Eagles and Steely Dan

Maryn

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We went to see the Eagles a few months before they lost Glenn Frey, whose name I probably misspelled. I was never a huge fan, but they put on a very good show, good enough that later we got tickets to see Don Henley solo. He endeared himself to me by telling the crowd that they needed to be quiet, because people who paid good money to hear him sing couldn't because they were talking so much. He added that he was asking security to eject people who would not be quiet, and that there would be no refunds. (This is an increasing problem at concerts. I tell people to STFU at nearly every one we attend. Seriously, talking louder so their friend can hear them over the headliner act?)

Anyhoo, post self-distraction, my favorite Eagles album is the western-themed Desperado. Never liked Hotel California nearly as much.

I only have/had one Steely Dan album, and it was on cassette, so I don't think I own anything that will play it. One of our kids did attend "My Old School," which I liked knowing.
 

Maze Runner

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That's William and Mary, right? Yeah, I have a close friend who went there. I take your point about talking at concerts, and now this may aggravate some people, but please don't sing along with the singer.

I've never seen either of these bands. I'm pretty sure you spelled Glenn Frey correctly. I hated to see him go. He struck me as the heart of that band. Don Henley by far the best singer they had, and they had good ones, but as David Geffen has said, more or less, a chronic malcontent.

The flipside of that is some people just refuse to be taken advantage of, and record producers are pretty good at that.

But there's the music, the only thing that really matters. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCGiG4rgx5I
 

Maryn

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The college was Bard, located in Annendale-on-Hudson, New York. "That'll be the day I go back to Annendale..."
 

Maze Runner

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Great song. California tumbles into the sea, that'll be the day I go back to Annendale...

I was keying on this part of the lyric:

I was smoking with the boys upstairs when I
Heard about the whole affair, I said oh no
William and Mary won't do

https://www.google.com/search?q=my+old+school+lyrics&rlz=1CATAAA_enUS714US714&oq=my+old+school+lyrics&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.6454j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Thanks1


 

Chris P

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I guess the Eagles were so overplayed for my entire life it's hard for me to get into their classic songs. How Long is a catchy tune, from Long Road Out of Eden

Not Steely Dan's most popular songs, but Kings and Midnight Cruiser get pleasantly caught in my head.
 

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Wow, How Long. Found this early live thing, The guy who announces the song and attributes it to J.D. Souther, I believe is Bernie Leadon, and I recall from that Eagle doc that he wanted the group to go more country, while Frey and Henley wanted to do more rock 'n roll. One day Leadon gets up and goes surfing, and doesn't come back for forty years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZr-Er8dqw0

Always liked this one off Can't Buy A Thrill https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06a19-S77F4
 

blacbird

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I'm a considerable fan of both, though these days The Eagles are waaaaay overplayed. But Steely Dan, which essentially is Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, is just plain one of the greatest rock bands ever. good musically and highly original. I especially like the album Countdown to Ecstasy, on which every song is masterful. They are cynical, sarcastic and very intelligent in their compositions.

caw
 

Maze Runner

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Great musicians, too. I don't know this for a fact but I'd be surprised to learn they used session players on their stuff. The only time I listen to the radio is when I'm in my car and lately it's set on the jazz station. Has anyone heard their latest albums?

A nice one off Countdown https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMeTwFKbgsI
 

Mclesh

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I'm a big fan of both groups. I don't even know where to begin. Steely Dan--when I listen to Reelin' in the Years, there is such a depth and maturity, it's incredible to me they were maybe 21 or 22 when they (Fagen and Becker) wrote it. I've asked myself many times, "HOW DID THEY DO THIS?" My Old School is probably my favorite song of theirs. (I love the line about California falling into the sea.) I have good memories of listening to their greatest hits double album on road trips. Aja is probably my favorite album, but I'm also partial to Gaucho. I saw them once in concert in the early Nineties. They were amazing--until they performed their solo work. (Walter Becker's was the worse of the two and really not listenable.) When it was time for them to sing Reelin' in the Years, they sang it really fast and totally threw it away--as if they just couldn't stand to perform it one more time. Still, it was a great concert.

