Do you mean "Reelin' In The Years" by Steely Dan? If so, that magic was all Elliot Randall. Regardling Steely Dan, perhaps the most famous was Jay "Wah-Wah" Graydon's solo on "Peg", but my favorite guitar work was Larry Carlton's on "The Royal Scam" album. Magnificent. And IMO, "Blue Sky" is superior to "Jessica", but I know it's a controversial opinion.
Skunk Baxter did some of the guitar on Reelin' in the Years and played for the Doobies. I knew it was Steely Dan, my bad. Blue Sky -> Mr. Blue Sky -> ELO -> Geoff Lynne -> Roll Over Beethoven http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgcKhqlFz4Q
The leads were all Elliot Randall. Skunk and Denny Diaz were the two guitarists that were members of Steely Dan at the time, but they didn't play the lead on that track, for what reason I don't know. They're both amazing. Diaz' best work is on the song Aja.
http://www.guitarplayer.com/article/gp-flashback-/march-2011/3998 Did you play the solos on "Bodhisattva," "Reeling In The Years." and "My Old School"? I played the second solo in "Bodhisattva"; Denny Dias played the first. On "Reeling In The Years" I did the surf parts—the little spots before each solo. "My Old School" was one time when I said to Don and Walter, "Hey, I got a line on this. I don't care what you say, I'm going to play this. And I think you're going to like it." It worked out good. That was with my homemade Stratocaster-style guitar. (note I said "some of the guitar" not the lead)
I never said Skunk didn't play on Reelin' in the Years. I said he didn't play the leads for which the song is known. Diaz and Baxter played what I would call the "breaks"--the 16th notes--in harmony. I was going to write about Bodhisattva, but I wasn't sure if I remembered how to spell it and didn't want to look it up . The solo from My Old School is also one of my faves, but the real issue for me is that I love so much of the guitar work on Steely Dan albums (they're willing to take melodic risks with their soloists and their chord changes are unique) it's hard to pick a favorite. An interesting aside, Skunk Baxter also played on the lead for Donna Summer's "Hot Stuff". The guy can play damn near anything.
Completely self-taught. Just an incredible guy. He changed our thinking about missle defense just by having a different perspective. And his advice on learning the guitar? Take five years of classical piano.
Yay! Steely Dan fans! I saw Steely Dan here in Portland summer before last. It was at the Schnitzer Concert Hall and I had floor seats. Great show!
This live version of Sultans of Swing always gets me. Especially the end. Mark Knopfler was hawt. http://youtu.be/8Pa9x9fZBtY?t=7m43s Telegraph Road is also a good one.
or Robin Trower http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tLsFsGxLmE haha just realized he looks to be playing a 57 Strat like mine
SRV. You pick the best one off this vid, I can't....but DAMN! http://youtu.be/vHBugWJvQDI I'm not so big on the last track, and it's a shame that they blab over the solo on a couple of tracks. Go Blazers
[video=youtube;qYS732zyYfU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYS732zyYfU[/video]http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYS732zyYfU
