Steely Dan Alive and Well Again

One could make a case that Steely Dan is the most well known and popular jazz/rock fusion band of all time. I have had the privilege of seeing them three times in concert. Originally consisting of Donald Fagen, Walter Becker, and whomever they chose to invite into the studio, they were primarily a studio band. However, once they got their feet wet and became world renowned as songwriters, they decided to perform more consistently in the mid 90's originally as the New York Rock and Soul Review.

They are on their Rent Party Tour performing entire classic albums like “Aja", “The Royal Scam, and “Gaucho", They had three shows in Boston on July 22, 24, and 25. Unfortunately, Steely Dan I don't believe has any more shows in Boston, and although I did not attend the last few they had, I can imagine that they performed the Aja album to perfection. The songs on the album are so smooth and well crafted that the subtle complexity of the songs get drenched in the witty and stylistic smoothness that make the music palatable even for an average listener. I can almost picture in my head Donald Fagen sitting behind his Wurlitzer and Fender Rhodes electric pianos belting out the chords while Walter Becker casually and convincingly plays his smooth and warm guitar licks. Originally, he played a lot of the bass parts on Aja, and no doubt his playing must have been influenced by guys like Larry Carlton and Jeff “Skunk" Baxter who were session musicians for Steely Dan for many years in the 70's.