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CD
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
By Chuck E
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Audio CD
To the uninitiated comments about Becker and Fagen’s attention to detail and the demonstration quality of their sound might imply some absence of passion, but their perfectionism is never to the detriment of the soul of the music (at least, up to Aja). The most notable feature of their approach is the way they are able to mould a disparate band of session players into a bona fide band – irrespective of the changes in personnel or the meticulous re-recording involved.
Many see Countdown to Ecstasy or Aja as the Dan’s twin peaks, but I would have to add this as the mid-panel of a triptych of stunning musical masterpieces. Veering more towards West Coast rock, the songs run the gamut of subject matter from LSD merchants, through double-dealing desperadoes, to marital bust-ups and racial tensions, encompassing a range of idioms, but from the opening bars of Kid Charlemagne to the close of the majestic Royal Scam, there is a unity and pulse that binds them all together into one kaleidoscopic vision of America.
As with all Dan’s albums, there is so much going on, lyrically and musically, so many outstanding contributions (even if just a few bars) that these songs stand the kind of repeated listening that few other artist’s material could bear. Well, I’ve been listening to these songs for nearly thirty years and they still sound as fresh as they did in 1977. The guitar parts alone are just as riveting – a masterclass in how to play coruscating breaks without hogging the limelight!
If you only buy three Dan albums, this HAS to be one – but you really NEED all from Can’t Buy a Thrill to Aja.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By S J Buck
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Audio CD
This was the first Steely Dan album I ever heard/bought (many decades ago), and although Aja is now my favourite (just) this remains the one I return to the most.
There are many great moments but the high point for me is the wonderful guitar solo, played by Larry Carlton, at the end of Kid Charlemagne.
Kid Charlemagne is typical of the whole album, which is full of fantastic grooves typified by The Fez and Green Earrings. However these grooves are actually played by musicians rather than machines (as is the tendency these days).
I'm not great on lyrics, but even I can spot some of the humour in these songs.
So to sum up, quality song-writing, top quality musicians and great production means an essential purchase for either the Steely Dan fan who has somehow missed this album, or if you're of a younger generation and want to try something different.
There are many great moments but the high point for me is the wonderful guitar solo, played by Larry Carlton, at the end of Kid Charlemagne.
Kid Charlemagne is typical of the whole album, which is full of fantastic grooves typified by The Fez and Green Earrings. However these grooves are actually played by musicians rather than machines (as is the tendency these days).
I'm not great on lyrics, but even I can spot some of the humour in these songs.
So to sum up, quality song-writing, top quality musicians and great production means an essential purchase for either the Steely Dan fan who has somehow missed this album, or if you're of a younger generation and want to try something different.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By GlynLuke
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Audio CD
For years I rarely played this fifth Steely Dan album, believing it to be a lesser work than their others. How wrong can a man be!
There is such a wealth of textures, sounds (dig that organ on The Fez) and angular, glorious guitar solos on these nine tracks that this is, I now realise, a Dan record that stands out from the rest. Ironically, my least favourite track is probably their big hit Haitian Divorce.
One highlight. I`ve seldom heard Donald Fagen sing with such abrasive force as on the marvellous Don`t Take Me Alive, with its ominous lyrics:
Or maybe you would like to see the show
You`ll enjoy the Cafe D`Escargot
Folks are in a line around the block
Just to see her do the can-can Jacques
Becker and Fagen regularly wrote lyrics as enigmatically picaresque as Dylan or Waits. Theirs is a skewed, sardonic view of contemporary America. Coupled with a sophisticated jazz sensibility, they made, and continue occasionally to make, music that`s unique in the `pop` canon of the last forty years.
The final number is the jumpy, mildly unsettling six-and-a-half-minute title track, and it`s a truly great song on an album of great songs.
They`d lost Jeff "Skunk" Baxter`s incredible guitar acrobatics after Pretzel Logic, but Becker is no mean guitarist himself - in fact he`s a terrific musician - and they`ve also called on Larry Carlton, Denny Dias and others to carry out guitar duties, along with other hand-picked players who help put this album up there with their best.
The more I play The Royal Scam - and I seem to play the Dan all the time these days - the more I love it. Their music is as varied and musically rich as the most inventive jazz or certain modern classical works. That`s how good this `moveable feast` of a band were.
