Lost Steely Dan "Second Arrangement" Tapes Uncovered

If you’re a Steely Dan fan, you’re probably already familiar with the story behind the group’s long-lost song “Second Arrangement.” During the recording sessions for their 1980 album Gaucho, an assistant engineer tasked with preparing the tape of the song for playback accidentally erased most of it.

Donald Fagen, a notorious perfectionist, was so upset that he left the studio without uttering a word, and though Steely Dan would make a few attempts at recreating the erased take, none could live up to it, and the song remained unreleased. (Demo versions of it have surfaced online over the years, however.)

Now, 40 years later, we have a potential breakthrough: Cimcie Nichols, daughter of the late senior engineer Roger Nichols, recently posted on Facebook that she’d found a “Second Arrangement” tape.

“Three work tapes left the recording studio the night before the infamous Steely Dan ‘Second Arrangement’ deletion,” she wrote. “We’ve never played it. Probably smart to play and transfer at the same time. What should we do with it? It feels like a magical treasure that my mom has kept safe for decades. Good job, Mom!”

There’s no word on what will become of the tape (as Nichols alluded to, there may only be one opportunity to transfer it to digital depending on what condition it’s in) or if Steely Dan has any plans to release it.