#AlbumForToday : #SteelyDan – #Gaucho. (1980). Plagued by lawsuits, accidentally erased tracks, and Walter Becker's shattered leg, Gaucho sounds remarkably smooth, despite the chaos of its creation. “Babylon Sisters” and “Hey Nineteen” are classic Dan – catchy and immaculately played. The usual gaggle of LA session stalwarts provide support, along with a prominent guest guitar spot by Mark Knopfler on “Time Out of Mind." Dan's last before a 12-year hiatus.

#Rock, #Vinyl, #LP, #Albums, #1970s

#AlbumForToday: #SteelyDan – #Aja (1977). By the time of Aja, Dan’s duo Fagen and Becker had long since shed any obligations to rock and roll conventions. The music’s unabashed slickness melded rock and jazz to the point where one genre simply fed off the other. Songs like “Home at Last” were oddly moving, while supporting musicians – Steve Gadd’s drum break in “Aja,” Jay Graydon’s guitar solo on “Peg” – prevented the music from sinking into jazzercise banality.
#Vinyl, #LP, #Rock, #JazzRock

#AlbumForToday: #SteelyDan – #TheRoyalScam (1976). In certain ways this hitless LP is Dan’s most accomplished. “Kid Charlemagne,” “Don’t Take Me Alive,” and “Sign in Stranger” have a shadowy-side-of-the-avenue vibe to offset the fastidiousness of the production. “The Fez,” a thinly veiled ode to the condom, adds a touch of levity. Finest of all is the slow-burning finale, an empathetic cry for the plight of San Juan immigrants—a rare protest from the Steely Dan camp.
#Vinyl, #LP, #Rock, #1970s

#AlbumForToday: #SteelyDan – #KatyLied (1975). Fagen & Becker transformed Dan from a live touring outfit into the studio collective it would remain throughout the rest of its history. Tracks like “Black Friday” and “Doctor Wu” take full advantage of studio pros to deepen intricacy, although the absence of guitarists Denny Dias and Skunk Baxter costs the arrangements some grit – something that may matter only to folks convinced Dan was ever a normal rock band.
#Vinyl, #LP, #Rock, #1970s

#AlbumForToday: #SteelyDan – #PretzelLogic (1974). On which Dan refines their jazz-rock with a full horn section (“Night By Night”) and a battalion of LA session pros (Michael Omartian, Wilton Felder, Jim Gordon, etc.). The songs loosen some of the knots on previous LPs, with “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” hitting radio paydirt and “Pretzel Logic” doing the marina shuffle. Luckily, tunes like “Charlie Freak” (the tale of a doomed junkie) still sneer away the night.
#Vinyl, #LP, #Rock, #1970s

#AlbumForToday : #SteelyDan – #CountdownToEcstasy (1973).

Steely Dan’s sophomore LP is a worthy follow-up to their 1972 debut. “Bodhisattva,” “My Old School,” and “King of the World” do the freeway boogie under Fagen's sardonic drawl, and the group's jazz affinities take shape on "Razor Boy" and “Pearl of the Quarter." “Boston Rag" powers up with stellar guitar work by Denny Dias and Skunk Baxter, and “Show Biz Kids” is a hilarious eff-you to Hollywood phonies on the prowl.

#Rock #Vinyl #LP

#AlbumForToday: #SteelyDan - #CantBuyAThrill (1972).

From the freeway mambo of “Do It Again” to the harmonies of “Dirty Work” to the boogie lite of “Reelin’ in the Years,” Dan’s debut stuck a chord with folks too old to rock all night but still craving a little bad attitude in their pop. The initial “band” featured David Palmer’s smooth vocals on two tracks, but it’s Fagen’s beleaguered loner who’s the most engaging persona here.
#GreatAlbums, #Vinyl, #LP, #Music, #Rock, #1970s

#AlbumForToday: #War - #TheWorldIsAGhetto (1972)

War’s third LP since the departure of Eric Burdon shows the band deepening its commitment to the funk-soul stew that was its mainstay. “The Cisco Kid” leads the set with an infectious groove and earworm chorus akin to earlier vamps like “Spill the Wine” (on the band’s 1970 debut). It is clear nonetheless that War has by this point shed its dependence on Burdon on this deep soul gem.

#Soul, #RhythmAndBlues, #Rock, #1970s, #GreatAlbums

#CurrentSpins @Great_Albums

New Releases on rotation:

#DierksBentley – Gravel & Gold (country)
#Gorillaz – Cracker Island (rock)
#IngridStPierre – Reines (francophone)
#TheStruts – Unplugged at EastWest (rock EP)
#Orbital – Optical Delusions (electronic)

Classic Albums reappreciated:

#CurtisMayfield – Curtis (1970) – reviewed in #GreatAlbums1970s
#War – The World is a Ghetto (1972) – reviewed in #AlbumForToday

#GreatAlbums, #Rock, #PopMusic, #Albums, #NewReleases

#AlbumForToday: #BabyHuey – The Baby Huey Story (1971). James “Baby Huey” Ramey was on his way to stardom in 1970, when he died of a drug-induced heart attack mid-way through the recording of this, his only album. Pieced together by Curtis Mayfield, the posthumous release featured “Listen to Me,” “Hard Times,” and “Running” – all deep soul classics hinting at future greatness denied by tragedy. Rappers like Ice Cube and Tribe Called Quest later found inspiration here. #Vinyl, #Album, #Soul, #R&B

#AlbumForToday : #IsaacHayes – Hot Buttered Soul (1969). Hayes did not so much “cover” the material of great songwriters as bend them, break them, and reassemble them in renditions meant to convey his own distinctive vision. The 18-minute version of "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" epitomize the approach, making the most of Hayes's limited vocal range to develop a sparse, half-spoken vocal style that would have massive influence on the likes of Barry White and other love-meisters of the 1970s.