FEATURE:
The Lockdown Playlist
The Best of Donald Fagen
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AS today (10th January)….
IN THIS ILLUSTRATION: Steely Dan (Walter Becker, the co-founder, is second from the left (in the pink glasses)/ILLUSTRATION CREDIT: Paul King Artwerks
is the birthday of Donald Fagen, I wanted to put together a Lockdown Playlist of some of his best songs with Steely Dan, in addition to great solo material. Although his fellow Steely Dan founder, Walter Becker, died in 2017, the group is still a touring entity – there are just not going to be any more original albums under the Steely Dan name. Because it is Fagen’s seventy-third birthday, I want to give a nod of the head to one of my favourite singers and songwriters. I am a massive Steely Dan fan, and I feel Fagen’s voice is one of the reasons I am so invested in the band. This playlist features songs co-written (with Becker); some he did not sing on. I also wanted to introduce people to the brilliance of Fagen’s solo works. Without further ado, here is an essential collection of songs from a songwriter who I consider to be…
AN absolute genius.