When my friend Doug passed away unexpectedly a few months ago I lost half the readership of this blog as far as I know, so I'm taking to myself. It's good therapy for free. I think Doug would've liked this post.
The year was 1975, my senior year in high school and the year this record came out. It was the last few weeks of school and our church group had planned a trip to the beach as a last get-together before we all took off to college.
We'd just gotten a converted school bus, a Blue Bird I believe, and the church graciously allowed a decent budget for a stereo system. Since I was a music guy and knew a bit about stereo systems, I went to the stereo shop with my friend Jeff.
We picked out a nice system that had a cassette player. Jeff was talking to someone he knew in the store so I walked around looking at land-based stereo systems. At the time stereo stores were big, and back then people actually got together to listen to music and nothing else. I miss those days.
They had various demo systems at different places in the store, and whatever LP was playing was leaned up in front of it. I was bopping around in general, checking specs and such, when I walked by one system and froze dead in my tracks.
The music literally captured me. I found myself staring at the jacket from the legendary LP Katy Lied, which is to this day one of my favorite record covers of all time. With its depth-of-field and subject matter, presumably a Katydid, the cover photo draws you in, unless maybe you have a fear of insects.
But it was the music that grabbed me. It was Pop/Rock, but with the exception of artists like the Beatles, Police, Prince, Bowie and a few others, it had a level of sophistication and kickassness rarely heard in most of Pop music. It was love at first listen.
The song Doctor Wu was playing. I was amazed by the unusual chord changes, the cool jazzy feel, making the complex sound simple and whatnot. It was so interesting and the musicianship just jumped out of the speakers.
The vocals were incredible. The drummer was going apeshit on the outro, which was also unusual for a Pop tune. The drummer was Jeff Porcaro, and he instantly became my new favorite drummer.
The band was Steely Dan. I knew of them through the song on the radio about Jack going back and doing it again but that was all I'd heard. I liked the song but it hadn't hit me like Katy Lied.
I was effectively hypnotized. I was somewhere else, and not aware of where I was and probably who I was. I guess I was in Danland. It was wild how powerfully that music grabbed me. I was basically comatose.
I was brought back to reality by Jeff's hand waving in front of my face. He'd seen me standing there like a frozen dummy and he thought I was having a seizure. That wasn't the case but I was definitely seized by the music.
"I thought you might need medical attention" said Jeff. "I'm good man. Just listen to this stuff!" Jeff stood there listening, and a smile came across his face. He became a fan that day too.
I left the store with speakers in one hand and a copy of Katy Lied in the other. I couldn't wait to get home and listen to it. Thus began a beautiful friendship with the Dan that continues to this day.
I have to again mention another thing about them that always amazed me to the fullest. Whenever we went to a big party, we'd take turns playing DJ, and we'd spin vinyl of our favorite bands.
I was a huge Prog head but I knew most people weren't. I'd occasionally sneak in a Prog rocker like Mountain Time by Gentle Giant, which wasn't really Prog, but mostly I'd stick to the stuff that people had at least heard of.
The problem was that everyone wanted to hear what they liked, and alcohol made them all the more insistent. This group wanted heavy Rock; that group wanted singer/songwriter stuff; the other group wanted Top-40 and so on, and things could get heated at times.
There was no way to please everyone...that is until I'd excuse myself and put on some Steely Dan. Those were some of the greatest Kumbaya moments I've ever witnessed...everybody there instantly became happy.
I felt like I was doing a great public service. I've always been a devout peacemaker if possible. Who'd have thought that you could instantly pacify 250 people just by putting on a record? No other band could do that. It was amazing.
I can't say exactly what the mojo was but it happened every time. Maybe it was due to the fact that their music contained so many styles, like Rock, Jazz and Funk, it had something for everyone. Unknowingly the Dan were certified peacemakers. That's true power. It qualifies as a phenomenon.
It was like this peaceful cloud settled on the room. It changed the vibe of the toom instantly. Except for the times I went with my mom to nursing homes, where she'd sing and play guitar, and people who were total vegetables would snap to life and start singing and clapping and were even able to speak normally like nothing was wrong, I've never seen a better example of the power of music than when Steely Dan was played.
Those are standout events, and to me, things like that are why we get involved with music to begin with. It's humbling. As Frank Zappa once said, "Music is the best!" Right on, Frank.
I'd have gotten into Steely eventually but being instantly and totally bamboozled was a wild experience. Katy Lied has withstood the test of time and it could've been written yesterday. Some things were meant to be, and having the Dan's music in my life is one of those things. I'm very grateful.
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