Steely Dan - Jack of Speed guitar tab
Jack of Speed - Steely Dan
--------------------------
From the album "Two Against Nature"
Transcribed by Howard Wright
Howard@jmdl.com
Another classic from the new album, this one works well on the guitar.
Many thanks to Bruce MacKinnon and Eltjo Cleton who both sent me their own
transcriptions of this song. While I was working out the song for myself
it was a big help having two good versions to refer to when I wasn't exactly
sure what chord to go for. The version I ended up with here is a little
different to both of theirs - it was mostly in the bridge section where we
used different chords - but I think this one comes pretty close to capturing
the essence of the song.
I used Bruce's excellent idea of using a capo at the 2nd fret which makes it
much easier to capture the right chord voicings. The song is in F# minor, but
the capo at the 2nd fret means you can play Em type shapes and use the open
low strings much more which really helps.
NB the chord names reflect the actual pitch, so keyboard players etc can read
them as they are without having to transpose down.
If you're not bothered about playing along with the CD, you can use the same
chord shapes and just forget about the capo so you end up playing a tone lower
in Em.
The only exception to this is the intro riff - I've written this out in tablature
for a guitar *without* capo. Hope this isn't confusing! The reason is, the riff
doesn't work quite as nicely with the capo.
I find using the thumb for the bass notes and 3 fingers for picking out the top
notes of the chord works very well throughout.
All chord shapes given a the end. An asterisk (*) labels alternative voicings
(e.g C#7 and C#7* are two different voicings for C#7)
INTRO:
------
F#m7 E/F# F#m7 E/F#
F#m7 E/F# F#m7 E/F#
F#m7 E/F# D6/9 F#m7
F#m7 Bm7 D6/9 F#m7
Above sequence repeats with tune/riff as below (chords written above
tablature).
N.B tablature written for guitar *without* capo!
Tune/riff:
----------
N.B a little vibrato on some of the sustained notes can really help!
p = pull off
F#m7 E/F# F#m7 E/F#
E---2-----2--------2-------2----------------------
B-----5-------2-5-------5-----5---2--5p2----------
G-----------------------------------------2-------
D-------------------------------------------------
A-------------------------------------------------
E-------------------------------------------------
F#m7 E/F# F#m7 E/F#
E--------------------------------2----------------
B----------5p2---------2-2--2-5-----5--2--5p2-----
G------2---------2-----------------------------2--
D--4----------------4-----------------------------
A-------------------------------------------------
E-------------------------------------------------
F#m7 E/F# D6/9 F#m7
E-----2-----2--------5-------2--------------------
B-------5-------2-5-----2-5-----5---2--5p2--------
G------------------------------------------2------
D--4----------------------------------------------
A-------------------------------------------------
E-------------------------------------------------
F#m7 Bm7 D6/9 F#m7
E--------------------------------2----------------
B----------5p2---------2-2--2-5-----5--2--5p2-----
G------2---------2-----------------------------2--
D--4----------------4-----------------------------
A-------------------------------------------------
E-------------------------------------------------
VERSE 1:
--------
Note: on the first E/F# chord ("rolling"), the bass plays an A. Instead of
playing E/F# at this point you could play the same E triad with an A bass
(i.e E/A 3x423x). It just depends on whether you hear the A or the F# as the
root of the chord. Somehow, despite the A bass, I still hear the root as F#
so prefer the E/F# sound.
F#m7 E/F# D6/9 F#m7
Teddy's rolling now most every night
F#m7 Bm7 D6/9 F#m7
Skatin' backwards at the speed of light
Em9 A13 Dm9 G13
He's changed - in a thousand little ways
F#m7 E/F# F#m7 E/F#
He's changed - yes indeed
CHORUS 1:
---------
C# Dmaj7 D#7
You know he's movin' on metal, yes he's
Bm7 C#7 F#m F#m7 E/F#
Hanging tight with the Jack of Speed
F#m7 C#7* C#7+9 C#7-9
Note 1: for the V-I (C#7 F#m) change on "Jack of Speed" I've used a straight
F#m before going back to F#m7. This change is basically the backing vocal
part.
Note 2: the final C#7+9 C#7-9 change is played very quickly on the keyboard.
Try to use a pull off on the B string to go from the C#7+9 (x2123x) to the
C#7-9 (x2121x) - bar across the 1st fret with your first finger and use your
4th finger for the pull off from the 3rd fret. For an easier option, just
play the C#7-9 chord.
