Songs Everybody
Should Know
“Rikki Don’t Lose
That Number” by Steely Dan (1974)
Welcome to the funky bohemia that is Steely Dan. Building
a complex musical web around lyrics that run the gamut about anything from love
to bandits, to greed, lust, and glory and back again. The jazz-infused mosaic of life is almost parody-like.
A thinking man’s funk, Steely Dan delivers a diverse, rich sound while taking
you to some of the weirdest places you could ever go – and yet they seem
familiar in some strange way…
From peddling their songs door-to-door in the famous
song-writer Brill building in the late ‘60’s in NY to becoming song writers in
L.A., to having their own band, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker are a blend of
malicious sinister cynicism and perfectionist rock-jazz fusionists’.
The name ‘Steely Dan’ seems like a left over remnant of a
past age – the beat poets. That is because it is. William Burrough’s novel,
"Naked Lunch" refers to ‘Steely Dan’ – it is a dildo. Thus begins the
quiet, yet persistent anarchy that is Steely Dan.
Donald Fagen and Walter Becker met at ‘Bards College’ in NY
1969 (yes it does sound like something out of ‘Skyrim’ kids) and shared
interests in jazz, blues, pop music and contemporary literature. Their shared enjoyment
of dark or ‘gallows’ humor would underpin their work and their lives.
As song writers, they worked on the side to put together
a great little band with Denny Dias (Guitar), Jeff "Skunk" Baxter
(guitar), Jim Hodder (drums) and David Palmer (vocals). They release “Can’t Buy
a Thrill” which as far as first efforts go, is astonishing! They hit big with “Reelin’
In the Years”, Dirty Work”, “Do It Again”, “Only a Fool Would Say That” – a great
flowing, fantastic album; one of my favorites to this day. They thought the engineering could have been
better. Really, and ruin the flavour?
Remarkably they followed it up with “Countdown to Ecstasy”
in 1973. Hitting us with more eclectic, darker songs they are off into the abyss
– a cool abyss. “Countdown” spun out ‘Bodhisattva’
which actually means someone bound for enlightenment, morally or spiritually in
buddhahood - with a gung-honess motivated by deep compassion for others. O.K.
so they are a bit sarcastic about it in the blaze of Becker riffs and Fagen tongue-in-cheek.
1974’s “Pretzel Logic” continues the cynical tour of the seedy
West Coast but leaves us the brilliant “Rikki Don’t Lose that Number”. An instrument
called a ‘flapamba’ (a variant of a marimba) introduces the song. The solo by
Skunk Baxter soars on this, their most successful single of their career at
number 4. They never even had a top 1, 2 or 3 single. Weird. - O.k. yes they can be that and maybe that is
part of the explanation. Their popularity just grew and grew like a bad weed in
a Los Angeles sidewalk.
It is said that the keyboard riff for “Rikki Don’t Lose
that Number” was lifted from "Song For My Father," which was released
in 1964 by Jazz composer and pianist Horace Silver – the opening is very similar.
They did seem to ‘borrow’ quite freely at times for ideas, but hey I’m not a
lawyer. .
In 2006 ‘Entertainment Weekly” speculated that a Rikki
Ducomett was the subject of “Rikki Don’t Lose that Number”. Apparently Fagen
knew Doucmett while attending Bard. Doucmett was pregnant and married at the
time, but apparently recalls Fagen gave her his number at a party.
“Any Major Dude
Will Tell You” – one of the first and best uses of ‘dude’ in popular music-
with the exception of “All the Young Dudes” by David Bowie which of course was
more popular, but more about a “dude” revolution than the SD evolved form of “Major
Dude”.
By the time they toured they had a stellar band including
Michael McDonald (vocals and piano), Jeff Porcaro (drums) and Royce Jones
(percussion and vocals).
“Countdown to Ecstasy”, “Pretzel Logic” and then 1975’s “Katy
Lied”, have been described as a weird sort of trilogy. The trilogy is kind of
like the 70’s equivalent of ‘Grand Theft Auto’ with its cast of bad characters featuring
Fagen and Becker’s studio perfection obsession and their so-L.A. mentality.
“Katy Lied” was done with session players as Becker and
Fagen become more private figures and concentrate on the studio work. I love
the song “Black Friday” with its dooms day scenario that seems to be somewhat
prophetic.
“The Royal Scam”, “Aja” and “Gaucho” all produced good FM
fodder and SD remained in high radio rotation with songs like “Kid Charlemagne”,
“Green Earrings’. “The Royal Scam”, “Deacon Blues”, “Peg”, “Josie”, “Babylon
Sisters’ and “Hey “Nineteen”.
Fagen was the first to do a solo album with “Nightfly” in
1980 to huge success. He hit us again with "Kamakiriad” (Japanese for ‘praying
mantis’) in 1993, again successful. Meanwhile Becker moved to Hawaii and became
a gentleman avocado farmer. He released his solo project “11 Tracks of Whack”
in 1993 with Fagen producing. Becker would not record again solo till 2008’s “Circus
Money”.
By 1994 the “Citizen Steely Dan” band was touring with
Becker and Fagen. The result was “Live in America”, which the critics don’t
like but I found very good. It was not the usual polished studio stuff – it was
a bit rough – “they did not cross a diamond with a pearl and turn it on the
world” like they had done on the Royal Scam. I found it refreshing.
Since then, 2 more studio albums, “Two Against Nature”
and “Everything Must Go” sees the old SD snarky charm shine through.
One hell of a career by anyone’s measure; Steely Dan is
with us everyday – you pretty much just need to snap on the radio!
My Top 10 Steely Dan Songs:
1) Rikki
Don’t Lose That Number
2) Any
Major Dude Will Tell You
3) Bodhisattva
(also check the live version from ‘Citizen Steely Dan’)
4) Only
a Fool Would Say That
5) Do
It Again
6) Reelin’
In the Years
7) Dirty
Work
8) Deacon
Blues
9) Babylon
Sisters
10) FM
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