Steely Dan: More Than Just A Band

Like all you Steely Dan fans out there, we're always looking for new material about the Dan, especially the behind-the-scenes stories about how they crafted their amazing albums.

We found this great Steely Dan video and wanted to share it with the Gooseneck gaggle. This comes from the guys over at YouTube channel Polyphonic, and they call it "a deconstruction of the Dan."

A couple highlights:

  • Good detail on a couple of key behind-the-scenes players in the Dan discography: producer Gary Katz and engineer Roger Nichols. 
  • Donald and Walter's obsession with finding the right session drummers -- even in their early years -- like Jim Gordon and Jeff Porcaro on Katy Lied.
  • The elevation of guitar on Royal Scam with the addition of Larry Carlton.
  • A spotlight on the horn arrangements by Tom Scott on Aja.
  • The fact that Donald and Walter didn't play any instruments on "Babylon Sisters" from Gaucho.

Hats off to the guys at Polyphonic. Here's a link to their original post.

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