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Steely Dan. Alive in America.


bubinga5
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Alot of live Steely Dan live albums i dont care for. but Alive in America is a cracker. was listening to it today,the playing and general sound is fantastic. Tom's bass playing is always on the money. the all Sax horn section on this track is fantastic also. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wu9nfOVB9GE[/media]


i love Walters vocals on The Book of Liars. such a great record. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fg7SiroBKJI[/media]

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[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1383393729' post='2263966']
why did you think they were dicks? just interested.
[/quote]

It was their attitudes to the musicians they worked with. The list of session players on tracks (not necessarily the album, cos a lot of players recorded tracks that didn't get used) was like a 'who's who' of world class session musicians.

There was an interview with Chuck Rainey who played a slapped line which they didn't want him to do, but he did it anyway, it seems they didn't realise it was slapped at the time, but they had told him no when he'd suggested it'd be cool. It must have worked otherwise they'd have had him do it again, but in the interview when the slap bit was brought up they said they didn't like it, but if that'd been the case then they wouldn't have kept it, their attitude to that really annoyed me. They didn't want to admit that they'd been wrong about someone's contribution to their recording.

I think it was just their attitude that they wanted it a certain way, and anything else was rubbish.

It must have cost a fortune in session fees, I couldn't work out why they'd record a guitar solo (they went through something like 9 different guitarists on one solo), and then the following day record the same thing with someone else. Could they not communicate exactly what they wanted or didn't want with Someone who wouldn't have gotten the call to record for them in the first place if he couldn't have done what they wanted.

Edited by ambient
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[quote name='MB1' timestamp='1383395175' post='2263987']
MB1.
"Total Dicks???"
I can imagine they can't stop kicking each other every time they get a bank statement!
...What a pair eh?
[/quote]

It was their attitudes, maybe it's just me, what has record sales got to do with how they came across anyway ? A lot of 'stars' are very full of themselves.

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='ambient'
But for something to be perfect, which is highly subjective anyway, you have t realise that you may be wrong

MB1.
I agree the more money you throw at something doesn't necessarily make it better
I often think the Steelys still haven't found what they're looking for though?
...When was the last time you saw them smiling?

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There are some writers out there that virtually hear the completed song in their head, and if what they are actually hearing doesn't sound like that, then, to them it sounds wrong.
Don't know if that is the case with SD, but it's their baby, they call the shots. If I've heard about SD's reputation, you can be sure all the US session guys know about it. In which case, if you don't like it, don't take the gig.
IAC Their reputation, and how a record was made, really shouldn't make any difference to anyon'e enjoyment of the end product.

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[quote name='SteveK' timestamp='1383398062' post='2264036']
There are some writers out there that virtually hear the completed song in their head, and if what they are actually hearing doesn't sound like that, then, to them it sounds wrong.
Don't know if that is the case with SD, but it's their baby, they call the shots. If I've heard about SD's reputation, you can be sure all the US session guys know about it. In which case, if you don't like it, don't take the gig.
IAC Their reputation, and how a record was made, really shouldn't make any difference to anyon'e enjoyment of the end product.
[/quote]yeah for sure.Prince is one of them. i dont think there is any excuse for arrogance, but im sure Donald and Walter wouldnt mean any bad feelings. ive seen an interview with Donald and he says he digs the slap line that Chuck played. was very recent. anyway what they say goes, wether it be right or wrong. lets face it they have the proof that what they do works.

Edited by bubinga5
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[quote name='MB1' timestamp='1383397986' post='2264035']
='ambient'
But for something to be perfect, which is highly subjective anyway, you have t realise that you may be wrong

MB1.
I agree the more money you throw at something doesn't necessarily make it better
I often think the Steelys still haven't found what they're looking for though?
...When was the last time you saw them smiling?
[/quote]i reckon there very comfortable. the thing is with Steely Dan they were never a band you could put a label on because they crossed musicals genres. that maybe gives people the impression that there not a grounded band. for me i love Donald's dry sense of humour. you only have to listen to some of there lyrics to get how much humour they have.

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