Steely Dan - Haitian Divorce (1976)

Steely Dan is an American rock band: members are Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. The band's popularity peaked in the late 1970s, with the blending elements of jazz, rock, funk, R&B, and pop.Rolling Stone has called them "the perfect musical antiheroes for the Seventies. `Haitian Divorce' (not released as a single in the US), does have slight reggae overtones and reggae music hasn't got commercial appeal in the USA in the way it has in Britain. It just didn't occur to anyone to release it over here." The excellent guitar work being the main sales angle coupled with Fagen's unusual nasal vocalizing. But what does it all mean? Well, the first few verses are plain enough. Babs and Clean Willy get married, right? But things don't work out somehow, and off they go to Haiti to grab themselves a quickie divorce. Then Babs heads off to some sleazy night club to drown her sorrows. Fagen takes up the story: "If you've been paying attention, you'll know she's in a drugged stupor by now and probably doesn't know anything about it. She is later... er... impregnated by this exotic gentleman. Later she is reunited with Clean Willy and they have some rather bizarre offspring ("Who's this kinky so-and-so")." And then the chorus marks a second expedient divorce. Fascinating stuff, and not the only interesting angle on the record. The guitar soloing was in fact performed by "two" musicians. "Yes, it was done in quite an unusual way. Dean Parks played the actual notes but Walter Becker altered the sound by using a voice bag." (One of those things Peter Frampton is always sticking in his mouth.)

Artist:   Steely Dan
Title:   Haitian Divorce
Year:   1976
Label:   ABC Records
Genre:   Rock, Reggae, Fusion
Producer:   Gary Katz
Written-By:   Donald Fagen, Walter Becker