[Shelt from Skegee]

^^^The first three? Much more rock... even country rock oriented. That was Hodder and Baxter. Denny Dias was into C&W too.

Becker and Fagen were DEEP into ja-- and Fagen was as much a blues man as he was a Ja-- man.

If you listen to both "Two Against Nature" AND "Everything Must Go" you'll hear a SERIOUS Ja--/Blues fusion with a lot of FUNK thrown in for good measure. 

I love ALL their stuff... from the beginning to the end.

And while I ALSO love Fagens solo work just as much, Beckers solo projects were straight GARBAGE. 

I mean, when he titled his first solo album "11 Tracks of Wack" he wasn't kidding. 

But in listening to Fagen's NYC Trilogy + 1 (The Nightfly, Kamakiriad, Morph The Cat, and Sunken Condos) you hear EVERYTHING that you love and loved about Steely Dan. The spare but complicated arrangements, tight composition, beautiful instrumentation, FANTASTIC performances, Fagen's nasal but emotive vocals, and thought provoking lyrics.

His work without Becker is as good as he work WITH him, but that doesn't negate Becker's contribution to one of the greatest musical collaborations of adult life. 

"11 Tracks of Wack" had to grow on me.  I don't listen to it often, but there were a few tracks on there that I liked.

[Cholly]

I NEVER got into it... and not for a lack of trying either.

But I love Fagen's solo work as much as I do the Dan stuff.   

Just sit there with a set of quality headphones and listen... PURE enjoyment.

[Cholly]

Couple more:

Bad Sneakers



Reelin in The Years

[MilesBear1]

Yes this group that created my favorite song IGY "What A Beautiful World This Will Be" right?

[Cholly]

Nah; that was Donald Fagen's first release from his first solo album.

[Cholly]

[Cholly]

For you musicians and lovers of good music... I came across this video and was pretty much BLOWN AWAY by the analysis and discussion.

Watch and see if you don't agree with the commentator and his commentary: