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Posts Tagged Steely Dan

Archive

April 3, 2020 by Simon Sweetman

Poem: Back Before Everyone Was On Their Phone Every Fucking Five Minutes

I grew up with a spa pool behind a Ponga fence, the latest album by Huey Lewis and The News and the remnants of when my dad was a master of Macramé. That’s never far from my mind as I make it through this world – Boz Scaggs and Steely Dan and Lionel Richie and […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged Back Before Everyone Was On Their Phone Every Fucking Five Minutes, Boz Scaggs, Huey Lewis, Huey Lewis & The News, Lionel Richie, Macramé, Poem, Poem: Back Before Everyone Was On Their Phone Every Fucking Five Minutes, Ponga fence, Spa, Spa Pool, Steely Dan ·

Archive

December 15, 2019 by Simon Sweetman

Steely Dan: La La Land – The 1974 Los Angeles Broadcast

Steely Dan La La Land – The 1974 Los Angeles Broadcast Shockwaves Steely Dan, in 1974. This is a legendary radio broadcast of a live show from near the end of the life of the original band, Steely Dan. After that touring was off the table and the band’s line-up changed from song to song […]
Posted in Blog, Reviews · Tagged 1974, 2019, Album Review, Bootleg, David Palmer, Denny Dias, Donald Fagen, Jeff Baxter, Jeff Porcaro, Jim Hodder, La La Land, La La Land – The 1974 Los Angeles Broadcast, Live, Michael McDonald, Radio Broadcast, Steely Dan, Steely Dan: La La Land – The 1974 Los Angeles Broadcast, The 1974 Los Angeles Broadcast, Walter Becker, You can support Off The Tracks via PressPatron ·

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December 5, 2019 by Simon Sweetman

Poem: Tight But Loose

Playing along to Babylon Sisters on the drums. And Angela- the Theme from Taxi. Man, Bernard Purdie and Idris Muhammad. Beautiful. There’s a philosophy to their playing. They know the magic is in holding back. I never knew how to hold back, so I just dropped out. That’s how it’s usually been. Coming back to […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged "Pretty" Purdie, Angela, Babylon Sisters, Bernard "Pretty" Purdie, Bernard Purdie, Bob James, Drum, Drummer, Drumming, Drums, Idris Muhammad, Poem, Poem: Tight But Loose, Steely Dan, Taxi, Tight But Loose ·

Archive

March 7, 2019 by Simon Sweetman

Ed Motta: Criterion of the Senses

Ed Motta Criterion of the Senses MustHave/Membran Though this is a slightly more subdued effort than his mighty Perpetual Gateways (an easy contender for my record of the year in 2016) the consistency is still there, the quality so high on Ed Motta’s latest.  
Posted in Blog, Reviews · Tagged Album Review, Brazil, Criterion of the Senses, Donald Fagen, Donny Hathaway, Ed Motta, Ed Motta: Criterion of the Senses, George Benson, Perpetual Gateways, Steely Dan, You can support Off The Tracks via PressPatron ·

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January 5, 2019 by Simon Sweetman

Poem: Giving The Drummer Some

I met Steve Gadd. He had played on many of the greatest songs ever. And just in case he’d forgotten I reminded him. I got him to sign my records. He was embarrassed – And told me he liked the fact that I was wearing shorts. It takes all sorts. And I was the only […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover, Aja, Drum, Drummer, Drumming, Drums, Giving The Drummer Some…, Paul Simon, Poem, Poem: Giving The Drummer Some, Rickie Lee Jones, Steely Dan, Steve Gadd ·

Archive

October 17, 2018 by Simon Sweetman

RNZ Music Feature: Steve Gadd

I’m usually on RNZ once a month to have a chat about some new albums. But the other day I got the call up to present a Music Feature for the Afternoons show. Well, actually, I was on-air talking about some albums in my regular review slot and I was promoting the back that legendary drummer Steve […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged Afternoons, Afternoons with Jesse Mulligan, Chat, Chick Corea, Chuck Mangione, Conversation, Drummer, Drumming, Drums, Gadd, Interview, James Carter, Jazz, Jesse Mulligan, Master, Music, Paul Simon, Radio, Radio New Zealand, RadioNZ, Rickie Lee Jones, RNZ, RNZ Music Feature, RNZ Music Feature: Steve Gadd, Rodger Fox, Session, Simon Sweetman, Steely Dan, Steve, Steve Gadd, The Rodger Fox Big Band, You can support Off The Tracks via PressPatron ·

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May 1, 2018 by Simon Sweetman

The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories by Jon McLeary # 205 Stop the World

