Steely Dan: Perfection In Performance

The headline is also the title of a new DVD of European origin that's slithered its way from bootleg status to sold-as-official in stores and online shops.

It is the August 12, 2006 show from Charlotte, North Carolina and the somewhat lengthily named Steelyard "Sugartooth" McDan (and the Fab-Originees.com) tour they did with Michael McDonald.

Here are the tracks, just in case the DVD pops up under some other name (which it probably will):

01 Intro (Turtle Talk)
02 Bodhisattva
03 Time out of Mind
04 Aja
05 I Got the News
06 Hey 19
07 Josie
08 Green Earrings
09 Deacon Blues
10 Black Friday
11 Dirty Work
12 Band Intros/Show Biz Kids
13 Do It Again
14 Peg
15 Don't Take Me Alive
16 Kid Charlemagne
17 FM
18 My Old School

If you are a hardcore Steely Dan fan you probably already downloaded this in one form or another as it has been around since late 2006. And our guess is that you are more than happy with the content.
But if you're a casual fan you might be disappointed as this is no professional or official release. Strictly bootleg stuff whatever side of the increasingly blurry and ignored line between legal/illegal you drop this.

Related and of interest: Our post on the renamed (Steely Dan In Concert) and legally dubious re-release of the official Two Against Nature - Steely Dan's Plush TV Jazz Party In Sensous Surround Sound DVD from 2000.

And for those curious about the 2006 show. There's an easier way than to order the DVD. Just skip on over to YouTube. It's all there.

(Once again thanks to Carsten!)

"Walter Becker idea" inspires new Krishna Das album

At least that's what this review from The Huffington Post says about Heart As Wide As The World.

After seeing KD perform in Maui, the multi-instrumentalist said it was time for him to make a "garage band" album.

Listen to sound clips from the album here.

And if we look back a few years Walter Becker co-produced and played on Krishna Das' 2005 album All One.

Di Leva sings Bowie and Yes on new album

Swedish spectacular space pop artist Tomas Di Leva's new cd features cover versions of some his personal favourite songs, David Bowie's Let's Dance and Owner Of A Lonely Heart by Yes being two of them.

On his blog Di Leva explains that "David Bowie's song Let's Dance is one of the most influential songs of the eighties. It was also one of the biggest challenges to take this wonderful great evergreen into a completely new setting. We wanted to bring it into a futuristic sci-fi techno landscape. Really stripping it from its past, but still keeping its original soul and spirit."

Release date for the new cd Lovestar is March 31 (Universal). Other songs on the cd are Another Day In Paradise (Phil Collins) and Miracle Of Love (Eurythmics).

Wikipedia entry on Di Leva.

donaldfagen.com: Lexi Says updated!

It has been static since September of 2008, but as of March 25 Lexi Says has a brand new entry.
It's all about a photo submitted by a Danish fan named Jakob.
We could tell you more but why not click this link and read the entry in question.
That's the second update this week over at donaldfagen.com. Can a new issue of the newsletter be that far off?

Update March 30, 2010:
Got an email from our SD-fan & friend Carsten who reminded of us where we had seen that Donald look-a-like bust before. It was back in 2007 on Mizar5 (these days transformed into Mizar6).
Can't find the original post there, but the Jakob mentioned on donaldfagen.com is Jakob Olsen, who also posted the same entry on his blog on April 1, 2007. And here it is!

: : : : :

As far as a Steely Dan tour this summer goes it looks like it won't happen.
We've done our math and the first dates have previous years always been announced by early March.
Also, the Steely Dan-fan publication to keep an eye on; The Dandom Digest, quoted "non-Official Steely Dan sources" saying that the band won't tour.

But what will happen this autumn? Or winter? Tour? Or maybe something else?
A tour is not the only option, you know, although Donald and Walter both said on more than one occasion that they're really enjoying playing live, think the band is the best incarnation of Steely Dan ever, and that it makes more money than recording.

The fans would love a new Steely Dan album. Since the last one; 2003's Everything Must Go, there's been one solo record each from Donald and Walter and Donald himself said he'll record a new album this spring. Will that eventually get work on the next Steely Dan album rolling?

Whatever next we're sure that there's more to come. Or as we might have said to Donald's ancestor in ancient Rome (please see Lexi Says):

Adhuc tua messis in herba est!

