Dan annex

[Charlie O.]

Their website recently put up the liner notes from the late-'90s reissues, which are fun (though Gaucho is missing - did that CD not have liner notes? - I can't remember). [edit: It did (click on "More Images"). B&F might like this album even less than CTE.]

[Sneelock]

thanks! that looks like fun. I remember when "two against nature" was getting ready to come out that Becker (supposedly) was filling the website with hilarious stuff. that guy was a laff riot. who could have guessed?

[Charlie O.]

They had the best band website (ever?) for a while there. It's pretty run-of-the-mill now.

[Sneelock]

Apr 25, 2022 16:27:13 GMT Charlie O. said:

Their website recently put up the liner notes from the late-'90s reissues, which are fun (though Gaucho is missing - did that CD not have liner notes? - I can't remember). [edit: It did (click on "More Images"). B&F might like this album even less than CTE.]

oh man, I am up to item 3 on Cant by a Thrill and I'm already in hog heaven.

All Danophiles must read this stuff if they haven't already.

[Sneelock]

still not convinced? Here's item #4

4. Skunk Baxter had a theory that one of the secretaries at the ABC offices had several sets of interchangeable breasts which she would alternate wearing from day to day. This turned out to be incorrect.

from this day forward, all liner notes must be held up to this standard.

[Charlie O.]

In any case, by the end of 1974 we had learned a number of important life lessons, to wit:

...

6. Against all odds, an inebriated teamster may be the most excellent and inspiring of M.C.'s.

(this was the b-side of "Hey Nineteen")

[fonz]

Apr 25, 2022 16:23:29 GMT Charlie O. said:

Apr 25, 2022 16:17:03 GMT Sneelock said:

well, it's still "a rock band" at that point, isn't it? I mean, there's rocky stuff to come (like 'don't take me alive') but, on the whole, the players become pretty much session players like Zappa's guys were - regardless of how frequently they were used.

I feel quite the same way about Zappa's bands - much more so, in fact. Again, not a view held by Zappa himself or by the typical fanatic.

Well, I would counter (as a typical fanatic!) that Zappa toured with his bands, and a large amount of the stuff he released from the 70s onwards was culled from live recordings, so the ‘touring bands’ and the ‘studio bands’ were essentially the same, though some of the material took a long time to surface in ‘product’. What I’m saying is that Zappa had actual bands, that played and toured and recorded together, even if the composition of the Zappa band evolved enormously over time. 

That seems different to the Dan paradigm

[Charlie O.]

Fair point.

[fange]

Apr 25, 2022 15:53:41 GMT Charlie O. said:

 (I think CTE is/was B&F's least favorite.)

Wow, that's baffling to me. Both the tunes and the playing are next level; do you know why they don't like it, Charlie?

[Reactionary Rage]

Apr 26, 2022 9:23:39 GMT fange said:

Apr 25, 2022 15:53:41 GMT Charlie O. said:

 (I think CTE is/was B&F's least favorite.)

Wow, that's baffling to me. Both the tunes and the playing are next level; do you know why they don't like it, Charlie?

Because they are contrary bastards?

[Charlie O.]

Apr 26, 2022 9:23:39 GMT fange said:

Apr 25, 2022 15:53:41 GMT Charlie O. said:

 (I think CTE is/was B&F's least favorite.)

Wow, that's baffling to me. Both the tunes and the playing are next level; do you know why they don't like it, Charlie?

The (amusing) answer is in the liner notes (see link at the top of the page).

[quaco]

I used to cite Countdown as my favorite too, for that same reason of it being musicians who seemed invested in it, as well as being a little more rock-tune-ful (less jazzy/easy listening), but having just gone through them all recently, I really can't say a bad word about any of the first six. Pretzel does seem to have the best songs. Royal Scam I think I enjoy the most (esp. side one). Aja seems to be coming from a higher, alien level.

[Sneelock]

you know what? I like "two against nature" & "everything must go" just fine.
I'm too weak and feeble to fight with anybody who wants to call them a drastic drop in quality but I think both sound like Steely Dan to ME.

But then, I'm the guy who thinks "kamakiriad" sounds like Steely Dan so what do I know?

[fange]

Apr 26, 2022 16:01:20 GMT Charlie O. said:

Apr 26, 2022 9:23:39 GMT fange said:

Wow, that's baffling to me. Both the tunes and the playing are next level; do you know why they don't like it, Charlie?

The (amusing) answer is in the liner notes (see link at the top of the page).

Cheers Charlie, that was an interesting and indeed amusing read. So in essence, their bad experiences at the time with their manager, record company and live shows left a lasting bad taste in their musical mouths... which of course should really mean absolutely nothing to the wider listening public. 

The Dan is one of those groups i've loved my whole life, but never really learned much about in any deeper way than reading some jacket covers. I've kind been happy to know about them in this shallow but super appreciative way, because the records themselves have fed me in every way i needed - beautifully played, evocative, and at times enigmatic songs that i still adore. And when i play CTE, man, i hear a group fucking NAILING their shit in just about every way. 10/10 all day, every day!

[fange]

Apr 27, 2022 20:26:27 GMT quaco said:

I used to cite Countdown as my favorite too, for that same reason of it being musicians who seemed invested in it, as well as being a little more rock-tune-ful (less jazzy/easy listening)...

I don't know, man, CTE seems very jazzy to me; i seem to hear latin, bop, soul jazz, post-bop and fusion elements all over this record, with of course the rock elements intertwined through it all too, pure SD. But i don't know; trying to figure out which of those SD albums is more or less jazzy than the others is like asking which classic-era Pentangle album is the most or least folky.