The Steely Dan solo Jeff ‘Skunk’ Baxter nailed in a single take
When you think of Steely Dan, you predominantly think of the duo Walter Becker and Donald Fagen. Often described as two musicians with the same mind, the pair were able to merge ideas in order to come up with some of the most innovative and exciting music in recent decades. Of course, while they were a massive part of the band, several other musicians contributed towards the output of Steely Dan, including Jeff ‘Skunk’ Baxter.
Steely Dan was a band who were wholly committed to the art of songwriting. The combination of genuine musical ability and a willingness to experiment with studio sounds and recording techniques led to some complicated tracks admired by music lovers all over the globe. In fact, Steely Dan became so enamoured with what was available to them in the studio that they abandoned performing live for some time so as not to be hindered by trying to bend music into a live set.
When they toured, Baxter was responsible for bringing a lot of energy to the stage, given playing live was a second love to Steely Dan, always behind the crafting of a song itself. “I think it could be said that I was the most energetic player in the band, but I also know that the idea that no one else in the band enjoyed playing live was pretty much a myth,” he said. “When I watch early Steely Dan performances, it’s pretty clear that Fagen is enjoying himself.”
Though there were instances where the group enjoyed playing live, they were incredibly meticulous with the process when it came to recording music. They would enjoy listening to musical parts again and again, working out how they could use different sections to elevate a song; as such, doing something in one take wasn’t really in their wheelhouse, except when it came to the track ‘Rikki Don’t Lose That Number’.
The song is an upbeat and fun track that is particularly famed for its exciting guitar solo, which is about three minutes in. Not only is the solo one of Baxter’s very best, but it turns out it was also recorded in one take. “Yes, the solo on Rikki was one take, which was somewhat unusual for the way we approached the recording process,” he said. “Becker and Fagen usually wanted to have me play the solos through a number of times, sometimes to capture specific ideas and sometimes to capture special performance moments.”
Open to whatever methods made the best songs, Steely Dan had a system in place where they would divert from the usual way of doing things so long as the track permitted it. “We did have a factor in the band we called a ‘gotta have it’ when someone would be firm as to keeping a particular performance. It was something that, at least while we were a band, everyone accepted, and I think worked out very well.”
Steely Dan were some of the most prolific songwriters of their time, with a commitment to the piece that hasn’t been seen throughout music. Despite enjoying complicated recording processes and extracting specific sections from various guitar parts, they were still human, so even they couldn’t resist the allure of a face-melting guitar solo.