Randomly, I love this part from Any Major Dude:

Any major dude with half a heart, surely will tell you my friend
Any minor world that breaks apart falls together again

I had the opportunity to see The Eagles a couple years ago when they were on tour with their History of the Eagles. They were phenomenal and quite militant about no cell phones allowed (which I appreciated since I've been to too many concerts where the people around me are holding their phones out in front of them the whole time). I don't think I ever realized what incredible song writers Henley and Frey were until sitting there, listening to them tell the stories behind the music and really listening to the stories within their songs.

On a side note, every time Joe Walsh joined them or had a solo, the crowd just lit up. He has charisma, he does.

If I had to choose one group over another, I think I'd have to go with Steely Dan just because they are so unique. There is something about their world weariness and cynicism that gives me comfort.
 

Maze Runner

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So well said, thank you. Joe Walsh is a great guitar player. I regret never seeing the Eagles. I know they still do concerts but I wouldn't want to see them without Glenn Frey. A couple years ago I ran into Joe Walsh at Guitar Center in Sherman Oaks, he seems like just what you would expect. I'm glad he's okay now.

Any Major Dude is one of my favorites off Pretzel Logic, another great album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXq-C6nDpmg With Lyrics.
 

SR Wittmann

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I love both these bands and have complete discographies for both. I go to The Eagles for an uplift in spirits while Steely Dan is more of a mood-maker for me.

Several years ago, while driving out to the west coast on I-40, I stopped in Winslow, Arizona and parked in a large grocer's lot. I got out of my car and walked to the corner where I stood and waited for a girl in a flatbed Ford to slow down and look at me. After some time had passed, I decided she must have been busy that day and continued on my trip.

I'm sure all you Eagle fans get it! ;)
 

Maze Runner

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I love both these bands and have complete discographies for both. I go to The Eagles for an uplift in spirits while Steely Dan is more of a mood-maker for me.

Several years ago, while driving out to the west coast on I-40, I stopped in Winslow, Arizona and parked in a large grocer's lot. I got out of my car and walked to the corner where I stood and waited for a girl in a flatbed Ford to slow down and look at me. After some time had passed, I decided she must have been busy that day and continued on my trip.

I'm sure all you Eagle fans get it! ;)

hahahaha, thanks for the laugh.

Link some of their newer stuff if you want. Haven't heard much.

Edit: Sorry, I meant Dan's newer stuff. Or either, I don't know what the Eagles have put out lately.
 
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Mclesh

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So well said, thank you. Joe Walsh is a great guitar player. I regret never seeing the Eagles. I know they still do concerts but I wouldn't want to see them without Glenn Frey. A couple years ago I ran into Joe Walsh at Guitar Center in Sherman Oaks, he seems like just what you would expect. I'm glad he's okay now.

Thanks! I've been feeling funky lately with all of the junk going on, and your post was a boost for me.
I couldn't imagine seeing the Eagles without Frey. Just not the same. What a voice. :(

Any Major Dude is one of my favorites off Pretzel Logic, another great album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXq-C6nDpmg With Lyrics.

Bodhisattva from Countdown to Ecstasy is a catchy tune:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAEphHf0P-c
 

Maze Runner

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I guess we're all feeling a little funky lately. It's a sad day.
 

Helix

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I love both these bands and have complete discographies for both. I go to The Eagles for an uplift in spirits while Steely Dan is more of a mood-maker for me.

Several years ago, while driving out to the west coast on I-40, I stopped in Winslow, Arizona and parked in a large grocer's lot. I got out of my car and walked to the corner where I stood and waited for a girl in a flatbed Ford to slow down and look at me. After some time had passed, I decided she must have been busy that day and continued on my trip.

I'm sure all you Eagle fans get it! ;)

I seem to remember from a trip through Winslow that there's actually a billboard with those lyrics on it. Mind you, that was in 1994, so it's probably all changed.
 

Stephen Palmer

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Steely Dan - especially Donald Fagen, who I think writes most of the music - are amongst the greatest songwriters.
Those early albums were fantastic.
I also rate very highly the first two Donald Fagen albums, and Walter Becker's first one (11 Tracks Of Whack). His second one was terrible... :(
 

edutton

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Maze Runner

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1975: Becker and Fagen disband the original group and begin to record entirely with various session players. The results include a series of acclaimed albums including: "Katy Lied", "The Royal Scam", "Aja", and "Gaucho".

I had no idea. Thanks.