Posts Tagged Steely Dan
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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 […]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.Archive
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 […]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 […]Archive
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 […]Archive
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, […]Archive
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 […]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 […]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 […]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 […]Archive
March 13, 2017 by Simon Sweetman