Sunday/ Steely Dan Rarities

Steely Dan - Any Major Dude
Steely Dan - Rikki Don't Lose That Number
Live @ The Power Plant, 3/20/1974
Steely Dan. What can I say? They are one of my favorite bands of all time. My folks listened to them when I was a child, and I never stopped listening. I've seen them live a couple of times, including a very memorable evening under the stars at Poplar Creek in Chicago back in '94 - their reunion tour. I love their ability to tell such gloriously seedy, grimy and gritty stories, all of it couched in seductively recorded grooves. Legendary curmudgeons, they are my kind of people. One of my favorite things about these vast interwebs is how people who have obscure and rare recordings of bands I like are willing to share them. Just recently I came cross a recording of the Dan, live at The Power Plant, March 20th, 1974. It is fascinating hearing these songs live, played by the same band that recorded them. They are a bit rough, but they still give you a good feel for how great they were. Any Major Dude features the soulful lead vocals of Royce Jones who toured with the band for a while. Rikki Don't Lose That Number has great piano vamping - my only complaint is that the guitar solo towards the end is so far down in the mix you can barely hear it. Small quibble for such great music.