Steely Dan Gold Label: MCA Release Date: 1982

Steely Dan (aka The Dan) has been obscenely misrepresented by your pop’s so-called classic rock station; “Reeling in the Years” doesn’t even count. Exhibit A: emcees and producers have been fooling with the Dan for a minute now. From De La to Doom to Cube–the verdict is in: it’s like that.

Up from the dusty crates this week in the Relative used vinly section sits a crisp, clean copy of Steely Dan’s Gold LP. You’ll recognize the monster bassline from “Black Cow” as the dominant sample from Peter Gunz and Lord Tariq’s “Deja Vu,” one of those hip-hop jams that had localized versions, which meant everybody got to rep they hood (Grand Rapids! Grand Rapids! Uptown baby! Uptown baby!). Regardless, “Black Cow” is a slow-rolling banger in its own right with a serious head-nod factor. Also on Gold is “Green Earrings,” a more uptempo jawn sampled by Orgnized Konfusion on their breakthrough semi-hit “Walk into the Sun.”

Steely Dan’s music (10+ albums) is rock, jazz fusion, funk, and blues–which is why cats like J-Rocc, Bobbito, and Spinna rock Dan tracks on the regular. Their catalogue deserves deeper exploration than is given on classic rock stations, and up on the used Relative rack is where someone’s will start.

(Ed. note: “Steely Dan” is the name of a steam-powered dildo from the William Borroughs novel Naked Lunch).

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