Last month, Steely Dan fans got the first available look at the 1973 incarnation of the band since… well, possibly 1973. It was a performance of Show Biz Kids on an August 31, 1973 appearance on The Midnight Special television show.
Now, another performance from that same show has surfaced: "Reelin' in the Years."
While "Show Biz Kid"s was a single they had just released (and would not become a hit), "Reelin' in the Years" was pretty much a current hit as they played this, having peaked at #11 on the Billboard chart just three months before this performance.
The guitar solo on the recording was played by Elliott Randall (and Jimmy Page once said it's his favorite guitar solo of all time), but in this performance the guitar work is by band members Denny Dias and a very energetic Jeff "Skunk" Baxter.
Donald Fagen's voice is fantastic, even though, as one YouTube commenter points out, he's suffering from such stage fright you can see his hand trembling as he sings.