I think it took me over ten years to write this song. I know I started on the verses in 1980 after the demise of Negative Theatre. I’d read an interview with Steely Dan where they talked about mu major chords and I played the A, E, A, D, C#m, D, A, E, A pattern […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged #205, A Snakelike Life, Art, Castaneda, Ghost, Ghost Stories, Guest Blog, Guest Post, Holloway Rd, Holloway Road, Jon Mcleary, Music, Negative Theatre, Painting, Song, Songwriting, Spines, Steely Dan, Stop The World, The Ghost, The Ghost of Electricity, The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories, The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories by Jon McLeary, The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories by Jon McLeary # 205 Stop the World, The Spines, War Stories, War Stories # 205, War Stories by Jon McLeary, Wellington, Writing, You can support Off The Tracks via PressPatron ·

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January 19, 2018 by Simon Sweetman

Five Songs For Friday: 22 – Giving The Drummer Some…

Drum Solos! – wait, come back! You don’t often hear people crying out for more drum solos, or any drum solos. Even a lot of drummers hate drum solos. But sometimes you see and hear something special. And sometimes the drum solo – or an extended break – is, I dunno, “musical”, and exciting. Well, […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged 3/4, Aja, Big Swing Face, Buddy Rich, Buddy Rich Big Band, Bugle Call Rag, Caravan, Dave Brubeck, Drum, Drum Solo, Drum Solos, Drummer, Drummers, Drumming, Drums, Five Songs, Five Songs For A Friday, Five Songs For Friday, Five Songs For Friday: 22, Five Songs For Friday: 22 – Giving The Drummer Some…, Friday, Give The Drum Some, Give The Drummer Some, Giving The Drummer Some…, Jo Jones, Joe Morello, Max Roach, Midnight Oil, Percussion, Rob Hirst, Solo, Solos, Steely Dan, Steve Gadd, Take Five, The Dave Brubeck Quartet, The Drum Also Waltzes, The Power and The Passion, Waltz ·

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October 16, 2017 by Simon Sweetman

The Mountain Goats: Goths

The Mountain Goats Goths Merge Records Some 20+ years ago John Darnielle bashes out an ugly/beautiful rendition of Steely Dan’s FM – taking off its sheen, reducing it down to urgent, thrashed chords. He punks up something formerly slick. It’s a wonderful trick – and part of the blueprint of the early sound of The […]
Posted in Blog, Reviews · Tagged Album Review, FM, Goths, John Darnielle, Merge, Mountain Goats, Steely Dan, The Mountain Goats, The Mountain Goats: Goths ·

Archive

September 4, 2017 by Simon Sweetman

The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories by Jon McLeary # 178 Steely Dan

I woke up in the middle of the night and turned on the computer. The first thing I saw on social media was the news that Walter Becker had died. That first album of Steely Dan was really something for me. I was a long-haired high school student living in an inland town and it […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged Aja, Countdown to Ecstasy, Death, Donald Fagen, Eulogy, Gaucho, Gig, Guest Blog, Guest Post, Jon Mcleary, Live Music, Memory, Music, R.I.P., Spines, Steely Dan, Steve Winwood, The Ghost, The Ghost of Electricity, The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories, The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories by Jon McLeary, The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories by Jon McLeary # 178, The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories by Jon McLeary # 178 Steely Dan, The Royal Scam, Walter Becker, War Stories, War Stories # 178, Whangamata ·

Archive

September 3, 2017 by Simon Sweetman

R.I.P Walter Becker

Walter Becker of Steely Dan has died. He was 67. Maybe all that matters, in terms of marking his passing, is this tribute by his band-mate and songwriting colleague of nearly 50 years. Donald Fagen’s words surely matter the most. If not for anything else it speaks to the bubble these two created for themselves […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged Donald Fagen, Eulogy, R.I.P Walter Becker, R.I.P., Steely Dan, Walter Becker ·

Archive

April 6, 2017 by Simon Sweetman

Five Songs For Friday: # 11 – Five Favourite Cover Versions

Many years back – a decade ago at least, I reckon, the editor of the then-Real Groove magazine asked me to compile a list of five favourite cover versions; he never ended up using it but wrote back to tell me he thought my list was weird but cool. I liked that. You hardly ever […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged #11, Alone Again Or, Back In The High Life, Calexico, Cover, Cover Versions, Damon Albarn, Five Favourite Cover Versions, Five Songs For Friday, Five Songs For Friday: # 11, Five Songs For Friday: # 11 – Five Favourite Cover Versions, FM, Gin & Juice, Joe Cocker, John Darnielle, Love, Nathan Haines, novelty cover, Snoop Dogg, Steely Dan, Steve Winwood, The Beatles, The Gourds, The Mountain Goats, Warren Zevon, With A Little Help From My Friends ·
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