Donald Fagen was thrown out of his college music department?  No wonder he's never goin' back to his Old School!

God bless Donald and Walter for what they've done. Their music touched a lot of lives. Salute to the great Walter and great Donald. Not only for their music but for both of them.

Back in 1987 at age 16 not knowing anything about Steely Dan I walked into Sam Goody record store and was going through the bargain bin tapes. There it sat - Steely Dan greatest hits $2.99. I liked the tape cassette cover art. Bought it and popped it in my  Kenwood tape deck in my 69 Camaro. That day I feel in love with their music. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Musical genius. One of the greatest pop duos in music history.

Long live Steely Dan.

Fagen & Becker two of the most important musicians of our time.

Donald Fagen is a genius. Full stop.

Fagen is a humble genus, a man who isn't a performer but a brilliant musician/composer/singer, putting forth his and Walter's brilliant ideas in a totally unique and extremely revolutionary fashion.

Broadcasted from the foot of Mount Belzoni

The Steely Dan songs are so cerebral, painting iconic characters and scenery that is both cinematic and visual in its effect on the listener.  There is an unexplainable complexity that is supported by sensibilities steeped in sophisticated musical taste and  love of literature.  Fagen is articulate about the creative process, in both a personal and historical sense ie; regarding influences.  What is amazing is the almost accidental quality of how Steely Dan came to be, that Donald never intended to be the singer in  the early stage of band formation.   Obviously fate intervened magnificently in our favor,  when  Walter Becker and Donald Fagen met and formed what would be one of the most amazing bands that ever graced our world.  Words come to mind such as, unrivalled, unmatched,  irreplaceable and forever loved. 💙

People say they're happy to have been alive during the reign of The Beatles, Bob Dylan. I would present that I'm happy to have been alive during the years of Steely Dan, and solo careers of Fagen and Becker.

The Nightfly has got to be one of the top 10 albums of all time.

Simply stated, One fall Saturday early evening back in the seventies, I tuned in my FM radio which had the best reception after dark in the boonies of NW Ct. where I lived. I had a very cheap Realistic brand AM/FM receiver with two fairly cheap stereo speakers. I was constantly frustrated with the sound of this system, however as I tuned into WPLR FM out of New Haven Ct. as they showcased the latest Steely Dan offering from the Katy Lied Release, "Your Gold Teeth Two" The recording quality of that material made my cheap shit stereo sound beautiful as that melodic intro filled my head. I loved that stereo that evening. Have never forgot that.

Steely Dan's music sounds as great today as it did when most of their catalog was written and recorded-back in the 70's. Quality never gets old, never goes out of style.

Great interview with a true modern music genius!

The Don should do a weekly radio show.

“If you want something to sound human it takes a lot of very sophisticated programming”.
Think about that. And this was observed in 1988.

1988 the sweet spot of modernity

I’m obsessed with Glamour Profession.  The changes are outrageous.  Like the characters in the song, they’re sophisticated, yet decadent.  Sneaky, shifty, elusive, unsettled.  Music theory-wise, the song avoids settling in a key.  At a few points a key is indicated by a convoluted 2-5-1, but the following chord then jumps down a whole step or a Major 3rd to totally undermine the previously indicated key before it can fully establish itself.  It’s a perfect harmonic analogue to the story as it portrays the coke dealer slinking from shady deal to shady deal, never staying anywhere for long.  There’s one device used mid-verse where we hear four consecutive Dom 9th chords descending by whole tones - it’s very French Impressionistic.  Debussy’s Sunken Cathedral comes to mind.  The level of harmonic sophistication is totally astounding to me.  Even by jazz chart standards, it’s not straight forward at all.

It was around 1980 and I heard "Hey Nineteen" on the radio and then got a few Steely Dan albums because I wanted to hear more.  Just brilliant.  All of it.  Many say these guys were great.  I say they were among the very best.

I remember loving Rikki Don't Lose That Number at the age of four when it first came out over the radio. Something about SD's sound that drew me in then. Then came Peg, Josie and Deacon Blues. As a young kid I couldn't explain why I loved these songs so much. Later I found myself loving the sounds of complex chord compositions. That's what it was from the start. Their sound was off the beaten path. They carved their own roadway. What a ride!