Reviews (page 10 of 14)
Ever been to a fancy burrito place that prides itself on super high quality "artisan" ingredients? They carefully craft each part of the burrito with their own special recipe, but then when they put it all together, something is missing from the completed package? That's kinda how I feel about Steely Dan. I enjoy listening closely to Steely Dan because there are so many layers of quality. Yet, when you pull it back and listen to the whole, I never find myself really loving any Steely Dan songs.
I like Steely Dan I’ve discovered, but the number of their albums on this list is absurd.
Perfectly competent and even interesting at times. Not sure if my life is that much more complete after listening through. Might be worth a revisit.
pretty good
pretty good, not the biggest steely dan fan, but they do put out some good music.
J'ai vu cet album comme un hommage et une réinterprétation rock de styles blues-jazz. S'écoute bien, mais je ne suis pas outillée pour voir l'originalité ou la virtuosité du groupe.
A decent 70s record with “Dad Rock” vibes. Favorite track: Night By Night
A bit MOR for me but I gave it a few listens and it was quite nice to listen to. Not sure I’ll be adding it to my collection but I may revisit it on my streaming service
Favourite track: Rikki Don't Lose That Number.
Cualquier disco de Steely Dan es una obra perfectamente compuesta y ejecutada. Su influencia en los 70 marcó a grupos tan importantes como Supertramp que ese mismo 74 publicaron Crime of the century, el disco que les condujo al camino del estrellato, marcado por los parámetros de Fagen y Becker. Igualmente bandas tan impresionantes como Tears for Fears o Prefab Sprout presentan una huella de Steely Dan, por no hablar de Deacon Blue que se pusieron ese nombre a partir de un tema suyo. Son una banda para oídos exigentes. A mi particularmente no terminan de gustarme, prefiero a los antes mencionados, pero eso no quita su valor. Pretzel Logic es junto con su debut el disco mas disfrutable. Lleno se canciones AOR en el buen sentido y con una gran variedad de matices y estilos pero siempre con la calidad marca de la casa. Rikki es su tema más conocido pero la titular es otra joya. El grupo suena fenomenal con buenos teclados y metales. La producción exquisita. Otros discos de 1974: Brian Eno, Neil Young, Stevie Wonder, Gram Parsons, Kraftwerk, Gene Clark, Supertramp, Genesis, Bob Marley, Big Star, Neil Young, Tangerine Dream o los imprescindibes directos de Van Morrison y Bob Dylan. También los de New York Dolls, Tom Waits, Mike Oldfield, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Steely Dan, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Minnie Riperton, Brian Eno, Roxy Music, ELO y King Crimson
Steely Dan just doesn't really do it for me. Nothing here that I hate but nothing I love either- very middle of the road. The guitar/drums are nice but I can't get into the vocals. 5.25/10 (2.625/5)
I got a noogie from an older kid when I was in 3rd grade for saying Steely Dan sucks, that was my intro to the band. They weren't KISS or Earth Wind & Fire or the BeeGee's so in my young mind they weren't worthy. Today, I know their greatest hits and all the radio songs really well from all the airplay and movies they were in. They grew on me over time. I consider the opening track, "Rikki Don't Lose That Number", to be a true classic rock radio track. The songs after that are mostly new to me. I had heard "Night By Night"I believe, and "Any Major Dude..." felt oddly familiar. It's a very accessible album with mix of rock, mellow,ness horns, jazz and pop. I didn't feel compelled to skip tracks. I can't say it would make my Top 1001 but I enjoyed listening to it and understanding where their popularity came from.
Eh not bad.
Sorry to the Deely Stans in here but I have yet to be completely moved by them.. but I think it can be done! I thought this was good but just didn’t click for me entirely. Awesome cover though
Nice vocals
Couple of classics. Not their best.
Prefer some of Dan's other work, but nothing wrong with this one.
Quite enjoyable
Blues-funk-jazz vibes. Très chouette, bonne énergie, donne un coup de boost quand je suis fatigué. J'ai malheureusement pas eu le temps de le finir. Mais sinon c'était sympa.
- Well...I liked this more than Aja, but less than Countdown to Ecstasy. I have heard a lot of Steely Dan recently. - Found "Barrytown" to be a fun groove. And there was some interesting guitar in "Charlie Freak." - Get out of here with "East St. Louis Toodle-oo"...pick a lane! Are we old timey jazz or something modern?
Surprisingly cool little rock band. Nothing that special, but was a fun listen and something new to discover.
Gear: Abyss DIANA MR (vegan) Artwork: 🥨😎🌡️ Produktion: 🎧😘🤌 Musik: 🎸🎷💎...🤷♂️ Wertung: 🥨🥨🥨/5
I didn't listen to the whole album but I listened to most and feel like I got the gist of it. It's easy listening and peasant enough but not super interesting to me.
