Monday 2/20/23 11am ET: Feature Artist: Steely Dan

Steely Dan is an American rock duo founded in 1972 by core members Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Blending rock, jazz, latin music, reggae, traditional pop, R&B, blues, and sophisticated studio production with cryptic and ironic lyrics, the band enjoyed critical and commercial success starting from the early 1970s until breaking up in 1981. Throughout their career, the duo recorded with a revolving cast of session musicians, and in 1974 retired from live performances to become a studio-only band. Rolling Stone has called them “the perfect musical antiheroes for the Seventies”.

After the group disbanded in 1981, Becker and Fagen were less active throughout most of the next decade, though a cult following remained devoted to the group. Since reuniting in 1993, Steely Dan has toured steadily and released two albums of new material, the first of which, Two Against Nature, earned a Grammy Award for Album of the Year. They have sold more than 40 million albums worldwide and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March 2001. VH1 ranked Steely Dan at #82 on their list of the 100 greatest musical artists of all time. Founding member Walter Becker died on September 3, 2017, leaving Fagen as the sole official member.

Friday 2/17/23 10pm ET: Feature LP: Steely Dan – Countdown To Ecstasy (1973)

Countdown to Ecstasy is the second studio album by the American rock band Steely Dan, released in July 1973 by ABC Records. It was recorded at Caribou Ranch in Nederland, Colorado, and at The Village Recorder in West Los Angeles, California. After the departure of vocalist David Palmer, the group recorded the album with Donald Fagen singing lead on every song.

Although it was a critical success, the album failed to generate a hit single, and consequently charted at only number 35 on the Billboard 200. It was eventually certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1978, having shipped 500,000 copies in the United States. Well-received upon its release, Countdown to Ecstasy received perfect scores from music critics in retrospective reviews.

1. “Bodhisattva” 5:18
2. “Razor Boy” 3:11
3. “The Boston Rag” 5:40
4. “Your Gold Teeth” 7:02
5. “Show Biz Kids” 5:26
6. “My Old School” 5:48
7. “Pearl of the Quarter” 3:50
8. “King of the World” 5:04

Donald Fagen – acoustic and electric pianos, synthesizer, lead and backing vocals
Walter Becker – electric bass, harmonica, backing vocals
Denny Dias – electric guitar, mixing
Jeff “Skunk” Baxter – electric and pedal steel guitars
Jim Hodder – drums, percussion, backing vocals
Ray Brown – string bass on “Razor Boy”
Ben Benay – acoustic guitar
Rick Derringer – slide guitar on “Show Biz Kids” (recorded at Caribou Ranch, Nederland, Colorado, courtesy of Columbia Records)
Victor Feldman – vibraphone, marimba, percussion
Ernie Watts, Johnny Rotella, Lanny Morgan, Bill Perkins – saxophones (6)
Sherlie Matthews (6), Myrna Matthews (6), Patricia Hall (6), David Palmer, James Rolleston, Michael Fennelly – backing vocals

Tuesday 1/10/23 10am ET: Feature Greatest Hits LP: Steely Dan – A Decade of Steely Dan (1985)

A Decade of Steely Dan is a compilation album by Steely Dan, released in 1985. It was the band’s first compilation specifically for the compact disc market, and was certified a gold record by the RIAA.

The album acts as a de facto singles package, including every Top 40 hit enjoyed by the band prior to its release with the exceptions of “Josie” from 1978 and “Time Out of Mind” from 1981. The remaining six tracks include two additional charting singles “My Old School” and ‘Kid Charlemagne,” a cover of Duke Ellington’s “East St. Louis Toodle-Oo” which had been issued as a promotional single and “Bad Sneakers” which missed the Billboard Hot 100 as a single, and two album tracks, “Bodhisattva” and “Babylon Sisters.” The version of “FM (No Static at All)” on this compilation is the original album version from the FM soundtrack. The CD is currently out of print but the album is available on music streaming and digital download services.

