Naturally, there IS NO 'right answer' to the question what music, bands, or styles or modus of performance a person likes. You like what you like. It's cool. So my only TL/DR mission here is for those who have even a passing curiosity about Steely Dan's music - which is almost all about session work, less about live performance - you've gotten a strong enough telescope to draw a full conclusion.
So from the pretty remarkable below YouTube documentary, let's take just one song, Peg, and all that went into Donald Fagen and Walter Becker working their arses off - and the poor musicians' arses off - to cull it into the precise (and I mean Precise) vision of the song in their heads. And importantly, the truly elite virtuosos and soloists they'd assemble and often "cull" down like nit-picking OCD composers until they landed on the perfect sounds. Because their goal was to create a record (not 'album' here, hell, few songs had the same musicians besides Fagen and Becker) that people wanted to listen to again, and again. As such, they valued 'nuance' as the drummer on Peg, Rick Marotta, observed.
Starting at the 11:00 mark here below, follow the remarkable creation of Peg in studio, including ELITE musicians like:
Bass: Chuck Rainey (he had to fool Fagen and Becker adding the slap bass on the bridge, as they didn't want it)
Drums: Rick Marotta
Lead guitar: Jay Graydon. The SEVENTH lead guitarist Fagen and Becker hired. A bunch of other guitarists – all virtuosos and all session vets, including the sensational Larry Carlton, gave it a shot before Fagen and Becker gave the nod to Graydon’s legendary take. It’s a classic and elusive to get just right “bending” the strings.
Harmonies: Michael McDonald ! (in what McDonald called the biggest harmonies challenge he’d ever faced, and what precise pronunciation, rhythm and phrasing Fagen and Becker sought)
See Graydon’s winning lead lick on Peg he reveals here:
Marotta’s drum part on Peg was almost equally critical, and he explains how he created one nuance of every so slightly raising his hi-hat every two beats. He said that he'd played that before, but NEVER heard it on a record, because it was a nuance, and sound engineers would produce a record and not manage to GAS, as "nuances didn't exist".
So to my point, none of us should care if a given dude just doesn't enjoy the Steely Dan songs or fusion of styles. BUT to those who have it somewhere on the playlist, an appreciation of their relentless session work, the subjugation of personal musician egos for the end result of the individual song's perfection, and the sheer collection of scores of elite session musicians is something to behold.
E5
P.S. The "book" on the Steely Dan song, Peg.
"Peg" has been described by AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine as a "sunny pop" song with "layers of jazzy vocal harmonies", while music scholar Stephen K. Valdez said it features a fusion of jazz and rock elements. In the opinion of jazz musician and academic Andy LaVerne, the song "has the blues at its core, though it might not be apparent at first listen".
The song's guitar solo was attempted by seven top studio session guitarists—including Robben Ford and recurring guitarist Larry Carlton—before Jay Graydon's version became the "keeper". He worked on the song for about six hours before the band was satisfied.
Graydon spoke about his famous guitar solo in a 2014 interview:
"Fortunately, I had no problems on sessions as to nailing a part, but know this—every first call studio guitarist that has played solos has been replaced by another guitarist at least once. It's just part of being a studio musician."
Michael McDonald provides multi-tracked backup vocals in the choruses, and keyboardist Paul Griffin can be heard talking and improvising background vocals in the final chorus and fadeout.
Although there was speculation that the name was a reference to Broadway star and one-time Hollywood actress Peg Entwistle, in 2000 the band said the song was written about a real person but not Entwistle. In 2020, Donald Fagen said "There's no hidden meaning. We just wanted a dotted half note for that spot and 'Peg' was short enough to fit with the music." Fagen added that the song "takes place at a seedy photo shoot in L.A...from the perspective of [a] jilted boyfriend."
Pitchfork rated "Peg" as its 87th best song of the 1970s, describing it as the "perfect Steely Dan song, and one of the strangest hits to ever grace the mainstream." Drummer Rick Marotta calls "Peg" one of the greatest tracks he has ever played on.
Donald Fagen – lead vocals
Michael McDonald – backing vocals
Jay Graydon – lead guitar
Steve Khan – rhythm guitar
Paul Griffin – Fender Rhodes electric piano, backing vocals
Don Grolnick – clavinet
Chuck Rainey – bass guitar
Rick Marotta – drums
Victor Feldman, Gary Coleman – percussion
Tom Scott – Lyricon
Richard Thomas Marotta (born January 7, 1948) is an American drummer and percussionist. He has appeared on recordings by leading artists such as Aretha Franklin, Carly Simon, Steely Dan, James Taylor, Paul Simon, John Lennon, Hall & Oates, Stevie Nicks, Wynonna, Roy Orbison, Todd Rundgren, Roberta Flack, Peter Frampton, Quincy Jones, Jackson Browne, Al Kooper, Waylon Jennings, Randy Newman, Kenny G, The Jacksons, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Warren Zevon, and Linda Ronstadt.
Charles Walter Rainey III (born June 17, 1940) is an American bass guitarist who has performed and recorded with many well-known acts, including Aretha Franklin, Steely Dan, and Quincy Jones. Rainey is credited for playing bass on more than 1,000 albums, and is one of the most recorded bass players in the history of recorded music
So from the pretty remarkable below YouTube documentary, let's take just one song, Peg, and all that went into Donald Fagen and Walter Becker working their arses off - and the poor musicians' arses off - to cull it into the precise (and I mean Precise) vision of the song in their heads. And importantly, the truly elite virtuosos and soloists they'd assemble and often "cull" down like nit-picking OCD composers until they landed on the perfect sounds. Because their goal was to create a record (not 'album' here, hell, few songs had the same musicians besides Fagen and Becker) that people wanted to listen to again, and again. As such, they valued 'nuance' as the drummer on Peg, Rick Marotta, observed.
Starting at the 11:00 mark here below, follow the remarkable creation of Peg in studio, including ELITE musicians like:
Bass: Chuck Rainey (he had to fool Fagen and Becker adding the slap bass on the bridge, as they didn't want it)
Drums: Rick Marotta
Lead guitar: Jay Graydon. The SEVENTH lead guitarist Fagen and Becker hired. A bunch of other guitarists – all virtuosos and all session vets, including the sensational Larry Carlton, gave it a shot before Fagen and Becker gave the nod to Graydon’s legendary take. It’s a classic and elusive to get just right “bending” the strings.
Harmonies: Michael McDonald ! (in what McDonald called the biggest harmonies challenge he’d ever faced, and what precise pronunciation, rhythm and phrasing Fagen and Becker sought)
See Graydon’s winning lead lick on Peg he reveals here:
Marotta’s drum part on Peg was almost equally critical, and he explains how he created one nuance of every so slightly raising his hi-hat every two beats. He said that he'd played that before, but NEVER heard it on a record, because it was a nuance, and sound engineers would produce a record and not manage to GAS, as "nuances didn't exist".
So to my point, none of us should care if a given dude just doesn't enjoy the Steely Dan songs or fusion of styles. BUT to those who have it somewhere on the playlist, an appreciation of their relentless session work, the subjugation of personal musician egos for the end result of the individual song's perfection, and the sheer collection of scores of elite session musicians is something to behold.
E5
P.S. The "book" on the Steely Dan song, Peg.
"Peg" has been described by AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine as a "sunny pop" song with "layers of jazzy vocal harmonies", while music scholar Stephen K. Valdez said it features a fusion of jazz and rock elements. In the opinion of jazz musician and academic Andy LaVerne, the song "has the blues at its core, though it might not be apparent at first listen".
The song's guitar solo was attempted by seven top studio session guitarists—including Robben Ford and recurring guitarist Larry Carlton—before Jay Graydon's version became the "keeper". He worked on the song for about six hours before the band was satisfied.
Graydon spoke about his famous guitar solo in a 2014 interview:
"Fortunately, I had no problems on sessions as to nailing a part, but know this—every first call studio guitarist that has played solos has been replaced by another guitarist at least once. It's just part of being a studio musician."
Michael McDonald provides multi-tracked backup vocals in the choruses, and keyboardist Paul Griffin can be heard talking and improvising background vocals in the final chorus and fadeout.
Although there was speculation that the name was a reference to Broadway star and one-time Hollywood actress Peg Entwistle, in 2000 the band said the song was written about a real person but not Entwistle. In 2020, Donald Fagen said "There's no hidden meaning. We just wanted a dotted half note for that spot and 'Peg' was short enough to fit with the music." Fagen added that the song "takes place at a seedy photo shoot in L.A...from the perspective of [a] jilted boyfriend."
Pitchfork rated "Peg" as its 87th best song of the 1970s, describing it as the "perfect Steely Dan song, and one of the strangest hits to ever grace the mainstream." Drummer Rick Marotta calls "Peg" one of the greatest tracks he has ever played on.
Donald Fagen – lead vocals
Michael McDonald – backing vocals
Jay Graydon – lead guitar
Steve Khan – rhythm guitar
Paul Griffin – Fender Rhodes electric piano, backing vocals
Don Grolnick – clavinet
Chuck Rainey – bass guitar
Rick Marotta – drums
Victor Feldman, Gary Coleman – percussion
Tom Scott – Lyricon
Richard Thomas Marotta (born January 7, 1948) is an American drummer and percussionist. He has appeared on recordings by leading artists such as Aretha Franklin, Carly Simon, Steely Dan, James Taylor, Paul Simon, John Lennon, Hall & Oates, Stevie Nicks, Wynonna, Roy Orbison, Todd Rundgren, Roberta Flack, Peter Frampton, Quincy Jones, Jackson Browne, Al Kooper, Waylon Jennings, Randy Newman, Kenny G, The Jacksons, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Warren Zevon, and Linda Ronstadt.
Charles Walter Rainey III (born June 17, 1940) is an American bass guitarist who has performed and recorded with many well-known acts, including Aretha Franklin, Steely Dan, and Quincy Jones. Rainey is credited for playing bass on more than 1,000 albums, and is one of the most recorded bass players in the history of recorded music
