Fire in the Hole

Recorded in 1972 during the sessions for Can't Buy a Thrill at The Village Recorder in Los Angeles. Donald Fagen sang lead and played piano, with Steely Dan recording under producer Gary Katz and engineer Roger Nichols. Released by ABC Records in 1972 on Steely Dan's debut album, Fire in the Hole helped show the darker and more harmonically complex side of the band beyond its hit singles. It placed Fagen's jazz-influenced piano writing and sardonic lyrics at the centre of the early Steely Dan sound. Fire in the Hole remains a notable deep cut from Can't Buy a Thrill and an early example of the sophisticated studio approach Becker and Fagen developed through the 1970s. Its later sample use helped carry the track into hip-hop and crate-digging contexts.