1. “FM (No Static at All)” 4:50
2. “Black Friday” 3:33
3. “Babylon Sisters” 5:51
4. “Deacon Blues” 7:26
5. “Bodhisattva” 5:16
6. “Hey Nineteen” 5:06
7. “Do It Again” 5:56
8. “Peg” 3:58
9. “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” 4:30
10. “Reelin’ In the Years” 4:35
11. “East St. Louis Toodle-Oo” 2:45
12. “Kid Charlemagne” 4:38
13. “My Old School” 5:46
14. “Bad Sneakers” 3:16

Donald Fagen — vocals, keyboards
Walter Becker — bass guitar, guitars, backing vocals
Randy Brecker, Chuck Findley, Slyde Hyde, Lanny Morgan, Lou McCreary, John Rotella, Ernie Watts — brass instruments
Tom Scott — woodwind instruments, horn arrangements
Wayne Shorter — saxophones
Pete Christlieb, Jim Horn, Plas Johnson, Jackie Kelso, Lanny Morgan, Bill Perkins — flutes, saxophones
Walter Kane, George Marge — bass clarinets
Victor Feldman — electric piano, percussion
Paul Griffin, Don Grolnick, Michael Omartian, David Paich — keyboards
Jeff Baxter, Larry Carlton, Cosmo Creek, Denny Dias, Jay Graydon, Steve Khan, Hugh McCracken, Dean Parks, Elliott Randall, Lee Ritenour — guitars
Chuck Rainey — bass guitar
Crusher Bennett, Gary Coleman, Steve Gadd, Jim Gordon, Jim Hodder, Rick Marotta, Jeff Porcaro, Bernard Purdie — drums, percussion
Patti Austin, Venetta Fields, Frank Floyd, Diva Gray, Gordon Grody, Lani Groves, Patricia Hall, Clydie King, Myrna Matthews, Sherlie Matthews, Michael McDonald, Leslie Miller, David Palmer, Zachary Sanders, Timothy B. Schmit, Toni Wine — backing vocals

Wednesday 7/27/22 11pm ET: Feature LP: Steely Dan – Two Against Nature (2000)

Two Against Nature is the eighth studio album by American rock band Steely Dan. Their first studio album in 20 years, it was recorded from 1997 to 1999 and released on February 29, 2000, by Warner Bros. Records.

A critical success, Two Against Nature won the group four Grammy Awards: Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album, Best Engineered Album – Non-Classical, and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals (for the single “Cousin Dupree”). Commercially, it peaked at number six on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and sold more than one million copies, earning a Platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America.

1. “Gaslighting Abbie” 5:53
2. “What a Shame About Me” 5:17
3. “Two Against Nature” 6:17
4. “Janie Runaway” 4:09
5. “Almost Gothic” 4:09
6. “Jack of Speed” 6:17
7. “Cousin Dupree” 5:28
8. “Negative Girl” 5:34
9. “West of Hollywood” 8:21

Donald Fagen – lead vocals (all tracks), Fender Rhodes (1-3), Clavinet (1), piano (2, 3), Wurlitzer (4-7), organ (9)
Walter Becker – bass (2-7), guitar (1, 2, 4, 6, 7), lead guitar (3, 9)
Ted Baker – Fender Rhodes (4, 5, 7-9), piano (9)
Jon Herington – rhythm guitar (3, 7, 9), acoustic guitar (5)
Paul Jackson Jr. – guitar (8)
Hugh McCracken – guitar (5)
Dean Parks – guitar (8)
Tom Barney – bass (1, 8, 9)
Keith Carlock – drums (3)
Leroy Clouden – drums (4, 5, 7)
Vinnie Colaiuta – drums (8)
Sonny Emory – drums (9)
Ricky Lawson – drums (1)
Michael White – drums (2, 6)
Gordon Gottlieb – percussion (2, 3, 5, 6, 9)
Will Lee – percussion (6)
Daniel Sadownick – percussion (3), timbales (3)
Dave Shank – vibraphone (8)
Steve Shapiro – vibraphone (3)
Amy Helm – whistle (7)
Lawrence Feldman – clarinet (1, 5), tenor saxophone (4, 6), alto saxophone (5), saxophone (3)
Roy Hitchcock – clarinet (3)
Lou Marini – alto saxophone (4, 6), tenor saxophone (2)
Chris Potter – tenor saxophone solo (1, 9), alto saxophone solo (4)
David Tofani – tenor saxophone (1) saxophone (3)
Roger Rosenberg – bass clarinet (1, 3-5), baritone saxophone (2, 6)
Michael Leonhart – trumpet (1-6), Wurlitzer (3)
Jim Pugh – trombone (1-3, 5, 6)
Cynthia Calhoun (1-3, 6, 8, 9) – background vocals
Carolyn Leonhart (1-5, 7-9) – background vocals
Michael Harvey (1-3, 5, 6, 9) – background vocals