None of the songs stood out to be but a nice album overall
First song is great, the album peters out after that.
Not bad
This was my introduction to Steely Dan - a memorable album, but memorable only because I discovered them through here. I’ll give it another listen but I doubt that it will change my mind regarding the scoring.
Pretty good not my favorite steely dan
Not a fan of the Dan
Honestly, a little underwhelmed by this album overall. With Steely Dan songs I'm more familiar with, what sets them apart is their long, intricate solos and musicianship as opposed to the songwriting itself. Seeing as this record only had a 33 minute runtime, none of the songs had time to really breath, let alone go on to showcase the instrumental skills that Steely Dan are known for in my eyes. Still a terrific band, but this record didn't have a lot to write home about for me. Notable Tracks: - Rikki Don't Lose That Number 5/10
Rikki Don‘t Loose That Number - schon in der Kindheit gehört. Mir gefällt es als solide Hintergrundmusik mit viel Gitarre und einem Touch Jazz/Funk darin.
Bekannt für Eröffnunssong, kannte aber Band nicht. Solide Platte mit hörenswerten Lieder.
I really liked the opening song, but I wasn't a huge fan of a lot of the album. I think it just isn't my type of music.
Kinda funky jam tunes. Pretty boomer-y but not bad.
High 3+. Solid album.
First album I listened to on 9/25/2024.
I like Steely Dan but I'd probably only listen to a few of the songs on this album.
Love a few songs from this album, already had it saved. Don't know if I would listen to the whole album on repeat
I've never been happier to see an album is only 33 minutes long. Ended up not hating it. Poppy and upbeat. Not like the Steely Dan my dad listened to.
Classic
very fun
Ok Steely.. I dig it.
Very undecided on this one.
Not as memorable as Aja or Can’t Buy a Thrill.
# 324 : They've done a pretty decent job, good album, I like the hits of course, I wouldn't spend my hard earned money on this, but I'd listen to someone else's copy again ;-) Favourite track : Rikki...
When this popped up my reaction was “I know the name Steely Dan, but I don’t think I know any of their material”. Then ‘Rikki Don’t Lose That Number’ opened the album and I immediately knew it from the odd radio play here and there. ‘Pretzel Logic’ has every element of it that would scream “yeah, that’s up your alley”. However, I found this to be a bit underwhelming. As if the half hour just zipped on by followed by my immediate “well that’s that then” reaction. This is essentially jazz fused with rock and blues and at no point could you say any of it is particularly bad. But nothing here is lighting my musical tastes on fire. The musicianship is efficient, the vocals are fine, and the production is clean and slick. It's just that if there was ever an album that could join the pool of standard sounding dad rock from the otherwise golden age of the 70's that hasn't aged particularly well: 'Pretzel Logic' would be it. This is one of those LP's where I can appreciate it for its elements, as I didn't dislike the album. But I simply wouldn't be seeking this out when there's a plethora of similar artists who made far more interesting music. So it rounds up into the appreciative 3/5 category for me. Good, but ultimately forgettable.
Rating: 7/10 Very good, they have better albums though.
Solid record, with impossibly close harmonies and typically impeccable recording of Steely Dan's output. Overall, doesn't quite meet the scale of it's own ambitions, which seem to be to combine all popular American music forms (and a little English folk music) into a cohesive whole. The record is predictably strongest on tracks where Fagen and Becker are in their most comfortable milieu of jazz-pop synthesis. 'Ricky' is one of my least favorite of their more popular songs, but it and the album's namesake track due have more confidence than the groups forays into other genres.
I liked it, but have to admit, it hasn't dated brilliantly. Some wonderful guitar playing, piano, keyboards, trumpet, etc. But the start of track two sounded like the start of CHiPs.
It's amazing how many songs I've known forever and had no idea were by Steely Dan. I guess Rikki Don't Lose That Number is another one. This album was very strange. I thought it was going to be more yacht rock, but I was mistaken (kind of). It starts off that way, and then it kind of meanders everywhere. It's a weird mix of blues, jazz, show tunes, country-western, and whatever the hell else they felt like doing. Night by Night is a great song — goes much harder than I was expecting, with a super funky bass line and crazy guitar solos. The guitar riff on Any Major Dude is pretty sweet too. Parker's Band is a fun jam. I have no idea what's going on with most of the rest of the album. There's a bizarre foray into burlesque music on East St. Louis Toodle-oo. With a Gun is like a mix of Billy Joel, The Who, The Monkees, and Johnny Cash. Charlie Freak could be a Regina Spektor song. The musicianship on this album is ridiculous. There are tons of amazing bluesy guitar solos, fun sax riffs, and good drum and bass grooves. But it's so all over the place, and there's always a weird undercurrent of yacht/dad/lounge rock to everything. 3/5 — I guess I didn't hate it, but there aren't many songs I'd put on repeat.
