilter2923 Před 5 lety +2

    Kids these days just don’t get angular banjos

  • @hklinker
    @hklinker Před 4 lety +1

    I’m trying to put myself in the shoes of these reviewers. Coming in cold to SD is a big ask. It took me many years to appreciate this band in the way I now do. Also, there have always been people who never warmed to the sound, or the many sounds, of SD. There has always been more there though than meets the ear.

  • @RoofingTime
    @RoofingTime Před 4 lety +1

    You have to look up the Making of the Asia album to appreciate what goes into their music

  • @tim5365
    @tim5365 Před 3 lety

    The entire "Aja" album (1977) is amazing. Wayne Shorter of Weather Report on the tenor sax solo.

  • @f.fields2703
    @f.fields2703 Před 4 lety

    Thanks for trying some real music by real musicians, recorded without all the fancy auto-tune and computer aided stuff of today. The SD catalogue is like a house full of Van Gogh paintings and consist of music that never gets old. Listen with headphones and discover new sounds every time you play it. Next, do Kid Charlemagne or Don't take me alive from the '76 album the Royal Scam.

  • @thomaspaine7107
    @thomaspaine7107 Před 5 lety +3

    My Old School... please.

  • @notslickgaming6015
    @notslickgaming6015 Před 4 lety +1

    Hey Nineteen might be my favorite Steely Dan song.
    You should research the very interesting origin of the band's name too.

  • @crimmo54
    @crimmo54 Před 5 lety +5

    Try Hey Nineteen.

  • @SucculentSoul7
    @SucculentSoul7 Před 4 lety

    That’s because young people don’t appreciate REAL music that took the genius of Fagen and Becker’s intricate compilation of musicians reaching the height of musical perfection. You guys are used to watered down, thrown together non-creative garbage that is today’s music. Why don’t you go watch the documentaries of how Steely Dan shaped the world of music that made them who they are today. Name one artist today who makes music from inner passion and not to gain fortune and fame. Yeah, that’s what I thought. Besides the instrumental parts, there really is genius in the lyrical, vocal and meaning behind this song. 🤓🤓👈🏽👎🏽

  • @pepitoperez9616
    @pepitoperez9616 Před 4 lety

    I agree with Steve Girard.

  • @chrisnealis4270
    @chrisnealis4270 Před 4 lety +1

    One of the most paradigm shifting songs in the history of recorded music... “Sounded forgettable”. 🤦🏻‍♂️

  • @rob589
    @rob589 Před 5 lety +4

    One of the slowest songs in their canon, try MY OLD SCHOOL instead to get the blood pumping

    • @MissAstorDancer
      @MissAstorDancer Před 5 lety

      That's a great song, but it's "Reelin' In the Years" that gets MY blood pumping!

    • @michaelbaucom4019
      @michaelbaucom4019 Před 4 lety +1

      Or, "Bodhisattva", or "Black Friday".

  • @hoosiermaker2358
    @hoosiermaker2358 Před 5 lety

    A chill, laying by the pool with a pink colada, kinda tune. It was for me in the 70s, anyway..