Monday 7/18/22 10pm ET: Feature LP: Steely Dan – Pretzel Logic (1974)

Pretzel Logic is the third studio album by American rock band Steely Dan, released on February 20, 1974, by ABC Records. It was written by principal band members Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, and recorded at The Village Recorder in West Los Angeles with producer Gary Katz. It was the final album to feature the full quintet lineup of Becker, Fagen, Denny Dias, Jim Hodder, and Jeff “Skunk” Baxter (who left to join The Doobie Brothers) and also featured significant contributions from many prominent Los Angeles-based studio musicians and the last to be made and released while Steely Dan was still an active touring band.

The album was a commercial and critical success. Its hit single “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” helped restore Steely Dan’s radio presence after the disappointing performance of their 1973 album Countdown to Ecstasy. Pretzel Logic was reissued on CD in 1987 and remastered in 1999 to retrospective critical acclaim.

1. “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” 4:32
2. “Night by Night” 3:40
3. “Any Major Dude Will Tell You” 3:05
4. “Barrytown” 3:17
5. “East St. Louis Toodle-Oo” 2:45
6. “Parker’s Band” 2:36
7. “Through with Buzz” 1:30
8. “Pretzel Logic” 4:32
9. “With a Gun” 2:15
10. “Charlie Freak” 2:41
11. “Monkey in Your Soul” 2:31

Donald Fagen – keyboards, saxophone, lead vocals, background vocals
Walter Becker – bass, guitar, background vocals
Jeff Baxter – lead guitar (wah-wah on “East St. Louis Toodle-Oo”), pedal steel guitar
Denny Dias – guitar
Jim Hodder – backing vocals on “Parker’s Band”
Michael Omartian – piano, keyboards
David Paich – piano, keyboards
Ben Benay – guitar
Dean Parks – guitar, banjo
Plas Johnson – saxophone
Jerome Richardson – saxophone
Ernie Watts – saxophone
Ollie Mitchell – trumpet
Lew McCreary – trombone
Timothy B. Schmit – background vocals on “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number”, “Barrytown” and “Pretzel Logic”
Wilton Felder – bass
Chuck Rainey – bass
Jim Gordon – drums on all tracks except “Night by Night”
Jeff Porcaro – drums on “Night by Night”, additional drums on “Parker’s Band”
Victor Feldman – percussion
Roger Nichols – gong on “East St. Louis Toodle-Oo”

Friday 4/19/22 10pm ET: Feature LP: Steely Dan – Can’t Buy A Thrill (1972)

Can’t Buy a Thrill is the debut studio album by the American rock band Steely Dan, released in November 1972 by ABC Records. The album was written by band members Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, recorded in August 1972 at The Village Recorder in Los Angeles, and produced by Gary Katz. Its music features tight song structure and sounds from soft rock, folk rock, and pop, alongside philosophical, elliptical lyrics.

The album was a commercial success, peaking at number 17 on the Billboard chart and eventually being certified platinum. It was also met with positive reviews and later appeared on many professional listings of the greatest albums, including Colin Larkin’s All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000) and Rolling Stone magazine’s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time” (2003).

