Steely Dan: The Complete Guide To Their Music (Complete Guide to the Music of...) (Paperback)

~ Brian Sweet (Author)
Key Phrases: drum track, sleeve notes, background vocals, Steely Dan, New York, Donald Fagen (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Updated and redesigned editions of the classic guides to the music of the world’s best known acts. Written by experts, each book examines every song in a given artist’s recorded repertoire, making it an invaluable guide for collectors and fans alike.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Omnibus Press; 2nd edition (December 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 184449425X
• ISBN-13: 978-1844494255
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #793,356 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Superb Guide, February 16, 2007

By	Sir Charles Panther "Life is hard. It's hard... (Alexandria, Virginny, USandA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

I liked this book, read it all in one evening. I recommend it heartily.

But, what gives, Omnibus Press, with the format? Was a working title for this Complete Guide series "the Complete Tiny Pocket Guide?" This is a mass-market paperback, sure, and not an exquisite leather-bound library volume, but why so small? Saving on paper stock and materials? And why when I open it up is the print so tiny? I mean, I'm a slowly aging hipster like most SD fans, but we're talking some seriously small print here. Note to editor: up-size future editions.

Author Brian Sweet knows his subject, his tiny bio on the back cover saying he's written the only SD bio in print and is an SD archivist and collector. I liked his smooth and familiar writing style, easy to read.

This book is the 2004 update to the original 1998 printing. This book goes up to Fagen's Kamakiriad, but doesn't cover Morph the Cat.

As others have made clear, this book is not really a complete guide. It's got all of the albums, in order, and track titles, but no full lyrics sheet. No full formal bios of exactly who did what on each track, but more than enough narrative on the principal musicians, especially the soloists. You've got a comprehensive vinyl and CD discography, with full catalog numbers, to include re-issues. And more than anything, every album track has its own paragraph. "Showbiz Kids," "Kid Charlemagne," "Peg," and "Gaucho" seem to get the longest write-ups, but without spoiling things that doesn't mean that author Sweet necessarily says these are the greatest-ever SD recordings. Some of my favorite tracks got disappointingly short attention, but Sweet was not dismissive of any of the work--he's a massive fan, and it shows.

I liked the chronological format, from Can't Buy a Thrill thru Everything Must Go. But wait, there's more! You get a rundown of Fagen's and Becker's solo projects, then following sections entitled "Miscellaneous/Compilations," "Early Material," "Live Albums," and finally "Outside Projects," outlining what Becker and Fagen do when they're not being SD (to include a list of Water Becker productions).

There's a nice intro on the front end, and a poorly executed index in the back. It's really a song index, that's all. These days, when all book drafts are digital, how hard is it to execute a comprehensive index? Especially given all of the locations, studio names, and musicians listed here, a real index would be some serious value-added for a small amount of effort and cost. Note to editor: do a proper index for the next edition.

The book reads easily and quickly, moving fast through a general introduction of each album, then notes on each track. You get details on producers and techs, musicians per track, and interesting philosophical and background snippets, such as how lyrics came to be, and where song ideas originated. You get the words to the repeating chorus of "Showbiz Kids," the meaning of "squonk," which song is a "love dope triangle," and which song is SD's "Stairway to Heaven," among a host of other delightful tidbits.

My favorite bits were the almost toss-off comments Sweet made about specific tracks, like saying how you never want "Black Cow" to end, or how Becker "decorates [What A Shame About Me] with serpentine bass lines and guitar noodles." As a fan reading the book, it was nice to read the compliments and enthusiasm of Sweet as another fan, and a seriously knowledgeable one at that.

And photos. There are two sets of photos, with a total of 29, which include color repros of all of the mainstream SD albums as well as disc 1 of Citizen Steely Dan: 1972-1980, Alive in America, Android Warehouse, and Showbiz Kids: The Steely Dan Story 1972-1980. There is a surprisingly good quotient of color photos, and they are good quality, glossy on good paper. Good on you, Omnibus, for decent photos.

Bottom Line: If you really dig Steely Dan and want to get to know a little bit more about how the band and the music came to be, this is a perfect way to do so. You can jump right to your favorite albums and tracks, and read up on how they came to be, what they were based on, what that instrument is in the right speaker background, and just what in the world they were saying in the board fade. Or you can read it chronologicaly and get the band's story as well as that of their magniificent work. This book is a great reference for the price, and is small and highly portable to boot.

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stab It With Their Steely Knives, September 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Complete Guide to the Music of Steely Dan (Complete Guides to the Music of) (Paperback)

A great little book which details the backgrounds of all of their songs. This author is an expert on this duo, also having written a biography about them.

29 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A definite read for the Steely Dan Fan, July 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Complete Guide to the Music of Steely Dan (Complete Guides to the Music of) (Paperback)

I found this book to be well researched and seemed to pretty well cover most of their career. A great insight into the weird and wonderful world of Mr Becker and Mr Fagen and some insight into their creative process. If your a fan of the band don't miss this.