Steely Dan Complete

Rating:
Summary: Over all, some of the greatest tunes ever written.
Review: As a drummer first and foremost and keyboard player 2nd, this book has improved my piano skills tremendously!. In my opinion, some of the greatest compositions ever written are right here for you. If you're not a virtuoso (Chick Corea, Keath Jarret, Oscar Peterson,) and you want to learn some great voiceing and changes, this is the book for you! (note) Not to take anything away from Mr. Fagen or Mr Becker, who rule, but take note of Keith Jarret's name as co-writter on "Gaucho". It definitely explains some of the killer Jazz voiceing. That's the beauty of Steely Dan. The use of incredible musicians to augment the already genious writting. Well,enjoy. P.S. I also agree with an earlier review stateing alittle disapointment on the absence of two of my all time favorite tunes. FM" and "Western World" but hey, you cant have everything. By the way, Who is the" Gaucho Amigo" anyway?

Rating:
Summary: Best way to learn Steely Dan songs
Review: Even though learning songs by ear is cheaper and an ego builder, sometimes you just have to have the music. That is why Steely Dan complete is so good. The main reason I went out and got this book was because I saw a show on VH1 in 1995 on Steely Dan, and they said that when they got ready to tour in 95 and were rehearsing, they had forgotten their own songs, mainly the chord changes, and had to go out and buy their own music to remember them!!! That shows how prolific they are. Book is great resource, but also, look around on the web for more Dan resources. They use something called the "mu major" chord substitution to add color to their songs, which is not covered in the book.

Rating:
Summary: Might be a good Piano Book...but
Review: Hi I bought this book hoping for some information and/or facts on the band steely dan, instead what i got was a music book for piano players...a huge disappointment...but if i played piano, it might be different

Rating:
Summary: Must have for Steely Dan Fan
Review: I bought this book because I love Steely Dan's music and wanted to learn their songs. These are keyboard arrangements, for intermediate to advance piano. It has guitar chords, too, but not as correct as "The best of Steely Dan, guitar tab", which you need if you want to learn the guitar solos and nuances. I also noticed that some of the piano chord voicings don't quite sound like the record. and some of the songs aren't written in the same key as the record. But overall, a great book to get you on your way.

Rating:
Summary: Must have for Steely Dan Fan
Review: I bought this book because I love Steely Dan's music and wanted to learn their songs. These are keyboard arrangements, for intermediate to advance piano. It has guitar chords, too, but not as correct as "The best of Steely Dan, guitar tab", which you need if you want to learn the guitar solos and nuances. I also noticed that some of the piano chord voicings don't quite sound like the record. and some of the songs aren't written in the same key as the record. But overall, a great book to get you on your way.

Rating:
Summary: the best
Review: I need not say too much about this book. I can sum it up very easily- this book captures the music of the most incredible and proliic band in jazz/rock history. Their music was made mostly before I was born, but it still sounds so good now, not retro. This music is timeless...and this book captures it all.

Rating:
Summary: An ambitious attempt to display ALL Songs as Sheet Music
Review: If you are not only an addicted fan of Steely Dan, but also a musician who feels some influence from this "most intelligent music of the 70's/80's", then this book delivers some transparency to the band's compositions. Each single song from their OFFICIAL albums, starting "Can't Buy A Thrill" up to "Goucho", finds a place in this book. Yet, special releases, such as "Western World" or "FM", that one would find even on meanwhile's complete (?) CD-compilation "Citizen...", are missing, same as early recordings such as "Sun Mountain" etc. With notes for piano, vocal and guitar, you get some fairly good transcriptions, not allways entirely accurate, but great for studies of Steely Dan's use of harmony. Best of all, if you were ever missing some lyrics - now here you got'em all. As this appears to be the only "complete" collection of Steely Dan's sheet music so far, the fact that some transcript! ions lack certain accuracy doesn't really feel too bad, as you get a good approach to all the songs. Taking this as a start for going from here you will find it easy getting the finish from listening to the original recordings. The book is well worth it's money, not only for fans, also for lovers of great compositions, so feel encouraged enaugh to get it!

Rating:
Summary: An ambitious attempt to display ALL Songs as Sheet Music
Review: If you are not only an addicted fan of Steely Dan, but also a musician who feels some influence from this "most intelligent music of the 70's/80's", then this book delivers some transparency to the band's compositions. Each single song from their OFFICIAL albums, starting "Can't Buy A Thrill" up to "Gaucho", finds a place in this book. Yet, special releases, such as "Western World" or "FM", that one would find even on meanwhile's complete (?) CD-compilation "Citizen...", are missing, same as early recordings such as "Sun Mountain" etc. With notes for piano, vocal and guitar, you get some fairly good transcriptions, not allways entirely accurate, but great for studies of Steely Dan's use of harmony. Best of all, if you were ever missing some lyrics - now here you got'em all. As this appears to be the only "complete" collection of Steely Dan's sheet music so far, the fact that some transcript! ions lack certain accuracy doesn't really feel too bad, as you get a good approach to all the songs. Taking this as a start for going from here you will find it easy getting the finish from listening to the original recordings. The book is well worth it's money, not only for fans, also for lovers of great compositions, so feel encouraged enaugh to get it!

Rating:
Summary: One Must-Have
Review: If you want to learn the incredible musical style of Fagen and Becker, you simply can't pass this book up. This book and "Reelin' In The Years" are the two must-haves for any real SD fan. thanks to this book, I am now composing SD type material.

Rating:
Summary: OK, but simplified
Review: So I got the Steely Dan songbook from MCA, but a lot of the chords seem to be "rounded off", and some of the songs are in the wrong key! Maybe my Mobile Fidelity CD copy of Aja runs a bit slow, but I transcribed "Aja" (the song) in B, and this book has it in C. Ditto with "Peg", Db instead of C. Bummer. Also, this book shows the first chord of "Aja" in the right hand as E-G-B with C in the bass. I figured out the first chord as F#-A#-C#-D# with B in the bass. After that, it's not even close. There are a bunch of things like that. The intro of "Sign in Stranger" doesn't resolve up like the book says, it stays on the C and there is a trill they missed. I was hoping this book would be a step above the average piano book, like the transcriptions in Keyboard or Guitar Player, but it's not. Oh well, at least it's fun to jam to the changes. -jl