The 4CD long box is a format traditionally used to showcase the best of a band as well as include rarities and a fair portion of previously unreleased tracks – this one is a bit different. “Citizen Steely Dan” instead concentrates on every track off their first seven albums, chronologically presented with a rare b-side "Bodhisattva (Live)"; a non-album single “FM”, here presented in a hybrid 5:06 version that combines both sides of this stand-alone single “FM” and “FM (Reprise”); a stranded single "Here at the Western World", originally found on a 1978 “Greatest Hits”; and just one previously unreleased track "Everyone's Gone to the Movies" (Demo)" to end the collection. Covering the period 1972-1980, the only downside is that both sides of the group’s first single “Dallas” and “Sail The Waterway”, both recorded during the sessions for first album “Can’t Buy A Thrill” are sadly missing, because the band declare them as “Stinko”. That’s unfair as both have merit, and to get these tracks you either need to acquire a 1972 promo version of that rare first 45 as it’s so rare proper copies either don’t or hardly exist, The 1976 UK 12” EP “Plus Fours”, or a 1978 Japanese only LP “Steely Dan” which lifted the tracks direct from a mono promo single. That’s the only downside of this superb collection, as with both tracks totalling a sniff over three minutes each they would have both fit on the first CD with no issues. With the band known for their highly developed sense of irony and playful demeanours starting the collection with “Dallas”, not sung by Donald Fagen but by then drummer Jim Hodder sounds like a missed opportunity for the sort of mischief they are renowned for.
I’ve only previously owned a few vinyl singles by Steely Dan and a best of “Showbiz Kids: The Steely Dan Story, 1972–1980” and that really doesn’t do the band justice, only skimming the surface. The sound quality on that CD compilation lacks something too, always sounding flat to me; and reading up about the issues of deteriorating analogue tapes, supposedly definitive reissues presented at the wrong speed and missing master tapes the care and attention lavished on this box set corrects all those problems and then some. These tracks simply shine, produced from digital rather than analogue masters and finally doing justice to a band known for anal retentive levels of quality control, re-recording tracks over and over (and over) with different musicians to get it ‘just so’. Here all that brilliance is presented loud and clear in simply one of the best sounding collections I’ve ever heard on CD, highlighting the sophistication of the band’s sound perfectly. It’s no wonder these tracks are often chosen as demonstrators for high-end hi-fi equipment, I can only think of much missed The Blue Nile who demand such levels of clarity, the fidelity is second to none. Only on that lone b-side, "Bodhisattva (Live)" recorded on July 7th 1974 but not released until 1980 does the sound quality dip owing to it’s soundboard cassette origins, but then it’s rightfully included both due to a blistering rendition of the tune showing they could cut it live and a simply hilarious introduction to the band from a very drunk Roadie-MC Jerome Aniton who rambles on and on for nearly 2½ minutes, with the band cracking up behind him as he forgets what they are called and who the members are, calling them "Mistah… Whatever".
What stands out apart from the exemplary musicianship is how distinctive the band are, even at the very start blending rock with Latin, jazz - and later adding reggae on the wonderful “Haitian Divorce”. The music is particularly notable for a technique they dubbed “The Mu Chord”, with the band’s progressions almost unique and producing a tension with many satisfying outcomes. Of particular note is “Glamour Profession”, to my ears the single-most perfect track they ever released and a complete revelation on first hearing. A minor chord wonder, the humour bleeds through the speakers and the chord changes are utterly brilliant. That humour shows the other major facet of the band, the lyrics. Sharp as a tack, often funny, always intelligent and with many references to popular culture and often employing fictional characters to carry a narrative, the meanings don’t necessarily reveal themselves until heard multiple times.