1. “Do It Again” 5:56
2. “Dirty Work” 3:08
3. “Kings” 3:45
4. “Midnite Cruiser” 4:07
5. “Only a Fool Would Say That” 2:57
6. “Reelin’ In the Years” 4:37
7. “Fire in the Hole” 3:28
8. “Brooklyn (Owes the Charmer Under Me)” 4:21
9. “Change of the Guard” 3:39
10. “Turn That Heartbeat Over Again” 4:58

David Palmer – lead vocals on “Dirty Work” and “Brooklyn”, backing vocals
Donald Fagen – acoustic and electric pianos, plastic (YC-30) organ, lead vocals (except on “Dirty Work”, “Midnite Cruiser”, and “Brooklyn”), backing vocals
Jeff “Skunk” Baxter – guitar, pedal steel guitar, spoken word on “Only a Fool Would Say That”
Denny Dias – guitar, electric sitar
Walter Becker – electric bass, backing vocals
Jim Hodder – drums, percussion, lead vocal on “Midnite Cruiser”, backing vocals
Elliott Randall – lead guitar on “Kings” and “Reelin in the Years”
Jerome Richardson – tenor saxophone
Snooky Young – flugelhorn
Victor Feldman – percussion
Venetta Fields, Clydie King, Sherlie Matthews – backing vocals on “Brooklyn” and “Kings”

Saturday 3/5/22 10am ET: Feature LP: Steely Dan – Aja (1977)

Aja is the sixth studio album by the American jazz rock band Steely Dan. It was released on September 23, 1977, by ABC Records. Recording alongside nearly 40 musicians, band leaders Donald Fagen and Walter Becker pushed Steely Dan further into experimenting with different combinations of session players while pursuing longer, more sophisticated compositions for the album.

The album peaked at number three on the US charts and number five in the UK, ultimately becoming Steely Dan’s most commercially successful LP. It spawned a number of hit singles, including “Peg”, “Deacon Blues”, and “Josie”.

In July 1978, Aja won the Grammy Award for Best Engineered Recording – Non-Classical and received Grammy nominations for Album of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. It has since appeared frequently on professional rankings of the greatest albums, with critics and audiophiles applauding the album’s high production standards. In 2010, the Library of Congress selected the album for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being “culturally, historically, or artistically significant.”

All songs written by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen.

1. “Black Cow” 5:10
2. “Aja” 7:57
3. “Deacon Blues” 7:33
4. “Peg” 3:58
5. “Home at Last” 5:34
6. “I Got the News” 5:06
7. “Josie” 4:33

Tuesday 1/11/22 2am ET: Feature LP: Steely Dan – The Best Of Steely Dan: Then And Now (1993)

The Best of Steely Dan: Then and Now is a compilation album by Steely Dan, released in 1993.

“Reelin’ in the Years” (from Can’t Buy a Thrill, 1972) – 4:37
“Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” (from Pretzel Logic, 1974) – 4:32
“Peg” (from Aja, 1977) – 3:56
“FM (No Static at All)” (non-album single from the FM soundtrack, 1978) – 5:05
“Hey Nineteen” (from Gaucho, 1980) – 5:04
“Deacon Blues” (from Aja, 1977) – 7:31
“Black Friday” (from Katy Lied, 1975) – 3:39
“Bodhisattva” (from Countdown to Ecstasy, 1973) – 5:17
“Do It Again” (from Can’t Buy a Thrill, 1972) – 5:56
“Haitian Divorce” (from The Royal Scam, 1976) – 5:50
“My Old School” (from Countdown to Ecstasy, 1973) – 5:46
“Midnite Cruiser” (from Can’t Buy a Thrill, 1972) – 4:07
“Babylon Sisters” (from Gaucho, 1980) – 5:50
“Kid Charlemagne” (from The Royal Scam, 1976) – 4:38
“Dirty Work” (from Can’t Buy a Thrill, 1972) – 3:08
“Josie” (from Aja, 1977) – 4:30

Wednesday 12/29/21 2pm ET: RadioMaxMusic Special: The Music of 1973 A to Z – Part 2

This RadioMax special features our Library of music from 1973 A2Z.