Undercover of the night?

1978: The Rolling Stones do a video for the song Respectable from the album Some Girls. Here's a still from the video:

1992: Bill Wyman leaves the group.

2005: The collection Rarities 1971-2003 is released with a still from the above video used for the cover.
But wait! There's someone missing on the album cover:

Although if you look really close you can see part of Bill's leg left intact along the mic stand. And his bass cable is still there.

(Thanks to Photoshop Disasters!)

Weekend video: Logorama

Won an Oscar this year for best animated short. Enjoy!

Donald Fagen Pope Art

The news last month that Donald Fagen's The Nightfly made the Vatican Top 10 of essential rock and pop albums apparently inspired donaldfagen.com to come up with this:

Pope Art

:)

New The Doors film premieres April

Link: http://whenyourestrangemovie.com/

Zappa manager Herb Cohen dies at 77

Herb Cohen, manager of such legendary artists as Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention and Tom Waits passed away Tuesday March 16.

Picture: Frank Zappa and Herb Cohen, mid 1970's.

Check out the news report in Variety:
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118016565.html?categoryid=16&cs=1

Found on Twitter...

From Diego in Paranoá, Brazil comes this Tweet of the day:

:)

Another week of news (and no-news)

Inbetween stories about the body of soul legend James Brown going missing from the tomb, then apparently not, and the two original members of The Hollies being stuck touring and therefore having to send two former members to be there for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, the Steely Dan-surveying part of the Radio Dupree staff have seen non-changing homepages and zero rumours regarding any 2010 tour.

We're halfway through March and maybe, just maybe this week will bring some changes. Who knows...

We do know that we have a couple of winners to announce Tuesday. The winners of our Walter Becker competiton/giveaway.

Jon Herington covering ... Steely Dan. With No Static

No Static

Imagine being in a cover band and having the chance to play with one or more member from the band you're covering. We'd expect it to be pretty exciting.

And that's exactly what's happening in early April when Jon Herington, guitarist with Steely Dan since 2000, will sit in with No Static ("New England’s ultimate 10-piece Steely Dan-Lovers band")

The facts:

Regent Theatre (Arlington, MA) - Friday April 2, 8:00pm

"Jon Herington Joins No Static to Play the Music of Steely Dan"

More info here:

http://www.regenttheatre.com/events/no_static.htm

http://www.nostaticband.com/index.htm

http://jonherington.com/

And while we're on the subject of Jon Herington, here's what he wrote on his homepage after the 2009 Steely Dan tour was over:

The band has never sounded better to me, and I had a blast, needless to say.

And:

My new record has been mixed by (engineer/artist) Sham Sundra and is now in the process of being mastered, and work is about to begin on the cover art. My hope is to have it done and up for sale by sometime in January. Because of all my road work, it's been a long time coming, and I'm glad it's almost done.

So the good news is that the album is coming along and should be released before long.

Gold ... or platinum?

Still not sure how to fix that hole in the wall although it's been there for some time now?

How about covering it up with a gold or platinum award? You've got four days to make a bid on eBay for one of the following:

Steely Dan Greatest Hits platinum record award starting at $300.

Steely Dan Pretzel Logic gold record award starting at $150.

Peter Gabriel touring with Ane Brun

Peter Gabriel brings Norwegian singer Ane Brun with him on his tour in March.
Norwegian broadcasting company NRK reports that Ane Brun caught Gabriel's attention when they both participated in a concert for Nelson Mandela in Tromsö 2005. The New Blood Tour includes concerts in Europe, USA and Canada. Ane Brun's homepage reports that Peter Gabriel will perform his new album Scratch My Back and also a set of classic Peter Gabriel songs in an orchestral setting.

http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/kultur/1.7025109

A couple of Steely Dan questions...

* With just one guest appearance left on the Levon Helm Midnight Ramble tour (March 12 at The Wellmont in New Jersey) can we expect Donald Fagen to disappear from sight to get that solo album on the way that he's said he'll record this spring?

* Has Walter Becker made a full recovery from that birthday party?

Let us hasten to add that we don't know anyhthing about that party or if there even was one. We just expect him to have celebrated his life in a way we would have celebrated. And those extra pieces of cake can really sink a grown man.

* Can we expect a Steely Dan 2010 tour to be announced during March with the exact dates trickling out over the following weeks and months?