With the original five-piece slimmed down to just Donald Fagan and Walter Becker the very best session musicians money can buy raise the production bar ever higher as you progress through the albums, until “Gaucho” which rightfully won the Grammy Award for Best Engineered Non-Classical Recording. Steely Dan always employed quite a ‘dry’ sound: everything is recorded in crystal clear clarity and it’s possible to pick out each and every instrument, nothing is buried in the mix or ‘muddy’. It’s jazz in particular that underpins the tension in Steely Dan songs, with the group recording their one cover on the Pretzel Logic” album, Duke Ellington’s "East St. Louis Toodle-Oo" in an almost note for note reproduction. How much of an influence Ellington is can be heard on rare 2002 album “Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz with Steely Dan” where they cover tracks by the great man as well as his son Mercer.
Aside from the music the offbeat humour of the duo is very evident in the simply excellent accompanying booklet, with Becker and Fagen’s personalities coming through loud and clear in a reproduction of a letter sent to Vice-President of MCA Records Andy McKaie. There are also short reviews of the band’s albums, the majority of them unusually disparaging rather than including those that praise, highlighting the ironic side of the duo perfectly. Retrospect has shown how far ahead of their time they were, with the ratings of the albums consistently high and showing their true status.
Aside from those two missing tracks the other complaint is that albums have at times been split across CDs and aren’t always in the track order they originally appeared. That really doesn’t matter because the progression of the band is clearly shown and the body of work stands up as a collection very strongly. I didn’t know all the tracks here upon purchase but am kicking myself that it has taken me this long to realise what complete works each of their albums are – with the flow from 1972-1980 forming an extremely pleasing whole. Since acquiring a collection I’ve coveted for a while now I have not been disappointed. There has been practically nothing else on the player for a while, with no weak tracks at all, although there are many standouts too numerous to mention. This is the definitive record of Steely Dan, both for it’s (almost) completeness of their output before their initial split in 1980 and on the basis of sheer heft of sound quality alone. This is definitely well worth seeking out.
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Definitive Dan
The 4CD long box is a format traditionally used to showcase the best of a band as well as include rarities and a fair portion of previously unreleased tracks – this one is a bit different. “Citizen Steely Dan” instead concentrates on every track off their first seven albums, chronologically presented with a rare b-side "Bodhisattva (Live)"; a non-album single “FM”, here presented in a hybrid 5:06 version that combines both sides of this stand-alone single “FM” and “FM (Reprise”); a stranded single "Here at the Western World", originally found on a 1978 “Greatest Hits”; and just one previously unreleased track "Everyone's Gone to the Movies" (Demo)" to end the collection. Covering the period 1972-1980, the only downside is that both sides of the group’s first single “Dallas” and “Sail The Waterway”, both recorded during the sessions for first album “Can’t Buy A Thrill” are sadly missing, because the band declare them as “Stinko”. That’s unfair as both have merit, and to get these tracks you either need to acquire a 1972 promo version of that rare first 45 as it’s so rare proper copies either don’t or hardly exist, The 1976 UK 12” EP “Plus Fours”, or a 1978 Japanese only LP “Steely Dan” which lifted the tracks direct from a mono promo single. That’s the only downside of this superb collection, as with both tracks totalling a sniff over three minutes each they would have both fit on the first CD with no issues. With the band known for their highly developed sense of irony and playful demeanours starting the collection with “Dallas”, not sung by Donald Fagen but by then drummer Jim Hodder sounds like a missed opportunity for the sort of mischief they are renowned for.I’ve only previously owned a few vinyl singles by Steely Dan and a best of “Showbiz Kids: The Steely Dan Story, 1972–1980” and that really doesn’t do the band justice, only skimming the surface. The sound quality on that CD compilation lacks something too, always sounding flat to me; and reading up about the issues of deteriorating analogue tapes, supposedly definitive reissues presented at the wrong speed and missing master tapes the care