We continue with letter B and start C with music from: Elton John, Carole King, Bachman Turner Overdrive, Judge Dread, Alice Cooper, Eric Clapton, Steely Dan, Dave Edmunds, Faces, Who, Rolling Stones, Millie Jackson, Jim Croce, Blue Oyster Cult and many more.

2pm to 6pm ET

Tuesday 10/26/21 1am ET: Feature LP: Steely Dan – Everything Must Go (2003)

Everything Must Go is the ninth studio album by American rock group Steely Dan. It was released on June 10, 2003, by Reprise Records, and was the band’s second album following their 20-year studio hiatus spanning 1980 through 2000, when they released Two Against Nature. Everything Must Go is the last studio album with founding member Walter Becker before his death in 2017.

1. “The Last Mall” 3:36
2. “Things I Miss the Most” 3:59
3. “Blues Beach” 4:29
4. “Godwhacker” 4:57
5. “Slang of Ages” 4:15
6. “Green Book” 5:55
7. “Pixeleen” 4:01
8. “Lunch with Gina” 4:27
9. “Everything Must Go” 6:45

Donald Fagen – lead vocals (all tracks except 5), organ (3, 5-7), synthesizer (5), piano (3), Hohner Clavinet (9), Fender Rhodes (1, 2, 5-7, 9) & Wurlitzer (1, 4, 8), solo synth (4, 6, 8), percussion (6, 9)
Walter Becker – bass (all tracks), solo guitar (1-4, 6), lead vocals (5), percussion (9)
Ted Baker – piano (1-3, 6, 9), Fender Rhodes (8), Wurlitzer (5)
Bill Charlap – piano (7), Fender Rhodes (4)
Jon Herington – guitar (all tracks)
Hugh McCracken – guitar (all tracks)
Keith Carlock – drums (all tracks)
Gordon Gottlieb – percussion (2, 3, 5, 7, 8)
Ken Hitchcock – clarinet (7)
Walt Weiskopf – alto saxophone (1), tenor saxophone (2, 5, 7, 9)
Chris Potter – tenor saxophone (8)
Roger Rosenberg – baritone saxophone (1, 7)
Tony Kadleck – trumpet (1)
Michael Leonhart – trumpet (2, 5, 7, 8)
Jim Pugh – trombone (1, 7)
Tawatha Agee – background vocals (4, 5, 9)
Ada Dyer – background vocals (5)
Michael Harvey – background vocals (5, 7, 8)
Carolyn Leonhart – background vocals (2, 3, 5, 6), featured background vocal (7)
Cindy Mizelle – background vocals (1, 6)
Catherine Russell – background vocals (1, 4, 5, 6)
Brenda White-King – background vocals (9)

Monday 6/28/21 1:10am ET: Feature LP: Steely Dan – Two Against Nature (2000)

Two Against Nature is the eighth studio album by American rock band Steely Dan. Their first studio album in 20 years, it was recorded from 1997 to 1999 and released on February 29, 2000, by Warner Bros. Records.

A critical success, Two Against Nature won the group four Grammy Awards: Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album, Best Engineered Album – Non-Classical, and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals (for the single “Cousin Dupree”). Commercially, it peaked at number six on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and sold more than one million copies, earning a Platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America.

