Tribute to Steely Dan - Top 5 Guitar Solos.

[@damianoehme5391]

Is there nothing you can't play? Brilliant work!

[@KellyDeanAllenGuitar]

Thanks mate!

[@Pedro_MVS_Lima]

Well well, posted 3 hours ago, and already 13 comments and 52 likes, very nice, your amazing talent is being recognized! Great solos and of course great renditions, too! Thank you and an honorable mention to your finger tips 😁. Cheers!

[@cornight881]

This is my grateful dead...so many well crafted tunes that have filled my life with joy since I was 13....65 now ❤️

[@dennisangeloni2990]

Great job on some incredibly difficult solos - i don't think too many people could play those so well.

[@christianjackson9298]

Denny and Skunk were a terrific team up. I love the solo on Boston Rag. Back in the day, as a guitarist discovering the band for the first time, Boston Rag grabbed me and threw me into the water 😂

[@Pat-nl4wk]

Excellent! Also, bringing back my childhood days of the early to mid 70’s!

[@MackAxyzz]

dude you absolutely nailed this one; the only omission for me would be the 'do it again' sitar sounding deal as an honorable mention...anyway you killed it brother; blessings alwayzz brother

[@fishman211]

I just came across this and thoroughly enjoyed every second. It's sad not to see Denny Dias' "Do It Again" included. Great stuff though. Thanks,

[@Greg-z1o]

This is one of the greatest us groups I've ever heard! Simply amazing!

[@ronl3793]

Fantastic Kelly, What a way to start the day...Thank you.

[@JeffAmbro-wv7qh]

Do it Again would be the best,and My Old School would be the second best.Thankyou

[@ronditchen6664]

I'm far from an expert when it comes to guitar solos butt there's so many great guitar riffs that came out of steely Dan's music it would be hard for me to choose which one I thought was number one but I think you did I think you did a superb job analyzing each solo and I agree with you by the way great guitar cover on all them songs.

[@stonefly69]

"California, tumbles into the sea...that'll be the day I go back to Annandale..." Love that band!

[@smitty6263]

Incredible job on "Reelin'" Spot on !!

[@keithevans5409]

Well played! Can't fault your list, but as you said, so many others that are just as deserving. Very pleased that you mentioned the much overlooked solo in Bodhisattva by Denny Dias, truly one of the best of the best!

[@dwneder]

Thanks for bringing in "Bodhisattva" - my hands-down, number 1 favorite solo on any rock album ever. I can't fault you for "Peg" or "Kid Charlemagne" - outstanding, but to me, Bodhisattva has them beat due to the interplay over the chord changes, the turn arounds and the exchange with the bass line.

[@cindipossidento5688]

That really was amazing to hear !!! The Dan, my favorite band from its inception……. So many talented studio musicians played with the band, I believe all those different legends playing with them, truly added to The Dans success. Writing, vocals, as well as the backup singers all a true addition to THE DAN My favorite was when Michael McDonald would sing with them. Love them all …. RIP Walter Becker

[@plev10]

I can barely play a few bends and as far as those octopus/caterpillar runs, well sir all I can do is watch you do it in amazement. Bravo!

[@RocketBoy1969]

Your hard work really paid off. Well done! I love your taste in music. My dad introduced me to Steely Dan back in the 70's. I was lucky to have been raised with diverse music in our household. Thanks for sharing!

[@senseiruss]

Great choices! Great playing! It's definitely quite a challenge to narrow them down to five, even eight with your honorable mentions. Thanks for putting in the considerable amount of work to do this and for sharing it - very fun to watch and hear!

[@donwilliams1008]

I'm a drummer, but absolutely love Steely Dan and you did an awesome job with these solos, Kelly!

[@rogerdale5451]

I've said many times- The two S.D. songs I deeply hate and won't listen to, (really because of their popularity), are Reelin'... and Riki..., but have truly smoking solos. Ultimate admiration, and an observation that in terms of ratio, no band ever had a higher ratio of outstanding work...EVER.

[@qquark99]

Surprised not to see the solo(s) from "My old School". But then there are so many fantastic guitar solos in S-D's songs!

[@SirFixAlot72]

The guitar at the end of My Old School is simply my favorite.

[@teajaydc4484]

I also have a favorite Steely Dan guitar solo. Walter Becker’s solo on “What A Shame About Me”. It is a perfect example of how a solo can pair with the song’s beat. Walter shows you how his creativity respects the underlying groove. It’s a finger snapping ride that is expressed soulfully.

[@lesbristow5657]

Fantastic playing these solos Listening to these solos reminds me why Steely Dan are one of if not my favourite bands of all time.

[@shereewilson6278]

Happy that you gave Denny Dias a mention with My Goldteeth 2. Also Skunk and Dennys guitar playing on Bodhissatva was wonderful as well as Dias on King of the World but there were so many great guitar riffs by different guitarists on their songs. Its hard to pick a best one.

