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Quantum criminals : ramblers, wild gamblers, and other sole survivors from the songs of Steely Dan / liner notes by Alex Pappademas ; paintings by Joan LeMay.

by Pappademas, Alex, author.

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Austin : University of Texas Press, 2023.

Becker, Walter, 1950-2017 -- Criticism and interpretation.

Fagen, Donald, 1948- -- Criticism and interpretation.

Steely Dan (Musical group)

Characters and characteristics in music.

Rock music -- United States -- History and criticism.

Fictitious characters -- Portraits.

9781477324998 (hardback) :

1477324992 (hardback)

American music series (Austin, Tex.)

268 pages : color illustrations ; 27 cm.

Jack -- Walter -- Donald -- King Richard/King John -- Lady Bayside -- Chino & Daddy Gee -- Michael/Jesus -- The Charmer -- The Fella in the White Tuxedo -- Dan -- David -- Mr. Whatever -- Louise -- Cathy -- The El Supremo -- The King of the World -- Rikki -- The Major Dude -- Mr. Parker -- Buzz -- Napoleon -- The Archbishop -- Dr. Wu -- Mr. Lapage -- Owsley -- A Bookeeper's Son -- The Eagles -- Babs & Clean Willie -- The Old Man -- Pepe -- A Wooly Man Without a Face -- Peg -- Sayoko -- The Expanding Man -- Broadway Duchess -- Josie -- The Babylon Sisters -- Hoops McCann/The Dread Moray Eel -- The Dandy of Gamma Chi -- The Gaucho -- A Jolly Roger -- Third World Man -- Abbie/Dupree -- Franny from NYU -- Lizzie -- Jill -- Gina -- Dave from Acquisitions -- Daddy

"Steely Dan was a somewhat unusual band that still inspires unusually strong devotion in its fans. Formed in the late '60s in New York, they released seven albums between 1971 and 1981, two of which were nominated for a Grammy. Part of what's unusual about them is that each of those albums was made by a different group of musicians--founding members Walter Becker and Donald Fagen had no issues swapping players from record to record in order to get the sound they wanted. The band stopped touring in 1974, so the recording studio was the only place they needed their collaborators. Those recordings are legendary, especially among vinyl enthusiasts, for their exquisite production. The precision was necessary, in part, because Steely Dan played with form more than most bands, mixing elements of other genres--especially jazz--with pop and rock. And the lyrics are also distinctive. As the authors put it in their proposal, Steely Dan's songs are "exercises in fictional world-building. Each song features its own cast of rogues and heroes and creeps and schmucks, lovers and dreamers and cold-blooded operators, all tempest-tossed by the ill winds of the '70s." This book consists of sixty-some essays, each devoted to one character, and each essay is accompanied by a painting of the particular character that serves as a jumping-off point for the piece, with additional spot illustrations scattered throughout"--

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