Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Steely Dan
Label: Island Records
Release: 1974
Running time: 34:02
Rating: 5/5
The surprisingly lukewarm commercial and media response to the otherwise flawless “Countdown to Ecstasy” (1973) didn’t dent the spirit or the creative twists and turns of the immortal Steely Dan duo for a second, made up of keyboardist/vocalist Donald Fagen and bassist/guitarist Walter Becker. Their next heavyweight studio effort, “Pretzel Logic,” was the qualitative equal of its predecessor. Except it blew past its commercial success by a wide margin.
Stylistically, the album is a well-balanced compromise between the highly melodic pop-rock approach of the debut “Can’t Buy a Thrill” (1972) and the complex instrumental experiments that dominated “Countdown to Estasy.” Despite the good-natured feel of most of the arrangements, “Pretzel Logic” was miles ahead of the usual hit parade fare on the radio waves of the day when it came to compositional depth. The two songwriting and instrumental foxes once again served up their own blend of jazz, rock, pop, funk and soul, lubricated with refined production courtesy of the brilliant Gary Katz.
Besides the usual, refined jazz arrangements, which they channeled through dynamic rock and funk rhythm patterns, in places they also brought in symphonic arrangements for the first time. Once again there’s no shortage of the usual instrumental trickery, often perfect moments for marveling at the technical chops of the individual players. Keyboardist Fagen has grown even more as a singer and stands shoulder to shoulder with the most charismatic vocalists of the era. His sarcastic, mocking singing style meshes beautifully with the clever, witty lyrics that poke at the less flattering sides of American society. Using plenty of slang, he describes in a tragicomic way the dead-end situation of criminals, drunks, the homeless and prostitutes. In between, there’s also some lyrical material touching on Fagen’s private life, plus a surreal sci-fi tale.
By the time of “Pretzel Logic,” Steely Dan were still treated as a regular rock band that wasn’t shy of playing live, and in the studio there was still a sense of solidarity among them. Besides the standard collaborators, guitarists Jeff Baxter and Denny Dias and drummer Jim Hodder, a handful of new but no less renowned names joined them during the sessions and left their mark on the album. Worth singling out are keyboardist David Paich, young drummer Jeff Porcaro (both of whom later found fame as members of the American rock/pop heavyweights Toto), three-time Grammy winner keyboardist Michael Omartian and future Eagles bassist Timothy B. Schmit. The seasoned foxes knew exactly how to put their varied talents to good, complementary use. The end result was that the “pretzel logic” turned into yet another masterpiece. The album is also an important milestone in that Becker, besides bass, started using electric guitar heavily for the first time.
An album without a single weak moment, it’s wonderfully balanced between slower, jazzy-refined pieces and more bouncy numbers with R&B patterns. The opening jazz-pop-rock lyrical burlesque “Rikki Don’t Lose Your Number” became their biggest hit right after release. The secret of its success lies in its unconventional structure, which sails between high instrumental complexity and hypnotic arrangements that are an absolute treat for the ears. The opening bars on electric marimba and a juicy jazzy riff on the keyboards already tell you this is something truly special. The anthemic chorus is lubricated with dynamic drum fills from Jim Gordon and playful piano arrangements, and there’s room for a superb blues-flavored solo too. The lyrics were reportedly inspired by Rikki Ducornet, a friend of Fagen’s from his student days. Next treat is “Night By Night,” where witty jazz-rock fusion arrangements rule over punchy horns. Energetic guitar riffs and solos give it a rhythmic cheekiness, while Fagen’s excellent singing sets an evening-romance mood. The overall vibe of the track is most reminiscent of music from some movie about the famous New York detective John Shaft.
The excellent ballad “Any Major Dude Will Tell You,” which tells of the hard life at the bottom of American society, is a more laid-back piece with a slow rhythm on acoustic guitar and refined piano accompaniment. Fagen’s voice here is tuned to a more melancholic register. Listening to it, I get the feeling that some later bands, Dire Straits for example, found quite a bit of creative inspiration in this and similar Steely Dan numbers. “Barrytown,” with its tragicomic lyrics about people’s lack of understanding and condemnation of anyone different, is a much more playful and sparkling piece. Here too the main arrangement is built on gentle acoustic guitar and piano, with the difference that the evergreen magic comes from the central chorus, ruled by hypnotic harmonies.
