Steely Dan’s adamant: We don’t do nostalgia

Published 9:00 pm Thursday, July 27, 2006

Steely Dan isn’t touring behind a new group CD this summer, or for that matter, featuring material from Donald Fagen’s recent solo CD, “Morph the Cat.”

But Fagen’s musical partner in Steely Dan, Walter Becker, says fans can rest assured that even without new Steely Dan music to play, he and Fagen won’t let the shows become a nostalgia trip.

“Our attitude is we’re definitely sort of in the anti-nostalgic camp,” Becker said in a recent teleconference interview with several writers. “If we don’t feel a tune that we’re playing feels fresh to us, if it feels like we’re re-creating something rather than creating something, we don’t do it.

“And when we’re on stage it’s … a real musical event that’s happening for the first time before your very eyes. And I think in particular this summer, having done this a few times, we’re going to try and condense the Steely Dan set down into a maximum high-impact slamming type of deal that will completely banish any talk of nostalgia. …”

Steely Dan’s history would certainly suggest that Fagen, Becker and the rest of the touring band will make good on that promise. This is a group that has always been known for its sense of musical sophistication and adventure. It’s worth noting that despite still being hugely popular at the time, Fagen and Becker broke up after the 1980 album “Gaucho,” in large part because they realized they were stagnating creatively.

Of course, up until that time, the duo had set an impressive standard to try to maintain.

Fagen (keyboards and vocals) and Becker (bass) formed Steely Dan after meeting at Bard College in upstate New York in the late 1960s, and immediately made an impact with the 1972 debut album, “Can’t Buy a Thrill.” It included the hit songs like “Do It Again,” Dirty Work” and “Reelin’ In the Years” and boasted highly developed arrangements, excellent playing and instantly accessible pop hooks.

Subsequent albums such as “Countdown to Ecstasy,” “Pretzel Logic,” “Katy Lied” and “The Royal Scam” continued to maintain the high standards established with the debut, and Fagen and Becker reached a creative and commercial peak with the 1977 album “Aja.” But soon after that their partnership went off track.

During the writing and recording of their next album, “Gaucho,” Becker, in particular, suffered two major personal setbacks first the suicide of his girlfriend and then he suffered a broken leg when he was struck by a cab. The situation kept Becker from helping Fagen complete “Gaucho.”

With the duo feeling burned out and in need of addressing their lives outside of Steely Dan, they went their separate ways.

They didn’t re-emerge until 1992, when Fagen and Becker teamed up as part of the New York Rock and Soul Revue tour (alongside such vocalists as Boz Scaggs, Phoebe Snow and Michael McDonald).

After that road show, Fagen and Becker decided to test the waters with Steely Dan by touring in 1993 and 1994. Then it was on to a full-fledged return of Steely Dan with the 2000 CD, “Two Against Nature.”

Another strong CD, “Everything Must Go,” followed in 2003.

Becker, who has started work on a solo album, said it probably will be some time before he and Fagen make another Steely Dan CD.

“Becker’s progress on his solo CD, obviously, is being interrupted by this summer’s amphitheater tour. This trek finds Steely Dan paired with McDonald, a musician who shares a notable history with the band.

McDonald got his big break in music when he joined Steely Dan, recording and touring with the group in 1974 and 1975. He left the group in 1975 when he was asked to join the Doobie Brothers. With McDonald’s soulful vocals at the forefront, that band enjoyed its biggest commercial success on albums such as “Minute by Minute” and “One Step Closer.”

Given their shared history, it’s pretty much a given the performers will share the stage at some point during their performance.

“Prospectively I would say that there are certain songs that Mike played on stage with us back in the ’70s and recorded on as well. And those are strong contenders for his participation,” Becker said.

Steely Dan’s Walter Becker and Donald Fagen (above) and Michael McDonald (left) perform tonight at White River Amphitheatre.