Steely Dan: The Definitive Collection

"The Dan don't die," The Charlotte Observer observed. "They just reincarnate themselves."

How true. It has been 30-some years since Walter Becker and Donald Fagen went cold-calling through New York City's Brill Building, which at the time housed the cream of the crop of record producers, label executives, songwriters and recording studios. They spent a long time perfoming in concert -- usually as an opening act -- before releasing their first album, Can't Buy a Thrill, in 1972.

In the mid-70s they parked the tour bus and spent five years in the studio, cranking out four more albums. The list of artists who backed Becker and Fagan is an all-star roster: Michael McDonald, who went on to do lead vocals with the Doobie Brothers; A-list session guitarists like future Doobie Skunk Baxter, Mark Knopfler, Rick Derringer and Larry Carlton; Eagles bassist Timothy B. Schmit; dream drummers like Toto founder Jeff Porcaro, Jim Keltner, Jim Hodder and Steve Gadd; David Palmer, onetime Carole King songwriting partner.

History's Lessons

This mini-history of The Dan is appropriate because the newly released Steely Dan: The Definitive Collection is itself something of a historical documentary of the band's music. It's even in chronological order, starting with the lead track on their debut album, "Do It Again" and winding up 15 tracks later with "Things I Miss the Most" from 2003's Everything Must Go. This is, in fact, the first and only compilation that draws from all of their albums and covers their entire career.

Steely Dan (they adopted the name of a steam-powered sex toy in a William Burroughs novel) went on "temporary hiatus" in 1981. "Temporary" turned out to be 12 years, and some 20 years would elapse between albums -- 1980's Gaucho and 2000's Two Against Nature. In 1993, Becker and Fagen once again went on the road together and since then have alternated between periods of recording and touring.

Trademarks of The Dan

A Steely Dan trademark in the studio has always been technical perfectionism. And they differentiated themselves by going against the popular stylistic tide.

At a time when other rock bands were cranking up the reverb, The Dan turned it down or off. While other bands emphasized certain instruments, they carefully mixed each track so that each instrument had equal "weight." There were multiple takes of every vocal and instrumental track, and Becker and Fagen spent countless hours selecting the one that would be used in the final mix.

Clearly, this same careful attention to detail was exercised in the digital remastering that was done for this compilation. Listen to your vinyl, tape, or older CD version of any of the featured songs, then listen to the version on this CD. The differences are striking.

This particular collection reminds us, too, of The Dan's musical and lyrical innovations. They even have a musical chord named after them. The so-called "mu major" chord construction is more often referred to as the "Steely Dan chord" because it was largely responsible for the band's distinctive sound. Equally responsible were their lyrics, which were smart, relevant, and usually contained a touch of humor.

Is This For You?

If you're new to Steely Dan, The Definitive Collection is a great way to be introduced to them. If you're a longtime fan of The Dan, this CD will make you remember why.

Track List, Tour Schedule, Audio Streams