Hear Steely Dan’s Previously Unreleased Cover Of Joni Mitchell’s “Carey”

A previously unreleased Steely Dan cover of Joni Mitchell’s Blue song “Carey” has been unearthed. As The Dan Vault‘s YouTube channel points out, the radio host Steve Acri played the track on Pittsburgh Freeform radio earlier today, and it seems to be its on-air debut. The cover was initially intended for a tribute album to Joni Mitchell that was scheduled to be released in 2001, but when A Tribute To Joni Mitchell was finally released in 2007 — with contributions from Prince, Björk, and more — that Steely Dan cover was nowhere to be found.

Back in 2001, a post on official Joni Mitchell website teased the following: “The song was finished over a period of six days (including the tracking day) in New York earlier this month; according to reports from the Steely Dan camp, that’s ‘the fastest Steely Dan song ever.’ Donald Fagen singing “Carey”? This should be interesting!”

It’s unclear exactly where it was hiding in the years since then, but you can check it out below.