This is from Donald Fagen's Nightfly album. It's as close as he gets to classic Steely tracks like Doctor Wu.
I give it bit of a modern pop flavour with the sampled, repetitive vocal pattern There's loads of melody I could pick out on the guitar too, I'm pleased with the solo which is typically Dan-esque. You gotta dig their effortless key changes.
It was the first track of his debut solo album The Nightfly, and was released in September 1982 as its first single, charting on the Billboard Hot 100, Mainstream Rock, R&B Singles and Adult Contemporary charts.
The "I.G.Y." of the title refers to the "International Geophysical Year", an event that ran from July 1957 to December 1958 which was an international scientific project promoting collaboration among the world's scientists. Fagen's lyrics reference, from the point of view of that time, an optimistic vision of futuristic concepts such as solar-powered cities, a transatlantic tunnel, permanent space stations, and spandex jackets.