and attention lavished on this box set corrects all those problems and then some. These tracks simply shine, produced from digital rather than analogue masters and finally doing justice to a band known for anal retentive levels of quality control, re-recording tracks over and over (and over) with different musicians to get it ‘just so’. Here all that brilliance is presented loud and clear in simply one of the best sounding collections I’ve ever heard on CD, highlighting the sophistication of the band’s sound perfectly. It’s no wonder these tracks are often chosen as demonstrators for high-end hi-fi equipment, I can only think of much missed The Blue Nile who demand such levels of clarity, the fidelity is second to none. Only on that lone b-side, "Bodhisattva (Live)" recorded on July 7th 1974 but not released until 1980 does the sound quality dip owing to it’s soundboard cassette origins, but then it’s rightfully included both due to a blistering rendition of the tune showing they could cut it live and a simply hilarious introduction to the band from a very drunk Roadie-MC Jerome Aniton who rambles on and on for nearly 2½ minutes, with the band cracking up behind him as he forgets what they are called and who the members are, calling them "Mistah… Whatever".What stands out apart from the exemplary musicianship is how distinctive the band are, even at the very start blending rock with Latin, jazz - and later adding reggae on the wonderful “Haitian Divorce”. The music is particularly notable for a technique they dubbed “The Mu Chord”, with the band’s progressions almost unique and producing a tension with many satisfying outcomes. Of particular note is “Glamour Profession”, to my ears the single-most perfect track they ever released and a complete revelation on first hearing. A minor chord wonder, the humour bleeds through the speakers and the chord changes are utterly brilliant. That humour shows the other major facet of the band, the lyrics. Sharp as a tack, often funny, always intelligent and with many references to popular culture and often employing fictional characters to carry a narrative, the meanings don’t necessarily reveal themselves until heard multiple times.With the original five-piece slimmed down to just Donald Fagan and Walter Becker the very best session musicians money can buy raise the production bar ever higher as you progress through the albums, until “Gaucho” which rightfully won the Grammy Award for Best Engineered Non-Classical Recording. Steely Dan always employed quite a ‘dry’ sound: everything is recorded in crystal clear clarity and it’s possible to pick out each and every instrument, nothing is buried in the mix or ‘muddy’. It’s jazz in particular that underpins the tension in Steely Dan songs, with the group recording their one cover on the Pretzel Logic” album, Duke Ellington’s "East St. Louis Toodle-Oo" in an almost note for note reproduction. How much of an influence Ellington is can be heard on rare 2002 album “Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz with Steely Dan” where they cover tracks by the great man as well as his son Mercer.Aside from the music the offbeat humour of the duo is very evident in the simply excellent accompanying booklet, with Becker and Fagen’s personalities coming through loud and clear in a reproduction of a letter sent to Vice-President of MCA Records Andy McKaie. There are also short reviews of the band’s albums, the majority of them unusually disparaging rather than including those that praise, highlighting the ironic side of the duo perfectly. Retrospect has shown how far ahead of their time they were, with the ratings of the albums consistently high and showing their true status.Aside from those two missing tracks the other complaint is that albums have at times been split across CDs and aren’t always in the track order they originally appeared. That really doesn’t matter because the progression of the band is clearly shown and the body of work stands up as a collection very strongly. I didn’t know all the tracks here upon purchase but am kicking myself that it has taken me this long to realise what complete works each of their albums are – with the flow from 1972-1980 forming an extremely pleasing whole. Since acquiring a collection I’ve coveted for a while now I have not been disappointed. There has been practically nothing else on the player for a while, with no weak tracks at all, although there are many standouts too numerous to mention. This is the definitive record of Steely Dan, both for it’s (almost) completeness of their output before their initial split in 1980 and on the basis of sheer heft of sound quality alone. This is definitely well worth seeking out.