It's fine. Very good in parts. It's very white.
The album was better then expected. First I was very skeptical but “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” is a very good song. Some songs were not as good as others but overall it wasn’t the best thing I heard but also not the worst and it’s something I would enjoy listening to again, especially the song mentioned above. I also noticed that I was a big fan of their instruments in each song, whereas the singing is kind of mid and nothing breathtaking.
Nicole vond t 1 ster. Ik vind een aantal nummers wel leuk
The song writing is very high quality at times, but the album is ultimately by the mundanity of 1/2 or more of the songs. Absent any noticeable passion, the well-constructed nature of the music is such that it begs you to listen carefully, which for me at least lacks the payoff in the songs themselves.
Not my favorite by them by a long mile, but solid enough.
Sorry Jojah. Steely Dan is boring. I’ll give this a 3 for production and a few good tracks towards the start
So I have never sat through a Steely Dan album before. In fact today was the first day I'd asked myself whether Steely Dan was one guy or an actual band. I really dug the sound on this. It sort of gave me soft rock 70s era Billy Joel vibes. I liked all the genre shifting and how creative they were with the some of the backing instrument arrangements. Some of the choruses are really big, with multi layer harmonies. Within 10 seconds of the song Night by Night I had to add it to my 'Liked' list on Spotify. It absolutely jams. It's probably my favorite on this album. Going to have to check out more of Steely Dan for sure.
Easy to listen to classic rock. I thought the two best songs were the first and last with the middle being okay. It's probably a 3.5 for me if we could give half stars
A little too jazzy for my taste but still wildly unique and interesting.
Another slice of fairly mediocre American forgettable rock. It’s just about ok and that’s it
Decent enough, but the first track is the only memorable one.
Good album, Saved 4 of the songs and would save more upon relisten.
Very good
That was good.
Unremarkable dad rock
Nice bouncy start. Great recording of "East St. Louis Toodle-Oo". That sounds like it's crossing into other genres until you look it up and find that it's a cover of Duke Ellington! Altogether, an enjoyable, poppy album. Very radio friendly.
One thing about Steely Dan is you know what you’re going to get. I don’t LOVE Steely Dan but I do enjoy the music and I look forward to listening to the album.
I love SD bit this is my least familiar album. I like it but like all the others so much more.
Fav: Barrytown Least Fav: Through With Buzz
2,5
I had only heard Rikki Don't Lose That Number going into this, and honestly wasn't expecting much. This album was certainly better than I expected. The problem is it just didn't connect with me. I really can't see myself listening to this again.
It's okay. Very shiny. Easy-listening.
really just fine on all marks.
Crazy to say, but other than a handful of singles, this is my first Steely Dan record. I've always had the impression that SD is a love-it-or-hate-it band. Which, having heard a couple full albums now (I sneaked in CBaT) I find that notion a little odd. There is something special in their blend of cool jazz and pop rock. I can imagine a different band trying to go for this sound coming out as boring. That said, I could see how this hyper clean, smooth, casual listening would have little appeal to some people. I might be one of them. The music is pleasant all around, but too safe for me to regularly listen to it. The outright hatred of SD I still don't get though. Feel like it's hard to have straight up bad time with something this chill.
Pretty solid. 3.5 if I could give it. No Aja or Reeling in the years
another 3, mot as bad as other steely dan albums on this list but i still cant stand them
Good background music
i wasn’t really sure what to make of this record. it doesn’t really seem to fit into any one genre, instead taking elements of many and combining them. there were songs i enjoyed more than others - ie rikki don’t lose that number - but for the most part, the sound didn’t hugely appeal. having said that, i would re listen to this album, because it’s interesting technically, and has some cool instrumentation.
A couple recognizable songs and overall a solid album but nothing here jumped out.
i dont hate it, but i dont get it
It's good enough but as ever I'm left wondering why they're quite so venerated
Never been in to the classic rock/dad rock scene. This album was a fine middle of the road outing that didn't overstay its welcome since it clocks in around 34 minutes.
Soft rock with some twang. Solid easy listening album. Best Song: Pretzel Logic
"Rikki don't lose that number" is decent (I hope Horace Silver was getting residuals for that intro), and musically it's pretty good, but I think I hate Donald Fagen. He just makes it so white and uncool. I'd probably like it if I listened more. 3.1
Better than I expected. I have a love/hate relationship with this band. Sometimes they are a bit too jazzy for my liking but this album has some nice funky bits that reminded me of Zappa. Also Rikki Don’t Lose That Number is such a classic that it makes up for some of the lesser tracks. Overall, a good listen!
Such a short album! I do enjoy their work but not a super high album in my head.
