Steely Dan – Remastered – The Best Of Steely Dan, Then and Now (1993)

After the group disbanded in 1981, Becker and Fagen were less active throughout most of the next decade, though a cult following remained devoted to the group. Since reuniting in 1993, Steely Dan has toured steadily and released two albums of new material, the first of which, Two Against Nature, earned a Grammy Award for Album of the Year. They have sold more than 40 million albums worldwide and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March 2001. VH1 listed Steely Dan at #82 as one of the 100 greatest musical artists of all time. Becker died on September 3, 2017, leaving Fagen as the only official member. (by wikipedia

There’s a reason why “remastered” is part of the title of Then and Now: The Best of Steely Dan Remastered. Steely Dan’s fans are notorious for their love of pristine audio quality; they loved virgin vinyl pressings of the Dan’s classic studio work and they loved the CD reissues. So the distinction that this 1993 collection is remastered is important, since it gives the hardcore a reason to check it out. Of course, in the years since, the remasters have been replaced by new remasters, most notably the Fagen and Becker-endorsed 1999 reissues, but this was still an improvement over the issues in the marketplace in 1993.

More importantly, at least to the general audience, is that the compilation is a good overview of the band’s work. It doesn’t follow chronological order and there are omissions that are easy to spot, especially since it decides to balance singles with album tracks from “Midnite Cruiser” to “Josie.” Still, this is a really entertaining sampling, heavy on their big hits yet still an accurate portrait of their breadth and depth. Nothing that the hardcore fan needs to add — unless they don’t have “FM” somewhere in their collection or are a completist or an audiophile circa 1993 — but casual fans will enjoy it (though it’s not much better than the easily available A Decade of Steely Dan, so it’s not necessarily worth an extensive search for this British collection). Best of all, the auto-Stonehenge makes for the coolest cover ever for a Dan compilation. (by Stephen Thomas Erlewine)

The album cover is a photograph of Carhenge in Nebraska.

Personnel:
Walter Becker (guitar, bass, background vocals)
Donald Fagen (vocals, keyboards)
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many, many studio musicians

Trackklist:
01. Reelin’ In The Years 4.39
02 Rikki Don’t Lose That Number 4.34
03. Peg 3.57
04. FM 5.07
05. Hey Nineteen 5.06
06. Deacon Blues 7.32
07. Black Friday 3.41
08. Bodhisattva 5.19
09. Do It Again 5.57
10. Haitian Divorce 5.52
11. My Old School 5.48
12. Midnite Cruiser 4.09
13. Babylon Sisters 5.51
14. Kid Charlemagne 4.40
15. Dirty Work 3.10
16. Josie 4.29

All songs written by:
Walter Becker – Donald Fagen

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More from Steely Dan:

The official website:

Steely Dan – Everything Must Go (2003)

Steely Dan is an American rock band founded by core members Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals) in 1972. Blending elements of jazz, traditional pop, R&B, and sophisticated studio production with cryptic and ironic lyrics, the band enjoyed critical and commercial success starting from the early 1970s until breaking up in 1981. Throughout their career, the duo recorded with a revolving cast of session musicians, and in 1974 retired from live performances to become a studio-only band. Rolling Stone has called them “the perfect musical antiheroes for the Seventies”.

After the group disbanded in 1981, Becker and Fagen were less active throughout most of the next decade, though a cult following remained devoted to the group. Since reuniting in 1993, Steely Dan has toured steadily and released two albums of new material, the first of which, Two Against Nature, earned a Grammy Award for Album of the Year. They have sold more than 40 million albums worldwide and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March 2001. VH1 listed Steely Dan at #82 as one of the 100 greatest musical artists of all time. Becker died on September 3, 2017, leaving Fagen as the only official member. (by wikipedia)

Everything Must Go is the ninth studio album by American rock group Steely Dan. It was released on June 10, 2003, by Reprise Records, and was the band’s second album following their 20-year studio hiatus spanning 1980 through 2000, when they released Two Against Nature. Everything Must Go is the band’s most recent studio album and their last with founding member Walter Becker before his death in 2017.

