{"id":6007,"date":"2022-07-07T21:30:07","date_gmt":"2022-07-07T21:30:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/?p=6007"},"modified":"2024-06-24T23:51:28","modified_gmt":"2024-06-24T22:51:28","slug":"dan-tastic-two-bits-of-intriguing-steely-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/?p=6007","title":{"rendered":"MUSiC: Dan-tastic!? Two Bits of Intriguing Steely News\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" src=\"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/img_7956-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6004\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/img_7956-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/img_7956-300x300.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/img_7956-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/img_7956-768x768.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/img_7956-100x100.jpg 100w, http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/img_7956.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Released over 50 years later than planned!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Two bits of intriguing Steely Dan\/Donald Fagen related news: 1) <em>I Mean To Shine<\/em>, by Linda Hoover, has been released, after over 50 years in the vaults, and 2) Peter Jones\u2019 <em>Nightfly<\/em>, a biography of Donald Fagen, is due out in September. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"267\" height=\"400\" src=\"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/img_7955.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6005\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/img_7955.jpg 267w, http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/img_7955-200x300.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 267px) 100vw, 267px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">I\u2019ll be reading this when it \u2018drops\u2019, as the kids these days say!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Will either be any good? I don\u2019t know. But I\u2019m willing to give both a try, and to find out. Will Amazon offer free Vine copies to everyone but me, as they do with my other main interests (from Napoleon and Hitler to Tintin and Haddock!)? Who knows!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hoover\u2019s album, recorded in 1970, and featuring Becker, Fagen, \u2018Skunk\u2019 Baxter, and five numbers written by the \u2018indomitable duo\u2019, pre-Dan, was masterminded by Dan man, Gary Katz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tragically for Hoover, Roulette Records label owner \u2018Mo\u2019 Levy &#8211; not known for treating his acts right &#8211; angrily pulled the plug on the whole thing when he discovered publishing rights for almost all of the tunes resided elsewhere. And, ironically, whatever nascent flames <em>I Mean To Shine<\/em> might\u2019ve promised Hoover, were snuffed out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Obviously Don, Walt, Skunk, Katz and co. were more persistent and, ultimately, successful, as we all know. Hoover, now 71, has had a long wait for another chance to reach folk with her music and, perhaps, shine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"525\" height=\"296\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/259Q2AJ24Rg?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-GB&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The only time I\u2019ve encountered genuine 24 carat Steely Dan gold in an unexpected place is when I learned that \u2018Canadian Star\u2019 &#8211; a beautiful instrumental track by Dr Strut on their self-titled 1979 album (on Motown, no less!) &#8211; was in fact a Becker\/Fagen composition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you know Canadian Star is The Dan, it\u2019s <em>sooo<\/em> obvious. The lush chords, the serpentine melodies, the fantastic arrangement. It\u2019s a tribute to the artistry of Dr Strut that they had both the chops and the soul to lay down such a great rendition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"596\" height=\"600\" src=\"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/img_7957.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6006\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/img_7957.jpg 596w, http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/img_7957-298x300.jpg 298w, http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/img_7957-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/img_7957-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 596px) 100vw, 596px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">I have this on vinyl. Can\u2019t recall when I last actually listened to it!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Other forays into the \u2018early\u2019 musical adventures of the cats who would become The Dan have been less rewarding. For example, an album called <em>The Roots of Steely Dan<\/em>, and another, <em>You Gotta Walk It Like You Talk It<\/em>, are both distinctively underwhelming. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I haven\u2019t heard <em>I Mean To Shine <\/em>yet\u2026 not sure whether to buy the CD (\u00a314), the MP3 album (\u00a38), or just stream online? Hmmm\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two bits of intriguing Steely Dan\/Donald Fagen related news: 1) I Mean To Shine, by Linda Hoover, has been released, after over 50 years in the vaults, and 2) Peter Jones\u2019 Nightfly, a biography of Donald Fagen, is due out in September. Will either be any good? I don\u2019t know. But I\u2019m willing to give &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/?p=6007\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;MUSiC: Dan-tastic!? Two Bits of Intriguing Steely News\u2026&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[89,77,58],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paGwUa-1yT","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6007"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6007"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6007\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18646,"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6007\/revisions\/18646"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}