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- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 March 2020
The 4CD long box is a format traditionally used to showcase the best of a band as well as include rarities and a fair portion of previously unreleased tracks – this one is a bit different. “Citizen Steely Dan” instead concentrates on every track off their first seven albums, chronologically presented with a rare b-side "Bodhisattva (Live)"; a non-album single “FM”, here presented in a hybrid 5:06 version that combines both sides of this stand-alone single “FM” and “FM (Reprise”); a stranded single "Here at the Western World", originally found on a 1978 “Greatest Hits”; and just one previously unreleased track "Everyone's Gone to the Movies" (Demo)" to end the collection. Covering the period 1972-1980, the only downside is that both sides of the group’s first single “Dallas” and “Sail The Waterway”, both recorded during the sessions for first album “Can’t Buy A Thrill” are sadly missing, because the band declare them as “Stinko”. That’s unfair as both have merit, and to get these tracks you either need to acquire a 1972 promo version of that rare first 45 as it’s so rare proper copies either don’t or hardly exist, The 1976 UK 12” EP “Plus Fours”, or a 1978 Japanese only LP “Steely Dan” which lifted the tracks direct from a mono promo single. That’s the only downside of this superb collection, as with both tracks totalling a sniff over three minutes each they would have both fit on the first CD with no issues. With the band known for their highly developed sense of irony and playful demeanours starting the collection with “Dallas”, not sung by Donald Fagen but by then drummer Jim Hodder sounds like a missed opportunity for the sort of mischief they are renowned for.
I’ve only previously owned a few vinyl singles by Steely Dan and a best of “Showbiz Kids: The Steely Dan Story, 1972–1980” and that really doesn’t do the band justice, only skimming the surface. The sound quality on that CD compilation lacks something too, always sounding flat to me; and reading up about the issues of deteriorating analogue tapes, supposedly definitive reissues presented at the wrong speed and missing master tapes the care and attention lavished on this box set corrects all those problems and then some. These tracks simply shine, produced from digital rather than analogue masters and finally doing justice to a band known for anal retentive levels of quality control, re-recording tracks over and over (and over) with different musicians to get it ‘just so’. Here all that brilliance is presented loud and clear in simply one of the best sounding collections I’ve ever heard on CD, highlighting the sophistication of the band’s sound perfectly. It’s no wonder these tracks are often chosen as demonstrators for high-end hi-fi equipment, I can only think of much missed The Blue Nile who demand such levels of clarity, the fidelity is second to none. Only on that lone b-side, "Bodhisattva (Live)" recorded on July 7th 1974 but not released until 1980 does the sound quality dip owing to it’s soundboard cassette origins, but then it’s rightfully included both due to a blistering rendition of the tune showing they could cut it live and a simply hilarious introduction to the band from a very drunk Roadie-MC Jerome Aniton who rambles on and on for nearly 2½ minutes, with the band cracking up behind him as he forgets what they are called and who the members are, calling them "Mistah… Whatever".
What stands out apart from the exemplary musicianship is how distinctive the band are, even at the very start blending rock with Latin, jazz - and later adding reggae on the wonderful “Haitian Divorce”. The music is particularly notable for a technique they dubbed “The Mu Chord”, with the band’s progressions almost unique and producing a tension with many satisfying outcomes. Of particular note is “Glamour Profession”, to my ears the single-most perfect track they ever released and a complete revelation on first hearing. A minor chord wonder, the humour bleeds through the speakers and the chord changes are utterly brilliant. That humour shows the other major facet of the band, the lyrics. Sharp as a tack, often funny, always intelligent and with many references to popular culture and often employing fictional characters to carry a narrative, the meanings don’t necessarily reveal themselves until heard multiple times.
With the original five-piece slimmed down to just Donald Fagan and Walter Becker the very best session musicians money can buy raise the production bar ever higher as you progress through the albums, until “Gaucho” which rightfully won the Grammy Award for Best Engineered Non-Classical Recording. Steely Dan always employed quite a ‘dry’ sound: everything is recorded in crystal clear clarity and it’s possible to pick out each and every instrument, nothing is buried in the mix or ‘muddy’. It’s jazz in particular that underpins the tension in Steely Dan songs, with the group recording their one cover on the Pretzel Logic” album, Duke Ellington’s "East St. Louis Toodle-Oo" in an almost note for note reproduction. How much of an influence Ellington is can be heard on rare 2002 album “Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz with Steely Dan” where they cover tracks by the great man as well as his son Mercer.