“Godwhacker” developed from a blasphemous lyric Fagen wrote a few days after his mother died of Alzheimer’s. “It’s about an elite squad of assassins whose sole assignment is to find a way into heaven and take out God”, he later explained. “If the deity actually existed, what sane person wouldn’t consider this to be justifiable homicide?” (wikipedia)

When Steely Dan released Two Against Nature in 2000, their first album in 20 years, it was an unexpected gift, since all odds seemed against Donald Fagen and Walter Becker reteaming for nothing more than the occasional project, let alone a full album. As it turned out, the duo was able to pick up where they left off, with Two Against Nature seamlessly fitting next to Gaucho and earning the band surprise success, including a Grammy for Album of the Year, but the bigger surprise is that the reunion wasn’t a one-off — they released another record, Everything Must Go, a mere three years later. Given the (relatively) short turnaround time between the two records, it comes as little surprise that Everything Must Go is a companion piece to Two Against Nature, and sounds very much like that album’s laid-back, catchy jazz-funk, only with an elastic, loose feel — loose enough to have Walter Becker take the first lead vocal in Steely Dan history, in fact, which sums up the Dan’s attitude in a nutshell.

This time, they’re comfortable and confident enough to let anything happen, and while that doesn’t really affect the sound of the record, it does affect the feel. Though it as expertly produced as always, there’s less emphasis on production and a focus on the feel, often breathing as much as a live performance, another new wrinkle for Steely Dan. Sometimes, it also sounds as if Becker and Fagen have written the songs quickly; there’s nothing that betrays their high standards of craft, but, on a whole, the songs are neither as hooky nor as resonant as the ones unveiled on its predecessor. While it might have been nice to have a song as immediate as, say, “Cousin Dupree,” there are no bad songs here and many cuts grow as nicely as those on Two Against Nature. But the real selling point of Everything Must Go is that relaxed, comfortable, live feel. It signals that Steely Dan has indeed entered a new phase, one less fussy and a bit funkier (albeit lite funk). If they can keep turning out a record this solid every three years, we’d all be better off. (by Stephen Thomas Erlewine)

Personnel:
Walter Becker (bass, leadguitar on 01. – 04., 06., vocals on 05., percussion on 09.)
Donald Fagen (vocals, keyboards, synthesizer, perciussio on 06. + 09.)
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Ted Baker (piano  on 01. – 03., 06., 08. + 09, wurlitzer on 08.)
Keith Carlock (drums)
Bill Charlap (piano on 04. + 07.) (7)
Gordon Gottlieb (percussion n 02., 03., 05., 08. + 08.)
Jon Herington (guitar)
Ken Hitchcock (clarinet on 07.)
Tony Kadleck (trumpet on 01.)
Michael Leonhart (trumpet on 02., 05., 07. + 08.)
Hugh McCracken (guitar)
Chris Potter (saxophone on 08.)
Jim Pugh (trombone on 01. + 07.)
Roger Rosenberg (saxophone on 01. + 07.)
Walt Weiskopf (saxophone on 01., 02., 05., 07. + 09.)
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background vocals:
Tawatha Agee – Ada Dyer – Michael Harvey – Carolyn Leonhart – Cindy Mizelle – Catherine Russell – Brenda White-King

Tracklist:
01. The Last Mall 3.38
02. Things I Miss The Most 4.01
03. Blues Beach 4.30
04. Godwhacker 4.59
05. Slang Of Ages 4.16
06. Green Book 5.56
07. Pixeleen 4.02
08. Lunch With Gina 4.28
09. Everything Must Go 6.44

All songs written by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen

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More from Steely Dan:

The official website:

Steely Dan – Toronto (2011)

Steely Dan is an American rock band founded by core members Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals) in 1972. Blending elements of jazz, traditional pop, R&B, and sophisticated studio production with cryptic and ironic lyrics, the band enjoyed critical and commercial success starting from the early 1970s until breaking up in 1981. Throughout their career, the duo recorded with a revolving cast of session musicians, and in 1974 retired from live performances to become a studio-only band. Rolling Stone has called them “the perfect musical antiheroes for the Seventies”.

After the group disbanded in 1981, Becker and Fagen were less active throughout most of the next decade, though a cult following remained devoted to the group. Since reuniting in 1993, Steely Dan has toured steadily and released two albums of new material, the first of which, Two Against Nature, earned a Grammy Award for Album of the Year. They have sold more than 40 million albums worldwide and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March 2001. VH1 listed Steely Dan at #82 as one of the 100 greatest musical artists of all time. Becker died on September 3, 2017, leaving Fagen as the only official member. (by wikipedia)

And here´s a pretty good bootleg:

And this is what Jane Stevenson commented at torontosun.com:

Becker, who recalled Santa Claus with his beard, glasses and tummy and stationary stance, as he played guitar to the side of Fagen’s keyboards was also in unusually chatty form, rambling on and on a couple of times during the show and even took over on lead vocals at one point. Fagen, meanwhile, was in his typical Ray Charles mode, in sunglasses and with his head tilted to the side, as he sang song after song in his delightfully raspy but still strong voice while occasionally jumping to his feet with one or both arms in the air.

