Steely Dan Discography

Pioneering pop/jazz band Steely Dan, formed by Donald Fagen and Walter Backer in the early '70s, had already secured five U.S. Top 40 albums before the release of Aja in 1977. Aja however, was to prove to be the biggest selling album of Steely Dan's illustrious career, reaching Number 3 on the U.S. Billboard chart, spending a year in the Top 40 there, and also reaching Number 5 in the U.K.Aja was the first British Top 10 hit for Steely Dan and also the first album by Becker and Fagen as a duo.

Most rock & roll bands are a tightly wound unit that developed their music through years of playing in garages and clubs around their hometown. Steely Dan never subscribed to that aesthetic. As the vehicle for the songwriting of Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, Steely Dan defied all rock & roll conventions…

Dime Dancing is a collection of eight songs from the classic 1970s era discography of Steely Dan, arranged and reimagined by Brooklyn guitarist Andrew Green. Featuring predominantly strings, woodwinds and acoustic guitar, each ensemble is unique in instrumentation and style, while main- taining a firm connection to the sources’ pop/rock roots. Influences range from classical to gamelan, salsa, Brasilian, early jazz, bluegrass and even a hint of electronica. In some cases, FM radio staples are taken at radically different tempos to reveal new meanings.

This 1978 ABC set was issued to bide time between Aja and Gaucho. Despite the generous 18 tracks covering the 1972-1977 work, this didn't take on mythical proportions due to the fact that the band's separate albums all remained strong and the group's better moments weren't always the biggest hits. Despite the cavils, some great work is here. "Do It Again" and "Reelin' in the Years" both broadened what listeners expected from singles as Donald Fagen's ironic vocals were instantly singular and made all of the lyrics stick.

Although Billy Joel never was a critic's favorite, the pianist emerged as one of the most popular singer/songwriters of the latter half of the '70s. Joel's music consistently demonstrates an affection for Beatlesque hooks and a flair for Tin Pan Alley and Broadway melodies…

Formed at the dawn of the progressive rock era in 1969, Gentle Giant seemed poised for a time in the mid-'70s to break out of its cult-band status, but somehow never made the jump. Somewhat closer in spirit to Yes and King Crimson than to Emerson, Lake & Palmer or the Nice, their unique sound melded hard rock and classical music, with an almost medieval approach to singing…

Supertramp followed an unusual path to commercial success in the 1970s, fusing the stylistic ambition and instrumental dexterity of progressive rock with the wit and tuneful melodies of British pop, and the results made them one of the most popular British acts of the '70s and ‘80s, topping the charts and filling arenas around the world at a time when their style of music was supposed to have fallen out of fashion…

Capability Brown had and still have a cult following in UK music history as a "progressive" band, ultimately based on an outstanding piece from their second album, Voice. But largely their range covered mainstream pop music, treated in an "arty", alternative fashion. The band was a six-piece in which everyone sang and played instruments. The line-up consisted of Tony Ferguson (guitar, bass), Dave Nevin (keyboards, guitar, bass), Kenny Rowe (bass, percussion), Grahame White (guitar, lute, balalaika, keyboards), Joe Williams (percussion) and Roger Willis (drums, keyboards).
Ferguson and Nevin wrote the majority of the band's material, and the band also excelled in covers of obscure material (Rare Bird's Beautiful Scarlet and Redman, Argent's Liar, Affinity's I Am And So Are You and Steely Dan's Midnight Cruiser).
Capability Brown's forte was vocalizing…