The last one is quite obviously an additional verse or two of Green Earrings.
Megashine shows up in "megashine city/Talkin' 'Bout My Home," but one presumes that was before this was written down.
The "bottom of the underworld" reminds me of the "bottom of the underground" line in I Can't Write Home About You. And the "man they called Jerome he" is a lot like "Me and my pal Jerome" in Ghost of Hipness Past
We've talked about Walter's context thesaurus/reuse of lyrical ideas and snippets before, but this is another good example.
What's interesting to me––assuming that these are all from the Gaucho era––is that many of these tunes date back to the very early days of Steely Dan and even the Becker/Fagen partnership.
"Mobile Home" was a staple of the 1974 tour. That's a sound, band, and approach that, to my ear, had long been abandoned by the Gaucho era. "Roaring of the Lamb," that old Brill Building chestnut, was on the list for a Gaucho treatment? I can't wrap my head around that one. But I don't doubt that it could be done; it's just hard to imagine how.
After all, "Megashine City," a recently surfaced outtake from the Can't Buy a Thrill era (and a rare SD turkey), was reworked to "Talkin' 'Bout My Home," which not only sounded like it belonged from the Gaucho era, but had been reworked into a good song.
One thing here that's not clear is why "Home at Last" is on the list. The titles listed all point strongly to the Gaucho period. Perhaps Aja wasn't yet released and the track list hadn't been finalized?
In any case, this smallest SD artifact is a fascinating look behind the curtain, even if, given its provenance, my conscious doesn't feel entirely clean for taking a peek.
The last one is quite obviously an additional verse or two of Green Earrings.
Megashine shows up in "megashine city/Talkin' 'Bout My Home," but one presumes that was before this was written down. The "bottom of the underworld" reminds me of the "bottom of the underground" line in I Can't Write Home About You. And the "man they called Jerome he" is a lot like "Me and my pal Jerome" in Ghost of Hipness Past
We've talked about Walter's context thesaurus/reuse of lyrical ideas and snippets before, but this is another good example.
There was also a "Walter Becker Written Song List" although I don't know what purpose it served
What's interesting to me––assuming that these are all from the Gaucho era––is that many of these tunes date back to the very early days of Steely Dan and even the Becker/Fagen partnership.
"Mobile Home" was a staple of the 1974 tour. That's a sound, band, and approach that, to my ear, had long been abandoned by the Gaucho era. "Roaring of the Lamb," that old Brill Building chestnut, was on the list for a Gaucho treatment? I can't wrap my head around that one. But I don't doubt that it could be done; it's just hard to imagine how.
After all, "Megashine City," a recently surfaced outtake from the Can't Buy a Thrill era (and a rare SD turkey), was reworked to "Talkin' 'Bout My Home," which not only sounded like it belonged from the Gaucho era, but had been reworked into a good song.
One thing here that's not clear is why "Home at Last" is on the list. The titles listed all point strongly to the Gaucho period. Perhaps Aja wasn't yet released and the track list hadn't been finalized?
In any case, this smallest SD artifact is a fascinating look behind the curtain, even if, given its provenance, my conscious doesn't feel entirely clean for taking a peek.
I'd have to assume this is a list of all the songs that were primarily written by Walter himself although I have no sources on that claim
I wonder if Walter considered any of these songs for solo release, or for reworking and inclusion on 2VN or EMG, a la West of Hollywood.