Pretty good, I liked it. 7/10
70's American rock. Good musically
Very fun listen. Nothing pops out but everything is streamlined perfectly. I wanna give it a 4 but I’ll give it a 3 cause it didn’t move me or whatever
Not my fav but still decent
Saw someone else say this is the soundtrack of suburban dads in socks and sandals, and they’re not wrong. They rated it 1/5, but I think there’s a little more to appreciate here than they’re giving it credit for. Some tracks are funky and fun. Some cool vocal harmonies, melodies, and guitar solos. It was on in the background and I was never once bothered by it but also rarely had any reason to listen closer. I’m sure this is someone’s favorite album, but I’m having a hard time seeing it as anything other than benign yacht rock. 3/5 Highlights: Night by Night Pretzel Logic Monkey in Your Soul
Well, it’s their best offering on here so far. Still does nothing for me though
This is a generous 3, makes me realize how much I like Katylied, Can't Buy and Countdown. Here they largely overcomplicate some basic generes and suck the fun out of them.
Chill, easy listen. I like it. Its a 3 ½
Guitar music for guitar guys
This feels better than the previous albums of theirs I've had. It's pretty easy-going and well put-together. It started out better and slowly got more boring, but... it's nice enough I guess.
It sounds good, didn't hate it, but I didn't enjoy it that much either.
I like Steely Dan and this felt like them getting into the groove of their sound, but not quite yet.
Nice sound
Bueno
Good intro track good second track good third track good fourth track bad 5th track just instrumental didn't like the piano solid 6th track nothing special mid 7th track good 8th track 6/11 only 2 misses 3 mid
I've come to the conclusion that Steely Dan has some bangers and some snoozers. This was just okay aside from their opening track.
A short 70s soft rock/jazz rock album. Clean production. First five songs are great. Second half just didn't work for me, except maybe the song Pretzel Logic. Other favorites: Night by Night, Barrytown, Any major dude will tell you.
better than the other steely dan album that was on here, but do it again is still better than anything on here. Another version of uno music but the good kind this time. only memorable track was night by night
It was ok some good sections and lyrics but not really engaged through parts
Fun. I enjoy Steely Dan, but wasn't really blown away by the album.
It's good
Rikki Don't Lose That Number and East St. Louis Toodle-Oo are both great tracks but I find this album is missing a lot of the spark that makes Can't Buy a Thrill so memorable. The Dan did so much work getting polished they scrubbed off their soul.
It was okay
I'm beginning to think every Steely Dan album is between a 3 star and a 4 star with no outliers.
Good album but they gave better 7/10
good but not my style. i liked the jazzyness.
01) Rikki Don't Lose That Number - 7,0 02) Night by Night - 6,5 03) Any Major Dude Will Tell You - 7,0 04) Barrytown - 6,5 05) East St. Louis Toodle-Oo - 5,0 06) Parker's Band - 6,5 07) Through with Buzz - 6,0 08) Pretzel Logic - 7,0 09) With a Gun - 7,5 10) Charlie Freak - 7,0 11) Monkey in Your Soul - 6,5 TOTAL: 6,59 (66/100) Current ranking: 174/228 One thing I learned through this project (after listening to two of their albums - current ranking 177 & 185/227) is that Steely Dan are one of the most boring bands ever. And here is the third album filled with the same, boring, lukewarm songs as the previous two. "With a Gun" is a decent song.
It was fine! Didn't like it as much as Aja (words I cannot believe I just typed) but I appreciated the concision.
I'm a little surprised I've never listened to this album, because I do enjoy "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" and usually wind up at least trying out an album if I know a track well. These were all pretty similar to that, I enjoyed it. I'm torn between a 3 and a 4 because Steely Dan to me is never like "man I want to run home and pop them on and listen to them" but I do enjoy them if they're on. 3.5
Not bad. I can't say I love the whole album, but it's got some good parts.
Yeah it was nice.
Enjoyed it enough though didn’t listen deeply
Love night by night me
I feel like I’m always going to reasonably enjoy Steely Dan thanks to my Dad playing them throughout childhood! This was better than Aja, personally. I didn’t even have to check to see how long I had to go which is a sign that I didn’t hate it! Would give 3.5 if I could
I’m going to take note and revisit this album in a few months as I think I the proper mood for it is really enjoy it. Barrytown was the stand out for me on the first listen. Very enjoyable despite not feeling it!
some of the yes the rest didnt listen
Perhaps the current era works against making this album something special. This was an unremarkable listen even though the music was enjoyable to listen to. Even paying attention to the hits of this album, begs the question as to why should this album be heard before death? The conundrum is that it does not hurt to hear this album, but also whether or not it really has that value brings about more questions. It is reasonable that this album can be a recommended listen, but it is questionable as whether or not it should be.
I’ve appreciated Steely Dan more with each passing year. A good middle of the road effort.
