This was the breakout hit from Steely Dan's first album. Like many of their songs, it's hard to make sense of the lyrics, which seem to be about some combination of addiction, second chances and the inevitability of fate. It's an example of a Steely Dan song that doesn't make literal sense, but creates a mood.
The instrument used on the first instrumental break is an electric sitar, which was played by Steely Dan mainstay Denny Dias (who later became a computer programmer). This is followed by an organ solo, which was played by Donald Fagen. This was described in the album liner notes as "an inexpensive, imported plastic organ (an instrument which long ago fell into disuse in most rock circles)." This was later revealed to be a Yamaha YC-30 with something called a portamento ribbon, which could create the slide effect.
This was Steely Dan's first single. It became a hit in both the US and UK, earning the group a lot of press coverage. The group's sound was very unusual, and when asked to explain it, they sometimes described it as "smart rock."
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