"Reelin' In the Years" (sometimes titled "Reeling In the Years") is a song by American rock band

Steely Dan Steely Dan is an American rock band formed in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, in 1971 by Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Originally having a traditional band lineup, Becker and Fagen cho ...

, released as the second single from their 1972 debut album, '' Can't Buy a Thrill''. It peaked at No. 11 on the US ''

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chart and at No. 15 in Canada.

Writing and performance

The song was written by

Donald Fagen Donald Jay Fagen (born January 10, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and musician who is the co-founder, lead singer, co-songwriter, and keyboardist of the rock band Steely Dan, formed in the early 1970s with musical partner Walter Becker ...

and Walter Becker and features Fagen on vocals. In 2009, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' described the track as "a prime early example of what would become the Dan's trademark vibe, marrying a sardonic kiss-off to an ex to a bouncy shuffle groove, and adding on some white-hot guitar dazzlement courtesy of

Elliott Randall Elliott Randall (born June 15, 1947) is an American guitarist, best known for being a session musician and performing with popular music artists. Randall played the well-known guitar solos on Steely Dan's song " Reelin' in the Years" and Irene Ca ...

to bring the whole thing home." In the same interview, Fagen said "It's dumb but effective", and Becker said "It's no fun."

Guitar solo

The guitar solo on the original recorded version was recorded in one take. It has been rated by

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

guitarist

Jimmy Page James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician and producer who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the Rock music, rock band Led Zeppelin. Page began his career as a studio session musician in Lo ...

as his favorite solo of all time, and he scored it 12/10. In 2016 the solo was ranked the 40th best guitar solo of all time by the readers of ''

Guitar World ''Guitar World'' is a monthly music magazine for guitarists and fans of guitar-based music and trends. The magazine has been published since July 1980. ''Guitar World'', the best-selling guitar magazine in the United States, contains original a ...

'' magazine. The four-channel

quadraphonic Quadraphonic (or quadrophonic, also called quadrasonic or by the neologism quadio ortmanteau, formed by analogy with "stereo" sound – equivalent to what is now called 4.0 surround sound – uses four audio channels in which speakers are po ...

mix of the recording has extra lead guitar fills not heard in the more common two-channel stereo version.

Reception

On its release in 1973, ''

'' said: "Easy sounding guitar solos lead into an easy sounding piano break which supports the voices extolling about culling life's experiences from tears to time." ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' called it a "winner highlighted by some expert guitar playing". ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' said that "Another winner from their ''Can't Buy A Thrill'' LP should reel in whopping sales." '' Disc Magazine'' stated the song "is the most instantly likeable of the package and would make a strong single". The song peaked at number 11 on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...

in May 1973. In March 2005, ''

Q magazine ''Q'' was a British popular music magazine. It was founded in 1986 by broadcast journalists Mark Ellen and David Hepworth, who were presenters of the BBC television music series ''The Old Grey Whistle Test''. ''Q'' was published in print in the ...

'' placed the recording at number 95 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Personnel

Steely Dan

– lead and backing vocals, piano * Denny Dias – rhythm guitar * Jeff Baxter – rhythm guitar, lead guitar on live performances * Walter Becker – bass * Jim Hodder – drums

Additional personnel

– lead guitar * Victor Feldman – tambourine

References

External links

Music Notes Entry

"Reelin' In the Years"
at 45cat.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Reeling In The Years 1972 songs 1973 singles Television drama theme songs Music television series theme songs Steely Dan songs Songs written by Donald Fagen Songs written by Walter Becker Song recordings produced by Gary Katz ABC Records singles