1. “Gaslighting Abbie” 5:53
2. “What a Shame About Me” 5:17
3. “Two Against Nature” 6:17
4. “Janie Runaway” 4:09
5. “Almost Gothic” 4:09
6. “Jack of Speed” 6:17
7. “Cousin Dupree” 5:28
8. “Negative Girl” 5:34
9. “West of Hollywood” 8:21

Donald Fagen – lead vocals (all tracks), Fender Rhodes (1-3), Clavinet (1), piano (2, 3), Wurlitzer (4-7), organ (9)
Walter Becker – bass (2-7), guitar (1, 2, 4, 6, 7), lead guitar (3, 9)
Ted Baker – Fender Rhodes (4, 5, 7-9), piano (9)
Jon Herington – rhythm guitar (3, 7, 9), acoustic guitar (5)
Paul Jackson Jr. – guitar (8)
Hugh McCracken – guitar (5)
Dean Parks – guitar (8)
Tom Barney – bass (1, 8, 9)
Keith Carlock – drums (3)
Leroy Clouden – drums (4, 5, 7)
Vinnie Colaiuta – drums (8)
Sonny Emory – drums (9)
Ricky Lawson – drums (1)
Michael White – drums (2, 6)
Gordon Gottlieb – percussion (2, 3, 5, 6, 9)
Will Lee – percussion (6)
Daniel Sadownick – percussion (3), timbales (3)
Dave Shank – vibraphone (8)
Steve Shapiro – vibraphone (3)
Amy Helm – whistle (7)
Lawrence Feldman – clarinet (1, 5), tenor saxophone (4, 6), alto saxophone (5), saxophone (3)
Roy Hitchcock – clarinet (3)
Lou Marini – alto saxophone (4, 6), tenor saxophone (2)
Chris Potter – tenor saxophone solo (1, 9), alto saxophone solo (4)
David Tofani – tenor saxophone (1) saxophone (3)
Roger Rosenberg – bass clarinet (1, 3-5), baritone saxophone (2, 6)
Michael Leonhart – trumpet (1-6), Wurlitzer (3)
Jim Pugh – trombone (1-3, 5, 6)
Cynthia Calhoun (1-3, 6, 8, 9) – background vocals
Carolyn Leonhart (1-5, 7-9) – background vocals
Michael Harvey (1-3, 5, 6, 9) – background vocals

Thursday 6/10/21 12am ET: Feature LP: Steely Dan – The Royal Scam (1976) Twitter: @steely_dan_bot

Twitter: @steely_dan_bot

The Royal Scam is the fifth studio album by American rock band Steely Dan. It was produced by Gary Katz and was originally released by ABC Records on May 31, 1976. The Royal Scam features more prominent guitar work than the prior Steely Dan album, Katy Lied, which had been the first without founding guitarist Jeff Baxter. Guitarists on the recording include Walter Becker, Denny Dias, Larry Carlton, Elliott Randall and Dean Parks.

In common with other Steely Dan albums, The Royal Scam is littered with cryptic allusions to people and events both real and fictional. In a BBC interview in 2000, Becker and Fagen revealed that “Kid Charlemagne” is loosely based on Augustus Owsley Stanley, the notorious drug “chef” who was famous for manufacturing hallucinogenic compounds, and that “Caves of Altamira”, based on a book by Hans Baumann, is about the loss of innocence, the narrative about a visitor to the Cave of Altamira who registers his astonishment at the prehistoric drawings. It is also influenced by Plato’s Cave Allegory and Keats’ “Ode to a Grecian Urn”.

The album went gold and peaked at number 15 on the Billboard 200. The album was re-issued by MCA Records in 1979 following the sale of the ABC Records label to MCA.

1. “Kid Charlemagne” 4:38
2. “The Caves of Altamira” 3:34
3. “Don’t Take Me Alive” 4:16
4. “Sign In Stranger” 4:23
5. “The Fez” 4:01
6. “Green Earrings” 4:05
7. “Haitian Divorce” 5:53
8. “Everything You Did” 3:55
9. “The Royal Scam” 6:28