As they often do in a live setting, Fagen and Becker gave the songs plenty of breathing space as they delivered longer versions than their studio counterparts and the infusion of younger players like Carlock and Herington kept them on their toes and it suits them.

This show has just surfaced and it’s thanks to Joe Blotz Records & Lawn Care for sharing the tracks.

Recorded live at the Molson Amphitheatre, Toronto, Canada; July 22, 2011.
Excellent soundboard.

Personnel:
Walter Becker (guitar)
Donald Fagen (keyboards, vocals)
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Jim Beard (keyboards)
Keith Carlock (drums)
Jon Herington (guitar)
Michael Leonhart (trumpet, keyboards)
Jim Pugh (trombone)
Roger Rosenberg (saxophone)
Freddie Washington (bass)
Walt Weiskopf (saxophone)
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background vocals:
Carolyn Leonhart-Escoffery – Cindy Mizelle – Catherine Russell

Tracklist:

CD 1:
01. Dizzy Intro (Adderley) 6.43
02. Aja (Becker/Fagen) 8.42
03. Black Friday (Becker/Fagen) 4.54
04. Hey Nineteen (Becker/Fagen) 9.23
05. Your Gold Teeth (Becker/Fagen) 8.53
06. Time Out Of Mind (Becker/Fagen) 6.04
07. Showbiz Kids (Becker/Fagen) 7.11
08. Bodhisattva (Becker/Fagen) 6.22
09. Dirty Work (Becker/Fagen)  5.18
10. Godwhacker (Becker/Fagen) 7.12

CD 2:
11. Neighbours Daughter (Toussaint) 8.46
12. Monkey In Your Soul (Becker/Fagen) 3.08
13. Josie (Becker/Fagen) 6.51
14. Peg (Becker/Fagen) 4.30
15. My Old School (Becker/Fagen) 6.27
16. Reelin’ In The Years (Becker/Fagen) 6.00
17. Pretzel Logic (Becker/Fagen) 7.05
18. Kid Charlemagne (Becker/Fagen) 6.03
19. Outro 1.56

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Various Artists – FM (OST) (1978)

FM is the original AOR soundtrack to the 1978 film FM. In the United States, the album reached the Top Five of Billboard’s album chart and quickly earned a Platinum-certified disc. It reached 37 in the UK charts. The soundtrack also won the 1979 Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.

QSKY radio station manager/program director Jeff Dugan (Michael Brandon) builds a large fan base by assembling a group of charismatic DJ personalities playing popular rock and roll. He soon finds that corporate management expects Jeff to use the station’s position atop the ratings to sell more advertising time. (Jeff Dugan is based loosely on Mike Herrington, the program director of Los Angeles radio station KMET while writer Sacks was working there.)

The conflict grows until sales manager Regis Lamar (Tom Tarpey) presents him with the chance to advertise for the U.S. Army using a series of cheesy radio ads. When Jeff refuses to endorse the contract, Regis takes the issue to upper management. Jeff is then ordered to run the ads as provided by the Army and on the schedule specified in the advertising contract. Rather than comply, Jeff quits his job.

All of the remaining DJs decide to take control of the station in a sort of lock-in/sit-in/protest. They get listeners to gather in the street outside the station as a sort of protest while the DJs play music without any commercials.

Jeff Dugan wakes up to hear the DJs take control of the station. The crowd is already present when he arrives at the station. The DJs lift him up to the second story with a fire hose as they have already barricaded the front doors.

The lock-in lasts only until the police get an injunction to remove the staff. A tow truck rips off the front doors and the police enter the building. The DJs battle back using a fire hose and throwing tapes and other office objects at the police.

The battle is resolved when Jeff Dugan finds himself fighting a policeman outside on an overhang. Jeff saves the policeman from falling off and decides that fighting is the wrong thing to do. He calms the crowd and announces that the DJs are coming out.

Unknown to him, the company owner, Carl Billings (Norman Lloyd), has watched from the crowd as the events unfolded. He insists that the DJs stay in the station, fires his management staff responsible for the advertising conflict, and then joins the DJs inside the station.

The story unfolds across a background of concerts, broadcast music, appearances by various rock stars, and public appearances by the station DJs. A minor subtheme to the film is the competition between QSKY and another area radio station. The major event of that subtheme occurs when Jeff arranges to broadcast a live concert by Linda Ronstadt that is being sponsored by the competitor’s radio station.

