Steely Dan's 12 greatest songs

8. “Godwhacker” from Everything Must Go (2003)

Now, you see, if all later Steely Dan had the pulse and life of this jazz-funk, I would be listening to later Dan a lot more. Becker’s skittering bass drives the song forward. Strong R&B backing vocals from Tawatha Agee and Catherine Russell add another flavor. The song has an almost righteous gospel feel while still rocking out. Fagen tosses in a twisted synth solo in the middle to keep you just a bit off balance.

Fagen and Becker were not afraid to get political, though they didn’t do it very often. This song, from the ninth and final studio album the duo would release, seems like a veiled statement about geopolitics. After The Royal Scam, they mostly avoided overt political statements. FYI – their best overtly political song, which would have made this list had I expanded it to fifteen, is Pretzel Logic’s “Barrytown.”

7. “Charlie Freak” from Pretzel Logic (1974)

Speaking of Pretzel Logic, the band’s greatest album is filled with outstanding songs. “Charlie Freak,” a woeful, galloping portrait of a forgotten junkie, maybe its most underrated track. Fagen’s piano kicks it off with an ominous riff. Then the music layers and layers as the story builds to its tragic conclusion. There are no solos, but the overall effect leads one of the most theatrical pieces Dan ever produced.

It has some of their most efficient, poetic lyrics. “Poor kid, he overdid – Embraced the spreading haze – And while he sighed, his body died in fifty ways.” “Charlie Freak” comes toward the end of Pretzel Logic and it is easy to overlook it on such a jam-packed album. That strikes me as intentional since the theme of the song concerns the way small things are easily overlooked. You shouldn’t overlook this one.