If Steely Dan had a different vocalist

McDonald's Vocals on Steely Dan's "Peg"

This always reminds me of what it must have been like for all the artists brought in to the studio.

@tomrk - You must've meant to say Donald Fagen, not Walter Fagen. Then you mention Becker, who was sick for a while.They had a kid replace him after he died who was pretty good paired with lead guitarist Jon Herrington and he was on the Northeast Corridor live album, which is a must for any Dan fan. It's too bad they haven't been touring and they lost their excellent drummer to Toto (Keith Carlock). Hopefully Donald will get the itch to get back on the road.

They are totally unique and timeless. Avant grade? Tough to be that for 50+ years.

@soix You are correct.... Sorry, his wife died.

@tomrk  Fagen is not dead AFAIK.

I managed to see Steely Dan in DC probably about 10 years ago when they were doing entire albums. Walter Fagen's voice wasn't like his youthful self, but he sang the entire 3 hour show and played the rhodes the whole night.

Walter Becker played on a few songs, but he was constantly taking breaks on songs and had a backup guitar player, he died a couple of years later, and then Fagen went.

The also played Kid Charlamagne, and the crowd was on their feet.

Steely Dan IS Fagen's vocals, like it or not (other than the couple David Palmer tracks on CBAT and the one from Becker (RIP) that I skip over from Everything must Go. I've seen them over 20 times including the various projects DF has been involved with from  NY rock 'n soul revue to the Dukes of September. I am in disbelief every time someone comes out with their greatest 10/20/50/100 album list and Aja isn't in the top 10. They are the only group where I never feel the urge to pick up the stylus and skip a song, and am not compelled to buy every record in their catalog. The AJA UHQR is the best sounding record I own. CBAT is damn good also. The Royal Scam is preordered. Katy Lied is a maybe since i have it on an OMR. Didn't;t splurge on Gauch since I have it on an amazing Japanese pressing.

I will check out Monkey House - never heard of them. There looks to be one record available new on Amazon. Nothing on Acoustic Sounds.

Thanks for sharing there is alot like SD....

I realize I'm not directly responding to this thread's topic:  Monkey House, but I thought I'd share my first exposure to The Dan.  It was 1972, just around the time when their first album was coming out.  I was at Eisenhower Park on Long Island for a free outdoor concert with some of my high school ("My Old School") friends to see, of all people, Jay and the Americans!  The warm-up act were these guys I never heard of.  At first I wasn't really paying attention to them but their sound became more and more demanding of my focus.  I remember asking, "Who are those guys?" and nobody knew.  Well, it didn't take too long to find out and I now own their entire original output, not just on original vinyl and CD, but also on UHQR vinyl.  The vibrancy, the detail, the excitement create a MOST satisfying experience!

Now, I'll need to check out Monkey House.

Ha! Funny. The thing I can't stand about SD is their singing..  Just so ridiculous.

Zapdaddy Thanks for the Genius links.

hifijones  https://peterkurtz.wordpress.com/2016/06/26/the-mystery-man-of-steely-dan-an-interview-with-singer-david-palmer/

Speaking of Steely Dan vocalists....whatever happened to David Palmer?  He was sacked after Can't Buy A Thrill...

Nothing like wedding music-  ladies and gentlemen please raise your glass to any major dude .  Stan and Wendy would be ecstatic 

Just thought I’d share this song I recently found (although it’s almost 30 years old!!!) by Sonia Dada called “Lester’s Methadone Clinic” cause it’s a pretty cool song that to me has that elusive SD vibe/feel/groove and even some Dan-like lyrics.  Sounds better on Qobuz, but this gives you the idea anyway…

https://youtu.be/jhcjvbSh17s?si=_0FfssP2sj6nL9RG

Enjoy!

Great recommendation, thanks!

I listened to Monkey House and put them on my playlist. I’m not concerned with who they sound like or what they are considered. 

I prefer the Monkey House cover of the Walter Becker written and performed (Steely Dan version as well) song ‘Book of Liars’. But I like all versions… 

Hope you all have an awesome Friday night! My girl’s headed back to town tomorrow and we’re gonna play a little Backgammon and listen to some tunes.  

It’ll be more fun than a barrel of Monkey House.  

I have been hooked on SD since 1972, when Can't Buy a Thrill was released and have all of their catalog. Amazingly, I just bought CBAT as a used CD on e-bay, so their first album was the last added to my collection. They were without a doubt one of the most consistent producers of envelope-pushing music, with lyrics that painted sometimes outlandish pictures (like guys jumping off of buildings in Black Friday). I will definitely have to check out Monkey House, but no one will ever replace Steely Dan.

@tony1954 

This has already been answered in the discussion. 

