Donald Fagen and Walter Becker have been ‘Steely Dan’ for over 30 years, they’ve seen the ups and downs. The two met in 1968 at Bard College, located in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. They joined the pop group ‘Jay and the American’s for a tour, then struck out on their own and has moderate success with their first hit “Dallas” but really took off with their “Can’t Buy a Thrill” album, containing the smash hits “Do it Again” and “Reeling in the Years.”
Over the years Donald has had his share of troubles; early in 2016 for throwing his wife threw a glass pane window. They have a brief fall tour this October 8th and 9th in Rochester NY, then October 12th, 14th, 15th and 18th at the Beacon Theater in New York City.
In our opinion, the first of their top three albums is “Can’t Buy a Thrill,” primarily because it put the boys on the map, and the great singles from the album. Pretzel Logic took the band back to its jazz roots with songs like “Pretzel Logic” and “Rikki Don’t Lose that Number,” along with the song “Any Major Dude Will Tell You” that brought the ladies to the show. Finally, the 1977 release of ‘Asia” brought the band the biggest commercial success with songs like “Peg,” “Josei” and “Asia.” The Asia album featured the guitar genus of Lee Ritenour and Larry Carlton.