Steely Dan - Haitian Divorce (REACTION)

[@steved525]

Papa Doc Duvalier was the Haitian dictator who brought in a quick divorce process to attract visitors to Haiti. In fact, only one person (the husband or spouse) needed to go Haiti. This has one of my favourite choruses of any SD song. "and Papa say oh oh no hesitation no tears and no hearts breaking no remorse..AhAh congratulations this is your Haitian divorce" ..

[@RyneMurray23]

It is crazy, people would go on vacation so they could leave their husband or wives.😂 They wrote songs about so many subjects.

[@scotturban4580]

Clavicle is a bone in your shoulder. A Clavinet is what Stevie Wonder played on Superstition. ON this song it's a Talk Box through a Guitar.

[@jamessekorski2492]

I've been listening to Steely Dan for almost 50 years now and I gave up picking a "favorite". So many great tunes. Currently, my favorite is "Sign in Stranger "..next week, it will be something different.

[@1957PLATO]

You worded it perfectly.

[@joejoesguitarinventions]

their best song is.... the next one 🎸🎸

[@incognitoone]

I feel you man! It seems they don't know how to make a bad song. It's just uncanny.

[@USGrant-rr2by]

@@incognitoone I'm on my 4th favorite. It's now "Don't take me Alive". Everytime I listen to one more than once in a hot minute, that's my favorite. Started with Deacon Blues.

[@MikeD_]

Yes.

[@KelValMax]

One of the greatest albums ever. One of the funniest songs every written. "Everybody knew... Who's this kinky so and so?"" It amazes me how many people don't catch the twisted story here.

[@BattleMatt]

Semi-mojo as well. Not Clean Willy's kid...

[@glynnborders762]

Haitian Divorce is my favorite song on The Royal Scam. Been listening to them for 50 years.

[@hesh8367]

Brother, I don’t even know HOW to pick a favorite song off The Royal Scam. It’s a top 5 album for me all time. Not gonna argue with your choice, though. This song is incredible. I was born in ‘80 and my mom raised me on Steely Dan. Now I got an 11 year old, and they’re her favorite, too. As a kid, you just know they’re different than anyone else, and they sound cool. Then you get older and into music, and you realize they’re not just different. They’re genius. Goddamn genius. The antiheroes of their era.

[@glynnborders762]

@@hesh8367 Yo, it took me 40 years to decide on that song! HA! Genius album.

[@827dusty]

That is called a "Talk Box." Jow Walsh used it in "Rocky Mountain Way," and Peter Frampton used it in "Do You Feel Like We Do." They aren't talking into it on this particular song, but just breathing, or moving your mouth around, as you play your guitar at the same time, gives you that unmistakable sound. It was new technology in the early 70S. Thanks guys

[@jml-rj5re]

Walter Becker did the effect on the tube while Dean Parks played the guitar. Engineer Roger Nichols built the talk box. Purdie on the drums. Everything You Did is the next song on the album. Then the title track.

[@michaelbastraw1493]

@@jml-rj5re Becker applied the talk box in post production on Park"s track - a nifty idea if I've ever heard of one. Best. Mike.

[@crazyfingers19]

Some of those analog devices will never be duplicated by digital.

[@Rangounchaine]

I thought I recognised it. Frampton actually talks into his on that track though I think? Not so much on this track but still an amazing effect. Managed to see Steely Dan but after the passing of Walter. They didn’t play this and I was gutted.

[@NondescriptMammal]

Also can be heard in the solo on Pink Floyd's "Pigs (Three different ones)"... basically the talk box allows you to use the cavity of your mouth to tonally shape the sounds of the notes, but with the guitar as input instead of your larynx

[@rc1363]

This one grows on you... reggae with jazz chords. Story is loosely based on recording engineer Elliot Scheiner's unilateral divorce in Haiti. In Donald's view it was "a fierce and terrible ritual" "one you wouldn't want your sister to go through" ... one side could show up in Haiti, find a lawyer, pay the fee, say "irreconcilable differences" and the divorce was granted and legally recognized in the US. Dean Parks playing guitar, Walter later ran the track through a talk-box vocoder. ETA: François "Papa Doc" Duvalier served as the President of Haiti from 1957 to 1971.

