Steely Dan - Dallas (rare)

[SpiritOccupying]

Holy forerunners, what a peach of a surprise. Thank you so much for this.

[CrimsonKing73]

reminds me a little bit of "Pearl of the Quarter".....I can see Poco covering this, but have yet to hear it.....BTW, cut out the "toilet talk" guys! Thank you very much!

[Stickinthemud57]

Thanks for sharing this rare bit of musical history with us. It's interesting that this is so unlike a lot of what we have come to think of as "Steely Dan" music, yet it retains a certain lyrical and rhythmic feel that whispers Fagen and Becker. What a treasure these two have been!

[davidoman]

Enough Soiled Pants Remarks...Potty Time is OVER!!! Diaper Up Potty Boy Diaper Up....

[davidoman]

Ya know about etiquette....Keep your panties in a bunch but bother me any more...To be bored to death is not my intent...but you certainly can do plenty of that.

[BetaRecluse]

@davidoman - You came, you saw, you conquered - didn't you? The victory is yours. I still say that this IS a Steely Dan song, recorded and released by (wait for it) "STEELY DAN". So does every other person on the planet. But not you, "davidoman". You still think it's somone/something else. Good for you. Stand yer ground, pal. Just be sure to change those pants before ya go out tomorrow. Folks will notice. And that's just not OK, dude. Everyone will laugh at you, "Stains", dude, c'mon!

[davidoman]

Well this is not STEELY DAN.

[BetaRecluse]

@davidoman - "Well, yes it IS". Everybody but you knows it, too. Looks like you just filled yer pants, right up to the belt-line, dude. And in public, too. What a shame about you.

[davidoman]

@BetaRecluse Well I have seen and heard Donald Fegan and Walter Becker and The Funny Thing is IT DOES NOT SOUND LIKE EITHER ONE OF THEM!! Man obsessed with his Sphincter and the Products there in! Or should I just say "Poo Boy"

[BetaRecluse]

@davidoman - Oh.....where to start? Perhaps with a spelling lesson, no? It's "Fagen", not "Fegan", just to be clear. After that, another clarification, just for you, pal. The song features original drummer Jim Hodder (NOT Donald or Walter) on vocals. And this song was legitimately released as a single prior to the album "Can't Buy a Thrill", and again in 1978 as a 12" single with "Sail the Waterway". Like I said, everybody but you knows this. Better get them pants dry-cleaned......

[davidoman]

@BetaRecluse Well La Di Da....Hope you have a life more than schooling people on Rock n Roll Trivia...P.S. my Pants are fine...I hope yours are on though...

[BetaRecluse]

@davidoman - Geez.....don't bitter on me, dude. You're the one who stated here definitively that this wasn't Steely Dan. Not me. Your quote was, and I quote: "Well this is not STEELY DAN" . Then you compounded your eternal humiliation by continuing to argue your case. You're a minority of one, dude. I don't actually school people on "rock & roll trivia", but I am familiar with Laundry Etiquette. I wouldn't take those pants in for washing without at LEAST two pre-rinses. Trust me on that one.

[toshtile]

i have this on a l.p. sampler on probe records ,the cover was a giant spider

[bradmonium1]

Similar sound to Brooklyn Owes the Charmer

[Brickhead40]

More like a missing track off of "you got to walk it like you talk it". Diaz, Fagen, Becker

[damonlarson]

Damn, that's like a missing track off of Can't Buy a Thrill. Excellent.

[korkiwi]

His voice in this song almost sounds like Yusuf Islam(Formerly known as Cat Stevens)

[divineprocess]

Cool, never heard that one. Thanx

[ourmandan1]

I was in the 7th grade when Can't buy a thrill was released ... discovered CBAT in '78 & loved The Dan ever since. I discovered tonight ..at 50+ years old... Dallas and Sail the waterway. Thank you for sharing these rare cuts. How could I have missed 'em.

[pythonfan1]

Jimmy Hodder sounded like Peter Gabriel back in his Genesis heyday when he hit his high note. Great song!

[MrMustang1965]

I bought this on a bootleg back in the 1980s. Still have it.

[Tocksik]

Why was this never put out on CD? And why didn't Hodder sing at least 100 more songs before his untimely passing? He's the only person who sang only two songs I know and is still in my Top 5 favorite singers.

[worldwidekillerz]

This reminds me of The Band. Jim does some good vocals almost like Levon Helm.

[elirosen1391]

Did Hodder write this?

[yashespatel]

Dallas is a good song, but a terrible, terrible city.

[MrSmallblackdog]

I remember half hearing this on a transistor radio one morning before school in the 70's singing it to myself to remember it and buying a lot of Steely Dan albums to try and find it again.

I finally found it 2nd hand on a 45 with Sail the Waterway on the other side. Still got it upstairs!

