# Steely Dan on tour without Walter Becker: just a BIT cynical??? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 4, 2018, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steely-dan-on-tour-without-walter-becker-just-a-bit-cynical/815401 "2018-06-04T08:11:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steely-dan-on-tour-without-walter-becker-just-a-bit-cynical/815401/1 "2018-06-04T08:11:01Z")
There’s an article about it here: > **[Review: Steely Dan without Walter Becker? It's not the travesty you might expect](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-steely-dan-forum-review-20180531-story.html)** > > “Dirty Work” was the Steely Dan song that came to my mind when the band’s Donald Fagen announced that he planned to tour this year, mere months after the death last September of his longtime creative partner, Walter Becker. Seems weird to me Donald Fagen would tour as Steely Dan so soon after Becker’s death; would it have been too much trouble for Donald Fagen to bill the act as "Donald Fagen of Steely Dan"or at the very least “Steely Dan featuring Donald Fagen” and maybe take over the SD moniker, lets say, I don’t know, 5 years from now?? It’s not like Dan was a 5 man band and the keyboardist went toes up; Steely was about two guys, and one died. I get there were some legal wrangling over the band name, but this seems “too soon” to me. Let the body get cold first . . … ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steely-dan-on-tour-without-walter-becker-just-a-bit-cynical/815401/2 "2018-06-04T09:45:44Z")
He should be touring as Stealing Dan. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steely-dan-on-tour-without-walter-becker-just-a-bit-cynical/815401/3 "2018-06-04T10:17:05Z")
I’m sure name recognition has something to do with it. I mean of course true fans would know who Donald Fagen is, but to a lot of people it would be “Donald who?” That show got a great review from the linked article. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steely-dan-on-tour-without-walter-becker-just-a-bit-cynical/815401/4 "2018-06-04T11:07:47Z")
No problem with it whatsoever. The _Eagles_ and _Queen_ have both carried on under their original names despite the loss of a key founding member and I see no reason why Steely Dan shouldn’t be able to do the same. Neither the memory nor admiration for the artistic contributions of Glenn Frey or Freddie Mercury have been diminished by their bands’ having carried on under their original name. If anything, their loss seems even more poignant by virtue of their absence, and that absence itself seems to serve as a constant reminder of who they were and the contributions they made to their bands. When people see the _Eagles_ or _Queen_, they’re aware every moment that Glenn Frey or Freddie Mercury aren’t there and they’re wishing this weren’t so. Same with _Steely Dan_. I know if I were in the audience for a _Steely Dan_ show today I’d be very, very much aware of and missing Walter Becker. But on the other hand, a performance entitled “_Donald Fagen presents the Music of Steely Dan_” would seem to me to be leaving Becker behind in favor of Fagen and the new, differently named band. So it’s possible that by attempting to respect Becker’s memory by recasting _Steely Dan_ as a different entity, the effect is actually to make people either forget Becker or relegate him to the past in a way they wouldn’t if they were watching _Steely Dan_ as it’s always been but with an empty spot where he formerly stood. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steely-dan-on-tour-without-walter-becker-just-a-bit-cynical/815401/5 "2018-06-04T16:36:23Z")
There might be business reasons why it is being done, things that might supercede anyones decision or way it looks. I’ve said it before: if he gets Denny Dias, and Jeff Baxter to tour he can call it God and it would be OK. This ought to be the opportunity to explore other dan contributors. ---
**Author:** ![Periwinkle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Periwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Periwinkle)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steely-dan-on-tour-without-walter-becker-just-a-bit-cynical/815401/6 "2018-06-04T18:05:30Z")
I really dislike seeing that writer refer to Donald Fagen as “crass”, even though he seems to talk himself out of it at the end. I think it is wrong to assert that Fagen is doing something shady by using the Steely Dan name. The man is 70 years old, if he still enjoys touring (or still needs to tour) I feel like he is entitled to leverage his life’s work, just as Walter Becker would have been if he had survived Fagen. It doesn’t take anything away from Becker’s contribution, in actually helps keep appreciation for it alive. If there is some financial arrangement that needs to be made to Becker’s estate in recognition of his contribution to the ongoing value of the name then the lawyers and accountants should work that out, but I don’t have any problem with the surviving member representing himself and supporting players as Steely Dan. I think it’s sickening to call it “crass”. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steely-dan-on-tour-without-walter-becker-just-a-bit-cynical/815401/7 "2018-06-04T18:35:01Z")
I’m guessing there are no new Steely Dan songs recently? I mean, as far as I’m aware the “Steely Dan canon” is solidly understood and not in a state of flux. Any responsible and skilled performer who knows the music and who has Fagen’s approval is fine with me. I don’t think anybody is being cheated or deceived. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steely-dan-on-tour-without-walter-becker-just-a-bit-cynical/815401/8 "2018-06-04T18:48:33Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > There might be business reasons why it is being done, things that might supercede anyones decision or way it looks. Yes, there are. > [@](#): > > In December 2017, Fagen said that he would rather have retired the Steely Dan name after Becker’s death, and instead have toured with the current iteration of the group under another name, but was persuaded not to by promoters for commercial reasons. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steely\_Dan#After\_Becker’s\_death\_(2017–present)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steely_Dan#After_Becker's_death_(2017%E2%80%93present)) > [@DavidwithanR](#): > > I’m guessing there are no new Steely Dan songs recently? I mean, as far as I’m aware the “Steely Dan canon” is solidly understood and not in a state of flux. Any responsible and skilled performer who knows the music and who has Fagen’s approval is fine with me. > > I don’t think anybody is being cheated or deceived. Their last studio album was _Everything Must Go_ in 2003. Becker and Fagen also each put out a solo album in the same decade. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steely-dan-on-tour-without-walter-becker-just-a-bit-cynical/815401/9 "2018-06-04T18:57:50Z")