Another minor subtheme is the ongoing task of massaging egos of the various DJs to keep them happy and on the air.

Martin Mull appears in his feature film debut as a zoned-out record spinner. He plays Eric Swan, a libidinous disc jockey with eyes for everyone female. The character is self-centered, smarmy, quick tempered, and overbearingly insincere. During the course of the film, Swan beds a supposed girlfriend, encounters a female fan with a peculiar physical “gift”, and barricades himself in owing to a severe emotional breakdown due to his agent’s dropping him and his girlfriend’s leaving him, all within the confines of QSKY’s studio.

Also rounding out the cast are Cleavon Little, who plays the Prince of Darkness, QSKY’s overnight host (Little had previously played a disc jockey in the 1971 film, Vanishing Point); Eileen Brennan as ” Mother”, the 40-something nighttime DJ; Alex Karras as “Doc Holiday”, the midday DJ with the lowest ratings on the station who is eventually let go from the station; and Tom Tarpey as new sales manager Regis Lamar, the bane of the disk jockeys’ existence.

In addition, the film includes live appearances by Tom Petty & REO Speedwagon and live performances by Linda Ronstadt & Jimmy Buffett. Steely Dan performed the title theme, which became a sizable hit. The Eagles, James Taylor, Bob Seger, Dan Fogelberg, Billy Joel, and Queen were featured on the Platinum-plus soundtrack album.

Rolling Stone magazine considered the music heavily biased towards musicians who had been managed by Irving Azoff, who was head of MCA Records at the time. Some reference books claim that the TV sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati was based on FM. The physical resemblance between Michael Brandon and WKRP lead actor Gary Sandy and the fact that their respective characters were both based upon KMET programming director Mikel Hunter may have contributed to this speculation. However, WKRP series creator Hugh Wilson asserts that the sitcom was already in development when the film came out. He also states that he was “scared to death” when the film came out, afraid that it would eclipse the CBS show, which made its debut in September 1978. Wilson was relieved when FM came and went from theaters quickly. (by wikipedia)

Appropriately, the soundtrack for the 1978 movie FM feels like a radio play list of the era, collecting songs from Joe Walsh, Randy Meisner, Boz Scaggs, and other ’70s radio staples. Steely Dan’s title track, Queen’s “We Will Rock You,” Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band’s “Night Moves,” Billy Joel’s “Just The Way You Are,” and Boston’s “More Than a Feeling” are some of the highlights from this double-disc set, which also includes tracks from Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Foreigner, and Linda Ronstadt, all of whom also appeared in the film. Though FM itself wasn’t exactly a box-office smash, its soundtrack is a surprisingly durable and entertaining collection of classic rock that is arguably better than many of the ’70s rock compilations available today. (by Heather Phares)

In other words: If you like to celebrate a Seventies party … use this soundtrack and you can´t do wrong !

Tracklist:
01. Steely Dan: FM (Becker/Fagen)  4:52
02.  Bob Seger: Night Moves (Seger) 3:27
03. Steve Miller Band: Fly Like an Eagle (Miller) 3:04
04. Foreigner:  Cold As Ice (Gramm/Jones) 3:20
05. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: Breakdown (Petty)  2:44
06. Randy Meisner: Bad Man (Frey /Souther)  2:38
07. Eagles: Life in the Fast Lane (Frey/Henley/Walsh) 4:46
08. Steely Dan: Do It Again (Becker/Fagen) 5:54
09. Boz Scaggs: Lido Shuffle (Paich/Scaggs) 3:42
10. Boston: More Than a Feeling (Scholz) 4:45
11. Linda Ronstadt: Tumbling Dice (Jagger/Richards  4:51
12. Linda Ronstadt: Poor, Poor Pitiful Me (Zevon/Ronstadt) 4:15
13. Jimmy Buffett: Livingston Saturday Night (Buffett)  3:10
14. Dan Fogelberg: There’s A Place In The World For A Gambler (Fogelberg) 5:41
15. Billy Joel: Just the Way You Are (Joel) 4:49
16. The Doobie Brothers: It Keeps You Runnin’ (McDonald)  4:13
17- James Taylor:  Your Smiling Face (Taylor) 2:43
18. Joe Walsh: Life’s Been Good (Walsh) 8:05
19. Queen: We Will Rock You (May) 2:04
20. Steely Dan: FM (Reprise) (Becker/Fagen) 2:54

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This is another item from the great greygoose collection !
Thanks a lot !