Song Premiere: Donald Fagen, 'I'm Not the Same Without You'

Steely Dan frontman offers a triumphant tale of perseverance

September 17, 2012 9:00 AM ET

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Donald Fagen, 'I'm Not The Same Without You'

Reprise

Click to listen to Donald Fagen's 'I'm Not the Same Without You'

On his new track "I'm Not the Same Without You," Donald Fagen offers a triumphant tale of perseverance after failed love. The Steely Dan frontman bounces with smooth funk grooves, sensual piano chords and slinky guitar riffs as he pushes through the sad times with grinning defiance. "'I'm Not the Same Without You' is a gloss on those anthemic tunes in which the singer tells a story about how she's going to make it through a recent breakup and bravely carry on. I say 'she' because I'm thinking of songs like Gloria Gaynor's 'I Will Survive' or 'These Boots Are Made for Walkin' by Nancy Sinatra," says Fagen. "In 'I'm Not the Same Without You,' the narrator not only survives but rapidly evolves into something a bit more than human – at least in his own mind."

"I'm Not the Same Without You" is on Fagen's upcoming Sunken Condos, out October 16th.

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Song Premiere: Donald Fagen, 'I'm Not the Same Without You'