And, as you’ll see in the Wikipedia link that **cochrane** provided, there’s some bad blood between Fagen and Becker’s widow on the topic: > [@](#): > > Becker’s widow and estate sued Fagen, arguing that the estate should control 50% of the band’s shares. Fagen countered that the band had drawn up plans in 1972 stating that band members leaving the band or dying relinquish shares of the band’s output to the surviving members. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steely-dan-on-tour-without-walter-becker-just-a-bit-cynical/815401/10 "2018-06-04T21:07:00Z")
Any Major Dude will tell you that’s damn near a Tontine! That’s a document I’d like to see! ---
**Author:** ![dba\_Fred](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c37758/32.png) [@dba\_Fred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dba_Fred)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steely-dan-on-tour-without-walter-becker-just-a-bit-cynical/815401/11 "2018-06-05T00:36:10Z")
Tickets should be half-price. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steely-dan-on-tour-without-walter-becker-just-a-bit-cynical/815401/12 "2018-06-05T01:18:22Z")
Steely Dan has a lot of music. Fans still want to year it performed live. I assume Fagen carefully selected someone capable of playing Becker’s part. Fans can decide if they want to see the revamped group. ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steely-dan-on-tour-without-walter-becker-just-a-bit-cynical/815401/13 "2018-06-05T06:13:55Z")
> [@Periwinkle](#): > > I really dislike seeing that writer refer to Donald Fagen as “crass”, even though he seems to talk himself out of it at the end. I think it is wrong to assert that Fagen is doing something shady by using the Steely Dan name. The man is 70 years old, if he still enjoys touring (or still needs to tour) I feel like he is entitled to leverage his life’s work, just as Walter Becker would have been if he had survived Fagen. It doesn’t take anything away from Becker’s contribution, in actually helps keep appreciation for it alive. If there is some financial arrangement that needs to be made to Becker’s estate in recognition of his contribution to the ongoing value of the name then the lawyers and accountants should work that out, but I don’t have any problem with the surviving member representing himself and supporting players as Steely Dan. I think it’s sickening to call it “crass”. I never used the word “crass” and just asked if this was “cynical”. I was more or less expressing my initial feeling when I heard Dan was still performing without one half of the duo. There seems to be a lot of evidence on this thread that technically Walter Becker and Donald Fagen signed an agreement that whoever survived got to carry on the Dan name and if true, that’s good enough for me. Sounds like Steely Dan could have hired a better publicist to spin this tour, IMO . . . . . Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steely-dan-on-tour-without-walter-becker-just-a-bit-cynical/815401/14 "2018-06-05T07:28:40Z")
I think you may be overestimating the concert-going audience’s devotion to Walter Becker. It’s always seemed to me that whatever his value to the band was, it took place offstage, perhaps in the writing/lyrics area. Certainly Becker was an accomplished musician and Fagen always seemed to regard him as an equal, but to most people Donald Fagen \*is \*_Steely Dan_. Listen to a Walter Becker solo album and it doesn’t sound like _Steely Dan_. Listen to a Donald Fagen solo album and it sounds exactly like _Steely Dan_, vocally of course, but also instrumentally. Fagen is the one who the audiences want to see and hear. I was fortunate enough to attend a _Steely Dan_ concert three years ago this summer and to sit about seven rows back from the stage, and of all the people onstage the only one whose contribution couldn’t be identified was Becker’s. He was a cool guy and provided a certain amount of comic relief, but he could have stopped playing at any time and I don’t think anyone would have known the difference. And then when it came time for band member introductions, Becker received pretty much the same level of applause that each of the other band members got, but when Fagen was introduced every man, woman and child in the place instantly leapt to their feet in thunderous applause. I felt badly for Becker at the time because the difference in audience appreciation was so great, but both he and the rest of the band seemed to regard it as standard fare. For his part Fagen seemed embarrassed by or uncomfortable because of the applause and noodled on his keyboards the whole time without ever looking up, but he was clearly the star of the band in everyone’s mind. I was very sorry when Walter Becker died. He seemed to be a really cool, laid back and funny guy, and he’d probably have been the easiest to have been around offstage. But again, to the vast majority of the Dan’s listenership, Donald Fagen is _Steely Dan_. I doubt that 99.9 percent of the Dan’s concert-going audiences care at all that Fagen is promoting concerts and performing under the _Steely Dan_ name this soon after Becker’s passing. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steely-dan-on-tour-without-walter-becker-just-a-bit-cynical/815401/15 "2018-06-05T07:38:56Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > I never used the word “crass” and just asked if this was “cynical”. I was more or less expressing my initial feeling when I heard Dan was still performing without one half of the duo. No, you never used the word “crass.” It was the author of the L. A. Times article who said it felt crass, and that was whom **Periwinkle** was referring to.