They both came out the same year, and they've always struck me as very similar songs, sound-wise, structure-wise. Now me, personally, I'm a hardcore Jackson Browne fan, always have been, and I have a feeling I'm going to stand alone on this one just because the opponent is the revered Steely Dan. But if you do pick "Reelin' in the Years," I wanna hear some good reasons why.
― My name is Kenny, Friday, 31 August 2007 15:49 (eighteen years ago)
I know the Jackson five version. That's ok.
― Mark G, Friday, 31 August 2007 15:50 (eighteen years ago)
"Reelin in the Years" has a sweet guitar solo.
― Trip Maker, Friday, 31 August 2007 16:02 (eighteen years ago)
"Reelin" because Jackson Browne is the anti-Christ.
― Bill Magill, Friday, 31 August 2007 16:05 (eighteen years ago)
Doctor My Eyes. Much sadder and more obliquely evocative. Loved trying to puzzle out the language when I was a kid - seemed like such a totem of adult myteries. Still love this song.
Reelin In the Years is sorta similar w/ regard to adult subject matter, but it's so much more direct and descriptive, spells it all out for you. And there's something delicate about it, like chamber music. I want to say that it's "merely" pretty, but that seems too damning.
― Bob Standard, Friday, 31 August 2007 16:18 (eighteen years ago)
"Reelin In The Years". Jackson Browne is not at all bad, but Steely Dan were Steely Dan after all.
― Geir Hongro, Friday, 31 August 2007 22:13 (eighteen years ago)
not my favorite Dan song, def. my favorite Browne song, so yeah that one
― The Good Dr. Bill, Friday, 31 August 2007 22:25 (eighteen years ago)
Not as good as "Lawyers in Love," "In the Shape of a Heart," and, oh, "Running on Empty."
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Friday, 31 August 2007 22:41 (eighteen years ago)
I pick "Doctor My Eyes." I like "Reeling in the Years" just fine, though it's probably not one of my most favorite Steely Dan songs. "Doctor My Eyes" has just always had a more powerful emotional punch for me, since I was a kid. "Seemed like such a totem of adult myteries" is about how I felt about it, but I don't think I ever bothered trying to puzzle out the lyrics.
― Rockist Scientist, Friday, 31 August 2007 22:48 (eighteen years ago)
the guitar in Reelin is just sick. It probably wouldn't make my top ten SD songs, but it's still pretty great. Awesome lyric, too. Jackson Browne has always left me stone cold.
― will, Saturday, 1 September 2007 14:10 (eighteen years ago)
***"Reelin In The Years". Jackson Browne is not at all bad, but Steely Dan were Steely Dan after all.***
NO. NOT GOOD ENOUGH. So what they're Steely Dan? This is exactly what I was worried about. The two songs are too similar for that to fly, what exactly about Reelin' in the Years, dammit?
― My name is Kenny, Saturday, 1 September 2007 14:37 (eighteen years ago)
Reelin' - one of my top Dan songs if i was forced to make a list. sorry, but JB never wrote/recorded a hate song that swings
― outdoor_miner, Saturday, 1 September 2007 15:45 (eighteen years ago)
yeah Hodder's unrelenting shuffle is a thing of beauty
― will, Saturday, 1 September 2007 16:38 (eighteen years ago)
hmm. "Doctor" is great fake soul with bongos. "Reelin'" kind of sprung out of nowhere, though. what precedent is there for a record like "Reelin'" in '72? I guess one could say it's an updating of the sound of groups like Spirit? Jazzy pop with cool guitars? I mean, one could compare "Doctor My Eyes" to John Cale's "Graham Greene," if you wamted to. So, "Reelin'" strikes me as a more important record, but I always loved "Doctor My Eyes." Both employ lacunae: the way the Browne record drops out after he sings "so long" and them bongos kick in, and the way the Dan song sorta mocks its own formalism and breathes every time the verses start up. Just to be prententious on a Sunday morning.
― whisperineddhurt, Sunday, 2 September 2007 18:04 (eighteen years ago)