[zuck21]

@MrSmallblackdog nice what a great song saw them on this tour what a thrill waited 40 years....

[twostikks1]

@MrSmallblackdog If that 45 is in good shape, would you ever consider posting it here? If it's a stock copy, it's supposed to be in stereo on both sides. Would LOVE to hear those mixes!

[InterMadness]

@MrSmallblackdog you have a VERY rare 45 my friend

[ratbasket]

I can just see Jim Rockford cranking this up in his car.

[mdonnelly1971]

@ratbasket Jim Rockford was a pimp.

[alanparsonsfan]

Before hearing this, if you had told me SD once blended with country I would have never believed you. Certainly interesting.

[RadioFreeSpike]

@alanparsonsfan - The Dan mixed in the steel guitar a few times. Country? Check out "With a Gun."

[wackernie2009]

Hodder though he may be, it sounds like Paul Williams...

[heiff]

The local AOR station where I grew up (in Alabama) used to play both this and "Sail the Waterway" on a regular basis. I think it's a shame Fagen/Becker have distanced themselves from these tracks - I personally quite enjoy both of them, and it would be interesting to hear Fagen's interpretation of the vocal on "Dallas". I find it funny that there are those who dismiss this song as if it's somehow not part of the Steely Dan canon.

[PJNARS]

@heiff I think it's funny how you call it a canon. Are you Catholic? You made me giggle

[Markgr122]

@heiff -always have dug this. And I am a complete Steely Dan fan ,ha, only in that I love all the early demos,every album,CD together and solo.Really am a huge fan of Circus Money by Walter. I also am a big enjoyer of Gram Parsons,George Jones as well so its not far off the path to enjoy.Thanks for the trip down Alabama lane,interesting.I am only 40 so I didnt get to listen to much radio that was great until the formulas started to dominate in the 80s onward.At least after the age 9 or so.

[dirtfang8]

this really has that faux mid 70's country sound that I can't remember ever existing on any other Dan cut. I could be wrong. It really sounds more like Poco or Steve Forbert. Thanx for the heads up on who sang it AND midnite cruzer. I learn something new everyday

[candelise]

@dirtfang8 Think of the song 'Pearl Of The Quarter'.

[Flyboy243]

THis would have been an excellent song in the soundtrack for "Charlie Wilson's War"

[bradmonium1]

@Flyboy243 It's the Mavs theme song, as they put it to LeBron and the Heat. The King is depressed right now.

[Pablotherapidone]

What a song!!! I haven't heard this one previously!! My five to you!!! 5*****

[tonestar100]

Funny. At a swap meet in the early 80's I bought this tune on a 45 RPM. It had the song in mono and stereo and had an ABC Records, white "For Promotional Purposes Only" label on both sides. I still have it somewhere. Cool song.

[bseligson]

If you can find it, i'd like to purchase it from you!

[deBierce01]

Jim Hodder (RIP) sang this one. Same dude on Midnight Cruiser.

[ChorltonM21]

I have this song on a sampler LP released by I think it was ABC records.  I bought it in England in 1975. The only other track on the album I can remember is Summer in the City by the Loving Spoonful. The albums in deep storage in the loft!

[JenniferPoco]

Poco did a cover of this song on their 1975 Head Over Heels album.. i think it's a great tune!

[thomoz]

At least the chorus sounds like 'Steely Dan'

[kitakashiwa]

Mr Midnight Cruiser on lead vocals

[rlstevenson1886]

This songs sucks. Donald was soooooo right.

[pigpen875]

Steely Dan are way too hard on themselves. This is a really wonderful song.

The sell themselves short all the time.

[DancingSpiderman]

This cain't be a Dan song... tain't no Mu Chords in it, ANYWHERE...

[grecomic]

It's not that great a song, but it's not as "stinko" as Donald Fagen says it is.

[pittyone]

he can sing, i think

[Baalath]

it's not rare it's on youtube :p

[Markgr122]

love Jims voice.Great tune.

[midnightavenger316]

i agree, BUT, david palmer was best with the backup vocals behind him. jim hodder was best on his own.

[midnightavenger316]

pofmeister, the reason these songs ain't on cd was because both dallas and sail the waterway were written before can't buy a thrill (their first album) these songs were only available on 45 during 70 and 71

[thepofmeister]

dallas and sail the waterway are amazing tracks that should have made it onto cd already... why haven't they??? anyone know? masters gone walkies, or something? is thomas jefferson kay on dallas, in a background vocals capacity with fagen and becker? ...

[midnightavenger316]

i remember havin a 45 of this. it was A side: dallas (MONO) and B side: dallas (STEREO) there was also another 45 out there that had A side: dallas and B side: sail the waterway. true classic!

[Scotiadave]

I have a promo 45 of this, Dallas on both sides, one side mono and the other Stereo. Has to be one of my most precious vinyls.

