Circus Money

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Some great songs, but not Steely Dan
Although Circus Money is a bit more polished than 11 Tracks of Whack, It's not a must-have if you want the Steely Dan sound. There's a lot of reggae influence in Circus money, which is good if you like reggae, but not if you love the jazz-oriented sound and (obvoiusly) Donald Fagen vocals that make the Steely Dan albums what they are. You do of course get the poetic (well, cryptic) lyrics and high production values, though. This album has some great songs. "Door Number Two" , "Paging Audrey" , and "Selfish Gene" are my favorites. Circus Money is much better than most music coming out these days, just don't expect it to sound like "Aja" or "Nightfly."

Pure magic only possible by the Dan...
...or at least one of them. I really cant believe how good this is. I'll admit, I didnt see anything great about 11 Tracks of Whack. I thought it was good, but easily the worst thing Steely Dan or the two solo ever did, so when I heard Becker had a NEW album coming out, I was very hesitant. I was not planning on getting it at all, and I am probably the biggest Dan fan under the age 20 on the planet. But I heard a couple 30 second clips on his website, and from the first hmmm, 2 seconds, I knew this was different, this was better, this was Steely Dan with a twist... After listening to the album 3 times, I can safely say this may be the best thing the Dan has put out this millenium and is the second best solo album after (just take a guess...) The Nightfly. Songs like Downtown Canon, Paging Audrey, and Upside Looking Down show a softer, almost beautiful side of Walter Becker and may be the best songs he (or Steely Dan) has done since Aja... yeah, they are that good. Just listen to Keith Carlock's drum fill at the beginning of Upside, it just opens this beautiful sound that fills your speakers... may be the best opener he (or, again, Steely Dan) has ever done. Circus Money and Somebody's Saturday Night are probably the two "catchiest" songs on the album... I could see either being a single. These are two great, more upbeat songs, while Saturday Night is probably my fav. on the album... Door Number Two is another killer that really starts the album great... sounds like classic Dan with a 21st century mini-reggee feel... Three Picture Deal is a great closer... with the girls singing "1,2,3 Picture Deal!" with Becker following them, instruments building until it is a rocky/reggee/jazzy blast of absolute perfection. The girl back up vocalists are great as always... love Carolyn Leonhart-Escoffery, she's is so attractive and such a great singer... my perfect girl ;) The musicians are perfect, which is what is expected on a Steely album... Keith Carlock is easily the greatest drummer of the last 20 years... The suprise that really makes the album... Becker's vocals... they are great. His range has gotten better and he is, well, simply very, very good.... it makes more sense to have him sing these songs, almost better than if Fagen did... After listening to this thing, it is obvious Steely Dan is two people, and that Becker is just as important as Fagen. Pick this thing up today, easily the best of 2008 so far. Steely Dan doing a tour again and the reviews from fans say possibly their best tour ever... I'm seeing them in less than a month for the third time (and I'm only 17), got Circus Money playing, summer's here... life is good! It's the summer of Steely Dan... have fun and join the party!

A Pleasant Surprise
Due to Mailboat Records being right down the road, I ended up being one of the first to take posession of this CD. As with anything Walter does, I am never quite sure what I am going to get. With a Donald Fagen song, you can kind of predict it's sound and direction, knowing the ties to Steely Dan will always be there, due to Donald's voice. Well, what a surprise when I spun these 12 tracks and found SO MUCH to love in them. Walter's voice is Walter's voice and there is nothing he can do about that, but moving forward, he had some choral help from several of the Steely Women we have seen on tour and that brought lots of richness to the vocal, right off the bat. The musicians are knowledgable in the ways of Steely Dan and you hear all sorts of sonically cool stuff going on around the music itself. Outstanding stuff, catchy tunes and the bass, which is Walter's specialty, is outstanding. I have been spinning the thing exclusively for the past 2 weeks and still find new stuff to admire and enjoy. Outstanding tracks to me: Paging Audrey, Door Number 2, Downtown Canon, Darkling Down, 3 Picture Deal, but I love all of them, even the ones that are more Jamaican in their feel. Check out the free cut on the MP3 page and see for yourself. You won't regret it.

The Latest Dan Batch
Becker's new album is, as most Dan fans will expect, superbly arranged and performed. Also, the caliber of its musicianship and the subtleties of its production are astounding. So why three stars? If you are a loyal worshipper of what Steely Dan produced and still represent to contemporary music, you may want more, and more in the sense of originality rather novelty, this is where Becker, to me, falls a bit short. One specific aspect of this is the preponderance of songs influenced by Reggae rhythms, a genre I love but find too "slicked up" here, for my taste. Of course, he "owns" the Dan sound as much as Fagen, and there no laws against plagiarizing yourself, still the music is too predictable, if you will, and does not take the chances in expanding the Dan universe that prior solo albums--by him and Fagen--took in the past. This is the paradox for me, no song will join the pantheon of Steely Dan classics yet more than one of these tunes may end up one of your favorite tracks of '08. So, if you can be satisfied with more of their sound, you'd be happy, but if you're looking for a remarkable album you may not be ecstatic. You might call me unfair in holding Becker to a higher standard than so many other people out there but consider it a tribute to the great influence his work has had in the past on me, rather than any kind of vendetta. In conclusion, more than good enough to own, yet not an album that might dominate your playlists.

God's Eye View
Super deep and clean grooves, great songs, the best musicians around, 40 years of experience, it could be Walter Becker's legacy but one hopes there will be more. The music sounds ripe, like it has been conceived, imagined and thought through. Add to that the monster band contributing in the studio. Becker vocals work great, his bass playing is out of this world. This is so strong and honest - a slap in the face of the many cd's coming out now that are nothing but one big shortcut. One might say they don't like this track or that one - look at them as bonus tracks - as the cd is diverse and 60 minutes long.