Today we have Steely Dan's fifth studio album The Royal Scam. Released in 1976, the album was well-received, although many critics viewed it as inferior to their previous works. The album notably features more prominent guitar work than previous Steely Dan releases which was contributed by a number of studio musicians, but most often contributed by Larry Carlton.
First off, Carlton is a great guitarist and I'm a sucker for great guitar, but Carlton isn't Jeff Baxter and the guitar solo on "Bodhisattva" is still my favorite. Catchy though this is, the lyrics are often disappointingly straightforward ("The Fez" and "Everything You Did") and the only great songs are "Kid Charlemagne" and "The Royal Scam," the latter being about America for immigrants (get it?) and is one of Becker and Fagen's greatest lyrics. I like "Haitian Divorce" and "The Caves of Altamira" (and most of the songs) but even these feel like the first time Steely Dan songs have lost something from the pursuit of perfect records through numerous takes. Fagen's voice sounds off too. B