Donald Fagen – keyboards, vocals, background vocals
Walter Becker – bass guitar, guitar
Paul Griffin – keyboards
Don Grolnick – keyboards
Denny Dias – guitar
Larry Carlton – guitar
Dean Parks – guitar
Elliott Randall – guitar
Jim Horn – saxophone
Plas Johnson – saxophone
John Klemmer – saxophone
Chuck Findley – trumpet
Bob Findley – horn
Dick Hyde – horn, trombone
Chuck Rainey – bass
Rick Marotta – drums (“Don’t Take Me Alive”, “Everything You Did”)
Bernard Purdie – drums (all other tracks)
Gary Coleman – percussion
Victor Feldman – percussion, keyboards
Timothy B. Schmit – background vocals
Venetta Fields – background vocals
Clydie King – background vocals
Sherlie Matthews – background vocals
Michael McDonald – background vocals
Walter Becker – horn arrangements
Donald Fagen – horn arrangements
Chuck Findley – horn arrangements

Wednesday 5/5/21 1am ET: Feature LP: Steely Dan – Countdown To Ecstasy (1973)

Countdown to Ecstasy is the second studio album by the American rock band Steely Dan, released in July 1973 by ABC Records. It was recorded at Caribou Ranch in Nederland, Colorado, and at The Village Recorder in West Los Angeles, California. After the departure of vocalist David Palmer, the group recorded the album with Donald Fagen singing lead on every song.

Although it was a critical success, the album failed to generate a hit single, and consequently charted at only number 35 on the Billboard 200. It was eventually certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1978, having shipped 500,000 copies in the United States. Well-received upon its release, Countdown to Ecstasy received perfect scores from music critics in retrospective reviews.

1. “Bodhisattva” 5:18
2. “Razor Boy” 3:11
3. “The Boston Rag” 5:40
4. “Your Gold Teeth” 7:02
5. “Show Biz Kids” 5:26
6. “My Old School” 5:48
7. “Pearl of the Quarter” 3:50
8. “King of the World” 5:04

Donald Fagen – acoustic and electric pianos, synthesizer, lead and backing vocals
Walter Becker – electric bass, harmonica, backing vocals
Denny Dias – electric guitar, mixing
Jeff “Skunk” Baxter – electric and pedal steel guitars
Jim Hodder – drums, percussion, backing vocals
Ray Brown – string bass on “Razor Boy”
Ben Benay – acoustic guitar
Rick Derringer – slide guitar on “Show Biz Kids” (recorded at Caribou Ranch, Nederland, Colorado, courtesy of Columbia Records)
Victor Feldman – vibraphone, marimba, percussion
Ernie Watts, Johnny Rotella, Lanny Morgan, Bill Perkins – saxophones (6)
Sherlie Matthews (6), Myrna Matthews (6), Patricia Hall (6), David Palmer, James Rolleston, Michael Fennelly – backing vocals

Thursday 2/18/2021 6pm ET: Feature LP: Steely Dan – Gaucho (1980)

Gaucho is the seventh studio album by the American rock band Steely Dan, released on November 21, 1980, by MCA Records. The sessions for Gaucho represent the band’s typical penchant for studio perfectionism and obsessive recording technique. To record the album, the band used at least 42 different musicians, spent over a year in the studio, and far exceeded the original monetary advance given by the record label. In 1982, the album won the Grammy Award for Best Engineered Non-Classical Recording and received Grammy nominations for Album of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

During the two-year span in which the album was recorded, the band was plagued by a number of creative, personal and professional problems. MCA, Warner Bros. and Steely Dan had a three-way legal battle over the rights to release the album. After it was released, jazz musician Keith Jarrett threatened the band with legal action for plagiarism in the title song.

Gaucho marked a significant stylistic change for the band, introducing a more minimal, groove- and atmosphere-based format. The harmonically complex chord changes that were a distinctive mark of earlier Steely Dan songs are less prominent on Gaucho, with the record’s songs tending to revolve around a single rhythm or mood, although complex chord progressions were still present particularly in “Babylon Sisters” and “Glamour Profession”. Gaucho proved to be Steely Dan’s final studio album before a 20-year hiatus from the recording industry.

