Well, sort of ….
I’m gunna add this post because I need to and in no way is this meant to detract from any list by Algernon who has has a much better talent than me at listing great songs.
Steely Dan became my musical life when I was around 19 years old. A friend got me into them by playing the Royal Scam album for three days in a row. I was hooked and prior to that is was Uriah Heep, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd and chuck in Black Sabbath.
I was a drummer at he time and later went on to the guitar. A mate told me that I was a great blues player even though I didn’t really understand at the time what he meant. He was 8th grade AMEB on the flute and a great Steely Dan fan.
You can read their history here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steely_Dan
As I got older, which happened quickly, I was drawn to folk like Stevie Ray Vaughan, Kenny Wayne Shepard, Rory Gallagher, Gary Moore, Jimi Hendrix and Roy Buchanan. Then even further back to Lighting Hopkins and Robert Johnson.
People would come from miles around just to hear me play the blues. It was great for my ego but the band I followed was Steely Dan. Tutu will tell you that I was a Steely Dan addict. It wasn’t pop,or rock or jazz or blues it was Steely Dan. Here are some of my favourite tracks.
Fire in the Hole
One of the best acoustic piano solos ever.
Don’t take me alive. My guitar teacher was in awe here, Larry Carlton on lead guitar.
Peg – Funky and along with Josie was Steely Dans answer to disco.
Suppose may as well include Josie
Tutu and I emailed Steely Dan to play this one when they came to Australia.
Then there was this one most Aussies will know.
I could go on but these are just the few that come to mind. Vale Walter Becker, you will be missed by me and Tutu and the millions of fans all over the the world. Here’s a song from a band that you produced called China Crisis from Scotland. You did cut me.
Los Wages
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Mark I had another list ready to go. I’ve just gone through this tribute and though it could wait another week and leave this one for greater exposure.
Nice stuff.
Hope the heads on the mend too.
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Thanks to everyone with offers of support. Have been very up and down lately and fell in the backyard yesterday and had to go to hospital for a few stitches. Luckily they did a brain scan and couldn’t find anything, I told them there was nothing in there but did they believe me.
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Glad you are OK, except for not having a brain. I tried to ring you, but you were probably in that mobile phone suppressing place called a hospital.
We had a bad night last night. Our old dog had a protracted seizure, for the first time in his life. We went to the after hours vet who said that seizures in older dogs are almost always due to brain tumours, or secondary to other equally sinister causes. We decided to put him down, as it was breaking our hearts to see him so disorientated post seizure.
Vale Fergus.
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Sad to hear Big. I’d love a dog for company but it is not allowed on the lease.
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I’m really across the step you guys took, Big. Who know how many experiences of that for him, trying to cope without a chart to look at to know what happened. I’m only relieved to know the issue is resolved. It must have been one heck of a night for you.
I went through a bit of crap pointlessly it might seem fretting for Mark. To know something of it was a relief by phone.
I’m sorry, Big.
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Thanks, ‘shoe, it was a really shitty night. We both handled our grief in different ways. Our old Fergus is now a part of our garden, with a primitive cairn built over the grave. Our little dog, Skye, cried a couple of times. Not much we can do for her.
I too worried for Mark. Glad he only hit his head, after all!
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I’m alright young fella. They only scanned me as I have had 3 falls in the last 12 months.
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Thank you the word images of your cairn, Big and of Skye.
Like yourself Big, like so relieved tot’lly it was only he knocked his head no yeah, tot’lly.
🙂
Like this, young bloke Mark, I had problems with m’knees for quite a while giving way, about yr age, so you’ve got time left to fall over a few more many times yet….better they didn’t find a brain so that won’t lead to anything in it going…
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Mark our dog Dana had to be put down in July, An elderly dog was going down hill for a while. Dropped weight all of a sudden, Vet found that in the last month it had multiple things going wrong. By a Friday we’d decided a good weekend at home and put her down on the Monday. She rallied with all the love and attention she got but by Monday she went down hill and was put down in the afternoon. I’d dug the hole (huge for a small dog) on the Sunday. Was in a meeting not concentrating a got a text from Mrs A that they’d buried the dog and as they finished a sunshower with a rainbow appeared. It was sad all around.
Now for Hung good to hear alls good just need to remember to put one foot in front of the other.
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Thanks, Algy, our Fergus had been good in some ways, playing more with the young dog, but not interested in walks. We put it down to arthritis, which he has had for a while.
This was quite sudden, seizures in the middle of the night, but clearly of a sinister cause, so we both elected to euthanase him. He would be embarrassed to have more seizures, frothing at the mouth and pissing himself. We buried him in the garden yesterday, then had a drink or four. I teared up today walking the little dog, who stopped, looking around waiting for Fergus.
Mrs M and I took it pretty badly, but, some years ago a psychologist advised all of us NICU nurses that a lifetime of dealing with grief for the loss of other family’s babies can easily be triggered by the loss of a pet, so that’s what we are putting it down to.
As for Hung, I’m glad he is OK! He is, and always be, senior barfly at the Pigs!
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PS sorry to hear about Dana. Sounds like a much loved old pup.
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I am blown right away by your saying China Crisis was produced by them. You’ve jigged up my spirits and jigged up my sense of my musical appreciation no end, no end, make that endless, by referring to it and putting them up, too. I came to China Crisis late as I did a lot of popular and not so popular music when I took to radio like a duck waddling new born in the early 1990s. I always feel like such a dick when I place myself by years. I was just busy elsewhere for a lot of years.
I was crazy about China Crisis when I heard them first. Not all their tracks as matter of personal preference. Nooo, I can’t recall the titles now but they’re tickling in my brain.
Thanks for a great post, Mark. So appreciated.
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Careless of me, produced by Walter Becker, not ‘them’ as I say above.
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Not produced by WB I don’t think leastwise. For you though, Mark. I’ll catch up with the WB tracks. I’ll listen to them all in time.
Give me a call when you have time. I won’t intrude when you have a busy week.
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Doesn’t matter who listens to this. I’m just an old man that loved this band. Death will come soon and I will not be missed, I hope it’s painless as I’m a coward.
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Not too old, anf hopefully death won’t come soon. If you are reading this can you give me a call?
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Hung there is no way I could do Steely Dan justice in the same way you could. I’m glad you’ve posted this. Was even going to suggest you put one together but didn’t get to suggesting it.
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Thanks Ace. I admire you and you ability to group songs. I respect everything you do. Cheers.
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Yes, I SD, only really got into them in the last decade. I would like to call it jazz-rock, or fusion, but I think they are above description.
Will come back for a listen.
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To get just a few songs was really hard Gib. Me, they was different to everyone else and I like them for that. Helvi, I’m hurting.
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Yes, young feller, very difficult to distill them down to a few, or even a dozen. All so bloody good.
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