[@jimmoore8951]

Though the song is hilariously entertaining, the story behind it is even funnier… unless you’re Elliot I guess.

[@Sam1jere]

Thanks for helping me get the reference for Papa. It always made me wonder who Papa was. A subtle reference to Papa Doc. I know these guys are beyond intellectual but they keep surprising me.

[@guitarman0551]

The Royal Scam is Steely Dan's 5th album. Their albums in order of release are, Can't Buy a Thrill, 1972, Countdown to Ecstacy, 1973, Pretzel Logic, 1974, Katy Lied, 1975, The Royal Scam, 1976, Aja, 1977, Gaucho, 1980, Two Against Nature, 2000, Everything Must Go, 2003.

[@photo161]

"...so in love, the preacher's face turned red..." ...haha...

[@steelyd2]

“Now we dolly back, now we fade to black”. Dolly in this case meaning a camera on a dolly, so they’re using film terms to tell the story. Just genius

[@roundtownKen]

"Dolly back" means re-visit, as in go back to a place or situation.

[@johnfogy]

Agreed. One of my favorite lines in all of lyrics.

[@docbearmb]

@@roundtownKen believe that is to “circle back”. Dolly back and fade to black are both cinematic terms as Steelyd2 mentioned.

[@submandave1125]

It's also typical Donald Fagin nostalgia, recounting how the fade to black was a typical device in old Hollywood to imply the characters going on to have sex.

[@rickknight1810]

Yep, and when do you "fade to black" in older films -- when a couple is gettin' it on. Babs let her anger at Clean Willy get the best of her.

[@docbearmb]

You’ve never mentioned it but their album, Pretzel Logic needs to be listened to in due time.

[@mikeloomis687]

Donald Fagen's voice is not rated by most up there with the GOAT like Freddie Mercury, Robert Plant, or Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull, but it fits the Steely Dan music, vibe and groove like a glove. Thanks! You guys GET their music.

[@BobMurphy-w9z]

The best Steely Dan album is the one you're listening to at any given time.

[@stevegirardmedia2255]

Can we give it up for Venetta Fields, Clydie King, and Sherlie Matthews! They were the longtime favorites of Walter and Donald... and were still there when Steely Dan began touring again in the early 90's. Just rock solid, and so much part of the Dan music's appeal! Absolute legends!

[@ETBrenner]

I am loving your appreciation of Donald Fagen's vocals. The man's phrasing, timing, and ear are just impeccable, and he knows how to put attitude into a song. It's not the most physically-strong set of pipes but he makes them get where he needs them to be. And the result is magic - and still a unique voice in popular music.

[@stevevalk4074]

This may be his greatest vocal / lyrical performance. This song spits poetry.

[@steelydan69]

Yeah... it feels like he's not singing, but declaiming a story in fact

[@JU5TINPDX]

No joke.. this is my go to song for getting any terrible crap song out of my head… I know for a fact that if I hear “Haitian Divorce” that will get stuck in my head, and it will clean all that other junk away. 😂 I would say it’s my favorite on the album, but the entire album is damn near perfect.

[@lynnmccurtayne4539]

When this album came out , I gave it my ears for the best part of 12 months. Royal Scam was just so rich with classic Americana and jazz influence. It was Steely Dan that drew me to jazz and it’s influence.

[@realbser1956]

That’s a talk box added by Walter over the guitar solo. Who could not love the bounce on this song? That was Bernard on the drums. 🔥👏

[@bobryan8793]

Dean is a friend of mine he told me they added the talk box later ..which is nuts.. But genuis

[@ianson3]

"It's my favorite song at the moment." I say the same thing when I'm cycling through Dan.

[@dogstyle6349]

Steely Dan can kick ass in any genre. They're geniuses! I love this tune but I can't pick a fav SD song. Saw them do this whole royal scam album at the Beacon in NY. Perfectly performed.

[@iwasdevine]

Definitely a huge favorite of mine. Everytime I've been at one of their concerts (4) this song gets a huge reception as soon as they play the first note.

[@makethebestofwhatsstillaro425]

Guitar - Dean Parks put together the guitar solo. Walter Becker did the talk box effect.

[@Straydogger]

Dean Parks said it was re-amped with the talk-box and over-dubbed by engineer Roger Nichols. Pretty advanced stuff for those days. And remember, no click tracks to play along to back then. Amazing work by all involved.