The quirky instrumental “East St. Louis Toodle-Oo” is adapted from an arrangement by jazz legends Duke Ellington and Bubber Miley. In several ways it’s a one-off for Steely Dan. First of all, it’s their only track adapted from another composer’s work. It’s also the only instrumental in the band’s history, the only track on which they used a banjo and the only one on which Fagen plays saxophone. He also delivers a great piano solo, which shifts the attention a little away from the witty guitar passages run through a wah-wah effect.
The splendid jazz rocker “Parker’s Band” is a heartfelt, energetic tribute to the legendary jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker. You can clearly hear the different drumming styles of Gordon and Porcaro on it. The witty central melody, the grooving rhythm and Fagen’s way of singing personally remind me a bit of the theme from the legendary British sitcom “Only Fools and Horses.” “Through With Buzz” is a short piece with lyrics about a guy who stole a woman from the narrator. This one is also a completely unique and contrasting number, with mighty, for Steely Dan atypical, classical-style symphonic arrangements. Next up is the intriguing blues rock experiment “Pretzel Logic,” which was also released as a single. Its odd, metaphysical lyrics deal with various subjects revolving around Napoleon Bonaparte; put simply, it’s a text about time travel. Once again we’re dealing with a big stylistic contrast. The arrangements this time are strongly blues-tinged, and the same goes for the singing, which isn’t shy of a touch of soul. The playful “With a Gun,” yet another atypical Steely Dan piece, with sarcastic lyrics about organized crime, is ruled by country guitar and harmonies.
“Charlie Freak” is one of the best lyrical moments on the whole album. Its tragicomic lyrics tell of Charlie, a young homeless guy and addict who sells his gold ring to the narrator so he can buy a fresh stash of drugs. With that money he overshoots his usual dose and dies. The moment the narrator finds out about his death, he rushes to the morgue and gives the ring back. Fittingly, a melancholic piano melody dominates, along with a sad vocal and an accompaniment of assorted percussion. The closing jazz-rock burlesque “Monkey in Your Soul,” about the communication breakdown between two partners, boasts an excellent, theatrical vocal performance and cheeky horn arrangements.
“Pretzel Logic” is yet another incarnation of compositional, instrumental and production polish, cooked up to the one-of-a-kind Steely Dan recipe. The album strikes a superb balance between the band’s recognizable jazz-rock tricks and a few compositional experiments that Fagen and Becker never repeated later in their career. In the following years, the two old songwriting and instrumental wolves would lean more and more on session musicians, until Steely Dan stopped existing as an active rock band and became purely a studio project. The “Pretzel Logic” tour was the last Steely Dan tour of the ’70s. The reason for this drastic move lay mainly in the disappointment of the steely duo, caused by the audience’s poor reception of their more complex, more prog-rock-leaning material. “Pretzel Logic” remains the last Steely Dan masterpiece from the days when they still worked in the studio like any ordinary rock band and boasted a wonderfully live sound. Next time you head up Šmarna Gora to munch on a fresh pretzel up there, don’t forget to bring “Pretzel Logic” along as your soundtrack.
Lineup
Donald Fagen – keyboards, vocals
Walter Becker – bass, guitar, vocals
Michael Omartian – keyboards
David Paich – keyboards
Timothy B. Schmit – bass, vocals
Wilton Felder – bass
Chuck Rainey – bass
Denny Dias – guitar
Jeff Baxter – guitar
Ben Benay – guitar
Dean Parks – guitar
Plas Johnson – saxophone
Jerome Richardson – saxophone
Ernie Watts – saxophone
Lew McCreary – horn
Ollie Mitchell – trumpet
Jim Hodder – drums
Jim Gordon – drums
Jeff Porcaro – drums
Production
Gary Katz
Track list
1. Rikki Don’t Lose That Number
2. Night By Night
3. Any Major Dude Will Tell You
4. Barrytown
5. East St. Louis Toodle-Oo
6. Parker’s Band
7. Through With Buzz
8. Pretzel Logic
9. With A Gun
10. Charlie Freak
11. Monkey In Your Soul
