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Steely Dan Live on CD.

I'd also add that the late live Dan included superb jazz musicians such as Chris Potter, Dennis Chambers and Peter Erskine also.

Featsdont said:
I’ve seen Steely Dan several times in the past and each time the guitarist has been the brilliant Jon Herington who featured on Two Against Nature and Everything Must Go as well as some of the Fagen solo albums. The music is however very much arranged rather than improvised - but how many live bands actually do improvisations these days what with computerised light show coordination video screens etc?
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Tony L said:
The problem is on the studio albums you have Wayne Shorter, Steve Gadd, Larry Carlton, Lee Ritenour, Joe Sample etc, and on the live album you don’t.
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The problem is on the studio albums you have endless takes, on the live performance you don't.
 
monkfish said:
The problem is on the studio albums you have endless takes, on the live performance you don't.
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For me the problem is the Live In America album sounds very restrained, it is clearly a good band, but they are just playing other people’s parts rather than taking the material to different places. Being cruel it sounds like a pop covers band, not a jazz band. It is rather depressing hearing an obviously great drummer just aping Steve Gadd or whatever. They should have loosened it up and made it new IMO.
 
Tony L said:
For me the problem is the Live In America album sounds very restrained, it is clearly a good band, but they are just playing other people’s parts rather than taking the material to different places. Being cruel it sounds like a pop covers band, not a jazz band. It is rather depressing hearing an obviously great drummer just aping Steve Gadd or whatever. They should have loosened it up and made it new IMO.
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For most of the band's existence, Fagen and Becker had almost no interest in playing live, and even now, I get the sense it's a way for Fagen to make a living more than his primary interest. As you say, they're really a studio phenomenon. Gaucho, for example, is a genius record because of its sound - the cold anomie of its songs is precisely mirrored in its sonics. It's an astounding thing to be able to do that, and not something that needs live performance.
 
Tony L said:
For me the problem is the Live In America album sounds very restrained, it is clearly a good band, but they are just playing other people’s parts rather than taking the material to different places. Being cruel it sounds like a pop covers band, not a jazz band. It is rather depressing hearing an obviously great drummer just aping Steve Gadd or whatever. They should have loosened it up and made it new IMO.
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I would agree with your summation of Live in America, the live performances I've been to have been hit and miss, some great moments and solos in them all but the arrangements did seem a bit stiff, wonderful when it did work and the venue was up to it. (the SECC was dreadful sound wise).
 
monkfish said:
The Nightfly live as well as a new Steely Dan live, whoopee indeed.
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The live Nightfly will have to go some to top the original - which is one of the best played and produced albums ever (imho) ! Will be interested to hear how they approached this with regard to arrangements and performance!,
 
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Might be better to go see "Nearly Dan", ok so a tribute band but they are very good and also have a sense of humour on stage. Well worth the effort if they happen to be in your neighbourhood, in UK.
 
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