Reelin’ In The Years

A collector's guide to Steely Dan. By Peter Rand

STEELT DAN ARE PERHAPS one of the most talented and underrated bands of the 1970s. They never achieved the real recognition they deserved despite being critically acclaimed by the music press and lovers of good music. Walter Becker and Donald Fagen were the talent behind the name, composing great songs, but were also accomplished musicians in their own right. They never really sought fame, hated touring and for many years were either broke or just about broke, despite their album sales.

Their story is almost as complicated as the meticulous fashion in which they laid their tracks down in the studio. Fagen and Becker first met at Bard College, New York City, in 1967 and soon formed a musical friendship before answering, out of desperation, an advert for a bass and keyboard player placed by a guitarist called Denny Dias. His band mainly did cover versions, but soon they were writing and performing Becker and Fagen songs under the guidance of mentor Vance. He initially managed to secure them the film score to a Richard Pryor movie disaster called You Gotta Walk It Like You Talk It, but after that things dried up. As time progressed, they got to know producer Gary Katz and moved to LA following an offer of work, joining ABC Records, where they started writing for some of the label’s other artists including Three Dog Night.

In 1972 …

by Peter Rand
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