Steely Dan

Yes, the guitar solo in "Kid Charlemagne" is widely regarded as a classic and a favorite among many guitarists. It's particularly known for Larry Carlton's performance, which is often praised for its complexity, melodic phrasing, and overall brilliance.

I'm very fond of it, and know it almost note for note. Carlton is one of that group of elite musicians who have done terrific work as sidemen in other people's bands. Joe Sample is another of that ilk. As is Steve Gadd.
Simply, I'd argue that some of Jeff “Skunk” Baxter's solos on the early records can stand comparison with that solo without completely paling.
Incredibly, that man became an advisor to the Pentagon for a while!!
 
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I go by the name of Rik, and in the 80s was in a huge queue in a bank to try and get cash for the weekend and realised I forgot my PIN, only for the piped music to play “Rikki don’t lose that number” much to the amusement of my mate who wanted to borrow a few quid - weirdly spoke to him last week, still a freeloading twat ;)
 
Fagen and Becker met as students at Bard College, which is apparently in upstate New York. (They did not go to William and Mary, despite the lyrics of another very well-known song). Neither of them were studying music, I believe (they were studying literary things, hence the quite bookish slant to their lyrics occasionally), but they both played, for pleasure. Both were jazz aficionados, who'd spent the fifties listening to Sonny Rollins, Coltrane etc. Anyway, Fagen met a woman called Rikki at a faculty/student get-together. A faculty party, I think. This all emerged many years after the song. Both Fagen and the woman in question remained discreet. Fagen got chatting to her, fancied her, and gave her his number. Small obstacle — she was not long married to a faculty member. And pregnant. All in all, she decided not to call that number.

You can tell that I'm a long-time fringe member of the Steely fandom, to have acquired such trivia.

I go by the name of Rik, and in the 80s was in a huge queue in a bank to try and get cash for the weekend and realised I forgot my PIN, only for the piped music to play “Rikki don’t lose that number” much to the amusement of my mate who wanted to borrow a few quid - weirdly spoke to him last week, still a freeloading twat ;)

Posted this on History of Rock and Roll 1975 thread two or three months back. You may be interested in this back story.
 
Kid Charlemagne is one of my favourite guitar solos of all time. Also, if I'm not mistaken, one of the first instances of a "tapped" note before EVH popularized the technique.
A wonderful solo, although Steve Hackett made good use of the tapping technique on his first album with Genesis' Nursery Crime in 1971 on The Musical Box and The Return of the Giant Hogweed (and also on 1973's Selling England By The Pound album - Dancing with the Moonlit Knight ) but this pre-dates this and no doubt he was not the first guitarist to use the technique.

 
Steve Gadd's drumming on Aja is also a major highlight for me. The song includes three solos all done impeccably and fitting beautifully into the song. This lady seems to do a good job covering it...

 
Steve Gadd's drumming on Aja is also a major highlight for me. The song includes three solos all done impeccably and fitting beautifully into the song. This lady seems to do a good job covering it...



It's not the subject of the thread, but anyone who doesn't know Al Jarreau's stunning 1993 version of “Mas Que Nada” should head over to Youtube. The line-up is ridiculous: among others, Joe Sample, Marcus Miller, the great Brazilian percussionist Paulinho da Costa, and Steve Gadd, who just cooks! They all do. It is perfection.
 
A wonderful solo, although Steve Hackett made good use of the tapping technique on his first album with Genesis' Nursery Crime in 1971 on The Musical Box and The Return of the Giant Hogweed (and also on 1973's Selling England By The Pound album - Dancing with the Moonlit Knight ) but this pre-dates this and no doubt he was not the first guitarist to use the technique.


Well I never. I'd always wondered who was the pioneer. Great find!
 

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