Steely Dan (partially found songs; 1969-2000)
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The band in 1974
Status: Partially Found
Steely Dan is an American jazz rock band founded in 1972 by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. Over the years, the band has enjoyed many hit albums and a large fan following. Because of Fagen and Becker's disliking towards unfinished songs, many songs have never been released or surfaced. Some of these range from demos to fully fledged songs.
Found Songs
Since the 1980s, many of these once-lost songs were found on cassettes, reels, bootlegs, and CDs. Below is a list of the currently found songs. The table below is sorted by whichever albums these found songs were recorded for.
| Song Name | Year Found | Further Info | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-Dan Demos | ~1980s | Demos that Donald Fagen and Walter Becker recorded purely to sell off to other musicians. Kenny Vance, a musician who worked with Don and Walt, legally owned the demo tapes and sold them off to fly-by-night record labels in the 1980s. Because of this, the demos can be found all over the internet albeit in subpar quality. | https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLz7UnRwIbVXIqvYeUjOkRzM61JBzqrJDs |
| Sakka Joweda | 2020 | Found after Reddit user "TheRealPlastic" posted a list of lost songs and a commenter named "jimlikesmayo" posts a link to the song saying he recently acquired it from a person on Facebook. The song and alternate mixes of itself and "Midnite Cruiser" were sold on eBay in the form of a tape reel shortly before this. | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUpajU7BdUw |
| Gullywater | ~1990 | An outtake from the "Can't Buy A Thrill" sessions. Allegedly first circulated in the 90's, Gullywater stills exists on the internet today albeit in a low quality format. Also rumored to be a song retried in the "Katy Lied" sessions. | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZxMzZt5MP0 |
| Megashine City (Studio Version) | 2015 | An early version of "Talkin' Bout My Home". Found on a tape reel bought from an estate sale with a few other lost songs. | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOpgnIw-yoE |
| Runnin' Child | 2015 | Allegedly first circulated in the 90's alongside "Gullywater". It is rumored the version originally circulated contained an extra guitar and a fadeout. The version circulating today is also sourced from the estate sale tape reel. | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFJ-zp90HNY |
| Any World That I'm Welcome To (Second Version) | 2015 | The second version of Any World That I'm Welcome To which was meant for Can't Buy A Thrill. Also found on the estate sale reel. | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxRIZxAHJJM |
| Instrumental Fragment | 2015 | Found at the tail end of the estate reel. It is debated if this is actually Steely Dan. Rumored to be a part of the lost song "Dr. Udu's Proto Man" which is also from around this period. Sometimes referred to as "Stay There". | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwpkE0jDeQs |
| Everyone's Gone To The Movies (Demo) | 1994 | A demo of "Everyone's Gone To The Movies" found on an old acetate record. Released on the "Citizen Steely Dan" boxset. | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAZliSU1v6Q |
| Katy Lied Outtakes | ??? | Outtakes and demos of songs that made it onto the "Katy Lied" album. Also contains demos of "I Got The News" and "Black Cow" which eventually were on the "Aja" album two years later. | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3KSW7XVOcU |
| Mr. Sam | ??? | Found alongside the "Katy Lied" demos. Originally one of Donald Fagen's favorites, the song was scrapped after a DBX noise reduction filter glitch which made the song sound "lifeless". | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUIz7wCZNXI |
| Funky Driver | ??? | Another Katy Lied era demo. Is sometimes mistitled as "Gully Water" even though it bears no resemblance to the actual "Gullywater" track. Was also damaged by the DBX noise reduction glitch. | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sxn_-CC_Kk |
| The Royal Scam Outtakes | ??? | Backing tracks of "Kid Charlemagne", "Sign In Stranger", "Everything You Did", and "Green Earrings" as well as a demo of "Don't Take Me Alive" have surfaced. More outtakes of "Sign In Stranger" and a vocal demo of "Green Earrings have also surfaced. | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXTVGxNP-CM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZ_CcrJrSro https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNyD844iAXc |
| Aja Backing Tracks | ??? | Backing tracks of "Peg", "Josie", "I Got The News", "Aja", and "Thirld World Man" (then called "Were You Blind That Day" have surfaced | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bn3eVGkLc8 |
| Stand By The Seawell | ~1990s, ~2015 | Two takes of this instrumental song have surfaced. The most popular version surfaced sometime in the 90s while the second surfaced in the 2010s. | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bn3eVGkLc8 |