@baylinor 

"It's funny to hear Steely Dan and avant-garde in the same sentence."

Why?

When "Can't Buy a Thrill" came out, there was like nothing it and they continued to produce a unique blend of jazz, rock and funk until they disbanded.

Monkey House make pretty good music, but it is based around the song catalogue of another band. That is not a positive.

Vetsc5, thanks for sharing your story.  Cool to hear stuff like this.

8th-note, 8 will definitely check out China Crisis.  Thanks.

mrfrito, thanks for the invite.

I was listening to one of their albums driving into work this morning and I could almost hear, in my mind, Donald Fagen singing many of the songs. Clearly influenced by SD, for sure.

Nice find; listening to their Friday album. I definitely hear strong Steely Dan influence, but not early SD more like 2000s Two Against Nature SD or Gaucho album. Slick and jazzy rock with cool lyrics. Songs play like a cover of "Gaslighting Annie," a Sunday afternoon listen. Almost Michael Franks or Al Jarreau like jazzy vocals.

So this is an LA / Toronto based band that's been around for 13 years? My take is very tight musicians showing off their studio maturity.

@soix I'm more of a Pere Ubu and Throbbing Gristle kind of guy but I completely agree with @baylinor's points. Difficult to play does make great or avant garde. I completely understand that some like the music and I respect that, but it is not for me and embodies so much of what I would consider the lack of genuine innovation in mainstream music of that time.

Audiowebe Ive been a Dan fan starting in 1974 when I bought one of my first albums Cant buy  A thrill . Wow Monkey House is in my head Thanks If your ever in Derby City reach out Ill pour you one!

@audiowebe Thanks for the recommendation! I have been a shameless Steely Dan fanboy from their first album. I listened to a few Monkey House tracks and I will listen to their whole catalog. The tracks I listened to are recorded with a very warm sound.

In case you haven't heard them I can recommend another band that definitely has some Dan influence (Walter Becker produced this record). The band is China Crisis and the album is Flaunt the Imperfection. The production is impeccable and every song is memorable.

@soix

I have a handful of their albums, so I am pretty familiar with them. Regardless of how they jazzed up the pop world, their music is still a mile away from what I call avant-garde. My choice of music back then was ultra progressive with bands like Can, Beefheart, Zappa, Magma, etc...In a weird way I can better relate to Jasonborne type of music than most on here. Cables and fuses, that's a different thing lol. I was never mainstream. Give me totally different and I'm good. To each his own. Glad to hear Steely Dan rocks your world. But I already knew that.

Hello to all you Audiogonics,

This is my first post, but the Steely Dan reference got my nostalgia juices flowing.    By way of intro, I'm "old school" going back to the days of taking my tubes to Olson Electronics with my dad to use their tube testers and buy new tubes as needed.  But back to Steely Dan.  I was not that familiar with this band until one glorious day in 1979. I was shopping for speakers and was in the local Federated Electronics. A young salesman (Mark) approached me and asked if he could help. I appreciated his unassuming manner, and I told him what I was looking for.  He then guided me to the sound dampened listening room where there was a variety of speakers, Wharfedale, Cerwin Vega, Sansui, Klipsch, Altec Lansing, Pioneer, JBL, etc.   But what caught my eye was a pair of "unusual looking speakers.  Salesman (Mark was his name I still have the receipt) noticed me admiring them.  He asked me if I would like to hear them.  Those speakers were my first exposure to the phased array Dahlquist DQ 10s.  The demo vinyl that Mark selected was Steely Dan's iconic Aja album.  I was transported to audio nirvana by both the recording and the transparency of those speakers.  Bought the speakers on the spot with a sweet deal since these were floor models in perfect condition with full warranty.  I still have them even though I "retired" them a few years ago but brought them out of retirement recently.  I upgraded the electronics myself (electronics was my field when i served in the USAF) in the mirror imaged pair with a "Silver" kit from Regnar/Dahlquist in New York.  New low oxygen copper point to point wiring, top of the line European caps, gold plated binding posts, new HF pots and sent the woofers to them for reconning.  OMG they are still great speakers improved by a pair of DIY stands that I fabricated several years ago as Mark did not have the stands available when I purchased them.  So, that's my Steely Dan story albeit a somewhat lengthy one.  Thanks for reading.

It’s funny to hear Steely Dan and avant-garde in the same sentence.

@baylinor @mgw  Why is that funny? Using the definition as “new, unusual, or experimental ideas” then I don’t see why they wouldn’t be considered avant-garde. Look at pretty much any chart of their songs (my band played a couple and they ain’t easy relatively speaking) and you quickly appreciate how complex, intricate, and unique their compositions are, and then combine that with them bringing in different musicians for specific parts/styles and I’d call that pretty avant-garde. When a player like Mark Knopfler is basically reduced to tears during an audition and then replaced that’s a pretty clear sign they do things differently. There’s a reason SD stands out over time as a very unique and highly respected entity not unlike Pink Floyd, The Doors, etc. and it’s not because they were common, derivative, or unoriginal. In fact I’d argue SD could be considered a poster child for the term avant-garde. Anyone who tries to lump them in with other run-of-the-mill “pop” bands has absolutely no idea what they’re talking about musically IMHO, and any major dude will tell you that only a fool would say that. 😉 😝. Sorry, couldn’t resist.

@baylinor, 👍 +1

Steely Dan and The Beatles advanced the notion that immaculate studio work could make very exultant music.

In response to my response. I actually did understand the question but I just felt like adding my take on possibility of a different vocalist in SD . However I’m stoked to hear MH. Thanks for the recommendation. 

@thelonious527 - His point was that if Steely Dan had a different singer, they might sound like this band Monkey House he's talking about. When I first saw the headline, I thought the same as you, though.... 

Thanks for the suggestion; I saw a news story on MH and didn’t think much but now I will check them out.

But when I think of Steely Dan, I don’t think greatest hits (even though they had many) and don’t think live performance. I see them as progressing in studio and evolving their sound from album to album.

One thing that stands out about SD is the shear amount of change in each album. Different studio musicians and core members other than Fagan / Becker, always pushing new boundaries. Can’t Buy a Thrill is not even close to where they eventually went with Aja and Gaucho. Like a new band every time.

Not sure is MH has the same type of evolution approach but I will give them a listen.

Everybody, I just l love this thread! Steely Dan is my all time favourite ‘pop’ band of all time . I’ve seen them 7 times. I hear millennials have adopted SD and that gives me hope their music will be enjoyed for many more years. In response to if SD had a different singer it wouldn’t be the same because only Donald Fagen can deliver lyrics so in sync with the music. 

Well, how about that!  Like the others, never heard about them.  Add a wee bit of old Chicago into it also.

It's funny to hear Steely Dan and avant-garde in the same sentence.

Very few songs have struck as much at first listen as The Royal Scam. This is a song I cannot ever get enough of, especially cranked up! I have been listening to Steely Dan for over 40 years, but only a few years ago actually heard The Royal Scam for the first time...Something about the drums and that beat man, very different and WILDLY addictive!

@mgw I did not mean to be ironic. I misread the post. lol. I just went to YouTube to listen to a few songs by Monkey House and their music does indeed have a sound signature that is very similar to that of Steely Dan. So much so that I would say that Steely Dan has greatly influenced the sound of their music, which IMO is very enjoyable to listen to.

@zapdaddy, @audioman58, @jimmyblues1959 presumably these posts were intended to be in some way ironic or even (very) vaguely amusing.

If not maybe go back and read the posts again.

Having grown up in the 1970's, where Steely Dan's Avant-garde approach to making music would go on to make them one of the most unique sounding  groups in history,  it's difficult to fathom anyone not knowing who they are.  But,  this is coming from someone in their 60's. Most of today's youth would probably know  no more about Steely Dan then those of my generation would have known about the big bands that our parents' grew up listening to.  

I'm glad that you have discovered Steely Dan's music and wish you many happy hours of listening to them in the future!  👍

How could you not have heard of steely Dan unless you are very young ,

land even at that ,if you listen to classic rock Steely Dan had a bunch of hits on the radio ,a very influential band of its era. One of my favorite bands.

...do I have to post the link to the 'Phantom of the Paradise' YET AGAIN?!

The studio geniuses can make nearly anyone sound great.....

I've binged on Steely Dan and Donald Fagan's solo efforts since the early 70's. Dunno how I missed out on Monkey House!

Thanks for the "heads up"!

Headquarters. You'd think it's Dan with different vocalist.

Here would be the obvious suggestion:

Steely Dan --> Greatest Hits 1978

This is their definitive collection.

Do It Again

Reelin’ In the Years

My Old School

Bodhisattva

Show Biz Kids

East St. Louis Toodle-Oo

Rikki Don't Lose That Number

Pretzel Logic

Any Major Dude Will Tell You

Here at the Western World

Black Friday

Bad Sneakers

Doctor Wu 

Kid Charlemagne

The Fez 

Peg

Josie

What album do you suggest I start with?

Just listened to one track True Winter and the first thought that came to me was the vocals sound like Paul Simon.  Need to listen more to see where it goes.

You ain’t kidding.  There’s more than a little later SD and solo Fagan in there in their use of backing vocals, chord progressions, rhythms/phrasing, keys, etc.  They even use some SD alum along the way.  I hadn’t heard of them either, and thanks for the tip!