Phrases from Bruce Springsteen’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame blurb: “a
voice of underdogs and the working class” … “deeply romantic and sentimental” …
“His music has enormously appealing qualities—sincerity, earnestness, optimism,
realism”
Phrases from Steely Dan’s blurb: “wry, nuanced and hyper-literate” … “desiccating
wit” … “cutting, urbane and often black-humored lyrics”
One made his name touring with a band whose members would later be
inducted into the R&R HOF on their own. The other gave up touring a few years into their career, relying on an dazzling array of guest
studio musicians for their recordings.
What they had in common: no acts spent more time on my turntable when they hit the musical scene during
the early 1970s.
Favorite songs:
Reeling In The Years
Deacon Blues
FM
Do It Again
King Of The World
Don’t Take Me Alive
Dirty Work
Hey Nineteen
Bad Sneakers
Show Biz Kids
Here At The Western World
Only A Fool Would Say That
Kid Charlemagne
Josie
True fans can amuse themselves by matching each song above to its opening
(answers at https://www.steelydan.com/lyrics.html)
“A world become one of salads and sun”
“Agents of the law, luckless pedestrian”
“Down at the Lido they welcome you with sausage and beer”
“Five names that I can hardly stand to hear”
“Hello one and all -- was it you I used to know”
“I remember the thirty-five sweet goodbyes when you put me on the
Wolverine up to Annandale”
“In the morning you go gunnin' for the man who stole your water”
“This is the day of the expanding man”
“Times are hard, you're afraid to pay the fee”
“Way back when In sixty-seven, I was the dandy of Gamma Chi”
“We're gonna break out the hats and hooters”
“While the music played you worked by candlelight”
“While the poor people sleepin' with the shade on the light”
“Worry the bottle Mamma, it's grapefruit wine”
“Your everlasting summer you can see it fading fast”