| The Bear | Late 80s | This outtake is rumored to be from either "The Royal Scam", "Aja", or "Gaucho". The song was later referenced in Walter Becker's "Down In The Bottom" and played live on a few occassions. | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wu8dMG0PB-4 |
| Were You Blind That Day | Late 80s | Rumored to be from "The Bear" recording sessions. After the deletion of "The Second Arrangement", this song was reworked into "Third World Man. | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fK05aCAsPv8 |
| Kulee Baba | Late 80s | This song was originally going to be on "Gaucho". A demo and a full band version of this song have surfaced. | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vedh5kOFVPU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-_U2GuFXWo |
| Kind Spirit | Late 80s | Another song for "Gaucho". Lyrics are incomplete and mostly made up of "na na na"s. | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVvrP1D9kIc |
| Talkin' Bout My Home | Late 80s | "Megashine City" under a different title. Only surfaced as a low quality piano demo. A short, higher quality fragment has also been uploaded to Youtube. | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fk92-1chWhY |
| I Can't Write Home About You | Late 80s | A low quality piano demo, again from "Gaucho". | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6wE6DTb-nI |
| The Second Arrangement (Demos and Outtakes) | Late 80s - Present | One of the most infamous lost Steely Dan songs. The finished product was accidentally erased by a rookie studio engineer. Over the years, a demo, instrumental, outtake, and alleged demo fragment have surfaced. | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgugMZI18pc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqHpBpI1yQM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0MLTiL40YA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8bfpy40sfI |
| Gaucho Outtakes | Late 80s | Outtakes and demos of "Gaucho", "Glamour Profession", "My Rival", and "Time Out of Mind" have surfaced. | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhuJ0i7KV9A |
| I Idolize You | Late 90s | A rehearsal performed during the "Two Against Nature" recording sessions. | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVjM9RXJb1M |
Lost Songs
Many of these lost Steely Dan song titles were found because of copyright records filed by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker at the time. There are a few which were only rumored to exist, those will be noted as such.
| Song Name | Status | Info | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bus Driver Is A Fruitcake | Never Surfaced | A song Don and Walt wrote while attending Bard College. John Boylan, an ex-bandmate, said Bus Driver Is A Fruitcake was "completely off the wall for that time" | None |
| Take A Dip With Dinah | Never Surfaced | A song Don and Walt wrote while performing with Kenny Vance. Vance's cover of the song was released, while a demo with Donald Fagen singing vocals has never surfaced. | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSSxBE6Fnhg |
| Footprints on the Moon | Never Surfaced | Found in copyright archives. No other information has been found. | None |
| One Ticket To L.A. | Never Surfaced | Also found in copyright archives. Donald Fagen apparently sang vocals and played piano on this song. | None |
| Surreal | Never Surfaced | Also found in copyright archives. | None |
| Shuffling Up Your Downs | Never Surfaced | Another song Don and Walt wrote that Kenny Vance covered. The Steely Dan demo has never surfaced. | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f23jPefNBxo |
| Burn Baby Burn | Never Surfaced | A song that Don and Walt performed for their bandmates. Jon Gordon, a then 14 year old who performed with the band, remembers a few verses from the song. | http://sdarchive.com/gordon.html |
| Be Tender | Never Surfaced | Found in copyright archives. Supposed lyrics retrieved from copyright office? | Supposed lyrics mistaken for "Oh, Mr Lyle". |
| Anyway You Want It | Never Surfaced | Found in copyright archives. Was mistakenly included on the tracklist for a "Sun Mountain" Pre-Dan Demo bootleg, but not actually on the cassette itself. Donald Fagen also sang vocals and played piano on this song. | https://www.discogs.com/Steely-Dan-Sun-Mountain/release/4304878 |
| Oh, Mr. Lyle | Never Surfaced | Also referred to as just "Mr Lyle". Found in copyright archives. This song is attributed to both Don and Walt's vocals. | None |
| Number One | Never Surfaced | Found in copyright archives. Supposed lyrics? | None |
| Tell It To The Fat Man | Never Surfaced | Found in copyright archives. Supposed lyrics | None |
| (Stand By The) Seawall | Rumored | Different from the Aja outtake. First rumored on the Dandom Bluebook in October of 2012. | http://www.dandom.com/guestbook/102012.html
(Search "seawall" on the page) |
| Who Got The Credit? | Never Surfaced | Found in copyright archives. | None |
