Steely Dan
Four Outtakes circa 1972/Can’t Buy A Thrill
New 5” Demo Reels Source via JEMS

JEMS 2017 Transfer: 5” demo reels > Otari 5050 mk2 > Sound Devices USBPre 2 capture (24/96) > iZotope RX and Ozone > MBIT+ convert to 16/44.1 > Peak Pro XT / volume smoothing / edit / index) > xACT 2.35 > FLAC

01 Any World (early version, different from circulating demo)
02 Running Child (no fadeout)
03 Megashine City (early version of “Talkin’ ‘Bout My Home”)
04 Come Back Baby > instrumental fragment

In the spirit of the holidays, we are releasing something special for Steely Dan fans, four newly transferred outtakes circa 1972, which we believe were made before or just after the band’s debut album, Can’t Buy A Thrill.

The source of these songs are two 5”, 1/4-track reels marked “Becker & Fagen Tunes” which were likely compiled as publishing demos. Each contains three tracks (the other two are the A- and B-sides of the rare single “Dallas”/“Sail The Waterway”). JEMS obtained a handful of tapes from the estate of someone who worked at Village Recorders where Can’t Buy A Thrill was recorded. Given the other material we obtained, the age of the tapes, the person who had them and the content therein, the provenance strongly suggests publishing demos.

While I am no expert on Steely Dan, what follows is based on web research I have done and consultation with a major Dan collector. Corrections and additions welcome.

From Tape One:

“Any World” is an early version of a song that would later be re-recorded for Katy Lied. The key is changed and on some level it sounds more like a full-blown Steely Dan song to me than the eventual released track. Note that there is a circulating unreleased “demo” version of “Any World,” but it too is different from this, which lacks the new keyboard sound of the demo. Even with fixes, there are still some subtle channel fluctuations here, but otherwise the sound is quite good. We believe this has never circulated before.

“Running Child” is the same recording as the circulating outtake from Can’t Buy A Thrill, but in higher quality here and with no fade out. Instead it just ends abruptly.

“Megashine City” is a big surprise. It’s a radically different version of a song that would later evolve into the Gaucho outtake “Talkin’ ‘Bout My Home,” but in a completely different and more up-tempo arrangement. Singer David Palmer apparently played “Talkin’ ‘Bout My Home” in concert, so he must have liked the song. The vocal on this is quite affected, almost as if he is singing with an intentional accent. Again, we believe this version has never circulated before.

From Tape Two:

“Come Back Baby” is another outtake that’s been in circulation for some time, but the quality here is an upgrade. The extant versions of the song are pitched higher; I can’t tell you definitively which is correct, but the other songs on the reels appear to be correct.

“Come Back Baby” is on the same tape as “Dallas” and “Sail The Waterway,” and all three have surface noise. Given that “Dallas” and “Sail” were both issued on a 45, I initially presumed the reel was a transfer of that single. But on closer review, “Dallas” starts with a bit of studio chatter not present on the single. It dawns on me: the second reel is a recording of studio acetates, which explains the surface noise on the unreleased “Come Back Baby.” The version here has been de-clicked and de-crackled for improved listenability (because “Dallas” and “Sail the Waterway” are released, they can’t be included). When it ends, there’s a pause followed by nearly a minute of acoustic guitar playing on another track I didn’t recognize. Maybe you will.

Thanks on this one go to Hans V, Goody and others who weighed in on the project originally. Your input is much appreciated. The story of how I got these tapes is a fun one. You never know what you can find on Craigslist. Please let us know what you think in the comments and Dan experts especially weigh in. Finally, we couldn’t put out all the music we do without help from key partners like mjk5510, who handled the final steps on this one.

BK for JEMS