I have always been a Steely Dan (Fagen and Becker) fan. They have a private niche in the space between jazz, rock and psychosis. The chord structures, the wild polytonality, the screaming guitar, and Fagen's deranged tenor voice singing the type of lyrics that bring our unspoken nightmares to lurid life -- and sometimes the wordplay is hysterically funny [listen carefully, as it is very dry] as well as cynically ironic...
They continue to amaze me. F and B are prolific, iconic and timeless songwriters, recording artists and performers. They have brought virtually every Plutonian social taboo (via some clever 'double entendres' or by some 'strategic insertion') into incredibly musical songs which have absolutely captivated both their inner-cult audience (I am a card-carrying member), and the pop listeners (the outer circle who sing along to the likes of "Reelin' In The Years," "Rikki Don't Lose That Number," and "When Josie Comes Home."
Their mastery of every technical aspect of writing and arranging music spans a wide spectrum of styles, from reggae to swing and shuffle.
One of their darkest tunes is served up here for those RadioDAZZ fans who stay up too late and watch too many graphically violent cable programs -- ION television; Positively Entertaining! -- and have viewed too-many grisly and crimson-laced crime scenes.
The song (starting with a distorted, arpeggiated G7aug9th chord, which is always ominous) is one of incredible depravity and desperation. And it is damned captivating. Maybe even hypnotic.
Enjoy the hairs standing up on the back of your neck as you listen to (crank it up) "Don't Take Me Alive."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tllhmK9g4G4
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