Interesting Thought About Steely Dan's "Reelin' In The Years"..

[Hardrock69]

I just walked outside our building to dump my trashcan in the dumpster. One of our employees has a jambox he listens to all day. As I walked by, this song was just beginning.

I realized something interesting. It is one of the only songs I have ever heard that became a hit where there is a lengthy guitar solo UP FRONT, even BEFORE the vocals begin.

I have always loved this song anyway. Everything about it is so fucking kickass! Even groovy harmony guitar solo at the end!

I bet recording this fucker was a really kickass experience!

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Your everlasting summer
You can see it fading fast
So you grab a piece of something
That you think is gonna last
You wouldnt know a diamond
If you held it in your hand
The things you think are precious
I cant understand

Are you reelin' in the years
Stowin away the time
Are you gathering up the tears
Have you had enough of mine

You been tellin me you're a genius
Since you were seventeen
In all the time Ive known you
I still don't know what you mean
The weekend at the college
Didn't turn out like you planned
The things that pass for knowledge
I can't understand

Are you reelin' in the years
Stowin' away the time
Are you gathering up the tears
Have you had enough of mine

I spend a lot of money
And I spent a lot of time
The trip we made in Hollywood
Is etched upon my mind
After all the things we've done and seen
You find another man
The things you think are useless
I can't understand

Are you reelin' in the years
Stowin' away the time
Are you gathering up the tears
Have you had enough of mine

[chefcraig]

I've maintained for years that one of the finest guitar albums ever released was The Royal Scam. If you've never heard it, it is highly recommended. Here is another Steely Dan tune that starts out not with vocals, but with guitar break by Larry Carlton. (The album also features some mind-blowing work by Elliot Randall, Dean Parks and Denny Dias.)

[Terry]

Caught it on the radio a few days ago...first time I had listened to it in ages...great, great fucking tune

[ODShowtime]

Reelin's a great tune, just be careful not to listen to it too much. Same with Don't Fear the Reaper. If you leave it until you hear it on FM sometime, it's the shit. But if you put it on rotation at home you're flirtin with disaster, which is another good example.

[Mr Badguy]

Bitchin`!

[Mr. Vengeance]

I have a love/hate thing for SD. They are clearly a great musical group. My personal fave is Goucho (I know...the "classic" is Aja, but what the fuck), and I love "Hey Nineteen". But I find that if you listen to them live, they really are self-indulgent. Plus the hardcore fans of the band for some reason seem to be music snobs. Somehow Steely Dan is more important than Alice Cooper because they like to craft long instrumentals.

[vanhalenrocks]

Steely Dan is the shit! Nice 70's Sunday morning clean the house smoke a bowl and enjoy the day music. My favorite album is Aja. So fucking bummed I missed them play it front to back last year.

Reelin' in the Years has killer guitar work by Elliot Randall, who has the best "one and done" solo I've ever heard (meaning, I really only know the guy for ONE solo.)

I'm gonna throw on The Royal Scam after work today though based on chiefcraig's recommendation. That's all it takes to light my SD spark.

[chefcraig]

Steely Dan is the shit! Nice 70's Sunday morning clean the house smoke a bowl and enjoy the day music. My favorite album is Aja. So fucking bummed I missed them play it front to back last year.

Reelin' in the Years has killer guitar work by Elliot Randall, who has the best "one and done" solo I've ever heard (meaning, I really only know the guy for ONE solo.)

I'm gonna throw on The Royal Scam after work today though based on chiefcraig's recommendation. That's all it takes to light my SD spark.

They really do have an impressive catalogue, don't they? Even at this late date, there is still stuff to be discovered in the tracks. Countdown To Ecstasy is another outstanding album, and the guitar breaks in "My Old School" are a blast hear. Plus, I'm a sucker for wise-ass lyrics.

[MAX]

Doing my bestest impersonation of Dan...

I like the Steely Dan.

I do though, they have some stellar tunes and the boots with Chevy Chase are phenominal!!!

I also like Fagan's "Nightfly." A very solid record.

[chefcraig]

In all seriousness, I'm really, really starting to wonder about FORD. The guy absolutely detests Steely Dan, and normally would be all over this thread in a heartbeat.

[Terry]

Reelin's a great tune, just be careful not to listen to it too much. Same with Don't Fear the Reaper. If you leave it until you hear it on FM sometime, it's the shit. But if you put it on rotation at home you're flirtin with disaster, which is another good example.

Which is the odd thing in that I have it in my collection at home but rarely if ever put it on...it's one of those things where I'd think "I should pick this up on cd" whenever I'd infrequently hear it on the radio, so I could listen to it whenever and as often as I wanted, then after buying it I'd proceed to listen to it everyday for a week straight and get sick of it.

[hambon4lif]

Holy shit! A Steely Dan thread! how fucking cool!

Whoever coined the term "studio rats" probably knew Fagan and Becker personally! LOL!

Whenever they would emerge from the studio, they always had some killer shit. The production was always so rich and so clean that you could eat off of it!

"Kid Charlamagne" is my favorite SD tune, but I always dug this one. Bernard Purdie is on this one, doing his killer "Purdie Shuffle"......it's one of the lesser known 'Aja' tracks, but I always thought this track kicked ass.....

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.........looks like I picked the wrong week to quit burning weed!

[hambon4lif]

... I just wanna keep this flowing

Tonight when I chase the dragon
the water may change to cherry wine
and the silver will turn to gold
Time Out Of Mind
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[hambon4lif]

did you feel like Jesus?
did you realize?
you were still a champion in their eyes?

WARNING: VIDEO CUNTAINS STRONG POLITICAL OVERTONES!
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[GAR]

We have some old Mexican brujas take out our trash for us..

[hambon4lif]

I take one last drag
as I approach the stand
I cried when I wrote this song
sue me if I play too long
THIS BROTHER IS FREE.....I BE WHAT I WANT TO BE!
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[hambon4lif]

We have some old Mexican brujas take out our trash for us..

Well lemme guess...

that's one more job they've stolen from you?

You still having those nightmares about 100 mexicans chasing you around with leafblowers?

Please....seek help....and quit spamming threads.

[Hardrock69]

True about SD appearing from the studio with quality stuff.

And their lyrics are great.

The Cuervo Gold
The fine Columbian
Make tonight a wonderful thing

The above are a great description of a good night.

[chefcraig]

True about SD appearing from the studio with quality stuff.

And their lyrics are great.

The Cuervo Gold
The fine Columbian
Make tonight a wonderful thing


The above are a great description of a good night.

Well I'll be damned. I swear to you, I always thought that line went "Make tonight a wonderful day", and I admired the hedonistic irony of it.

[Hardrock69]

LOL.

Like Hendrix....."Scuse me while I kiss this guy?"

[Diamondjimi]

Steely Dan are one of my favs. Got the entire collection including their solo albums. Fagan's "Nightfly" being the best of the solo releases. It was actually supposed to be the follow up release to Gaucho. But they went their separate ways due to Beckers rampant Heroin use...

Great vocal harmony layering on this one...
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This one swings, big time!
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