Some top notch musicianship. Enjoyed the funky parts. Not really a fan of the vocals or melodies/harmonies. It’s alright
Can’t go wrong with SD!
Pop, Rock, Jazz, 1995 -> 3
It was alright. Nice vibe in the background. All sounded quite the same though, and I didn't notice when the album finished and related music started playing. I did enjoy one of the related songs, from a different album by Steely Dan, so maybe there is better stuff out there from them.
this is entirely too smooth for the likes of me
I don't mind Steely Dan. I'd never heard this album before, and I kind of enjoyed it.
This is definitely a very good album, but I just don't get on with Steely Dan vocals enough for me to want to keep revisiting.
Pretty decent
Soft rock, good music, nothing groundbreaking. Stand-out: Charlie Freak
I know Aja fairly well but that's it when it comes to Steely Dan apart from a couple other tracks. The ones I knew from here I really like, Rikki and the title track. The rest were a bit of a let down, a smattering of a genres that felt a bit unnecessary and disjointed.
Liked it more than I thought I did, although didn't care for the real jazzy songs. 3.5.
Funk and jazz wih rock vibes Any Major Dude is very nice Good quality, but not very appealing to me 3/5
Steady 70’s!
Forrest Gump music. Well made, saccharine and sentimental, dorky but uncontroversial, enjoyable on an airplane, forgettable once it’s over.
I don't know what it is with Steely Dan. I objectively should really like this music. It's clever, well written and they're great musicians. But I always feel like something's missing. And I can't put my finger on it. I don't dislike Pretzel Logic, but it also doesn't make me sit up and really want to listen to it.
It's not a bad album. Good for background music. It's okay. That's all i can say about it
So smooth
Pretty good, never really listened to a steely dan album in its entirety before.
Cracking bit of jazzy 70s rock
Just as I expected, it met expectations.
Easy to listen to 70’s music, nothing special in my opinion.
I’m not a huge steely Dan fan but this album has several of their best songs.
Few stand out tracks. Odd (in a good way) lyrics.
to be honest i was disappointed. i liked Aja a good bit but this album felt lackluster
Some fun story telling. Some cheesy melodies and moments. Not my style, but can tell it's solid.
It arite.
Average
Good album, glad I listened to it but probably not something I'd come back too much.
My first exposure to Steely Dan and I can kind of understand why they have such mixed reviews. I really struggled to connect with it the first time around, though I can see that they're impressive performers. I can see the whole 'Dad rock' label, which is a weird thing to say about a band named after a sex toy. I appreciate the music a bit more after a few listens, and also dipping into some of their other releases. But I'm just not blown away by this album.
The first track lulled me into a false sense of security. I thought I would get something unique but this is largely still one of those ‘70s rock records that I will most likely forget by next year. Still pretty solid though.
Good jams. Really easy listen and clear music themes.
I keep trying and keep hearing how good Steely Dan is, but I'm just not hearing it here. They don't seem to be able to decide what kind of music they're playing and I appreciate most experimental attempts usually.
Can't remember any song except for Rikki, but enjoyed listening to the album.
I recognize Rikki don't lose that number. Overall this is ok background dad rock you'd hear at a doctor's office. 3* (I have to give this more than the last snoozefest country album I heard -- I hate that I can't even be consistent with my own ratings). East St Louis came out of nowhere, enjoyed it.
Weird: I seem to remember this record including more hits. Still pretty darn good, mind you.
Jazziger Rock der 70er und es handelt vieles von Problem, Drogen und Problem mit und ohne Drogen. „Rikko Don‘t Lose That Number“ ist der Evergreen der Band aber auch auch „Berrytown“ & „With A Gun“ klingen sehr gut.
Good
It's a very good album, but one that in my opinion is outshined by it's predecessors. A poof that a good fun album can be a 3
Twenty year old me wouldn't have been seen dead listening to Steely Dan. But there are some decent songs on here; the title track and Rikki especially. I didn't particularly like the Duke Ellington cover though.
The music just doesn’t grab me. I’ve listened to Steely Dan on a few lists and it’s yet to make me feel anything. Well crafted and executed songs, but left cold.
Easy listening.... it was ok.
This is a pretty good album and uncovered a lot of Steely Dan songs I didn't know - enjoy them more the more I listen. Maybe it deserved 4.
Good musicianship, like his voice, but not really my cup of tea musically
Inte så pjåkigt.
Pretty great album. Am I becoming a steely Dan fan???
No Aja but still pretty good 3.5 stars
Not bad. Can't Buy a Thrill is much better though.
Softer rock than I had expected. Seems to follow some social justice themes. Not bad background music.
