Kid Charlemagne
My four decade pursuit of a perfect 60 seconds
A benefit of retirement is finally having the time to do more than merely dabble in one's interests — and double so during these #sitchybumathome days. To that end, I've spent much of the past six months immersed a crash course in music theory. I think that I'm about where a freshman major at any school of music would be after about a week, but hey, you've got to start somewhere.
There have been two completely wonderful consequences of all this. The first is that my wife, who is an excellent pianist, and I can finally converse in the language of music. The second is that I've been able to renew acquaintances with many of my musician friends. We've been forming virtual bands to tackle several ambitious projects.
With modern Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) and a few hundred dollars' worth of recording gear, it's possible for musicians thousands of miles apart to collaborate and record musical pieces. For all of the attendant hassles, the modern age is not without its benefits.
As I get sucked into the musical vortex, I've found myself dabbling in more than one instrument. Besides guitar I'm now working on bass, drums and keyboards. To my fellow guitarists out there, I cannot recommend highly enough that you spend some time familiarizing yourself with the basics of a piano keyboard. Once you figure that out, I promise that exciting new worlds await.
As a result of all this, I've developed a whole new appreciation for a lot of the music that I already liked. As I've gone through my catalog of favorites, I've zeroed in on some albums that not only blew my doors off the first time I heard them, but do so even more now that I have a better understanding of what went into composing them.
One such album is “The Royal Scam,” a 1976 release by Steely Dan. I still remember sitting in my apartment in Lexington, Kentucky, stunned at what I was hearing the first time I put this album on a turntable. If you are younger than 40, there is a chance that you've never heard of this album. That, if true, is unfortunate.
Steely Dan was a rock band of the ’70s with sophisticated and wry twists in their compositions. Their lyrics were sardonic and obtuse paeans to a variety of offbeat characters — generally in some bind. The chord voicings and harmonic changes they employed suggested a jazz influence. The Royal Scam was the beginning of the group's departure from blues-based rock into more jazz-influenced pop.
Musician and producer Rick Beato has a wonderful YouTube channel dedicated to musical education. This channel contains a number of “What makes this song great?” videos. Episode No. 3 is all about the opening track from “The Royal Scam,” “Kid Charlemagne.” I recommend that you check it out: youtu.be/xKIC9zbSJoE.