Alive In America

Performer: Steely Dan
Engineer: Phil Burnett; Roger Nichols
Producer: Donald Fagen
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Steely Dan: Walter Becker (vocals, guitar); Donald Fagen (vocals, Fender Rhodes, keytar, melodica). Additional personnel: Georg Wadenius, Drew Zingg (guitar); Bob Sheppard (soprano & tenor saxophones); Chris Potter (alto & tenor saxophones); Cornelius Bumpus (tenor saxophone); Catherine Russell (whistle, percussion, background vocals); Warren Bernhardt (piano, Fender Rhodes); Bill Ware, III (vibraphone, percussion); Tom Barney (bass); Dennis Chambers, Peter Erskine (drums); Diane Garisto, Brenda White-King (background vocals). Recorded live in summer 1993 and summer 1994. Includes liner notes by Walter Becker. Personnel: Walter Becker (vocals, guitar); Donald Fagen (vocals, melodica); Catherine Russell (whistling, percussion, background vocals); Drew Zingg, George Wadenius (guitar); Bob Sheppard (soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone); Chris Potter (alto saxophone, tenor saxophone); Cornelius Bumpus (tenor saxophone); Warren Bernhardt (piano); Bill Ware (vibraphone, percussion); Tom Barney (bass guitar); Dennis Chambers, Peter Erskine (drums); Diane Garisto, Brenda White-King (background vocals). Recording information: Charlotte, NC (08/19/1993-09/19/1994); Chicago, IL (08/19/1993-09/19/1994); Detroit, MI (08/19/1993-09/19/1994); Irvine, CA (08/19/1993-09/19/1994); Phoenix, AZ (08/19/1993-09/19/1994); St. Petersburg, FL (08/19/1993-09/19/1994). Directors: Drew Zingg; Warren Bernhardt. Ever since Donald Fagan and Walter Becker stopped recording together as Steely Dan in the early '80s, their legions of fans have clamored for a reunion. Their dreams were answered in 1993 when Steely Dan reunited for an extensive American tour. Though Steely Dan was best known for its studio alchemy rather than its in-concert prowess, ALIVE IN AMERICA is a surprisingly good live album. Featuring inspired versions of Steely Dan staples like "Bodhisattva," "Josie" and "Peg" and a showstopping performance of "Reelin' In The Years," ALIVE IN AMERICA is essentially a live greatest hits collection. Not content to simply recreate the cool-jazz pop sound of the original recordings, the new Steely Dan lineup infuses these familiar songs with a refreshing dose of energy and enthusiasm that brings out the edge in the sly lyrics and complex musical structures. Though these fine live versions add little to the Steely Dan legend, it's great to hear Fagen and Becker performing together again and ALIVE IN AMERICA suggests that the two will create some wonderful music should they ever decide to reunite for a new studio album.

Entertainment Weekly (10/20/95, p.66) - "...Their 1993-94 resumption--a big-band revue documented in 11 familiar tracks here--may have been uncharacteristically concessive, but the smooth spite in their subversive neo-Babylonian bop still sounds as contemporary as today's headlines." - Rating: B+

Steely Dan--a name derived from a sex toy in William Burroughs's "Naked Lunch"--spent much of the '70s atop the charts with jazzy, smart-ass pop-rock. The brainchild of hipsters Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, Steely Dan was less a band than it was a laboratory for the duo's singular musical vision, deftly rendered by a cast of studio heavyweights to rule the airwaves, but (owing to either stagefright or sheer impossibility) rarely trotted out on stage. After almost disappearing for more than a decade, Becker and Fagen had re-emerged by the '90s, throwing fans a few bones before finally taking the plunge into a full-fledged reunion.

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