Pretzel Logic is a fine album with a few cool ideas. The general rock sound mixed with some jazz influences is somewhat interesting as were some of the lyrical ideas (especially with songs like With A Gun). The album also never dragged on for more than it should have. This album is rather fine but doesn't really go beyond that Best Song: Monkey In Your Soul Worst Song: Any Major Dude Will Tell You
Nett aber nicht so meins Witzig Zu witzig?
It was OK. Hadn't listened to them before. Not something I'll choose, but don't mind it in the shuffle.
it was fine
Hipsters unite! A band named after a steam-powered dildo from the quintessential hipster book ... Steely Dan is basically the 70s' version of LCD Soundsystem. It's a band that all the cool people are into. It's a name-drop in some bar conversation. People who have cassette tape collections and teeny weenie beanies and drink ethically-sourced $8 espressos fucking love Steely Dan. Doesn't mean I don't like them, too.
Solid, a little bit unexciting.
nice
Pretzel logic is a bangin track. Rest was ok
5/10 Great opening track. I officially like one Steely Dan song. Mercifully this album is short. so smooth my brain shut off and I found myself drooling. meh. 4-1-2024
Usually like Steely Dan but this album is repetitive and somewhat drones on. Nothing really stuck out.
Un peu en-deça de mes attentes, car j'ai bien aimé les autres albums de leur part. Belle vibe jazz-rock tout le long de l'album.
A few solid tunes, but mostly sounds like SD was feeling out what they’d like to to be as a band.
Not bad but not good enough for 4 stars.
Enjoy Steely Dan so enjoyed having it on in the background, but didn't catch my attention in a big way. Wouldn't say it was a stand out album, a few mild boos only. Probably enjoyed the first couple of tracks more than the rest. Not going to go out of my way to listen to it again.
For some reason I’ve avoided Steely Dan, but I really like this. The groove on “night by night” is very nice.
Steely Dan is one of those groups that I know are masterful artists and extremely musically gifted, etc., but that I just don't ever seek out to listen to in favor of other bands. I liked this album well enough, there were a few tracks that stood out as really good, but again nothing I'm probably going to think to come back to later.
Surprised
I like steely dan, but pretzel logic is pretty middle of the road for me.
Great musicians that make music that feels like less than the sum of their parts
Wel nice, vind steely dan wel chill, maar vgm hebben ze betere albums gemaakt wel
Ja goed album, goeie vibe, paar dikke platen
More of the last album, perfectly produced rock, but it lacks the things that make their earlier or later albums masterpieces. B
Twisted.
Pass
Yikes, 2 Steely Dan albums within 6 days of each other! I was going to give this 2 stars, but I'm warding an additional star for making this album short and sweet. (just 34 minutes) I didn't hate it, probably just a little to close to the previous one. Don't mind bit of the 70's cheese rock.
A really accomplished version of ‘this sort of thing’ so great if you love that. I liked it.
2.5
uneventful
my preferred yacht rock. fuck the eagles, this is the music to listen to while wanting to pretend that you're rich in the 70's.
Ok 3/5
Pretty good
takie 3/5
was ok, enjoyed some, zoned out during others
Not bad, actually enjoyed it and was not expecting to
I dug this one. None of the songs overstayed their welcome. Barrytown was my new favorite. If there was a 3.5 stars option that's what I'd give this (enjoyed myself, don't really plan to return to it, though).
3.0 I think for Steely Dan the question is if you personally like them or not. Can't really deny the songwriting and musicianship, they are both really good. I havent listened to enough to say this is better than their other work.
Good album. Not a great album, but enjoyed the listening. Plain and lackluster - but can't really fault it (except for not being special!)
A very plain and lackluster dadrock album. There are some good string bits and I appreciate how short an album in is, but altogether pretty standard. 2.5/5 rounded to 3/5.
I am married to the world's biggest Steely Dan hater, so I essentially never listen to their music. This album confirms that I'm not really missing much. I loved the instrumental East St. Louis Toodle-Oo. The rest of the album is "fine". The first track (Ricky Don't Lose That Number) was omnipresent through the 2nd half of the 70s and becomes an annoying earworm whenever I hear it. I enjoyed Barrytown. The rest of the album was undistinguished for me.
A fine classic rock album! TIL that Ben Folds Five song Barrytown is a cover of Steely Dan!
I didn’t love it
Pretty relaxing, but forgettable
Enjoyable album. I was torn between 3 and 4 stars.
Like, not love.
I cannot deny that the music absolutely jams at times. I even enjoy a few of these songs, usually. However, the songs often come across as infuriating/annoying, mostly because of the vocals. Overall, I think it's good in moderation. Unfortunately, Spotify does not understand this at the moment, and Steely Dan is my most skipped artist.
Nothing Notable.
Not my favorite Steely Dan album, but it's pretty good. Nothing surprising here. Three and one-half-ish stars, I guess.
