Thursday, May 28, 2015

Walter Becker the darker half of the Dan

I have been a huge fan of Steely Dan since I can remember.  I know they are one of the bands in the late 70's that I heard on the AM radio in the parent's car.  I really dig how they mix jazz rock and pop so well.  The Dan has been accused of being over produced and slick but I don't hear it. Lyrically they are very clever and paint great pictures of many different lifestyles and parts of the world.  Once again by the time I was old enough they broke up.  Donald Fegan has had many solo albums and I have bought them all but we never heard much from Walter Becker.

Fast forward to the 90's and Steely Dan are reunited and on a tour, I have yet to catch them unfortunately.  The band releases a live album which is great and there is a track on there I have never heard but it is amazing.  The track is Book of Liars and it is off of Walter Becker's solo album. I needless to say bought the CD to give it a listen.

I am going to start with the best track off the CD which is Book of Liars.  It is dark moving and very clever with its writing.  A song about a break up and how the girl is so bad her name has a star in the Book of Liars by her name.  You can really feel the betrayal and pain the delivery.  The last verse paints the break up like a atom not able to keep its pairing and the atom is doomed to spent the rest of its half life on its own.  Just damned good.

As for the rest of the CD, if you are a Steely Dan fan you will really enjoy.  It turns out the Becker is the darker of the Dan and the sound is much more stripped down.  The other noteworthy track in Cringemaker, another unhappy in a relationship song.  I enjoyed exploring the other half of Steely Dan.

Until next time listen to the best your ears deserve it!

 

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