| Burnin' And Freezin' | Never Surfaced | Found in copyright archives. Supposed lyrics. | None |
| That Listless Feeling | Never Surfaced | Found in copyright archives. | None |
| Giles of the River | Cover Surfaced | A cover of the song by Denny Doherty has surfaced, though the Steely Dan performance has never surfaced. There are rumors the song was circulated in the 90s and a few people claim to have it. | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdDcaJIgmxA |
| Jones | Never Surfaced | Was covered, Steely Dan version never surfaced. | None |
| Turn My Friend Away | Never Surfaced | Not much info known about this song. Covered by Linda Hoover. | None |
| Tell Me A Lie | Never Surfaced | Not much info known about this song. Covered by "The Grass Roots". | None |
| Pearl Of The Quarter (1971) | Never Surfaced | Was included on a demo reel given to Mark Winkler. | http://markwinklermusic.com/my-steely-dan-story-2/ |
| Canyon Ladies | Never Surfaced | Covered by Navasota. It is unknown whether a Steely Dan version exists. | None |
| I Mean To Shine | Never Surfaced | Covered by Barbra Streisand. Unless this is a typo, the song may have been played live once during the Countdown to Ecstasy tour. | Live? |
| Proud To Be Your Slave | Rumored | Covered by Diamond Head. It is unknown whether a Steely Dan version exists. | None |
| Sakka Joweda Alternate Mix | Never Surfaced | The same reel that contained "Sakka Joweda" also contained a second mix of it. The "Sakka Joweda" that was uploaded to Youtube is all we have from the tape. | Dead eBay Link |
| Midnite Cruiser Alternate Mixes | Never Surfaced | More alternate mixes from the Sakka Joweda reel. | Picture of the reel |
| Roaring of the Lamb (2nd Version) | Never Surfaced | A rerecording of the Pre-Dan demo meant for Can't Buy A Thrill | None |
| Runnin' Child (Original Version) | May have surfaced long ago | A version of Runnin' Child with an extra guitar and studio fade out. | Source |
| Dr. Udu's Proto Man | Rumored | Rumored to be a full song. Walter Becker claims it may have been a part of one song. The instrumental fragment "Stay There" is rumored to be a part of this song. | None |
| Decatur Mountain | Rumored | Seems to have only ever been mentioned by Reddit user "KidCharlem". May have been posted to the Dandom Bluebook. | Reddit post |
| Razor Boy Reggae Version | Rumored | First rumored on the broberg.pp.se fansite. "who could know that the track "Razor Boy" originally had a reggae drum part" | http://www.broberg.pp.se/sd_ecstasy.htm |
| Gold Teeth | Rumored | An early mix of what became "Your Gold Teeth". Rumored on the Dandom Bluebook along with "Countdown to Ecstasy". | Search "teeth" |
| Countdown to Ecstasy | Rumored | A song thats name was recycled for the "Countdown to Ecstasy" album. | Search "countdown" |
| The Rolling Man | Never Surfaced | An early studio recording of the live song "This All Too Mobile Home". | Copyright entry confirming its existence |
| Miss Irma | Never Surfaced | A song that may have complemented the found song "Mister Sam". Debated to either be a "Can't Buy A Thrill", "Katy Lied", or "Aja" outtake. | None |
| Shanghai Breakdown | Never Surfaced | An "Aja" song. The title is simillar to the 1988 Donald Fagen song "Shanghai Confidential". | Work-in-progress song document |
| The Bear Instrumental | Never Surfaced | An instrumental outtake of "The Bear". Some Steely Dan collectors own this song but refuse to release it. | None |
| Unknown | Never Surfaced | Taken from the Steely Dan Database website. Seems to be a Steve Gadd drum outtake. | Database entry |
| Home at Last Early Version | Never Surfaced | An early version of "Home at Last" allegedly mentioned in a Metal Leg article. | None |
| Heartbreak Souvenir | Never Surfaced | A "Gaucho" outtake Steve Khan recalled was scrapped because it was "too hard to sing". Was allegedly sold on eBay in the early 2010s. Also rumored to have been destroyed. | Metal Leg Article
Email describing the Heartbreak Souvenir eBay listing Email describing the person who allegedly bought "Heartbreak Souvenir off eBay. |
| The Second Arrangement | Erased | The infamous "Second Arrangement" incident where a rookie engineer deleted the song "The Second Arrangement". Will most likely never surface in its complete form. Recently, engineer Roger Nichols' daugher Cimcie discovered a tape labeled "Second Arr". This may be a backup of an outtake or demo version of the song. | Main Article |
| The Second Arrangement (Second Demo) | Partially Found? | A 30 second clip of an unreleased "Second Arrangement" second demo uploaded to Youtube. May or may not be legitimate. Person who owns the demo confirms that the lyrics are the same as the outtake with backing vocals. | Mysterious video of a "Second Arrangement" record |
| Someone | Never Surfaced | Taken from a preliminary "Two Against Nature" tracklist. | Tracklist |
| Sharon | Never Surfaced | Also referred to as "Sharon's Room". | Tracklist |
