Hey all.
 
Here's a song I have spent entirely too much time screwing around with. A Steely Dan-inspired track that reminds me how much I have lost my singing voice. Went for their cryptic lyrics and signature tasty licks. Kinda/sorta pulled it off.
 
Mix critiques welcome.
 
https://soundcloud.com/hammertoe/sanity-frowns
 

LOL! You so nailed Steely with quite a bit of this. Sounded good, James. Some interesting parts coming and going on this. Mix sounded fine to me. The only thing I caught was sometimes the horns seemed to just take over...which I love. I'm a horn prostitute....grew up on early Chicago, but at times your horns just seemed to lightly bury some of the other instruments. That's ok though....we need them to hit hard once in a while. :) I think I might have compressed them just a little more or ran some tighter automation. Loved the track though, just a minor subjectivity. :)

Steely Yoyo fer sure.

Nice one James. You really did get the style down, and, in spots, you even sound like The Don!
 
Regards,
Dan
 

My hat's off to you, sir, totally ballsy to pull this off. Degree of difficulty adds extra points . . . 
 
There is so much going on in your mix (I can see why this took you a while) that it's hard to pinpoint a comment! I think your vocals work in the Dan style, but the more you push that envelope, the more selective their appeal will get. Which is to say, Fagen won't pay the bills.     So what . . . you do a very credible emulation of his style and arrangement!
 
I think your guitar in spots comes through a bit thin in the mix - I dunno maybe 3:01 area, I'd like to hear those excellent riffs a little louder.
 
I listened to this three times, liked it better each time. Holy crap that's a monumental arrangement job! Well done, and it reminded me of the Dan meets Rush, with the proggy meter change-ups.
 
way cool.
 
-Tom

Excellent Steely Dan Emulation.   I thought you got Fagan to sing it when the 1st verse started:)   The only thing that I could remotely think of to push this to the next level of perfection is if you got some female studio singers to add some dimension to the BGV parts but, wow, excellent work. 
 
One other thing, I would push the chromatic guitar fill at around 3:24 up a hair to match the level of the previous riff.
 
 
 
 

Very cool - sounds like you had tons of fun

Excellent piece of work there, James.  You totally nailed the vibe, and you get extra points for difficulty!

Nice! I really wanted to hate it, too, been a Dan fan since I was 9 and asked my mom what all instruments were being played in reeling in the years - she didn't know, lol. It's been a lifetime of discovery...

Another James piece with a fun arrangement, quality production and the vibe of Steely Dan, nicely pulled off James worth a I think.