Fellow Morning Paper blogger John Tomko and I got to talking about Steely Dan and how much we liked their earlier disks, before they got a bit sterile. Named after a steam driven dildo, an early incarnation of the band (under a different name) featured future SNL alum Chevy Chase on drums. Their early disks perfectly combined pop rock with hints of jazz. John mentioned that he'd caught a couple of great vids from the first two disks on YouTube, and passed them on. They were too good not to share.
Reelin' In the Years from the first disk Can't Buy a Thrill with Skunk Baxter on guitar, and the famous lead break by Elliot Randall (Jimmy Page called it his favorite guitar solo of all time) and soon to be ex member David Palmer looking like a tourist.
Classic Do It Again, from the first disk, seen here in a very rare live performance also from 1973. David Palmer doing vocals, Skunk Baxter moves to percussion, and Denny Dias turns in a smokin' version of his record solo. And its a heck of a lot faster!
Countdown to Ecstasy, their second disk, was not as commercially successful as their first. But it was also, with a few exceptions, a less commercially oriented. My Old School, here from a rare lip-synced TV performance, was a hit though.
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