[@lynnmccurtayne4539]

Dean Parks player guitar on Haitian Divorce and then Walter Becker processed the guitar track through a “Talk Box”. Rick Derringer played Slide Guitar as well. Bernard “Pretty” Purdy plays his inevitable shufflesque style on drums.

[@steven.6227]

Bernard Purdy and Rick Marotta on drums,Chuck Rainey and Walter Becker on bass,Larry Carlton, Denny Dias, Walter Becker,Elliot Randall and Dean Parks on guitar ; That’s for the whole album, they aren’t listed for each song

[@timwestcott361]

Pretzel Logic .. the grown up album. Love to check out your reactions to those tracks.

[@JayOlson-tv5cz]

A simple guitar effect called the talk box... a tube goes into the mouth and runs into the guitar then to the amp....this song is my favorite song on the album.... you guys need to really get the first 9 albums for each one is an adventure in llistening.

[@marcos7801]

A Great song and a great reaction to it. Steely Dan does it all. I don't know if you've gotten requests to do the band's Gaucho (1980) album,but it's also really good. The album won a Grammy for Best Engineered Recording (like Aja) in 1981. During the Gaucho sessions Walter Becker unfortunately was struck by a car which did some damage to both his legs. He was able to push his gf out of the way to safety in the incident. While in the hospital Becker and Fagen continued their musical collaborations on the album via telephone. The show must go on.

[@bluecalix]

It's a Talk Box modulating a guitar sound. It uses the shape of the players own mouth to effect the sound.

[@marvinkatz1159]

Guys, picking a favorite Steely Dan song is like trying to pick a favorite child. Mostly you can't and secondly you shouldn't. Each song is it's own trip! Do you know what a Steely Dan is? Hint, it's a UK term!

[@katylied24]

Katy Lied was called the best album of all time by critic Joe Harrington. IMO it is their sweetest, most piano driven and most melodic(I think this is Fagen's vocals at their best) with plenty of sharp guitar. Haitian Divorce is my favorite on the Scam.

[@bigdav47]

Music like that stirs real emotions in me, absolute masters of their craft. Wah wah pedal and voice box I believe on guitar. It's music made in heaven for me. Still cannot believe they never had an actual chart topper? Insane.

[@robertmajka9]

Kind of hard to pick a favorite Steely Dan song because there's so many great ones but this is my favorite album

[@bobdelp2023]

AND THAT'SSSS AN EFFIN COOL FRAMED COLLAGE OF BOB! ❤😊 MMMMM BEAUTIFUL!

[@DaveEllis13]

I’ve only just discovered your brilliant channel gentlemen. Thank you so much for your reviews of the great Steely Dan and their songs. I first heard them fifty years ago and your passion has reignited my love of the band and their music. Love and respect from North Wales ❤

[@annbeguity5932]

Predominantly a bass player at heart, Becker was always way into reggae but took the deep and I mean *deepest* of dives into it in the 2000s. (can point you some of his interviews about this). His 2nd (and final) solo CD “Circus Money” was *explicitly* patterned after some of his favorite reggae tracks. Some cuts are pure dank (eg Bob is Not Your Uncle Anymore), complete with full studio delays, echos, etc. Other songs sound more “trad”, but still often have a reggae beat underneath. A couple of tracks were also later remixed with the full dank dub treatment. If you like reggae & want to hear how creatively it can be expressed by one half of SD, hope you can check it out some day. It’s a beautiful album in any case, and deserves more good ears like yours.

[@fbwthe6]

“I don’t know anymore…” yalls reactions are so fucking good.

[@JonSherman-Entertainer]

One of my favorites. I love how hard you guys are groovin to this…

[@erolbulut2584]

Every album of theirs is a classic, and can stand alone

[@jeremydale1825]

The Reggae feel comes from the beat on the third measure of the bar vs. what we hear the most - on 2 & 4. That gives it the relaxed feel. You WILL NOT find anything average on any Dan record (or any of Fagen's solo albums.....). It's all original and timeless. Keep going - you won't regret a single moment.

[@cliffordlowerre1381]

That's the Dan for ya. HAITIAN DIVORCE should have that reggae sound to it. Humor & sarcasm genius of Fagan & Becker. Gotta love it!

