The Story of Steely Dan’s ‘Reelin’ in the Years’. Classic Rock magazine article.

The Story of Steely Dan’s ‘Reelin’ in the Years’

In this episode, dive into the fascinating backstory of Steely Dan's classic song 'Reelin' in the Years.' From its inception at Bard College, through the formative years at the iconic Brill Building, to its recording at Village Recorder Studios—discover how Donald Fagan and Walter Becker crafted this masterpiece. Hear about Elliot Randall's spectacular guitar solo, loved by legends like Jimmy Page, and learn why this track holds a special place in rock history. Perfect for any rock fan curious about what makes Steely Dan's music so timeless and unique.

00:00 Introduction: A Rock Fan's Journey
00:25 Diving into Steely Dan's 'Reelin in the Years'
00:56 The Making of a Classic: Recording Insights
01:19 The Origins of Steely Dan
02:10 The Formation and Early Days
04:16 The Debut Album: Can't Buy a Thrill
05:29 The Iconic Guitar Solo
06:21 Legacy and Impact

Transcript

[00:00:00] Hey rock fan, I'm going to read you a short and sweet article that I found in this guitar magazine, Classic Rock, The 50 Greatest Songs of GNR, that has nothing to do with GNR.

[00:00:09] It's actually going to be about Steely Dan. Now, I don't know about you, but I'm always curious to know the story behind a particular song, especially obviously a song that I love. How did they come up with it? How did they arrange it? What was the story behind it? What inspired them to write this song? And I've always been A big fan of Steely Dan's song, Reelin in the Years.

[00:00:30] And there's this article here, the stories behind the songs. Specifically, about Reelin in the Years. Now, I've always been fascinated about the melody, the songwriting, obviously the musicianship is amazing. But the background vocals, this song just seems so perfect to me.

[00:00:47] Hopefully you find it too, and let's dive into a little bit more detail about, what inspired Silly Dan to write this song. Let's do it. Glasses on. All right, here we go. So a track on 1972's debut, Can't Buy a Thrill, it includes Jimmy Page's favorite guitar solo. Huh. No idea.

[00:01:06] Nailed by guest guitarist Elliot Randall in just two takes, the engineer having missed the first one. Oh my god. Two takes, a classic solo like that, wow. Alright, Words by Joe Kendall. Looking back on Steely Dan's immense success and impact, it's hard to envision a time when the supremely honed and highly original jazz rock group weren't at the top of their game.

[00:01:30] But when the core duo of Donald Fagan and Walter Becker were starting out, recognition for their talent and approach would take some time, and some getting used to. Keyboard player Fagin had stumbled across Becker practicing guitar in the campus cafe at New York's liberal arts school, Bard College, in 1967. Fagin wanted to start a band, but he struggled to find a guitarist who could play jazz and blues the way he wanted to. Not like Dick Dale. As was the trend, he says.

[00:02:01] Becker was playing a WAB blues bass style and Fagan had never really heard anything like that. The duo soon started writing together and played in various musical configurations. They found incongruous employment as part of the touring band of doo wop crooners Jay and the Americans, whose lead singer Jay Black recalled his impression of the pair as yogurt skinned beatniks who seemed to surface only at night.

[00:02:26] The Manson and Stark weather of rock and roll, he called them. Graduating in 1969, Fagin took the duo's songs to Manhattan's legendary Brill Building, the hub for popular songwriters and publishers of every stripe, from Burt Bacharach to Lou Reed, Carole King, E.

[00:02:44] Lee, Greenwich. Becker and Fagin had little success there. Their musical climate was not quite ready for their hipster hybrids. However, a Jay and the Americans connection clicked. Group member Kenny Vance was now a Brill resident, and he commissioned from them a soundtrack to 1971 screwball hippie film, You've Got to Walk It Like You Talk It or You'll Lose That Beat, which starred Robert Downey Sr.

[00:03:11] and Richard Pryor. Their style caught the attention of young producer Gary Katz, who began his career working with pop and rock entertainer Bobby Darin, and was newly installed as ABC slash Dunhill Records, where he looked after acts including the Mamas and the Papas, Three Dog Night, The James Gang, and Steppenwolf.

[00:03:31] Becker and Fagin were private introverted creators and cats Recognized that their work would be best cultivated in a small social bubble. They weren't outwardly public. They had their own relationship, he told broadcaster Denny Saunders.

[00:03:45] They were totally bound to each other. The expression of soul brothers applies. There was very little fighting in the studio because no matter what was going on in the end, Donald was mother. Having relocated from New York to LA, by day they wrote for the label roster. By night, they had a group that included jazz guitarist Denny Diaz, ABC sign drummer Jim Hotter, session guitarist Jeff Skunk Baxter, and vocalist David Palmer, brought in to Fagan's lack of confidence when it came to singing live.

[00:04:16] In August 1972, Katz took the group, now named Steely Dan, in parenthesis, a nod to their beatnik roots, using the moniker of the steam powered strap on dildo from William S Burroughs Mind bending 1959 novel Naked Lunch end of brackets, into Village Recorder Studios in Los Angeles to make their debut album Can't Buy a Thrill.

[00:04:42] The album began with the chilled Latin groove of Do It Again. Glossy with its slick musicianship. Arc lyrical commentary and pristine production and blending soft rock jazz blues and soul in a singular 70s and very Steely Dan fashion. The highlight of the album was reeling in the years. Fagin stepped up to the mic for an effervescent perhaps autobiographical breakup In parenthesis, the tribute made to Hollywood is etched upon my mind, slash, after all the things we've done and seen, you find another man.

[00:05:16] End of parenthesis. As the band galloped along in shuffled time, the main guitar part needed something special. And this marked the band's first time of what would become a regular ploy of bringing in hand picked, Aces. They called another old contact from Jay and the Americans, Elliot Randall, who was just out of the orchestra pit playing for the Broadway version of the musical Jesus Christ Superstar, and now getting some freelance muso rep.

[00:05:42] It was my first session for them, Randall said. I thought they were really special, and they must have thought I was special too. They were having trouble finding the right flavor solo for Reelin, and asked me to give it a go, he told Guitar World.

[00:05:56] Randall recalled that his imagination was fired up. He jazzed up the chorus for the intro, And using a sprinkling of salsa, Pulled off the most joyous, expressive musical conversation from start to finish.

[00:06:08] That was it. Nobody said, Can we try that again? Randall remembered, I was delighted. They were happy. The track has made millions of others happy too, including Jimmy Page, who knows a thing or two about guitar licks. In Classic Rock, in 1999, he said, the Really In A Year solo was his favorite. And in 2016, in conversation with YouTuber, Oliver Patrick Lugin, Page rated it 12 out of 10.

[00:06:35] Yeah, he really likes that solo. I'm flattered by that, Randall said in 2021. It was actually very easy to do. The song virtually played itself. Wow! You know you're a kick ass musician when you can pull off a solo like that in Two takes. Wow. They probably would have called it a day after the first take if the engineer actually recorded it, but man, two takes, no overdubs.

[00:07:00] That's just insane. If you're a guitar playing musician, and you go listen to that solo, you know how insane that is.

[00:07:06] that's talent.