Almost Gothic - Steely Dan
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From the album "Two Against Nature"
Transcribed by Howard Wright
email: Howard@jmdl.com
As usual, I've tried to capture the basic harmonies in these chords, i.e the
"essence" of the keyboard, bass, horn and guitar parts. In most cases, things
work fine on just one guitar, but in a few places it's impossible to get
exactly the right voicing on the guitar, or it's difficult to achieve a smooth
chord change, so a little compromise is needed (e.g for the final two chords).
All the chord shapes are given at the end. These are the voicings that I think
work fairly well, but you might want to substitute slightly different shapes
in some cases. Experiment! I've opted for mostly 4-note chords, which generally
work well for Steely Dan songs.
This song shows that, after an absence of 20 years, the Steely Dan mu-major
chord is alive and well!!!
INTRO:
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To have the top note of the chords follow the intro melody, play the
Amaj7 as a three-note chord: 5x66xx
Amaj7 C#m7 Amaj7 C#m7
Amaj7 B7 Amaj7 C#m11
F#sus2/A# Badd9
VERSE 1:
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Note: you can try playing C/D (x5555x) in place of the Am/D chords. It gives
almost the same sound as the keyboard part, but gives a slightly smoother
change from the Gm7 on the guitar.
Also, for "a wise child walks ..." I've gone for a D7/Eb chord. The muted
guitar plays a straight D/Eb at this point (x6777x) but the keyboard is
playing a D7, so I thought the D7/Eb shape (x6x575) gives the right
overall sound.
Eb9 Db6/9 Gm7
I'm working on gospel time these days
Am/D Gm7 Am/D Gm7 Am/D Gm7 Am/D
(The summer, the summer, this could be the cool part of the summer)
Dbmaj7 Cm7 Bbmaj7
The sloe-eyed creature in the reckless room she's so severe
D7/Eb Dm11
A wise child walks right out of here
Dmaj7 Cmaj7 Bmaj7 Amaj7
I'm so excited I can barely cope, I'm sizzling like an isotope
Emaj7 G#m7 Emaj7
I'm on fire so cut me some slack
CHORUS:
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G#m7 Gmaj7 Dmaj7 Gmaj7 Dmaj7
First she's way gone then she comes back
Gmaj7 Dmaj7 Gmaj7 F#m11
She's all business then she's ready to play
Bmaj7 Ebm11 Absus2/C Dbadd9
She's almost gothic in a natural way
Amaj7 Emaj7 Amaj7 Emaj7
VERSE 2:
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(Same chords as verse 1)
This house of desire is built foursquare
(The city, the city - the cleanest kitten in the city)
When she speaks it's like the slickest song I've ever heard
I'm hanging on her every word
As if I'm not already blazed enough she hits me with the cryptic stuff
That's her style - to jerk me around
CHORUS:
-------
(Same chords as before)
First she's all feel then she cools down
She's pure science with a splash of black cat
She's almost gothic and I like it like that
MIDDLE 8:
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A9 D6 Aadd9#5 D6 A9 D6 Aadd9#5 D6
This dark place so thrilling and new
Gm7 C9 Gm7 C9 B13sus4
It's kind of like the opposite of an aerial view
Fmaj7 C9 Bb6/9 Am7 E9 D6/9
Unless I'm totally wrong I hear her rap and brother it's strong
SOLO:
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(Again, you can substitute Db/Eb for the Bbm/Eb and C/D for Am/D if
you prefer)
Abm7 Bbm/Eb Abm7 Bbm/Eb
Abm7 Bbm/Eb Abm7 Bbm/Eb
Gm7 Am/D Gm7 Am/D
Gm7 Am/D Gm7 Am/D
VERSE:
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Dbmaj7 Cm7 Bbmaj7
I'm pretty sure that what she's telling me is mostly lies
D7/Eb Dm11
But I just stand there hypnotized
Ebmaj7 Dbmaj7 Cmaj7 Bbmaj7
I'll just have to make it work somehow I'm in the amen corner now
Fmaj7 Am7 Fmaj7
It's called love - I spell L. U. V.
CHORUS:
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(Same chords as before)
Am7 Abmaj7 Ebmaj7 Abmaj7 Ebmaj7
First she's all buzz then she's noise-free
Abmaj7 Ebmaj7 Abmaj7 Gm11
She's bubbling over then there's nothing to say
Cmaj7 Em11 Asus2/C# Dadd9
She's almost gothic in a natural way
Bbmaj7 Fmaj7 Bbmaj7 Fmaj7
Abmaj7 Ebmaj7 Abmaj7 Ebmaj7
She's old school then she's like young
Abmaj7 Ebmaj7 Abmaj7 Gm11
Little Eva meets the Bleecker Street brat
Cmaj7 Em11 Asus2/C# Dadd9
She's almost gothic but it's better than that
Bbmaj7 Fmaj7 Bbmaj7 Fmaj7
E9 D6/9 A/D Gm9
You need a nice clean change between the last two chords - unfortunately,
this is impossible if you want to play the same chord as the keyboard
and horns on the original! On the guitar, this last chord works out as
3x8565 - a great chord, but a bit tricky! The Gm9 shape I've chosen is
a compromise - it gives more or less the right sound and makes the last
chord change reasonably easy.
Chord Shapes:
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EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE
5x665x x4645x 7x78xx x4445x
Amaj7 C#m7 B7 C#m11
EADGBE E A D G B E EADGBE EADGBE
6x667x 7 9 11 8 x x x6566x x4334x
F#sus2/A# Badd9 Eb9 Db6/9
EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE
3x333x xx0210 xx0555 x4656x x3534x
Gm7 Am/D Am/D Dbmaj7 Cm7
EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE
x1323x x6x575 xx0563 x5767x
Bbmaj7 D7/Eb Dm11 Dmaj7
EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE
x3545x x1323x x0212x 07644x
Cmaj7 Bmaj7 Amaj7 Emaj7
EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE
4x444x 3x443x 2x2200 6x776x
G#m7 Gmaj7 F#m11 Bmaj7
N.B Abm7 is the same as G#m7!
EADGBE EADGBE E A D G B E
x6667x 6x667x 9 11 13 10 x x
Ebm11 Absus2/C Dbadd9
EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE
x054xx x544xx x0345x x3233x
A9 D6 Aadd9#5 C9
EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE
x2x254 OR 7x799x x8755x 6555xx
B13sus4 B13sus4 Fmaj7 Bb6/9
EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE
5x555x x7677x x5445x x6x666 x6666x
Am7 E9 D6/9 Bbm/Eb Db/Eb
EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE
x6878x 4x554x 3x331x x7778x
Ebmaj7 Abmaj7 Gm11 Em11
EADGBE E A D G B E EADGBE
6x667x 10 12 14 11 x x 6x776x
Asus2/C# Dadd9 Bbmaj7
EADGBE EADGBE
x5222x 3x3335
A/D Gm9