Rikki Don't Lose That Number Any Major Dude Will Tell You
Not my favorite steely stuff
On my first run of this it went completely over my head, and I had to re-listen to it for this review. Having done so I feel quite comfortable just putting it in the middle, potentially a candidate for strong 2 as well. The start of the album is pretty decent with some funky jams like 'Night by Night', 'Any Major Dude Will Tell You', but then it turned fairly bland for the rest of the album, with 'East St. Louis Toodle-Oo' being a low-point that I don't feel belong on this album. Not sure why this is included on the list at all. Like I said it's pretty bland and I don't see many game-changing songs here.
I mean it's nice in a milk toast kind of way. I'm just not a great fan of soft rock. Listened to it once and it didn't leave any real impression so i figured I needed to listen a second time. "Any Major Dude Will Tell You" stood out the second time around. After that song I turned the volume up and I found it quite groovy. I can finally see why people like it.
Decent
2.64 per track. Not sure why this is on the list, pretty unremarkable.
Now I am an old bastard I am of course moving into Steely Dan territory. Like many reviews I see here, when I was younger I thought the soul and charm of the music and lyrics if there was any was eclipsed by the obsession with surgically clean production and endlessly winnowing session takes down to the "ultimate" studio performance. I found the music smug, superficial and overly shiny and produced. It had no grit. Yeah, then I got older. Now I appreciate the dedication and thoughfulness, and also now I like the snarky, self-depricating and doom laden lyrics. This isn't happy-go-lucky cocktail lounge music at all. That said this album is new to me, previously I have got into 'Aja' and 'The Royal Scam' on which Becker and Fagen had reached the apex of Steely Dan-ness. It's OK, it's not grown on me like the others yet, I'm familiar with 'Any Major Dude'. 'Rikki' and the title track and those aren't my favourite SD numbers. The other tracks will need a bit of time. I'll circle back, the good stuff always takes a while to appreciate. At least this one has a half-decent photo on the cover.
Pretty good. Really jazzy
Good album. I’m not a huge Steely fan but there is a good variety of sounds on this. And a number of recognizable hits.
Ouvi só uma vez ontem, não prestei Mt atenção, mas achei gostoso, bom, escutaria de novo e provavelmente teria que fazer outra review. 5/10
Not bad
Good stuff
Good album, not the best of their work. Lacks the overall groove of some of their other albums and doesn’t have as many strong songs. Still good though. 3/5 Might listen again
Album? Pretty good. Coming from Barrytown? Less good…??
I have nothing positive or negative to say about this album.
Enjoyed that album
Something different
Prima achtergrondmuziek.
3.5/5
Un poco rollo. Pero me ha caído bien Walter Becker. SoftFolk - rock.
Probably the weakest of their 70s material, some solid tunes here and there but nothing approaching the peaks of this era.
Viel schönes dabei : aber ( fast ) nichts lockt mich aus dem Sessel.
it's okay, but does not belong on the list
Un poco rollo. Pero me ha caído bien Walter Becker. SoftFolk - rock.
Rikki Don't Lose That Number is a huge tune and the rest had something going for it but I didn't save much!
I enjoyed it an average amount
3.5*
Boredom in perfect craftsmanship
I like Steely Dan, just not a whole album.
I enjoyed this album. I had already known “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” and the rest were enjoyable as well.
It's alright, the opening track was great but nothing else really stood out to me.
Fun music! Not something I'd probably think to listen to most of the time but I can see why it's popular
Good unoffensive 70's rock. Felt like a palate cleanser for some bad music I've gotten from the list lately.
Some forgettable 70s rock album. Again. It has earned some sympathy points from me for not being as generic as others, though.
Started off strong with the first three songs, but it got a bit boring as the album went on. Guitar tone is fucking sick though
Classic
Okay. I'm not a Steely Dan fan.
Second of four Steely Dan albums reviewed. In a nutshell: more of the same formula of jazz rock arrangements and strange lyrics. But it works. Steely Dan released an album a year between 1972 and 1977. Four of those five are on the list (Can't Buy A Thrill, Countdown to Ecstasy, Pretzel Logic and Aja). Pretzel Logic seemed like a last roll of the dice for Steely Dan as Ecstasy did not get traction on the charts. Logic's first single 'Rikki Don't Lose That Number' was a hit. Any artist with three or more albums on the list will face this conundrum: is there charted growth and/or change in sound between albums? You can see the progress made between Thrill and Aja. I *kinda* see some evidence of growth between Thrill and Logic. It's not the Steely Dan album I'd recommend to a new listener (my pick is Katy Lied, which isn't on the list. Maybe Aja depending on the person). Not terrible, but not as memorable as Aja. Overall: 4/10
I've never really paid attention to Steely Dan before, so this will be good. It's mostly fine/decent rock. Nothing here really blows me away but it is fun and I'm encouraged to listen to more from them. 3/5
Nice music; overall!
Easy listening.
- Steely Dan is peak vibes - Would love to drink a beer in the backyard on a warm summer evening listening to this - 3.5
I was familiar with Rikki don't lose that number. The album was relatively short. It was not really objectionable, although I do question why there are four Steely Dan albums on this list.
A fun listen, I really liked it.
Musically very good. But a bit up their own arse.
Fin plade, noget fornuftig tråd.. men meget gammelt og det lød ret gammelt
It was kinda good, did not suck as bad as I thought it would.
Better than I expected to be honest, loved the instrumentals more than vocals
Muy tipo The Band, guay de fondo
Can't go wrong with some dad rock. The band was obviously influenced by a lot of the 70s singer-songwriter music floating around at the time. A lot of the songs on here remind me of Crosby, Stills & Nash. Side 1 is definitely the stronger side IMO. However, the instrumental at the end of side 1 feels a bit out of place compared to the rest of the record.
Easy listening
Not my Steely Dan favourite.
very much the 70ies
Meh
Not bad music. Some catchy tunes. But not really my cup of tea.
What genre is this even? I can see why it is included in the list, but not my speed.
Little all over the place for me.
Some good groovy tunes. But overall just didn't do it for me.
There is a reason 'Rikki Don't Lose That Number' got all the radio play. The funk riffs on 'Night by Night' were cool. Overall there are some cool sounds on this album with some jazz, blues, groove/funk influences and blending vocals that push it from background music to interesting for me. Yacht Rock doesn't always have to be a pejorative. There aren't a lot of standout tracks here for me, but there also weren't any I disliked.
Seemed alright but didn't blow me away like so many people have told me it would. Kind of a neat storyteller vibe and it sounded clean and crisp, and I appreciate the piano and orchestral feel to a lot of it.
Very solid - power energy than the mood I was in (busy at work) but still a nice listen.
This wasn't something I'd typically listen to or will probably listen to much going forward but I didn't dislike it. It was enjoyable enough.
It made me want to dance! But all in all I’m probably not adding it to my rotation.
3.5
I liked it.
Pretzel logic is a nice enough listen but nothing stands out to keep me coming back.
It was a good listen again but not one of my favorite bands.
A fun album, very groovy instrumentals and interesting vocal harmonies. None of the songs resonated with me personally though and I don’t feel a strong emotional connection to the album.
3.8
Rikki Don't Lose That Number: 7.5/10 Classic but a tad dull Night By Night: 8.75/10 Really liked this one, cool guitars, vocal style is a bit dull Any Major Dude Will Tell You: 6/10 Heavy on the keys Barrytown: 4/10 East St. Louis Toodle-Oo: 2/10 Interesting guitar tone but too noodley. Not into this instrumental. Parker's Band: 6/10 most interesting song in a while Through With Buzz: 3/10 Pretzel Logic: 6/10 With A Gun: 6.5/10 decent story Charlie Freak: 6/10 a second interesting story Monkey In Your Soul: 7/10 sounds kinda Motown-ish, like the horns
Interesting blues rock album that looks to have inspired a number of following artists. Some interesting songs where they move away from the blues sound and more into a Beatles pop sound.
A sturdy middle of the pack effort from the band.
Ganz nett, kann man mal hören, typischer 70er Rock-Krams Best Song: East St. Louis Toodle-Oo
it's alright, dunno why their fans are so rabid barrytown pretzel logic charlie freak
Jazz, Country, soft voice, melodic, Trompeten
I give this a 3.5 stars. I kind of want to give it 4. There is something weird with steely dan and me. I really like some of his songs a lot but sometimes his voice bothers me to go through an entire album. This is completely a me thing but it's why it's not a 4 even though it probably deserves it
This is refreshing after Jim Zorns brother. Rikki Don't Lose That Number is a song I've never sought out just heard in the background. What a jam of a track. Pretty easy listening so far. Nothing really standoutish except for the first couple songs. Nothing too crazy on here but definitely enjoyable. Solid work Steel Daniel.
With Ricki dont loose that number, ok, a little jazz influence, too less rock for me
Heard many of these songs but never listened to the album. Its easy listening, and very much like a pretzel cart - enjoyable, satisfying but also for the most part fairly forgettable. The hits are stuckee ear worms which will live on for ages but most of the other tracks kind of just operate as bookends to that.
3/5. I don't like Steely Dan on a good day, but this was decent because it had short and sweet songs without being overbearing or trying too hard. The songs are catchy and well-made, I even put it on a few times. The guitarwork is the best part with wonderful solos. Innovative pop songs with a jazz flavor but again, just not doing it all the way for me. There's just a pretentious energy that is hard to enjoy from them.
Easy listening and vibey, I could see these guys and their sound making a comeback.