[@sanchezgtrs1]

It’s a wah wah pedal & a talk box combined that’s how they got that sound

[@gregharris9122]

Back in the day we listened to the whole album in order. This song while unusual was a break to chill with something different. BTW it is a talk box on guitar which Peter Frampton made very popular around this time.

[@chrisd6736]

Definitely my favorite song on the album. The groove is just so good and one of my all time favorite guitar solos.

[@seenoevo3497]

Yes, that's (Bernard) Purdie on the drums. SD selected and orchestrated such a wide and talented spectrum of studio musicians. You could say Becker and Fagen were perfectionists... who actually got it perfect.

[@WMalven]

He's playing a guitar while using a voice box. It has a tube that is placed in the mouth, next to the microphone, while playing the guitar. The sounds are made by varying the shape of your mouth or speaking or singing into the tube. The most famous example of that was in Peter Frampton's song "Do You Feel Like We Do" off of the double live album of the same name.

[@hklinker]

Hi guys. You have not reacted to the song Everything You Did from this album (The Royal Scam). I know you planned to react to all of the tracks, so I thought I would mention it. Keep up the great reactions!

[@bobryan8793]

Proud to say a friend of mine Dean Parks on guitar hall of fame player ..the effect was a talk box ...Ala Peter Frampton....fact...Dean told me they added the effect later!!! Love you guys.steely Dan forever!!! .

[@squidkid2]

It's a guitar with a wah-wah pedal. This is the 6th album and I love this song and there is one line of lyrics that I always thought was genius where he says: "now we dolly back, now we fade to black". That's a reference to movie making. If you can imagine the song like a movie and when it's all over you "dolly back" which means the camera rolls back from the actors and then we "fade to black". This is where the screen slowly goes black and they "roll the credits". They are telling this wonderful little story about a hot romance that burns out and sadly comes to an end. Using videography terms in a song where you have to imagine the scenes in your head is brilliant. Donald Fagen is a genius lyricist. You may come to Steely Dan for the music but you will stay for the lyrics!

[@Host-b1o]

I remember buying the album the day it came on the shelves and racing to the pad to spin it. Man, seems like that was yesterday when I hear this album. Yeah, Haitian Divorce was my favorite. I tend to gravitate to the dans more obscure stuff.

[@paullacroix527]

Great song. Donald's voice is great. It's a talk box on the guitar. Nice effect. The thing with SD and favorite songs by them is that everyone gets recency bias when listening to the songs. It is common.

[@jeffreythompson6330]

This is one of my favorite songs by Steely Dan! I grew up listening to 70/80’s R&B music, but I don’t know how missed on this band. I’m in process of buying their albums.❤

[@davehall3452]

Peter Frampton was the first to use the voice box & joe Walsh on rocking mountain way ❤️🎵❤️🎵❤️🎵❤️🎵❤️🎵

[@1carlakf]

From age 14 to probably 30, this was my favorite song on the album. It's the funnest song. The story really impacted me as a teen girl and more into my 20s. The musical genius of the title track won me over later in life but watching you listen to this makes me very happy like the song always has.

[@hawkwellhead]

Another very unusual sound was the electric Sitar that Denny Dias plays as an incredible solo on 'Do it Again' from the album 'Can't buy a thrill'... more superb reactions gentlemen and a big thumbs up from England.

[@bizzarrosupermann3153]

They're all favorites!! Would just replay it all again. "Talk Box" Yes. David Gilmore used one too.

[@vernonallen3370]

This was a hit single in the U.K. and is probably the most obvious track to release as a single from the album. It is distinctly different to the rest of album. It got quite a lot of airplay in the U.K. I asked for the album as a birthday present on the strength of that one song and fell in love with it.

[@paulpeartsmith]

Thank you! I remember hearing this on the radio back when I was a kid, but never knew if it was a hit! My gateway to Steely Dan, and will never ever stop loving it.

[@douglasfrazier2856]

I do like this song, I can sing it all the way through, and every time it becomes an earworm I have to sing it all day :)

[@Lisse1]

This album and Katy Lied are my personal favs from them. IMO Donald Fagen wrote the narrative in Haitian Divorce about getting a “quickie divorce” and getting around any possible laws in the states.