[everywherechainsaw]

reminds me of gene clark

[JaysJOM]

Holy shit... How is it so difficult to identify this as Hodder's voice people!?!?

[081759]

@JaysJOM ....HODDER WAS FANTASTIC....TO BAD THEY LET HIM GO AFTER 2 YEARS IN THE BAND...BUT THATS WHAT STEELY DAN DID ...ALWAYS CHANGING THE LINE UP..THEY HAD 5-6 DRUMMERS.......IF YOU EVER GET THE CHANCE LISTEN TO "HODDER" WHEN HE WAS IN "THE BEAD GAME" SWEET MEDUSSA" WAS A GREAT VOCAL AND GREAT SONG.

[andyinoregon]

First heard this in 1974 at Bowling Green University's audio library. Loved Jeff Baxter's brilliant pedal steel work on this song. Makes sense that Poco would cover it on their "Head Over Heels" LP since they have an equally talented steel player in Rusty Young. Sadly, lead vocalist Jim Hodder died much too young, a victim of an accidental drowning. Feel fortunate to have seen him in concert at the U. of Toledo in April 1975, when The Dan was still a real band.

[skyredted]

This is POCO !!!!!!!

[andyinoregon]

Sorry to burst your bubble, but I own the Poco "Head Over Heels" LP and their version of this tune sounds quite different. Just click on the YouTube video for "Midnight Cruiser" and you'll hear Hodder's voice sounding much like it does on "Dallas."

[lauritz65]

Actually, the Poco version (which I have since I am a Poco fan) is not very different from Steely Dan's original at all. Of course you can hear it's another singer but apart from that the rytm, arrangement and playing is quite identical.

I think one tends to forget how much country-rock Steely Dan actually was in the beginning in contrast to their later jazz-rock style.

Great song, great version. I love it.

[andyinoregon]

You're right, lauritz65. Poco followed the Steely Dan arrangement very closely, but the Poco vocal blend is unmistakable and makes their version the best, to my ears anyway.

[ro810grl]

BTW, in defense of Surly Dwarf, Poco did cover Dallas.

[ro810grl]

The Citizen Dan collection should have included Dallas and Sail the Waterway. I owned them on an ep. Would it have killed SD to include some outtakes of other guitar soloists or something unreleased other than the one pisspoor Everyone's Gone To The Movies which is nowhere as good as the album version? The "substandard" recording of 2nd Arrangement? Something... It was a missed opportunity. They had high standards then, not so today based on the material on their last two releases.

[guitmarc54]

Wow, this is my first time to hear this and i believe it's them...cool

[JaysJOM]

Does anybody know where I can get a copy of Dallas?

I'm really addicted to this song. Anyone?

[alohadrum]

Jim Hodder

[opticalsound67]

great song, sounds like crazy horse or gene clark, i have this on a uk 12" single with sail the waterway, i wish they did more stuff like this rather than that studio musician wank they later became.

[originalSurlyDwarf]

This is not steely dan. This is Poco.

[ilovesteelydan]

No it actually is Steely Dan. It was their first single recording (along with another rarity called Sail the Waterway). They were never released commercially. The singer is Jim Hodder, their first drummer.

[JaysJOM]

...who was also the guy that did lead vocals on Midnight Cruiser.

[captainchew]

Surly Dwarf, you are an idiot. What the hell is wrong with you? This is one of the songs on the Dan's European Plus Fours. Good grief (slapping forehead).

[ihmcallister]

I too have a 12" single of this. Dear SurlyDwarf, this is Steely Dan. Poco? Pah! (Don't worry about SurlyDwarf, people, there is always one, eh?)

[Trookieness]

You are actually a god for uploading this.

[hughie521324]

That is Hodder - sounds like Midnite Cruiser

[Roxxxxxxxbottttter]

Thanks for adding, sir! Bought their Citizen box set and was surprised that there was a Steely Dan song that was both unreleased all this time and is this good. Who sings in this song, doesn't sound like Donald Fagen.

[RikDeckard]

American vocalist and songwriter is the singer of Steely Dan's "Dallas"

He is also the lead on Dan's "Dirty Work" and Carole King's "Jazzman"

In 1972, ABC sent out promo copies of Steely Dan's first single, "Dallas" (backed with "Sail the Waterway").

The retail copies were not released to the general public

Neither song has ever been included on a compilation or album of any kind, or re-released in any form, with few exceptions: European EP's

[lauritz65]

David Palmer was the lead vocalist on "Dirty Work". On the same album (Can't Buy a Thrill) he also did the lead vocals on "Brooklyn".

This would definitelty be Hodder, though, although I prefer Palmer's voice.

[kingofthestupid]

Jim Hodder I believe.....also David Palmer did a lot of their vocals on the early stuff but my guess would be Hodder on this one!!! SOUNDS GOOD!!!!!