Steely Dan - Live At the Hard Rock MGM Grand Las Vegas 10.8.96
Only for diehard Dan fans. Sound quality is bad, but some of these "reel to reel" recordings can sound worse. Anyway, it gives some idea of SD performing during the band's "Art Crimes" tour. SD have always primarily beem a studio band, and DF and WB have recorded many classic jazz rock albums. The duo are famous/infamous for doing whatever is necessary to achieve the sound they want on their albums. Time, or budgets have never meant anything to these perfectionists. Many of the world's greatest session players have been drafted in to try and achieve a certain required "sound" , and very often, many of these artists' works have never been used on Dan albums. Nothing to do with talent or musical ability, simply "failure" to reproduce results measuring up to what is in B and F's heads ! Indeed, it is well known that B and F have discarded some outstanding tunes because they do not meet their, some say impossibly high standards. There is one particular song, "The Second Arrangement", a killer jazz rock classic, which has never been officially released. It has been covered by The Steely Damned, a great American S D cover band. It's a shame that the song was never released officialy by the Dan, as it's up there with classics like "Dr.Wu", and "Deacon Blues". There are two different outtakes of the song available, both with varying lyrics. Try and hear them. To listen to SD at their best, listen to their "Aja" album, or DF's magnificent "The Nightfly" album.
TRACKS
CD 1
01. Do It Again
02. Bad Sneakers
03. Everyone’s Gone To The Movies
04. Josie
05. Jack Of Speed
06. Hey Nineteen
07. FM
08. Green Earrings
09. Rikki Don’t Lose That Number
10. Green Flower Street
11. Peg
CD 2
12. East St. Louis Toodle-oo
13. My Waterloo
14. Cash Only Island
15. Midnight Cruiser
16. Black Cow
17. Home At Last
18. Kid Charlemagne
19. Don’t Take Me Alive
20. My Old School
21. Outro
MUSICIANS
Donald Fagen: Vocals, Keyboards
Walter Becker: Electric Guitar.,Vocals
Wayne Krantz: Electric Guitar
Tom Barney: Electric Bass (finger)
John Beasley: Keyboards
Ricky Lawson: Drums
Ari Ambrose, Cornelius Bumpus: Saxophone
Michael Leonhart: Trumpet
Michelle Wiley, Carolyn Leonhart-Escoffery: Vocals
7 comments:
LINK Pt 1
LINK Pt 2
Whaddya know? I didn't have this. That is until now. I'm anxious to hear this, even if it is a 'poor quality' recording. Thanks.
Hi, Mike. I have lots of these Dan recordings, but the only live SD recording's of good quality go back to the seventies. However, the "recent" ones do give some ideaa of how good the Dan can be. It's a shame some of the band's earlier recordings are not remastered and released, as many of them were taped by record companiies involved with Steely Dan, and it's well known that some great recordings are lying in the vaults. I'm sure millions of people would love to hear them...Maybe some day. You never know what's around the corner with Don, & Walt. Thanks for comment, and please keep in touch.
SD not only has live recordings lying about but from what I gather some outtakes which nobody even knows exist, and some which people know about but haven't heard, such as different versions of already released songs. A great example of this is the outtake of 'I Got The News' which if anything sounds more like something off of Katy Lied or Royal Scam than its album of origin, Aja. I know that West of Hollywood and probably Almost Gothic also are borrowed ideas from their 70's activity. But whatever. Unless Don/Walt deem their circulation appropriate, our ears won't be so fortunate.
Cheers, Mike. we'll probably never hear these unreleased recordings in a "polished" form. Thankfully, quality is better than quantity, and the Dan's studio albums are all works of musical art. Don & Walt have probably thrown away more songs than they have released. Hopefully, they will release a new album "soon". These live concert boots are really not worth hearing. The Dan were always primarily a studio band, and albums including Aja, Katy Lied, and Nightfly still remain the duo's legacy. I would still love to get my hands on some STEELY DAMNED recordings, especially their "2nd Arrangement" version. Keep in touch
Good point there. Especially true as of late; their live output has been lackluster, to say the least. Part of that is a lack of high-calibur musicians. I mean, certainly nobody today sounds like the Brecker Brothers, Larry Carlton, etc. But even stacked up to their 90's touring band, the current one is severely lacking for the most part. And they only play around 12-14 songs total...
I don't mean to condemn Don and Walt but it's almost ridiculous to hear them live after hearing the perfection of their studio output (aside from EMG which was weak). Now that they're doing another European tour, it looks like the wait for new material will continue indefinitely.
Hi, Mike. I would love to hear an album from the Dan with tracks of the calibre of Kid Charlemagne, Black Friday, or Reelin' In The Years. Call me old fashioned, but these tracks contained the essence of the "real Dan". Ascerbic, sardonic lyrics, and guitar riffs of the highest quality from people like Baxter, Carlton, etc. I love jazz, but I think after Aja, some of W&D's compositions tried to become too clever, and overly complex, and lost some of the duo's earlier "bite". Don't get me wrong. The later stuff is still is still light years ahead of what most bands are releasing, but "Home At Last", "Josie", and "Deacon Blues" are infinitely better than tracks like "Godwhacker", "Negative Girl", or "Last Mall". Just my opinion, but I have been following W&D since their CBAT days, and I'm sure many Dan fans would agree with me. Also, the fact remains, that they are not a touring band. Don's vocals frankly are not what they used to be. I've seen them live relatively recently, and give me perfect album version of "Deacon Blues" any day. Let's hope for a new album in the next ten years or so! Maybe they'll throw in a new "Don't Take Me Alive"!. Anyway, Mike, thanks for comments, and ttu soon
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