The secret behind the perfect Steely Dan guitar solo
A very specific art form.
Walter Becker
‘Deacon Blues’: Steely Dan’s most autobiographical song
“Learn to work the saxophone, I play just what I feel…”
‘Gaucho’: The Steely Dan album that went overboard
“We were trying to realise a technical perfection that started to deaden the material.”
“Humiliated”: the only early singles Steely Dan actually liked
Still finding their feet as musicians.
Steely Dan’s Walter Becker on his favourite musicians: “Bob Dylan was such a great singer”
“I got a lot of inflections and stuff from various blues singers.”
The two Steely Dan songs that the band have grown tired of
“I think it’s ‘well-written,’ but it’s so simple”.