57. Steely Dan “Pretzel Logic” (from Pretzel Logic)
Provided to YouTube by Universal Music GroupPretzel Logic · Steely DanPretzel Logicâ 1974 Geffen RecordsReleased on: 1974-01-01Producer: Gary KatzStudio Per...
youtu.be
Probably the closest thing this band ever got to a pure blues song…at least it starts out that way and then the usual jazz elements arrive. Love the sound here, keyboards especially.
Pretzel Logic is SD's most stylistically diverse album and probably its least consistent, but its high points, such as this one, reach very high.
Some of Becker and Fagen's most nonsensical lyrics appear in this song, which is saying something.
In 1974, Steely Dan went on their final tour before retiring from the road until 1993. Fagen hated being frontman and farmed out some of the lead vocal duties to other band members on this tour. For this song, some of the singing was taken by a guy that had been brought on to handle some of the keyboard and vocal load, a guy named Michael McDonald.
They closed those shows with a song that they never recorded and which is incredible. I will link it here since there's no way Tim has an unrecorded song on his list.
This All Too Mobile Home I went to their "Rarities" show in NYC in 2010 for the express purpose of hearing this song, and indeed, they closed the show with it -- the first time it had been played since 1974.