The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about the album Can’t Buy a Thrill by Steely Dan is the amazing album cover. This was a very colorful and fun looking depiction of a drawing. It includes a street, some people and a pair of massive pink lips, in an open and sensual pose. In addition to having a very catchy cover, which made people curious about the band Steely Dan, the style of the album was also a very interesting mixture. The sound revolved around a Jazz rock genre with some very influential notes of Progressive rock. This combination made by Steely Dan was very successful and fun to listen to. This fact was proven and made very much real by the credits given by the musical industry to the first album of Steely Dan. Thus, the album peaked at number 17 in the charts and went gold in terms of sales. It was also featured on the list of the 500 Greatest Albums of all Times, in Rolling Stone, at number 238.

The first Steely Dan album includes 10 great tracks which are really fun to listen to even after all these years. The music that Steely Dan first produced is still great for fans and the albums which followed, only made it even more obvious for people that this is a great band.

Steely Dan made their debut in this formula in 1972, when they released Can’t Buy a Trill, the album which made them famous. One of the most popular singles included on this album was Do It Again and Reelin’ In the Years. This particular song has brought millions of fans to Steely Dan as it reached the American Billboard singles chart first places soon after the moment of its release. The following year, Steely Dan released their second album, Countdown to Ecstasy, which was out in 1973. In fact, between 1972 and 1977, Steely Dan has lunched a new album each year. So, in 1974 Pretzel Logic was out. In 1975, the band released Katy Lied, while the following year The Royal Scam was launched. In 1977, Steely Dan released their sixth album, Aja, which turned out to be extremely successful. Although all these albums were really successful, after the release of Aja, Steely Dan decided to take a pause and their following album, Gaucho, was out only in 1980.

In fact, 1980 was the year in which the last album of Steely Dan was released, before the band’s 2000 reunion. So, for about 20 years, Steely Dan were on a break from their musical career. However, fans were delighted to find out that the musicians decided to put an end to that pause and the year 2000 was a very important one in the destiny of Steely Dan band. In 2000 Steely Dan released a new album, their eight one, Two Against Nature. In 2003, the last Steely Dan album to be released until now was out, Everything Must Go.

Steely Dan’s enigmatic, sardonically humorous and topical lyrics add to the appeal of the songs. Steely Dan has rapidly developed a distinctive style and has since become one of the most accomplished and respected bands of their age. The overall sound of Steely Dan is quite special. An extra attention was given to the individual sound of each instrument, in order to create something different and unique. The recordings were done with the utmost fidelity to the sonic detail, and mixed in such a way that the listener can hear every distinctive instrument. Concerning the themes approached, the lyrics of Steely Dan cover a wide range of topics. In their basic approach to music, they refer to themes such as sex, drugs and rock’n'roll, but in a very subtle manner, neither encouraging nor discouraging.

In terms of backing vocals, Steely Dan favors a soul-influenced style, that was most of the times performed by a female chorus. Another distinctive characteristic of Steely Dan is the musical arrangement regarding the horns. Horn arrangements have been used in all the songs Steely Dan has recorded and typically feature brass and wood instruments, such as trumpets, trombones, saxophones, as well as flutes and clarinets. Alongside the wonderful use of backing vocals and horn, Steely Dan also uses chord sequences and harmonies that explore the area of the musical boundary between traditional pop sounds and jazz.

The 1993 reunion was based on the former band members helping and supporting each other in personal solo projects. The collaborations that followed, with producing albums and live concerts, convinced them to take a chance at working together again as Steely Dan and not as solo performers. Steely Dan started the Live in America Tour in 1993 and released a live album, with the same name, in 1995. After this period, Steely Dan starting touring and producing albums as they went along their way, gathering more and more success and positive acclaim from the fans. Tours and albums that followed were either under the name of Steely Dan or as part of the singers’ solo careers. They took the stage or recorded under labels such as: Two Against Nature (2000), Everything Must Go (2003), Steelyard “Sugartooth” McDan and The Fab Originees.com Tour (2006), Heavy Rollers Tour (2007), Think Fast (2008), Left Bank Holiday and Rent Party (2009). Shuffle Diplomacy Twenty Eleven (2011) is still going on strongly as the tour is not over yet and many more fans are waiting to see their idols perform live on stage.

Continuing to entertain their fans, Steely Dan members have managed to maintain their rock and roll emblem status and to live up to the reputation they gave themselves before the split. Even though their split has set them back a few years, Steely Dan came back with improved and modern sound to appeal to younger audiences, but have not gave up on their core rock and roll spirit that made them famous, revitalizing songs that made an impact almost 40 years ago.  

Steely Dan lyrics include themes such as drug abuse, sex, love affairs and also murders. Steely Dan lyrics are considered to be eccentric, but cerebral, and this is one of the most important reasons why their work is so much appreciated today. In many songs, Steely Dan creates fictional stories and talks about the experience of their fictional characters. The band covered a wide range of topics with their lyrics and many times they are impartial or ironic. The first album released by Steely Dan was Can’t Buy a Trill. The album was out for sale in 1972 and has brought a huge contribution to the growth of this band’s success. Throughout the years, Steely Dan has released many successful songs and albums, their music selling in more than 30 million albums all over the world. It surely looks like Steely Dan have millions of fans!

Thanks to the quality of their music, Steely Dan have been introduced to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March, 2001. The event was very much expected by the fans and Steely Dan surely deserved such an honor. For their music, the band has received many awards and numerous nominations in various award ceremonies. In 2000, Steely Dan received a Grammy Award for the Album of the Year. There is no doubt in the fact that Steely Dan is one of the most successful all time American bands and that they will forever remain in the history of music.

So, Steely Dan has achieved fame starting with the 1970s, when they released, not less than, seven albums. Most of the songs released by this band turned out to be very successful and that is thanks to the inspirational Steely Dan lyrics that managed to make people learn more about love, affairs and relationships. However, some songs were filled with sarcasm, while others talked about drugs, crime and failure. Still, although the band had an impressive success right after releasing the first singles, the two Steely Dan band members were incapable of maintaining their fame and, so, by the end of the 1970s, they managed to release only some mediocre projects and in 1981 the band ceased to exist. The two Steely Dan members, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, remained inactive in the music industry for a long period of time, so they never released projects by their own. Anyway, the band decided to return in the spotlights in the 2000s, when Steely Dan released a new album, which actually brought them a Grammy Award for the Album of The Year.

Steely Dan have sold more than 30 millions albums all over the world, so we can surely say that this band has managed to remain quite successful during the years, and fans really loved their unique musical style and the freshness they brought every time with their music. In 2001, thanks to their achievements in music industry, Steedy Dan have been introduced to the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame. This band will surely remain in the history of Rock And Roll music and fans are always going to listen with joy some of their greatest songs.

Steely Dan music is a mixture from jazz, funk, rock, pop and R&B. The band’s lyrics are cerebral, eccentric, but these weer some of the elements that made Steely Dan special and different from the several rock bands from that time. Steely Dan albums were many in the late 70′s and from 1975 the band was only a studio act, without tours and concerts. Steely Dan albums were so appreciated and the band had so many fans as they sold in more than 30 million albums in the whole world.

In March 2001, Steely Dan was inducted in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, so they will remain in the American rock music history. Steely Dan disbanded in 1981 and for a long time since then, the members of the rock band did not appear in the music world. In the 90′s the band reunited and they released new albums, but some of them did not have the same success as in the past, but their reunion was a great surprise for the public and for the fans. The band also went for many tours in several cities in the world and they collaborated with other musicians. People wanted to see them and every Steely Dan tour was a success. More, they co-produced the albums of each other, an activity that both of them found it as a very interesting experience, maybe the most interesting from their musical career. It is interesting to know the attention that the members gave to the sound of every instrument when they were recording and they wanted that all the instruments would be heard. In 2001, a Steely Dan tour was announced for The United States. The lyrics were also an important part that made the style of the rock band Steely Dan, one of the most important from history.

Steely Dan was on tour from 1972 to 1974 and their debut album was called Can’t Buy A Thrill from 1972. The songs from this album were “Reelin’ In The Years” and “Do It Again” and they had success, being very appreciated by the fans of this genre. Because was reluctant of singing live, the best thing that he could do is to write the lyrics and to establish the attitude of the songs. The band LP, Pretzel Logic from 1974 brought to the band an important success.

In 1981, the band split and Becker moved with his family and he also stopped being dependent on narcotics. Fagen releases a solo album called Nightfly which was awarded with platinum. In the 80′s the two tried to write other songs, but there were no positive results. As a conclusion, both members of the band did production work for other bands. Many bands or artist were influenced by the Steely Dan style. Later, after their reunion from 1986, they did the same service to each other, this meaning that they co-produced the solo albums of each other. After, they said that this was the most interesting experience of this kind from all their lives. In 2000, their first studio album Two Against Nature was an important success that won four Grammies. Three years after they released another album, Everything Must Go and began a tour in America. One of the best tours they had was in 2007, with the album called Heavy Rollers Tour. In 2011 they also announced another tour. The Steely Dan lyrics cover a wide variety of subjects and it is very interesting to hear the message they send.

Becker and Fagen are the main components of the band whose harmonies. In their music career with Steely Dan sang with many pop, rock musicians. Steely Dan’s musical style consists of complex jazz influence which combined with the talent of the two members, resulted in a genuine and personal style of the band. From 1975 they became a studio-based act, after two years of going on many tours. Steely Dan broke in 1981 and were inactive in the musical world. These are just few things about the beggining and the ending of the band. Why they disbanded, why were they inactive afterwards, what made their musical style so appreciated? Were there some influences from their private life that made them broke? What about their lyrics, the musical genre, why is was so complex.

In the ebook “Steely Dan: Reelin’ in the Years”, you will find all you need to know about their lives and career. “Steely Dan: Reelin’ in the Years” is a very appreciated autobiography, rated as “Well researched…A fascinating read”. “Steely Dan: Reelin’ in the Years” includes pieces of information about the latest Steely Dan song named ‘Everything Must Go”. Information about Steely Dan debut, “Can’t Buy A Thrill” in 1973 is present in the book, too. The two musicians were very misterious during their career. They barely were intrviewed and after some unpleasant experiences on the road, they did noy organized tours anymore. “Steely Dan: Reelin’ in the Years” finally reveals all the secrets fromt their lives and from their career. You have now the possibility to know more and to elucidate the unknown things both from their lives and musical career.

Click here to get your Steely Dan Reelin’ in the Years ebook.

After Fagen started taking over as the lead vocalist of the band on stage and in the studio, their career really started to take off. Palmer eventually ended up leaving the band in pursuit of other musical projects, not feeling needed by the band any longer. Somewhere down the line Palmer crossed paths with Carole King and began to play music with her, creating Jazzman. When the band put out “Countdown to Ecstasy”, Denny Dias was responsible for the position of rhythm guitar and they once again managed to increase and strengthen their already large fan base, solidifying their place in the music industry at the time.