| Tigers | Never Surfaced | From the "Two Against Nature" preliminary tracklist. | Tracklist |
| Wet Side Story Studio Version | Never Surfaced | A studio version of the live track "Wet Side Story". Announced as a title from Steely Dan's then new album "Two Against Nature". The song never made it to the album. | None |
| Cash Only Island Studio Version | Never Surfaced | Same as Wet Side Story. Live track that never made it to the "Two Against Nature" album. | None |
| Shape Of Things To Go | Rumored | Most likely an early version of the song "Two Against Nature" as the phrase "shape of things to go" appears in the song's chorus. | None |
| Take My Money | Never Surfaced | Song played live in early tours. Was performed specifically so David Palmer could sing lead vocals on a song. | Lyrics |
| Hellbound Train | Never Surfaced | Another lost early live song meant for David Palmer. | None |
| Megashine City Live | Never Surfaced | A live version of the Megashine City studio recording. Another song meant for David Palmer. | Source |
| My Boyfriend's Back | Never Surfaced | A cover of The Angels' song performed live by the group's female backup singers as an encore. | Setlist.fm listing |
| Make It Shine | Never Surfaced | An unknown song from a 1973 setlist. Could either be a typo of "I Mean To Shine" or "Megashine City" | Setlist.fm listing |
| Please Stop (And Take Me By The Hand) | Never Surfaced | An early live version of "Bodhisattva" mentioned in a Metal Leg article. | Article |
| 1972 and 1973 tours | Never Surfaced | Many recordings of "Pretzel Logic" tours exist online but not oen "Can't Buy A Thrill" or "Countdown to Ecstasy" concert recording has ever surfaced. This leaves live recordings of songs like "Fire in the Hole" unheard. | Silent film of an early 1974 concert |
| East St. Louis Toodle-Oo (Live, 1974) | Most likely an error | Listed as the final track on a Live Memphis 1974 CD, though the CD ends after "This All Too Mobile Home". Most likely a mistake. | Tracklist image |
| Pixeleen (Live) | Never Surfaced | The song "Pixeleen" was played live twice. Those two concerts have never circulated. | Setlist.fm listing |
| Any World That I'm Welcome To (Live) | Never Surfaced | The song "Any World That I'm Welcome To" was also played twice. Both concerts have never surfaced. | Setlist.fm listing |
| Brooklyn (Live, 2019) | Never Surfaced | The song "Brooklyn" played live in 2019. First time played live since 1974. | Concert setlist |
| Witness | Never Surfaced | Sourced from a scrapped song list | List |
| Who Was The Gaucho | Never Surfaced | Early version of "Gaucho". Song from the scrapped song list | See above link |
| Dan Glowsies in Riverside | Never Surfaced | Song from the scrapped song list | None |
| Mobile Home | Never Surfaced | Likely a studio attempt of "This All Too Mobile Home". Song was performed live and listed on the scrapped song list | None |
| Bottom of the Underground | Never Surfaced | Song from the scrapped song list | None |
| I'll Sleep In Your Car | Never Surfaced | Sourced from an "Aja" era song title list. Also referred to as "Asleep In Your Car" | List |
| Buccaneers | Never Surfaced | Another song from the scrapped song list | See above link |
| Casa Nova | Never Surfaced | Song from the scrapped song list | None |
| History | Never Surfaced | Song from the scrapped song list | None |
| Company | Never Surfaced | Song from the scrapped song list | None |
| Sisters | Never Surfaced | Early version of "Babylon Sisters". Song from the scrapped song list. | None |
| Illegal Fun | Never Surfaced | Early version of "Glamour Profession". Song from the scrapped song list | None |
| Gyrine | Never Surfaced | Song from the scrapped song list | None |
| Put This Thing Together | Never Surfaced | Song from the scrapped song list | None |
| Slide On Down | Never Surfaced | Early version of "Hey Nineteen". Song from the scrapped song list | None |
| L.A. is State Of Mind | Never Surfaced | Song from the scrapped song list | None |
| City Of | Never Surfaced | Song from the scrapped song list | None |
| Blue Sahara | Never Surfaced | Song from the scrapped song list | None |
| Carey | Never Surfaced | A cover of the song of the same name by Joni Mitchell. Recorded for a Joni Mitchell tribute CD that never got released. | Source |
| Set in Motion | Never Surfaced | Song found in copyright archives | None |
| Rough Stuff | Never Surfaced | Song found in copyright archives | None |
| Can't Buy A Thrill, Countdown to Ecstasy, and Pretzel Logic 5.1 surround sound mixes | Existed at one point | Every Steely Dan album had a 5.1 release planned at one point, in the end "Gaucho", "Two Against Nature", and "Everything Must Go" were the only albums to receive the 5.1 treatment | Petition post |
| Alive in America EPK | Never Surfaced | An electronic press kit promoting the live album "Alive In America" | None |
See Also
- Steely Dan "The Second Arrangement" (lost studio recording of unreleased track, 1980)
- You've Got To Walk It Like You Talk It Or You’ll Lose That Beat (lost Steely Dan drama-comedy film; 1971)