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Vocal Coach Reacts to “Peg” by Steely Dan - First-Time Listen & Analysis

The Vocalyst

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I couldn’t help but smile while listening to “Peg” by Steely Dan, even though the lyrics might suggest a different reaction. The vocals from Donald Fagen and Michael McDonald are on point, and that bass line… chef’s kiss! In today’s video, I’m reacting to “Peg” for the first time and sharing my vocal analysis, musical breakdown, and overall thoughts on this song.

Watch the original video uninterrupted: Peg

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20 Comments

@williamgardner803 9 months ago

Steely Dan is its own genre.

@Eddy0042 9 months ago

"I don’t know if that was a choice? " - believe me with these guys EVERYTHING was a choice...

@gregfagan199 9 months ago

Steely Dan was two guys, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, supplemented by session musicians, many of whom were jazz players. Anyone who played on a Steely Dan record was a world-class musician.

@ericlidman6299 9 months ago (edited)

'aja' is one of the great albums of the 20th century, worth a full listen, monumental stuff, pure art

@loucastillo5680 9 months ago

I could listen to Steely Dan all day long

@DavidHobbs 9 months ago

Welcome to one of the biggest rabbit holes you can go down in music. You will appreciate the sophistication of their music and vocals. Can't wait to see you do more.

@RaymondBCrisp 9 months ago

Peg has perhaps one of the tastiest bass lines I've ever heard.

@TheDiaryofMarkG 9 months ago

There s a great video on Youtube of Michael McDonald talking about the chorus harmonies in Peg. It's all him, and he mentioned how difficult it was to sing each of the parts in the studio because the chord tones were so close together.

@izzonj 9 months ago

Michael McDonald said this was the most difficult vocal he ever did because he was overtracking such tight harmonies and because Fagan and Becker were so precise in how they wanted every inflection sung

@matty-roods 9 months ago

That Chuck Rainey bass line is epic.

@Russell_Huston 9 months ago

Michael McDonald's backup singing is a real gem here, and different. He is singing words, but it's the using of a voice as a musical instrument that really matters here. The voice becomes notes in a chord, and ear tingling chords at that, and that matters way more than whether the syllables are clearly intelligible.

@timsnyder7844 9 months ago (edited)

Jazz was their big influence. :D -- Michael McDonald was asked to sing every note in a chord and then they mixed them together to get those fabulous harmonies!

@URnickel_MY2cents 9 months ago (edited)

Steely Dan...
Quite simply, THE BEST of The BEST !!!!!
A very good reaction !!!
RIP Walter 🙏

@SnarleySteve 9 months ago (edited)

The reason they chose Michael McDonald is because he could hit the high notes in full voice. At that time you could hear McDonald being used in many songs as a background vocalist. In this song he sang all the harmony parts in his part.

@kenkonwick6660 9 months ago

Just play the entire album collection, u will do nothing but smile and groove the entire time

@stevefranken4052 9 months ago (edited)

FM from Steely Dan is one you will love too. I love seeing your face as you try a new band you never heard before. Seeing your smile get bigger as you start to groove with these amazing bands is priceless.

@BuffaloBob-og 9 months ago

Steely Dan OWNED the 70's.
So much great music made by these 2 musical geniuses.
One simply cannot appreciate just how talented they were.
Great reaction.

@topladave 9 months ago

"Peg" is from their Grammy Winning Album "Aja". Steely Dan melded Rock-Jazz-and some R&B into their songs, often called the LA sound by music critics at the time. They hired the best studio session players to record this song and the album. On Peg they recorded Michael McDonald to sing that high note in the Chorus. There's a great VH1 documentary done in the '90's in the Classic Albums series on the making of Aja where they pull the original tapes and run through the mix on a soundboard with Donald Fagan and Donald Becker, and they interview some of the studio musicians too.