Steely Dan - Reelin' in the Years (Updated)

by Brian Sweet

A biography of the group Steely Dan, the American jazz rock band who have sold over 50 million albums during a career lasting over 20 years. It tells of how Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, a couple of cynical New York jazz fans wormed their way into a record contract and astonished critics with their first album "Can't Buy a Thrill" in 1973. Nine albums later, after "Aja", had topped charts everywhere, they were among the biggest selling acts in the world. Then they quit, only to reform in 1993. Steely Dan were different from the rest of rock's super-sellers. They rarely gave interviews. After some early bad experiences on the road, they refused to tour. They didn't have their photographs taken so few people knew what they looked like. Steely Dan wasn't even a proper group; it was two musicoans and a producer, yet every top notch player in the world lined up to appear on their albums. In this book the author, who is the editor and publisher of "Metal Leg", the UK based Steely Dan fanzine, finally draws back the veil of secrecy that has surrounded Walter Becker and Donald Fagen. Here is the story of how they made their music and lived their lives.