[@bobpaul4572]

Great Job on those Beautiful Classic DAN Solos! Awesome!! 😎👍

[@bobpaul4572]

🎸 🎸

[@matthewoconnell114]

Great list of solos and your playing was amazing!

[@hazor777]

Wow - really great job nailing down the VIBES of these solos! Much respect!

[@googleboy7]

Hello David and Happy New Year. I've been playing for over 60 years. IMO, YOU, my friend, are in the top 1% of worldwide guitar players I have ever heard. I am telling everyone who will listen about you. I can't understand why you are not world famous. In the truest and deepest meaning of the word, Shalom! gw ❤

[@DreamsongsProductions]

Well done! Love Steely Dan!

[@abreug2]

Wow!! I been playing guitar for 45 years and still cannot pull off all those SD solos!! Awesome video you did 👍😎

[@jmendi55]

Excellent job and excellent choices. I personally love Carlton's 'Third World Man' solo. I heard an interview with their current guitarist Jon Herrington who said it's the only solo that Fagan and Becker wanted him to play note for note (not even Kid Charlemagne). 'Bodhisattva' is ridiculous, and 'Do it Again' is pretty great too. I think Denny Dias is criminally underrated.

[@BeatlesCentricUniverse]

Great video! My Old School is probably my 2nd favorite after Rikki.

[@jppestana1]

Some of the best ever. Well done sir. Brilliant musicians, Music that always sounds fresh.

[@russbeard3665]

I've been tabbing Reelin in the years, I like your chromatic approach to the starting phrase, I was sliding it... otherwise identical on both our tabs. Nice work on this video!! Guitar soloing from actual musicians is so much more than the dime a dozen mechanical shredder solos out there.

[@MackAxyzz]

...FYI jimmy page is on record as saying that's one of the best guitar solos ever

[@jono5900]

Nicely done..have seen Carlton play with them a bunch of times..they had two guitarist on stage but as soon as he chimed in you just could tell something special was going on by the power of his tone and attack

[@wwz1011]

All great solos! I'd give #1 to Larry Carlton's Don't Take Me Alive, Elliott Randall #2 for Reelin' In the Years. I was a junior in high school when Elliot introduced me to Steely Dan. I've followed them ever since. The freedom that Fagen and Becker got by using the best session musicians allowed them to try everyone out there to get the very best solo. A similar video could be made about great drum solos on Steely Dan recordings, starting with Steve Gadd.

[@MichaelDoran-gh6pv]

Thank you so much. Brings Dan back....

[@rainfieldmusic]

Pretty slick playing yourself 🎸 🔊 💥

[@Dogboy1960]

I love that you chose to do this. I'm not even much of a Steely Dan fan. I tend to prefer my Rock HARD. Yet this band, better than most, high-lights something I often say. It's too easy to point to a Eddie Van Halen, Jimmy Hendrix, Eric Clapton or who ever else comes to mind so quickly for the devoted fans of their music as "the best". My personal pick for years until I came to understand the real difference between "my favorite" vs "the best" was Ritchie Blackmore. While I'd never argue that these aren't some of the more amazing players out there all are really the winners of a higher profile popularity contest for the listeners who don't play guitar. The reason I like what you're point to with Steely Dan is found in how this band did audition people regularly for so many of what would go on to be their most famous songs. Steely Dan used "unknown" payers from the world of session work. I long ago figured out that hockey GREAT Ken Dryden was on to something when asked, "When was the Golden age of Hockey?". His answer, "It happened when-ever the person you're asking was 12 years old". It's a shame so many of these truly great players never found fame but your video stands as reminder to be more thoughtful when attempting to identify who we see as the best player or few players ever. An awful lot of GREAT PLAYERS were never in the lime light. Today a fan of Van Halen might be pretty surprised to hear session player, Bon Jovi guitarist, Phil X playing Eddie's stuff and singing David Lee Roth Parts pretty spot on at the same time. Then if they were to dig a little deeper they'd likely be pretty amazed at just how much more there is to this guy's paying and style. Your video here is nice illustration of why "best" and "greatest" aren't words we should ever use with real confidence when describing any one player's abilities. Most Popular? Sure. Why not debate that? But I'll never call anyone "best ever". There are simply too many really good players out there I've never heard or if heard them doing something amazing their name still isn't known to me.

[@KellyDeanAllenGuitar]

@Dogboy1960 I'm going to read this book that you wrote later, and get back to you, haha. Just about to have a nap.

[@Dogboy1960]

@@KellyDeanAllenGuitar sorry to be so long winded. More concise: Your video stands up as great reminder that there are some great players living in the shadow of fame that are every bit as good as anyone out there.