[@russelbarnes7235]

Walter Becker's manipulation of the talk box on this song is the best this side of Peter Frampton. This is a big departure from the norm, but typical Steely Dan mastery nonetheless. 2 more left on this album. And yes, this is a favorite song off of Royal Scam. At one time,( I've switched my favorite numerous times), it was my favorite. Let's keep it going!

[@rengarza]

First of all glad I found you guys. I have someone else to share Steely Dan with. Introduced to them by my older brother, I was 11 now 60. Hatian Divorce severely underrated. After listening to Royal Scam for 100’s if not 1000’s of times it is my favorite track on the LP, yes I said LP. Becker & Fagen = Genius

[@mikewritz]

This is one of my favorite steely songs, very underrated. The lyrics/ story of this song is legendary too. PS I think you guys missed a song on this album. It’s called “Everything You Did”.

[@jml-rj5re]

Don't forget Everything Your Did. There's an iconic line in that song. Well, quite a few, but one in particular.

[@AirplayBeats]

It’s coming. We accidentally skipped it.

[@peterfields4801]

IMO it is difficult to pick favourite songs with Steely Dan,there so many great ones,this certainly always has been one of my favorites,remember buying the single like it was yesterday! That guitar sound seemed to be everywhere for a time in the seventies!

[@captjeter2]

Walter Becker is the guitarist / Donald Fagan is the singer , piano and keyboard player , the two of the are Steely Dan

[@kayvancooten4657]

I bought the single first, then i just had to go and buy the album. This track, the arrangement is orgasmic. ❤🎶

[@atdeacon]

One of my favorite Steely Dan Songs (and therefore one of my all time favirtite songs in general). Its a solid reggae song, but absolutely the best example of talk-box guitar work ever.

[@brucemacmillan9581]

This might be my fave tune from Scam. Great lyrics. Great music. And that talk box guitar? Killer.

[@paulpeartsmith]

it's my favorite SD song, but then...all of them are. But this was my gateway to the Dan. Love it forever. It's so much revisiting them with you guys!

[@robertberry5175]

The best bands create sounds that reflect the changing atmospheres. Steely Dan did it for many years. So did the Grateful Dead, and the Who. Led Zeppelin was cut short in their progression, by the death of their drummer. But, during their run, they gave many styles and many instruments to thrill our earlobes.

[@ronaldericksen]

Discovered the Dan in 1972 and I was hooked immediately, a big part of the sound track to my life and still is!

[@davelandsman4768]

I grew up in the '70s - graduated high school in '76. Have loved Steely Dan since high school days. My favorite songs on this album are Caves of Altamira and Green Earrings. But greatest album and song to me is Aja.

[@roundtownKen]

My fav on this album. In the line "Now we dolly back, now we fade to black..." 'dolly back' means to re-visit a place, time or situation. This goes back to Walter and Don being extremely well-read literary nerd types and being comfortable with archaic phrases and euphemisms (as apposed to explaining photographic techniques in the lyrics.) As others have said, this is a talkbox effect applied after the fact by Walt. Pure genius. I think you guys are finally getting on with the fact that RS is an album full of songs that any other band would kill to have just one of. I like in the outro - there are 2 bars of a major(happy?) based progression, then it gets a little darker and moves to a 3 leg *minor* based progression to the end. (It's cool because it's spread across 4 measures. The first two are 2 variations of the same major 7+. They resolve to a tonic minor 7+. Then the last is a slash chord that sounds like a question mark. It doesn't get old.

[@seenoevo3497]

I disagree. I always assumed "dolly back" meant 'pull the movie camera backwards' (like a slow *zoom out* of the scene, instead of a zoom in). Fade to black, self explanatory. Merriam-Webster defines dolly as "a wheeled platform for a television or motion-picture camera".

[@danl.909]

see noevo is correct. "Dolly back" is a movie-making term referring to pulling back to a long shot of a scene with a camera on a dolly-a wheeled base. Note that it is followed by "…fade to black." another film technique to change to a new scene, in this case back with hubby for makeup sex in the USA.

[@danielabatabogdanov8586]

You guys have some great chemistry..

[@metaphoria3]

9:42- on one of my fav grooves ever stg I could listen to that loop forever

[@LuvHrtZ]

A true masterpiece of a song.

[@NickS-zv7py]

I wanted to say that I love this song and yet I love every song of SD. They are fantastic musicians

[@joeshields9083]

Thanks gents - it’s so great to see a younger generation loving this music. I grew up in the 70s and to this day, Steely Dan is #1. All of it. I started with Katy Lied, went backwards and then forward.

[@TheByronrussell]

Answering this question for you guys since I didn't see anyone else do it. It's a guitar but the key is an effect called an envelope filter that makes the guitar open up, like a voice, like: 'Wah-wah', which is a name for the pedal he probably used to control the timing of it with his foot.

[@dianel222]

Thank you for reintroducing me to some songs I haven’t listened to in years. 💜💜💜

[@rebeccarothenberger5574]

Your amazement at the discovery of this music warms my heart. I think its called a waa waa pedal. Beckers guitar weeps.

[@DonGill-cu5mo]

Such a clever band.

[@Spazzmatazzz]

That's a guitar with a talk box. Basically a speaker with a plastic tube that comes up by the mic. The guitar's audio travels through the tube into the guitarist's mouth and you hear it through the mic. You can see videos of people using them like Do You Feel Like We Do by Peter Frampton.

[@raycewilliams3300]

I believe the comments concerning "that sound" on guitar being a "talk box" are correct. Many have used it. I recall hearing Peter Frampton using it brilliantly. Great reaction guys. Take care.

[@emilymartinez6961]

So my kids grew up listening to SD, they use to call this Sunday morning music 🎶 their in their 30's now , maybe as old as you guys are 🤔

[@tinasWindow]

It’s a talk box and the whole Steely Dan collection is just great. One of the first albums I bought with paper route money 😂

[@thedave5748]

Its tied for my favorite song on the album. I love the chorus. Its a guitar w a talk box. Tube in the guitarsts mouth like rocky mountain way

[@biskygiver]

IT IS MY FAVORITE SONG and it's because the vibe speaks positivity and nothing else.

[@timothyharrington5128]

I love this song. I get a great feeling from it. So much imagery in the song. My favorite from the album....similar to Love Me Tomorrow from Boz Scaggs Silk Degrees album

[@gonzomon20]

It’s my Favorite SD tune!! Big reggae fan n Musician. 🤙🏽🎼

[@joebikeguy6669]

Originally the band had guitarists Jeff Baxter and Denny Dias. Later, SD became more of a studio band with Becker and Fagan utilizing great session and jazz musicians/guitarists (i.e., Larry Carlton, Wayne Shorter) on their albums. I saw them live in 2000? and their guitarists were Jon Herrington and Walter. One of the best live bands ever! Your commenters are offering a lot of good info, but SD discography is all over the net and easily found. Regards.

[@joejoesguitarinventions]

50 years ....no regrets... Steely will be always top o line 🎶🎸👍👍🔥

[@jaysowinski3712]

Dean Parks played guitar. Walter Becker processed the guitar through a talkbox to his specifications and the results were amazing.

[@jjbluml]

Dean Parks slays the guitar solos on this tune. Always been one of my favorites as the fade out guitar and bass bounce back and forth. I bought "Can't Buy A Thrill" in 1972 and everything Steely Dan created after.

[@kenurt7373]

Haitian divorce is hands down my favorite steely dan song. Shit just hits a whole new level of different

[@guitarman0551]

That is a guitar played by Dean Parks. Walter Becker later added a talk box effect later.

[@stewpot6998]

Another late comment, great job as always guys. And a word about this drummer, a favorite of great drummers, Bernard Purdie. He makes it seem easy.

[@tonydoran5147]

Great to see you guys really digging the music I grew up listening to!! I'm now nearly 67 years old and I still love it!! .. Amazing. thanks for a great reaction!! .. This is my favorite track from this brilliant album ..Greetings from Melbourne Oz ..

[@terrilgeorge7255]

I'll second that, also from Australia!

[@datguy9915]

This band is funking amazing

[@neildobson8395]

The dude playing the talk- box guitar stuff is studio legend Dean Parks, who is still active today. This is according to Steve Lukather, who played on hundreds of records in the 80's (including Thriller). He would know...

[@roberthampton6757]

That guitar w/tube in his mouth!