Steely Dan: Reelin’ in the Years

Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, a couple of cynical New York jazz fans
wormed their way into a record contract and astonished critics with their first
album ’Can’t Buy a Thrill’ in 1973. Nine albums later, they were among the
biggest selling acts in the world.
Steely Dan were different from the rest of rock’s super-sellers. They rarely gave
interviews and, after some early bad experiences on the road, they refused to
tour. They didn’t have their photographs taken and few people knew what they
looked like. Steely Dan weren’t even a proper group; it was two musicians and
a producer, yet every top notch player in the world lined up to appear on their
albums.
Brian Sweet, former editor and publisher of Metal Leg, the Steely Dan fanzine,
draws back the veil of secrecy that has surrounded Becker and Fagen, presenting
the true story of how they made their music and lived their lives