[@normansykes8872]

Great video! Loved your choices. Two solos that were not mentioned was the solo to Do it Again and the super mellow solo by Denny Dias on the title track AJA.

[@pedal4ever]

An impossible task in my book. There are so many great solos to choose from, including the top 5 here, and you play them note for note, Nice job!. You mention Bodhisattva and My Old School as well. Can't overlook the solos in Chain Lightning, Do It Again, Midnite Cruiser, Boston Rag, Black Friday, Night by Night, Pretzel Logic, and Third World Man. Of course there are more. Such an incredible band. Helps that Fagan and Becker hired arguably the best guitarists on the planet.

[@jrad22ful]

Wow - this was a tremendous video - great work; I've been a Steely Dan devotee since the very start - you nailed it!

[@izzyfrozen]

Great list, and man you shredded these! Love it!

[@DavidTSR2]

Brilliant playing sir.

[@KenFernbach]

Fun post - this is such a great moment in guitar music fans lives, some of the best music of an incredible genre played so tastefully! So glad to see this, thanks! 👍🎸🍄🙏

[@chadcallaghan4713]

Well done!

[@pcn267]

Welp Kelly ya did it again,nice job and credit for your determination to get these creations done so well thanx Kelly!

[@jazzyboy7784]

Just found you and now a new subscriber just for this Steely Dan video alone. I'll check out past videos and look forward to the new ones...thanks.

[@chadoliver909]

The sitar solo on do it again is incredible

[@stevedewdney6978]

Wonderful piece! Realize that I have some more tracks to learn…thanks a million!

[@desert_rat_guitar]

Wow Kelly. I have returned to the fold after being gone for a while. You inspired me when I took guitar back up and now I'm 1/20th as good as you. I don't think I'll catch up.

[@Chris_LaFrance_MAI]

fantastic playing - fantastic solos - fantastic songs - fantastic group - Beatles - Steely Dan - Bob Dylan

[@Diesel0807]

I couldnt pick just 5 ... with these guys id have a hard time picking a top 25 ., listening to this really shows how important the rythm sections were on these recordings

[@mysticmoose]

Zacly

[@dennisoconnor4767]

Nice work. I noticed you playing a Godin. I enjoyed the tunes you played with the Godin. I was trying to figure out what it sounded like. I came to the conclusion that it sounds like itself. I concur with your choices. I listen to a lot of Lee Ritenour, Robben Ford, and Larry Carlton, especially from his Crusader's days.

[@shawmcveigh7448]

Kid Charlie!! Been trying to play that for about 4 years now! Defeltifly difficult. Great job!!

[@340ACP]

Amazing solos, you are an incredible guitar player

[@garrycomloquoy7141]

Good to see someone with the magic and loving it all.

[@davidcammilleri5526]

Don’t take me Alive is the greatest intro ever. Kelly 61K followers. Well done. The funny thing about Steely Dan is they would have 4 or 5 guitarist come in and lay a solo down. Some of them never knew if any of their work would get picked.

[@wilhelmrogue1]

Dont know how i missed this one ,, great video sir…

[@drothberg3]

Steely Dan has some of the best guitar work in existence. The only one of these that I’ve learned in its entirety is Kid Charlemagne, which is a beast, and as you said, Larry Carleton’s mastery of playing beautiful melodies over complex chord changes is unmatched. I wish you had done the outro as well; it’s also awesome and shows Larry playing great stuff over less demanding changes.

[@henrygarrison1613]

#5 always blows me away... great job...

[@allancerf9038]

I thought Larry sounded a little unconvincing trying to rock on Guitar 5. All his other stuff is more accomplished. I also feel number 3 is by far the best in the catalog. All 5 are pretty damn good! When you hear the milkman whistling your song, as a Beatle said, you know it's memorable. When the the general public can hum for quite an extended period of time, a guitar solo, you have "something to say" to quote Les Paul. The public can hum the Reelin' in the Years solo. P.S. - Outstanding playing.

[@michaelb5368]

I love it all sounds fantastic.Keep up the good work

[@KellyDeanAllenGuitar]

Thanks mate! However you're supposed to criticize my picks! That's the way it works, haha.

[@bangcolt]

As someone who knows the Dan’s catalog backwards and forward, I have to say that you pretty much nailed it. Sure, there’s lots of tasty guitar work deep in their catalog (shout out to you for mentioning “Your Gold Teeth II” as an honorable mention, though I might have chosen the original [Denny Dias also played lead] as well as the song that preceded it on Countdown to Ecstasy, “The Boston Rag” [with Skunk playing lead], and I definitely would have cited Walter on “Black Friday”) but a very solid list, if somewhat predictable.

[@peterevans8598]

Simply incredible ! Love this ! Thank you

[@KellyDeanAllenGuitar]

@@peterevans8598 cheers Peter, thanks!

