It is an up-hill battle even attempting to try and defend Steely Dan. Any talk of a group that has the tag of "jazz-fusion" is bound to elicit sneers of disapproval from many of my cooler-than-thou pals. At this point, I am totally unafraid to admit my love of the well crafted, mellow jams of one of two of America's greatest living songwriters: Donald Fagen and Walter Becker.
Recently, Oakland band Cryptacize has joined the good fight by covering one of Steely Dan's most well know songs, "Peg", as part of the Asthmatic Kitty Records continuing Unusual Animals series. Sure, on the other side they covered "Why?" by Bob Dylan, but I think that might be taking the easy way out. Pretty much everybody can agree with Dylan. Cryptacize showed true chutzpah, and I felt it my duty to find out what led the group to their decision to take the chance on Dan.
I talked to guitar player Chris Cohen (on the left in photo) to get answers to my questions.
(Cross-Posted with Heebmagazine.com)
Jay Diamond: Steely Dan seem to have this reputation for being a super-literate, 1970's, "Yacht-Rock" group. Some people think this is good, others think this is the epitome of dinosaur rock. Do people not get Steely Dan?
Chris (Cryptacize): The beauty of Steely Dan is that you can 'get it' or 'not get it' on so many different levels. There are many layers.
There are the cryptic lyrics, there's the songwriting and arranging, there's the playing, and then there's the state-of-the-art production, or at least what was state-of-the-art.
It's something that people from many walks of life can enjoy, however each of these features can also spoil it for you if you look at it the wrong way. I find all of these elements very appealing, but as with all music there's a very fine line. I think Steely Dan's pretty easy to get - at least on some level - whether or not it's to your taste though is another matter.
Jay Diamond: So why did Cryptacize decide to cover them?
Chris: Because "Peg" is actually a really catchy and simple song, and we wanted to hear it done without all the smoothness of the session musicians and the studio finery. We thought it could be good, and that it could actually come off kind of sad. We didn't know that people would be so divided over this approach though - we got slammed by a lot of people on Stereogum.com! People said we took the 'soul' out. But as one person pointed out on that message board in our defense, it goes to show you how times have changed when people talk about the 'soul' of Steely Dan...
I think that there is a soul there in Steely Dan, but it lives in the writing and imagination, not in the smoothness. To me the soul of it's in the song, which is why it's a good song to cover. Everything else about it is just 'craft' or 'sportsmanship' - enjoyable too, but not what I would call soul... and certainly not what we would try and imitate.
As a side note I also want to tell readers that Michael Leonhart, the current trumpet player in Steely Dan, said he liked our version! He also said he was going to play it for Donald and Walter in the van when they're on tour this summer!
Jay Diamond: Steely Dan tour in a van?!?!
Chris: No ,I meant to say bus.
Jay Diamond: Dang. Too bad.
Anyways, the guitar solo on the original version of "Peg" (which you guys cover) was attempted by seven different guitar players. Did you know that coming in?
Chris:
I actually didn't! but then a few weeks later, our friend Chris from the band Fat Worm of Error showed us the VHI "behind the music" story of "Aja" and we learned that...
Maybe I was just tapped into the desperation of those unsuccessful guitar players when I decided to layer several tracks of myself - it was like 'cheating.'
Jay Diamond: Knowing that, do you think you are better than Steely Dan since you pulled it off?
Chris:
The sad part is that it actually took me lots of tries to get the solo I did. I'm afraid I don't have the 'chops' of Lee Ritenour (Ed. note it was Jay Graydon) or whoever it was that actually made it on there...
When I did finally nail it though, Mike and Nedelle (Asthmatic Kitty honchos) gave me a substantial cash bonus and points on the single should it hit the charts.
Jay Diamond: Any intimidation factor knowing that the other side is a Bob Dylan cover?
Chris: Not intimidated, but we were happy that both us and Why? used claves!
Jay Diamond:
Why? is the band pulling off the Dylan cover, did they pull a fast one on you getting the Dylan cover, or did you go into this recording knowing full well that the world needs to show more respect to Steely Dan?
Chris:
We probably would have never done a Dylan cover. He's like the most covered songwriter ever.... plus I'm not that big of a fan.
Do you really think Steely Dan deserves even more respect though? I mean I think this whole thing taught me that they get even more than I thought!
Listen: Cryptacize "Peg"
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7 comments:
Steely Dan does suck dude.
If you think Steely Dan sucks than you have to admit that Rush does too.
ummm yeah, Rush also, and Yes. People need to get over this stupid fascination with the 1970s
I was directed here to download Peg. How do I do it?
Look up and click on "Peg" where is says "Listen: Cryptacize "Peg"
You can almost always be certain that most anyone that says "Steely Dan sucks":
*Is not a serious musician
*Is not a student of music
*Hasn't really listened to Steely Dan, in a serious manner
*Likely has rather banal taste in music. That is, likes only pop, metal, rap, or other "popular" music of the time
Of course, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but that doesn't make all opinions worthy of equal respect.
Saying "Steely Dan sucks" is much like saying "Duke Ellington sucks", "Cole Porter sucks", "George Gershwin sucks" or "Mozart sucks". I'm sure many, uneducated (musically) metal heads and punk rockers might agree with all of those statements. You might be surprised, though, at the respect The Dan has among the best, and most respected, musicians in those genres.
I wouldn't expect many people who didn't grow up in the '70s (as I did) to get Steely Dan. The retro appreciation of the '70s are one thing, but the experience of living in the '70s and feeling the zeitgeist of the time, the chaos and cultural movements, many of which are kitschy and corny by today's standards, are difficult to appreciate by today's cultural perspective. When FM radio was new and you could listen to broadcast music in stereo for the first time, a band like Steely Dan with it's sophisticated melodies and well- (some would say over-) produced, well-performed songs was new and exciting. It was a time when whole albums with real texture mattered and people sat down and listened to them from beginning to end. People appreciated more density and involvement in the music than they do now. I'm not criticizing music of this decade, but it has to be admitted that a certain DIY, sounding-like-the-Smiths-or-New-Order-is-good-enough-for-me-ishness, twee irony, retro-80s-electronica-minimalism, is reflective of people's disinterest in any kind of complexity and craftsmenship to their music. Taking yourself seriously musically is just not cool now. Anyone can do it . . . just post your video of you in your bedroom on youtube or record your song and put it on myspace. Music is now a past time and no longer a profession, even dancing or cheering at a show is demonstrating too much appreciation and is considered uncool for the uber-ironic too-cool-for-school hipsters, so why should someone be surprised that Steely Dan would be thought of as passe and over-involved?
As far as a "fascination with the '70s", when all is said and done, the 70s was probably the last era of great music and certainly the last era in which there were a large variety of musical movements being spawned. Disco, funk, punk, metal, art-rock, jazz-fusion, synth-rock, electronica, space rock, new wave, etc. came out of the 70s. The musical heritage of the '70s is extraordinarily rich. If one were to limit themselves to musical genres that originated after the seventies then you would paint yourself in a corner pretty quickly. You would have rap, hip-hop, speed-metal, goth, emo, boy-bands, the Macarena. . . and that's about it.
But back to Steely Dan. I don't find their lyrics to be cryptic, they're all about women and drugs in some form. Sure there is much about them that sounds dated and belongs to the era in which they existed . . . that doesn't mean they suck! I mean Django Reinhart sounds dated too . . . did he suck? Anyone who says yes should be immediately dismissed from being taken seriously all matters pertaining to reality!
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