It’s Turntable Tuesday because life is too short not to listen to great music! This week on Turntable Tuesday I am opening a brand new release for the first time from Steely Dan called “Northeast Corridor.” I just got a vinyl copy in from Nashville via Grimey’s and a digital cd copy direct from Steely Dan as a part of the now postponed fall “Absolutely Normal” concert schedule. Turn that TV off! Crank up your local speaker or get out there and support your favorite band! Remember vaccinations are a gateway drug to live music. What are YOU listening to right now?
SPOILER ALERT. Don’t scroll down unless you want to see what is inside this package! This vinyl is the ultimate “Dad Rock Band” music package just in time for the Christmas season so don’t say I didn’t warn you that I am going to show you the goods!
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A sticker from the shrink wrap 
One of the fancy album sleeves 
Another album sleeve
Well as I write this it is the 12th of October, 2021. I am listening to the first live album from Steely Dan in 25 years. A couple of months back I scored a ticket to see the “Absolutely Normal” Tour for later this month which is now postponed until next year due to the pandemic. That tour was supposed to be the sidekick to the two live projects which were released on September 24, one from Donald Fagen and one from Steely Dan. The vinyl was then released on October 1, 2021 just 11 days ago. I already had the digital tracks from the “complimentary” shipment of cds sent to me from a concert ticket purchase. Of course the streaming services already have these albums as well so you could sneak and listen there if you are waiting to get a vinyl copy. Actually I cannot wait to see the Steely Dan show next year as Steve Winwood is on that bill and he is one of my favorite performers. I recently calculated that if Ticketmaster could send me an interest payment of 10 months use of my ticket money they have in escrow I could buy a couple of new vinyls…what do you think?
As I listen to this album and read the credits you can see that the album consists of twelve tracks recorded during the tour of 2018 which is the year after Walter Becker passed away. The twelve tracks come from a variety of locations including the Beacon Theatre in New York City, The Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, Boston’s Orpheum Theatre, and The Met in Philadelphia. You can see the track listings in the photos above and any Dan fan can tell you they come from a long list of albums over the years. I am not going into details on the tracks here in this writing but I will go over them all in detail on the companion podcast. I really like this album as it gives you a feel for what you hear at a live Steely Dan concert. As I have written before I have seen them from the front row to the fourth row and rarely much further back than that. Why? Well the sound is incredible. I can look across the stage and I know the names of every player and what they do outside of Steely Dan. I like hearing the horns up close, the percussion when Keith Carlock whips the drums and when Freddie Washington lays down those low frequencies on his bass guitar. I like hearing the lovely “Danettes” from a few feet away. I want to watch Donald Fagen play the keyboard as few can. I want to watch everyone work to pull off some great music as this band is as fine-tuned as they get. It is a real treat no matter how many times you have seen this band live so this new album is a great way to hear all of that in your living room as you wait for the calendar to click to the right day for the next concert in your area.
Way back when in sixty seven
I was the dandy of Gamma Chi
Sweet things from Boston
So young and willing
Moved down to Scarsdale
And where the hell am I
Hey nineteen
No we can’t dance together
No we can’t talk at all
Please take me along
When you slide on down
Hey nineteen
That’s ‘Retha Franklin
She don’t remember the Queen of Soul
It’s hard times befallen
The sole survivors
She thinks I’m crazy
But I’m just growing old
Hey nineteen
No we got nothing in common
No we can’t talk at all
Please take me along
When you slide on down
Nice
Sure looks good
Mmm mmm mmm
Skate a little roller now
The Cuervo Gold
The fine Colombian
Make tonight a wonderful thing
Say it again
The Cuervo Gold
The fine Colombian
Make tonight a wonderful thing
As a footnote to the lyrics I have to say that it was awesome to hear Walter Becker on a live stage give his rant as a part of this song. For the Steely Dan fan well we won’t ever forget him. Thank you Walter for everything.
So all of that said this album is a welcome addition to all of my Steely Dan albums. I think you should give this one a spin and get yourself a copy. I love what they did with some of the tracks as they are not karaoke versions of old songs. They are still fresh tracks with changes and precision work from the fifteen people on stage. So when I whine about ticket prices I know there is a whole lot of per diem payments on this tour. Look at the support crew alone! I will tell you more on the companion podcast. Excuse me while I crank up the volume on this new album.
Until next time I’ll see you, down the road.