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Walter Becker (Steely Dan Founder) dead at 67

I just rewatched the making of Aja documentary. Crying a little bit.
Aja is my favorite album of all time. (._. )
 
I did see them live once and it was cool, but I actually think they are a better studio band, the crispness of their sound really lends itself to that
 
Major loss. I hope more people get into Steely Dan. They are lesser known but still influential and amazing.

And for people that are not sure what a Steely Dan is look it up!

Here's a soundboard audio of a live show, full Royal Scam album with Larry Carlton from 2009.

https://youtu.be/vAaAbQx3JmU

From the beginning with Do it Again to the later revivals they were always a solid group. Some utter classic material here.
 
Here's a soundboard audio of a live show, full Royal Scam album with Larry Carlton from 2009.

https://youtu.be/vAaAbQx3JmU

Wow great stuff. I went back and listened to the actual album too and it still holds up really well. I think my favorite my be Pretzel Logic or Aja but this one was good too.

It's nice to see the multicultural support for Walter! Questlove had a really cool twitter response:

".....still holds the crown baby" rip #WalterBecker possibly one of my favorite architects of the 70s "FM" smooth sound. Took it for granted growing up ---before 10 I heard his music & Fagen's voice EVERYWHERE: supermarket, waiting rooms everywhere, cabs, offices, dentist chair, sporting events even (Sixers used to RUN "Peg" during Dr J's era) actually lol first time I got sent to principles office in 2nd grade was for "saying a bad word" (Hell, was a 4 letter word growing up & I didn't know who or what a "Peg" was but I knew someone in my class was going to ��"Helllllllllllllllllll"�� The first time we played w Michael McDonald a second after "man it's an honor" came "ok how long did Walt make you stack them vocals?" Walt was my first post "hey I dig these guys I wanna get em on a session" gig shortly after our Do you Want More album came out. I was all ready for him to make me do take after take after take like I heard he was notorious for---but uh shockingly he liked our loose playing and encouraged it. (Yeah I even tried to tune my drums Steely Dan low but he was like "I want you to sound like you, not like what we were doing way back then") This is a major loss man. An artist's artist. Someone who cared for the craft of music and pushing boundaries. They got a name for the winners in the world: his name is Becker
7 hours ago
 
Some very nice worlds from Questlove there, and spot on with "An artist's artist. Someone who cared for the craft of music and pushing boundaries."
 
now we dolly back

now we fade to black

Love that song. that's probably my fav couplet in rock

Honestly, I can't choose between Deacon Blues or Haitian Divorce as my favorite song. They're both just so... perfect. Both in lyrics and composition. Complex and haunting all the way through.
 
Honestly, I can't choose between Deacon Blues or Haitian Divorce as my favorite song. They're both just so... perfect. Both in lyrics and composition. Complex and haunting all the way through.

both so good; deacon's probably a little closer to the Ur dan song for me. smirking enshrinment of loserdom. with crying involved also
 
wow I had no idea these guys were so heavily sampled in hip hop

I knew Kanye west's kid charlamagne sample but stuff like "black cow" and "peg"

RIP.. 67 is too young
 
Iwata was the only other celebrity death that has hit me this hard. And it makes sense, in a way. There are certain special artists that deep down really only care about perfecting their craft and making wonderful art.

No one was making Don and Walter work tireless days conceiving, composing, arranging, recording, mixing, and refining their compositions to the highest standards of fidelity and refinement. They could've easily phoned in Can't Buy A Thrill 2 and stayed on the road until they burnt out. But, regardless of how you feel about their music, you gotta respect them for walking away from live performance at the peak of their fame to focus solely on making the best music that they possibly could. Always growing, pushing boundaries, challenging the audience with complex, but seductive harmonies and the wittiest black humor you'll ever hear on record.

Steely Dan has always been my favorite band and Walter Becker a musical hero and inspiration. After being sad for an hour after hearing the news, now I'm not sad at all. I'm excited to play music and be the best musician that I can be. Thank you Walter.

Finally, Deacon Blues is the perfect song. Every single second of it, and it's a very long track. RIP.
 
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