Favorite Steely Dan?
 

Steely Dan adapted as a professional studio band early in their career. Each album is a piece of studio art, that is also sometimes a very different combination and fusion of different styles and genres. Each album has its own personality. I might be listening to the Royal Scam one week, then maybe Aja the next, and so on.
Currently, Im into Pretzel Logic, so I will name a few from the album itself.

1. Any Major Dude Will Tell You
2. Pretzel Logic
3. Monkey In Your Soul
4. Parkers Band
5. Through With Buzz

My favourite Steely Dan tracks would all be from Pretzel Logic.
You sort of have the same problem :D.

For me it would be, in no particular order
Any major dude will tell you
with a gun
charlie freak
pretzel logic
and i just love east st. louis toodle-oo :D

:laughing: I hear ya!
If my memory serves correct, VH1's 500 greatest albums, ranks Pretzel Logic, at somewhere in the 300's.

Waaay to low :)

I agree, I think it is an album that every fan of rock should own, along with all their other albums as well. :)

You know, Steely Dan has sort of the same problem Dire Straits has. The Eagles have it too, by the way. And CCR. The true music enthusiasts often don't care for those bands. They are usually really cheap to buy second hand.

That is probably very true, along with a lot of other bands included. I like some of Dire Straits music, but I never did care that much for Mark Knopfler's vocals. Sounds to much like Lou Reed for Velvet Underground. Andy Warhol had more to do with the popularity of the Underground more so, than their music itself. (That's just my opinion anyway).

I have Steely Dan's albums Gaucho scheduled to listen to next, Donald ***en and Walter Becker spent over a year in the studio, and used 34 different musicians making the album, which includes only seven singles on the album itself. One of the best 2 team songwriters to date, as perfectionist in the studio.

Lot of people say that about Knopfler.
I don't care much for Reed solo, but I love the Velvet Underground.
The singer doesn't neccesarily have to sing all that good for me. I love dylan, waits, young. It just has to fit the music :).

And warhol? I don't know, the Underground made loads of albums without warhol.

^ Yes, I can imagine that they were perfectionists in the studio - it comes across in the precision of their music and the way they used every minute of a song to deliver something interesting. As I understand it they almost never performed live - do you think that`s why "true music enthusiasts" undervalue their material, s_k ?

I see that both of you have put Major Dude and Pretzel Logic in your lists. Well, that sounds good to me, though I`d weight my list towards their earlier albums, like this :

1. Showbiz kids
2. I`m a fool to do your dirty work
3. Any major dude will tell you
4. Ricky don`t lose that number
5. Pearl of the quarter

Sorry, I had to leave off Pretzel Logic to get my favourites in, so that leaves Major Dude as the highest ranked song so far ...

Could be, I don't know.
I've heard some of their live recordings and they are pretty good.
But one could say Steely dan is 'Over produced'.
I don't mind though. I like Tool, I like Dream Theater. Same thing.
I should add that Tool live is quite an experience though. Just as tight as it is on their CD's :)