Steely Dan's 12 greatest songs

2. “Kid Charlemagne” from The Royal Scam (1976)

Steely Dan wasn’t really a rock band. Not in the way that we think of your standard rock & rollers. For one thing, they weren’t really a band, as we’ve noted. And their songs were almost always a hybrid of multiple genres. So even though they never rocked harder than they did on “Kid Charlemagne,” it still features many different layers. There’s a funk vibe and a jazz construction.

And there is not one – but two outstanding, atmospheric guitar solos from Larry Carlton, among the best in any Steely Dan song. Chuck Rainey, who provided an excellent bass groove on “Black Friday” gets even funkier here.

Who exactly is Kid Charlemagne? This is as lyrically cryptic as most Fagen/Becker creations. It hints at lost innocence without ever declaring whose innocence it is or explaining why it was lost. This is the only song I am choosing from The Royal Scam, but I easily could have added the upbeat “Caves of Altamira,’ the nihilistic “Don’t Take Me Alive,” or the epic futile grandeur of the title track. It’s just that as stand-alone songs, I don’t think they work as well as the ones on this list. The Royal Scam should be heard in its entirety. It is Steely Dan’s best concept album.

1. “Reelin’ in the Years” from Can’t Buy a Thrill (1972)

Some things are inviolate. Like Elliott Randall’s iconic guitar riff that opens “Reelin’ in the Years.” You hear it and you instantly recall a scene from your past. “Reelin in the Years” is not as lyrically complex as Dan would get in later years. It’s a pretty straightforward f**k you to a former lover. It has the snarky wit that you’d expect, but lyrically, it’s just a jazzy rock take on “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right.”

But that guitar. That guitar elevates a clever, catchy tune into the rarefied air reserved for classics. I’ll end by sharing an opinion from a music fan I know who wasn’t around when Steely Dan was big. He is on the cusp of Gen Y and Gen Z, and his ranking of the top ten Steely Dan songs is simple. “Reelin’ in the Years” – ten straight times.

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