[@MegaCraptacular]

Great playing! Would have loved to hear Green Earrings with Denny Dias and Elliott Randall.

[@ToB10ya]

That was fun, thank you! I subscribed! If I ever pick up the guitar again, I will give a listen to your great channel.

[@KoenStrobbe-fv5us]

Nice work and list. It shows the variety. Well a top 5 is impossible :) For me personally, Bodhisattva would definitely be in the list because it is simply brilliant. Mr I-refuse-to-bend-strings Denny Dias is seriously underrated.

[@hogi99]

You play these licks so well. 😍

[@dwaynejessome1728]

Awesome episode KDA! So many favourites to choose from, but Reelin' In the Years just has a special spot with me

[@jamespitman3357]

fav band from my much younger days and still the tunes sound enjoyable - great playing as always - too clever

[@KellyDeanAllenGuitar]

I was too much of a metalhead in MY younger days. Didn't care for Steely Dan. Absolutely love them now.

[@brentgraham1735]

Awesome work…my favourite band!!

[@RAmusique]

Just sublime.

[@gravics]

You are a boss, sir. That was enjoyable.

[@henrygarrison1613]

Every solo you played...made the hair on my arms stand right the f up! That's great

[@clarkswainston8492]

Kelly, In my mind “Reelin in the Years” is one of the top 5 rock songs in history …your leads were spot on. Can I request a lesson so I can add this to my repertoire with my new 60’s unburst?

[@craigzellner4159]

My 2nd favorite is the solo from THIRD WORLD MAN. I agree with all of the others that you mentioned. Thanks!

[@haverelmink]

Fantastic choices, phenomenal playing, and outstanding presentation skills, with no ego or attitude. Just virtuosity. Really enjoyed it! Subscribed. Oh, and ignore the a**hole comments. I’d like to see them play these solos.

[@KellyDeanAllenGuitar]

@@haverelmink thanks mate! Appreciate the kind words.

[@bigsidable]

When it comes to Stealy Dan. They just blow you away with their chord work. I have many many song books of different bands. And you may find maybe 4 chords in the songs. Stealy will have 15 or more.

[@casparuskruger4807]

Steely --not Stealy

[@SebSpeaks]

So many great solos. Do it Again is IMO one of their best.

[@alexladzinski6597]

you absolutely have all those guitarists nailed Sir!

[@francesclarke6808]

Amongst so many gems, it's impossible to say which are the 'best'. There must be 10 -15, maybe 20 + classic solos in the entire Steely Dan catalogue. I've enjoyed this video. It's good to see them technically well played. . I wouldn't necessary agree with those five but Different strokes folks 🎉❤

[@mrstrat222]

Props Dude!!!! Very impressive!!

[@KellyDeanAllenGuitar]

Thanks mate! Much appreciated.

[@St705]

Kid Charlemagne has been my favorite since it came out. Listened to on vinyl at home and 8 track in the car at that time.

[@Turtle1948]

Wow! Killer playing!

[@jksojmo123]

Great job - a wonderful video- thanks

[@heshboppins]

YOU are much appreciated! Quite impressive.....

[@bpaakwaan7325]

For me, best is Danny Diaz's amazing "Do It Again" solo. One of the hardest solo's I have ever learned, that bloody timing is fierce !

[@markreiser1898]

Let’s do this again…and again! Well done

[@shawnchadwick4943]

Incredible job on these sir!

[@jasonmudgarde286]

Great choices, I doubt anyone would argue about Kid Charlemagne being the top solo. I also love Denny Dias' playing on Bodhisattva amongst others. Many thanks for your upload. PS Katy Lied was from 75 not 79.

[@artprince9163]

I do not think KC is the top SD solo.

[@jasonmudgarde286]

@@artprince9163 It's subjective. For example folk coming from a rock background may appreciate Jay Graydon's double string whole tone bends on Peg , jazzers may prefer Larry Carlton on KC. There's no answer, just conversation.

[@srwaite7]

Good stuff! When you have finished transcribing the other solos, perhaps you can do a tutorial of each of them this summer. Would be great and fun! 👍🏻🎸🖖🏻

[@paullavallee1631]

Great work, well played Kelly

[@KellyDeanAllenGuitar]

Thanks Paul!

[@henrygarrison1613]

Dang! You freaking rock....they're all great.

[@dennisdezelic9760]

Fantastic playing!

[@dougvolinski5824]

Superb work Kelly, thank you again and again!

[@allenmahan9393]

*KILLER!* _Nailed it!_ 🎸😮🤘Gotta guve it up for "Bodhisattva," to boot! 💪🤠💡

[@kalihipalama1762]

Great group, outstanding guitar solos! Rickki has to be the sweetest one of all!

[@robertartese808]

Great job!