The Dan were never really a rock band, they simply made timeless music, memorable songs played with lavish attention to detail. This is one of the most subtle sets of songs in their illustrious catalogue.
They did it again - and Aja and Gaucho were still to come!
Won`t you sign in stranger?
There is such a wealth of textures, sounds (dig that organ on The Fez) and angular, glorious guitar solos on these nine tracks that this is, I now realise, a Dan record that stands out from the rest. Ironically, my least favourite track is probably their big hit Haitian Divorce.
One highlight. I`ve seldom heard Donald Fagen sing with such abrasive force as on the marvellous Don`t Take Me Alive, with its ominous lyrics:
Or maybe you would like to see the show
You`ll enjoy the Cafe D`Escargot
Folks are in a line around the block
Just to see her do the can-can Jacques
Becker and Fagen regularly wrote lyrics as enigmatically picaresque as Dylan or Waits. Theirs is a skewed, sardonic view of contemporary America. Coupled with a sophisticated jazz sensibility, they made, and continue occasionally to make, music that`s unique in the `pop` canon of the last forty years.
The final number is the jumpy, mildly unsettling six-and-a-half-minute title track, and it`s a truly great song on an album of great songs.
They`d lost Jeff "Skunk" Baxter`s incredible guitar acrobatics after Pretzel Logic, but Becker is no mean guitarist himself - in fact he`s a terrific musician - and they`ve also called on Larry Carlton, Denny Dias and others to carry out guitar duties, along with other hand-picked players who help put this album up there with their best.
The more I play The Royal Scam - and I seem to play the Dan all the time these days - the more I love it. Their music is as varied and musically rich as the most inventive jazz or certain modern classical works. That`s how good this `moveable feast` of a band were.
The Dan were never really a rock band, they simply made timeless music, memorable songs played with lavish attention to detail. This is one of the most subtle sets of songs in their illustrious catalogue.
They did it again - and Aja and Gaucho were still to come!
Won`t you sign in stranger?
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4.8 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great album
I forgot how good this album was. Caught a song by chance on the radio and thought I'd buy it after owning it on vinyl many years ago. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mr David A James
5.0 out of 5 stars
splendid
This is probably the best of a very good catalogue by a very tight and varied professional group of musicians , brought together in various guises by Walt Becker and Donald Fagen. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mr Ian S McMillan
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great album
This is a great album and no collection of Steely Dan albums must be without it. They rarely sounded better.
Published 8 months ago by jambletoad
5.0 out of 5 stars
Music Royalty
Who has a favourite Dan album? Apart from every fan? It's a hard choice to make from their first 8 or 9 albums given the exquisite quality of the writing and musicianship on them... Read more
Published 15 months ago by DENNIS WHITLOCK
5.0 out of 5 stars
modern jazz-rock
Can't help it : these really worked out long symphonies in jazzy rock style always work for me this as well as in the background as during an exhaustive listening session.
Published on 22 Jan 2011 by Stephan Franck
4.0 out of 5 stars
Guitar heaven
Royal Scam catches Steely Dan right in the middle of the 70's and the arc as recording artists. Gone are the prog pop songs that define theor earlier work and yet to come are the... Read more
Published on 7 May 2010 by Alister King
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Transitional Album
The Royal Scam has a couple of the most catchy and commercial songs Steely Dan has ever recorded - "The Fez" and "Haitian Divorce" - both songs greatly influenced by reggae. Read more
Published on 9 Mar 2010 by Morten Vindberg
4.0 out of 5 stars
Don't take me alive.
The weakest (in my opinion) of the Dan's early career. There's something not quite right about the production and it all tails off rather badly. Read more
Published on 20 Dec 2009 by A. Willard
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dan's greatest?
The consistancy of the Becker/Fagan output never ceases to amaze me. It's difficult to choose a favourite from the first six offerings, however it just all came together on this... Read more
Published on 12 Dec 2008 by R. Hudson
5.0 out of 5 stars
Yet Another Classic
For some reason when I first heard this album (and I've been a Dan fan for a long long time) it didn't really grip me, but as these things tend to do once I bought a new copy on CD... Read more
Published on 25 July 2008 by F. Boddy
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