1. “Babylon Sisters” 5:49
2. “Hey Nineteen” 5:06
3. “Glamour Profession” 7:29
4. “Gaucho” 5:32
5. “Time Out of Mind” 4:13
6. “My Rival” 4:34
7. “Third World Man” 5:15

Donald Fagen – lead vocals, backing vocals, synthesizer (2–6), electric piano (2–5), organ (6)
Walter Becker – bass (2, 4, 5), guitar (2, 5), guitar solo (4)

Randy Brecker – trumpet (1, 4, 5), flugelhorn (1, 6)
Wayne Andre – trombone (6)
Tom Scott – alto saxophone, clarinet (1); tenor saxophone (1, 3, 4, 6); Lyricon (3, 6), horn arrangement (3, 4, 6)
David Sanborn – alto saxophone (5)
Michael Brecker – tenor saxophone (3, 5, 6)
Dave Tofani – tenor saxophone (5)
Ronnie Cuber – baritone saxophone (5)
Walter Kane – clarinet (1)
George Marge – clarinet
Rob Mounsey – piano (3–5), synthesizer (7), horn arrangement (1, 5)
Don Grolnick – electric piano, Clavinet (1)
Bill Tobin – electric piano (3)
Pat Rebillot – electric piano (6)
Joe Sample – electric piano (7)
Hiram Bullock – guitar (6)
Larry Carlton – lead guitar (7)
Rick Derringer – guitar (6)
Steve Khan – guitar (1, 3, 4, 7), lead guitar (6)
Mark Knopfler – lead guitar (5)
Hugh McCracken – guitars (2, 5)
Chuck Rainey – bass (1, 7)
Steve Gadd – drums (3, 6, 7), percussion (2)
Anthony Jackson – bass (3, 6)
Rick Marotta – drums (2, 5)
Jeff Porcaro – drums (4)
Bernard Purdie – drums (1)
Errol “Crusher” Bennett – percussion (1, 4)
Victor Feldman – percussion (2)
Ralph MacDonald – percussion (3, 6)
Nicholas Marrero – percussion (6)
Michael McDonald (5), Patti Austin (1,4,5), Valerie Simpson (3–6), Frank Floyd (2,3,6), Diva Gray (1), Gordon Grody (1), Lani Groves (1), Lesley Miller (1,3–5), Zachary Sanders (2,3,6), Toni Wine (1) – backing vocals

Tuesday 11/24/2020 4pm ET: Feature LP: Steely Dan – Showbiz Kids: The Steely Dan Story, 1972–1980 (2000)

Showbiz Kids: The Steely Dan Story, 1972–1980 is a two-disc compilation album by Steely Dan, released in 2000. The exact same compilation (all tracks in the same sequence) was also in 2009 re-released in UK under the title The Very Best of Steely Dan.

1. “Do It Again” 5:56
2. “Dirty Work” 3:08
3. “Reelin’ in the Years” 4:37
4. “Only a Fool Would Say That” 2:57
5. “Change of the Guard” 3:39
6. “Bodhisattva” 5:18
7. “The Boston Rag” 5:40
8. “Show Biz Kids” 5:26
9. “My Old School” 5:46
10. “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” 4:32
11. “Night by Night” 3:40
12. “Pretzel Logic” 4:32
13. “Any Major Dude Will Tell You” 3:08
14. “Black Friday” 3:41
15. “Bad Sneakers” 3:21
16. “Doctor Wu” 3:55
17. “Any World (That I’m Welcome To)” 3:55
18. “Chain Lightning” 2:59

Disc two
1. “Kid Charlemagne” 4:38
2. “Don’t Take Me Alive” 4:16
3. “Haitian Divorce” 5:51
4. “The Fez” 4:02
5. “Here at the Western World” 4:01
6. “Black Cow” 5:10
7. “Aja” 8:00
8. “Deacon Blues” 7:36
9. “Peg” 4:00
10. “Josie” 4:35
11. “FM (No Static at All) 5:06
12. “Babylon Sisters” 5:49
13. “Hey Nineteen” 5:07
14. “Time Out of Mind” 4:12
15. “Third World Man” 5:13