A quick look back gives us the following dates for official news about a new tour as March 4 (2009), March 5 (2008) and January 25 (spring dates 2007). So ...

Review: Levon Helm Band featuring Donald Fagen

Saturday saw Levon Helm Band playing Atlantic City with Donald Fagen sitting in.
Here's a positive review from nj.com.

March 12 will see the band with Donald Fagen playing The Welmont Theatre in Montclair.

Radio Dupree Top 20 - March 2010

1. Harmonious Wail - Home At Last
Resist Temptation

2. The Beatles - Till There Was You

With The Beatles

3. King Crimson - The Sheltering Sky

Discipline

4. Steely Dan - Pretzel Logic

Pretzel Logic

5. Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention - My Guitar (Wants To Kill Your Mama)

The Ark (Beat The Boots I)

6. Soft Machine - Down The Road

Seven

7. The Beatles - I Will

The Beatles

8. Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention - Little House I Used To Live In (edit)

Burnt Weeny Sandwich

9. The Beatles - Why Don't We Do It In The Road?

The Beatles

10. Be-Bop Deluxe - Axe Victim

All The Young Dudes (Mojo presents...)

11. Allan Holdsworth - Atavachron - Atavachron
12. Frank Zappa - Concentration Moon/The Sanzini Brothers - Playground Psychotics
13. Larry Carlton - Blues For T.J. - Friends
14. Jeff Beck - The Pump - There & Back
15. Paul Simon - Armistice Day - Paul Simon
16. The Fraternity Of Man - Candy Striped Lion's Tails - The Fraternity Of Man
17. Emerson Lake & Palmer - The Old Castle/Blues Variation - Pictures At An Exhibition
18. The Beatles - Eight Days A Week - Beatles For Sale

19. Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention - Theme From Burnt Weeny Sandwich - Burnt Weeny Sandwich
20. Kansas - Miracles Out Of Nowhere - Leftoverture

-------------------------------------------------------

Chart compiled by listeners voting
on the songs they hear on Radio Dupree

Chart analysis by Sigurd Huckle, Radio Dupree:
Topping the chart is Harmonius Wail from Madison, Wisconsin, USA. They are known for combining Eastern European folk songs and American jazz, and they rule the chart with an excellent cover, or rather an interpretation, of a Steely Dan song.

Otherwise it's pretty clear that you listeners can never really get enough of The Beatles...four songs by the Fab Four on our Top 20.
Our Album of the Month, Burnt Weeny Sandwich by Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention reached two positions on the chart. Great, since those pieces are no bubbelgum pop ditties fer sure. Let's see how you guys will like the Album of the Month for March, the new Peter Gabriel CD Scratch My Back.
Last but not least: Steely Dan and King Crimson often use to sneak their way into the upper section of the monthly Radio Dupree chart...also this time. Good taste!

10 years ago: Steely Dan's Two Against Nature

February 29, 2000: The album fans of Steely Dan had been waiting for for quite some time. Not the 20 years since the last studio album (Gaucho) from the group, but a couple of years as the rumours of a new one started and grew. The updates on steelydan.com and disussions on dandom.com and Under the banyan trees.

I still remember getting my copy and rushing home to play it. Put on my headphones, leaned back in my sofa and while the sun shone through the windows the very first seconds of the first track on the CD (Gaslighting Abbie) played.

Euphoria. It was just like Steely Dan picked up where the final track from Gaucho ended.
Listened from start to finish. Then put it on repeat.
Was alone in the house but wished I had someone to share the excitement with.

2010 and the album's still wonderful to listen to. Learn more from the source. And watch a couple of videos:






And what's happened since Two Against Nature? Tours and the following albums:

2003: Everything Must Go

2006: Morph The Cat (Donald Fagen solo)

2008: Circus Money (Walter Becker solo)

2010: Donald Fagen recording a new solo album

New Steely Dan record? Eventually...


P.S. The Spotify link to the album for all you online what's a CD ?-listeners.

Steely Dan tribute band in Pennsylvania/Philadelphia/New Jersey looking for members

Found this ad on craigslist looking for serious players for a serious project. Quote: "STEELY DAN AFICIONADOS PREFERRED. VOCALS ARE A BIG PLUS, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, YOU SHOULD PLAY YOUR INSTRUMENT...WELL! "

Here's the link.