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GMC Forum _ CHILL OUT _ The Beauty Of Complex Simplicity, Live And On Record

Posted by: Mudbone Aug 18 2011, 03:40 AM

Steely Dan were immensely popular in the 70's. Their sound is really hard to describe, as they covered a lot of ground. Throughout the 70's they perfected and honed their sound, and in 1980, that decade of refining resulted in the album Gaucho. This album took well over a year to produce, and 42 session musicians participated. The perfectionist attitude of the band leaders Donald Fagen and Walter Becker resulted in an amazingly written and produced album.

The song below is "Hey Nineteen" off the album Gaucho. Its about an older gentlemen dating a young lover. Listen to the lyrics and you can interpret it anyway you like. What amazes me most about this song is how there is so much going on musically but its never overwhelming. In fact, its very understated. Throughout the song there is the underlying groove provided by the fantastic bass lines and very simple, yet very effective, drum beat. Also, the chorus to this song is legendary. Musical lines are begun by one instrument on the one beat and continued by another instrument for the rest of the measure. Very creative songwriting to say the least.

I posted two versions of this song so you can hear the studio version, because the production is absolutely brilliant, and the live version, because they really brought this song to life in a live situation. In the live version, during the middle of the song,the singer narrates a story that leads into the legendary chorus.Its a very creative way to slow a song down then bring it to life again. Old school musicians really knew how to put on a show.

All you guys in the US will probably know this song, its played on the radio ALL THE TIME. I'm not sure how popular Steely Dan were outside of the US.

Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Aug 18 2011, 11:53 AM

It's really quality stuff. Simple but quality stuff, pleasant for listening. I always admired the atmosphere achieved in this type of music. Lots of people think it's easy to do it - it's very hard. Excellent stuff.

I had a sudden urge to post JJ Cale . Master of low-energy vibe, with a more bluesier than funky feel. All good

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Aug 18 2011, 05:23 PM

I've never heard this in Argentina.. but the song and the production are awesome!

Posted by: Sinisa Cekic Aug 18 2011, 09:45 PM

Ahh,thanks for your reminder! A great great band at that time !!!

Posted by: Daniel Realpe Aug 19 2011, 01:14 PM

the lyrics they wrote were genius!