Aside from the music the offbeat humour of the duo is very evident in the simply excellent accompanying booklet, with Becker and Fagen’s personalities coming through loud and clear in a reproduction of a letter sent to Vice-President of MCA Records Andy McKaie. There are also short reviews of the band’s albums, the majority of them unusually disparaging rather than including those that praise, highlighting the ironic side of the duo perfectly. Retrospect has shown how far ahead of their time they were, with the ratings of the albums consistently high and showing their true status.
Aside from those two missing tracks the other complaint is that albums have at times been split across CDs and aren’t always in the track order they originally appeared. That really doesn’t matter because the progression of the band is clearly shown and the body of work stands up as a collection very strongly. I didn’t know all the tracks here upon purchase but am kicking myself that it has taken me this long to realise what complete works each of their albums are – with the flow from 1972-1980 forming an extremely pleasing whole. Since acquiring a collection I’ve coveted for a while now I have not been disappointed. There has been practically nothing else on the player for a while, with no weak tracks at all, although there are many standouts too numerous to mention. This is the definitive record of Steely Dan, both for it’s (almost) completeness of their output before their initial split in 1980 and on the basis of sheer heft of sound quality alone. This is definitely well worth seeking out.
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Joe RobertsReviewed in France on 23 December 2023
Un coffret précieux (mais pas sans défauts) sur un groupe superlatif
Voilà l’exemple même du groupe sous-estimé ou plutôt duo, en particulier en France où il est toujours resté discret alors qu’il est adulé aux Etats-Unis. Ce duo est constitué de Donald Fagen et Walter Becker qui se sont rencontrés un peu par hasard à New York, Fagen étant passé devant un bar où Becker jouait et il avait été attiré par le son de sa guitare, persuadé qu’il s’agissait d’un musicien noir. En quelques années de 1972 à 1980, ils vont nous laisser une poignée d’albums et de morceaux majeurs dont The Royal Scam en 1976, Aja en 1977, chefs d’œuvre incontournables d’une discographie réduite. En l’occurrence, la qualité extrême l’emporte sur la quantité. L’enregistrement de Gaucho est compliqué et s’étale de 1978 à 1980, les problèmes de différents ordres s’accumulant. Malgré le succès grand public, le duo décide de se séparer jusqu’en 1993 après s’être retrouvés en 1991 lors d’un concert de Fagen avec la New York Rock’n’Soul Revue. Ils repartent alors en tournée alors qu’ils avaient abandonné les concerts en 1974, Fagen ne se sentant pas du tout à l’aise sur scène et préférant se concentrer sur leur travail en studio, souvent jusqu’à l’obsession. Mark Knopfler en sait quelque chose, comme tous ceux qui ont travaillé avec eux : engagé sur Gaucho pour un solo, Fagen lui a fait refaire des dizaines de fois, encore et encore, jusqu’à aboutir le son qu’il souhaitait. Knopfler ne semble pas en garder un très bon souvenir, étrange😄…L’idée même d’un groupe autour du duo avec des musiciens stables est dès lors abandonnée, les autres membres s’en allant car ils auraient préféré poursuivre les tournées. Fagen et Becker vont recruter en fonction de leurs envies les meilleurs musiciens possibles. C’est en 1993 qu’est sorti ce coffret 4 CD devenu plutôt rare à un prix raisonnable : c’est une collection de tous les albums de Steely Dan (jusqu'en 1980) par ordre chronologique. La compilation était la première version des versions remasterisées de leurs albums jusqu'à la sortie des versions studio remasterisées en 1998. Glenn Meadows a remasterisé le coffret de CD à partir des masters