Posted on 09/15/2015 5:45:35 PM PDT by dontreadthis
As midlife-crisis songs go, Steely Dans Deacon Blues ranks among the most melodic and existential. Recorded for the album Aja in 1977, the song details the bored existence of a ground-down suburbanite and his romantic fantasy of life as a jazz saxophonist.
Written by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen in 1976, Deacon Blues was released in 1977 on Steely Dans album Aja, which in the fall reached No. 3 on Billboards album chart, where it remained for seven consecutive weeks. The song also was a hit single in early 1978. With Steely Dan appearing in New York at the Beacon Theatre from Oct. 6-17, Mr. Fagen, Mr. Becker, guitarist Larry Carlton and saxophonists Tom Scott and Pete Christlieb recalled the writing, arranging and recording of the cult classic. Edited from interviews:
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
Don’t forget Wayne Shorter’s amazing sax solo on Aja with Steve Gadd!
“Have you ever seen a squonk’s tears? Well look at mine ...
The Squonk is a mythical creature reputed to live in the Hemlock forests of northern Pennsylvania.[1][2] Legends of squonks may have originated in the late nineteenth century at the height of Pennsylvania’s importance in the timber industry, or the creature might be a self-conscious literary creation. Whatever its genesis, the squonk has repeatedly been referenced in the arts for its lugubrious nature, and in the sciences for its curious means of avoiding capture.
pfl
Funny you used "genesis" in that sentence, considering they are the other band that had a song referencing a squonk.
“The most diverse knowledge base in the universe is right here at FR”
ain’t that the truth
Do you ‘wanna name when you lose’?
How about we call you jeb. :)
Me too. Great lyrics. I sing it often when driving....and I do a lot of driving.
Love the sax in all of those songs.
lifted from Wiki, that also references Genesis in addition to SD
Whoops wrong song.
Becker and Fagen favor a distinctly soul-influenced style of backing vocals, which after the first few albums were almost always performed by a female chorus (although Michael McDonald features prominently on several tracks, including the 1975 song "Black Friday" and the 1977 song "Peg"). Venetta Fields, Sherlie Matthews and Clydie King were the preferred trio for backing vocals on the group's late 1970s albums. Other backing vocalists include Tawatha Agee, Brenda White-King, Carolyn Leonhart, Janice Pendarvis, Catherine Russell, Cynthia Calhoun, Victoria Cave, Cindy Mizelle, and Jeff Young. The band also featured singers like Patti Austin and Valerie Simpson on later projects such as Gaucho.
Last week I had a 6 hour drive across PA... I put in Aja and listened to it over and over and over again. The CD is actually still in the player and I listen to it on the way home from work too...
The album is the best engineered album I think I have ever heard.
I saw and read this thread.
Put on the entire Aja album. Listened as I played solitaire and mahjong.
Grovin’ evening!
I bought two copies so I could play the whole album without getting out of bed with my girlfriend. ( I did the same thing with Dark Side of the Moon.) I had one of those green 7 up flicker lamps. I'd light it in the window that she could see from her room telling her the coast was clear. She would sneak in my basement bedroom window. I knew my parents were ok with it when boxes of condoms started appearing. After that we didn't sneak around anymore.
After dressing like Frank from Rocky Horror on Halloween my Dad was happy I had a girlfriend. : )
Just put on Royal Scam!
I came home one morning about 6am, and my parents were just fixing breakfast. Dad was pissed because I'd been out all night (we had work to do in the shop) but Mom didn't say much. I went and took a quick shower, threw on some jeans and went upstairs for breakfast. Sometime during breakfast I turned around and Mom said "What happened to your back?" I went and checked it in the mirror and it looked like I'd gotten caught under a barbed wire fence! Now Mom was pissed, and Dad didn't say any more about it.
Hmm.
I wondered what a squonk was.
I’m too chicken to look at urban dictionary.
Me too...and I don’t have any of their songs on my iPod...
“We will have to remedy this situation”
Roll Tide:)
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