VERSE 2:
--------
(Same chords as before)
Sheena's party - there's a case in point
That right-wing hooey sure stunk up the joint
He's gone - he walks through the old routines
But he's gone - guaranteed
CHORUS 2:
---------
C# Dmaj7 D#7
He may be sittin' in the kitchen, but he's
Bm7 C#7 F#m F#m7 E/F# F#m7 E/F#
Steppin' out with the Jack of Speed
F#m7 E/F# F#m7 E/F#
BRIDGE:
-------
Dmaj7 C#m11 Bmaj7 F#m7*
You maybe got lucky for a few good years
C#m7 F#m7 C#m7 F#m7
But there's no way back from there to here
Dmaj7 C#m11 Bm9 G#7+9 G#7-9
He's a one way rider on the shriek express
C#m7 Bm9 Amaj7 C#7+9 C#7-9
And his new best friend is at the throttle more or less
F#m7 E/F# F#m7 E/F#
Note: the G#7+9 and G#7-9 chords should really have a #5 but this makes
it tricky to find guitar-friendly shapes. See chord shapes at the bottom
of this file for possibilities.
You could also try a spicier chord for the last Bm9. The keyboard plays
something with a G# at the top, so you could maybe try x0x502 or even
x 0 10 11 0 0 ? If you use that last shape, play 7x777x for the C#m7 to
make the change easier.
VERSE 3:
--------
He can't hear you honey - that's alright
Pack some things and head up into the light
Don't stop - he'll be callin' out your name
But don't stop when you hear him plead
CHORUS 3:
---------
C# Dmaj7 D#7
You better move now little darlin' or you'll be
Bm7 C#7 F#m
Trading fours with the Jack of Speed
Repeat second half of INTRO (part with the riff).
SOLO:
-----
Solo section equivalent to one verse + one chorus.
N.B Bass only for first two lines - full chords re-enter on Em9.
F#m7 E/F# D6/9 F#m7
F#m7 Bm7 D6/9 F#m7
Em9 A13 Dm9 G13
F#m7 E/F# F#m7 E/F#
C# Dmaj7 D#7
Bm7 C#7 F#m7 E/F#
F#m7 E/F# F#m7 E/F#
F#m7 E/F#
Repeat BRIDGE
last line of bridge becomes:
F#m7 E/F# F#m7 C#7* C#7+9 C#7-9
Repeat VERSE 3
Repeat CHORUS 3
OUTRO:
------
Almost same as intro except after 1st D6/9 (here we have E/F#,
before it was F#m7)
F#m7 E/F# F#m7 E/F#
F#m7 E/F# F#m7 E/F#
F#m7 E/F# D6/9 E/F#
F#m7 Bm7 D6/9 F#m7
Repeat 2nd half of intro sequence to fade, with intro riff + solo ad lib.
Chord Shapes
------------
N.B: all shapes relative to capo at 2nd fret (e.g 1 means 1 fret above
capo i.e fret 3).
EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE
0x543x 0x423x x3223x x0555x
F#m7 E/F# D6/9 Bm7
EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE
3x423x x5355x 3x345x x3133x
E/A Em9 A13 Dm9
You could also try m11 shapes as alternatives for the Em9 and Dm9 (x53553
and x31331). Or you could play D/E (x5x553) and C/D (x3x331). All three
possibilities are very similar. I think the m9 gives the best combination
of "sound and playability" but use another shape if you prefer.
EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE
1x123x x214xx x324xx x434xx
G13 C# Dmaj7 D#7
EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE
x24242 0x5453 x2120x x2123x
C#7 F#m C#7* C#7+9
EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE
x2121x x3545x x2x230 x0622x
C#7-9 Dmaj7 C#m11 Bmaj7
That Bmaj7 voicing is a little bit of a stretch, though
it is classic Steely Dan clustered voicing. For a simpler
Bmaj7 try x0212x
EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE
0x5430 x24232 x05500 xx4355
F#m7* C#m7 Bm9 G#7+9
EADGBE EADGBE
xx4353 3x443x
G#7-9 Amaj7
Note: the G#7+9 and G#7-9 chords in the bridge sound like they
should also have a #5 in them. The shapes 2x2335 and 2x2333 sound
good but are difficult to fret!