numériques archivés par Donald Fagen, Gary Katz et Roger Nichols en 1982. Les bandes numériques ont été préparées parce que les bandes analogiques originales étaient en très mauvais état. Le premier mastering de CD de tous les albums de Steely Dan en 1985 utilisait ces bandes numériques, mais MCA a utilisé des masters analogiques détériorés pour tous les pressages de CD ultérieurs jusqu'aux remasters de 1998. Il contient également un remix de 1991 du single hors album " FM (No Static at All) ", une face B hors album « Bodhisattva (Live) » au son moyen, le seul morceau inédit de la compilation Greatest Hits de 1978 "Here at the Western World" (tirée des sessions de The Royal Scam) et une démo inédite de "Everyone's Gone to the Movies" (une chanson de leur album de 1975 Katy Lied). La musique est évidemment fabuleuse et mérite 6 étoiles sans hésiter. Le duo a toujours voulu mélanger tous les styles musicaux, jazz, pop, rock, blues, soul en tissant des mélodies irrésistibles (Rikki Don't Lose That Number, Josie, Black cow…) sur des paroles de Fagen souvent ironiques et à prendre à plusieurs degrés. Une musique qui dépasse les tentatives de classement, jouée par des musiciens de légende, le duo ne s’entourant que des meilleurs, aussi exigeants avec eux qu’ils l’étaient avec leur propre personne. Au hasard, quelques noms croisés au fil des morceaux pour comprendre : Steve Gadd, Jeff Porcaro, Michael McDonald, Joe Sample, Wayne Shorter, Elliott Randal, Jeff Baxter, Victor Feldman, Dean Parks, Chuck Rainey, Jim Gordon, Larry Carlton (impérial sur Kid Charlemagne par exemple, un solo d’anthologie et sur l’intégralité de The Royal Scam d’ailleurs !), Lee Ritenour, Tom Scott, Steve Khan, Bernard Purdie, Michael Brecker, David Sanborn, Rick Marotta...Et ça n’est qu’un mince échantillon ! Malgré une musique superlative et dans laquelle on n’a pas fini de puiser, un livret de qualité comme on savait en faire à cette époque, ce coffret a tout de même des défauts. Le 1er et le plus important est l’absence d’inédits à l’exception des raretés citées plus haut. Et ça n’est pas pourtant pas les demos et les live des années 70 qui manquent. C’est très frustrant pour le fan collectionneur bien sûr. Il ne s’agit pas d’une intégrale de tout ce qu’aurait sorti Steely Dan jusqu’en 1980 car aucune trace des deux faces du premier single du groupe en 1972 (" Dallas "/" Sail the Waterway "), aucun de ces titres n'a jamais été réédité et publié sur CD, Becker et Fagen les détestant purement et simplement. Le fan, lui, ne peut pas se faire sa propre idée…Autre défaut et pas des moindres : les titres des albums ne sont parfois pas dans l’ordre d’origine, sans doute pour que tout loge sur 4 CD. Sans être tatillon, c’est quand même gênant quand on sait l’obsession de Fagen dans la construction et la cohésion de ses albums ! Par exemple, pour Katy lied (1975), Chain Lightning (fin du CD 2) et Your gold teeth II (début du CD3) sont inversés dans l’album original. Bon, si vous êtes fan de ce duo exceptionnel, il vous faut ce coffret mais je connais des fans complétistes et gros spécialistes de Steely Dan qu’il a déçu. Il y avait sans doute un peu mieux à faire, plus complet (avec un CD live pourquoi pas ?). A la sortie de ce coffret, Becker et Fagen sont repartis en tournée et ils ont continué de donner des concerts régulièrement, offrant des prestations le plus souvent d’une extrême qualité. Ils ont réalisé 2 albums studio supplémentaires, Two against nature en 2000 et Everything must go en 2003. Malgré la mort de Becker en 2017, Fagen veut continuer de tourner sous le nom de « Steely Dan » afin de garder vivante la musique qu’ils ont créée tous les deux tant qu’il le pourra.Un coffret précieux (mais pas sans défauts) sur un groupe superlatifJoe Roberts
Reviewed in France on 23 December 2023
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