Steely Dan - The Royal Scam

8.0 - USA - 1976

The Dan’s fifth long player, The Royal Scam returns to a more guitar-oriented sound like the sophomore Countdown To Ecstacy, albeit with an immaculate jazz-funk sheen suggestive of their next album, Aja.  “Kid Charlemagne” is brilliant and, along with some truly fantastic lead guitar, features one of Donald Fagen’s best vocals: the final verse – “Is there gas in the car? / Yes there’s gas in the ca-a-aar” – calls for some unduly high-notes and the way Fagen’s pipes try to negotiate the ascending scale (perhaps unsuccessfully, according to a technical evaluation) is a wonderful sound, somewhat like the high points of Will Oldham’s singing.  Only with an immaculate jazz-funk production. 

The other “hits” from the record are almost as perfect: “The Fez” has a goofy charm and an infectious hook, and “Haitian Divorce” has a strong enough melody and fine cod-reggae groove so as to almost not be ruined by an obnoxious talk-box guitar solo (but I repeat myself: all talk-box guitar solos are obnoxious, even “Pigs (Three Different Ones)”).

"Green Earrings", however, is a dark horse standout: a sweet set of changes (The Dan’s incomparable chording comes to play) draped over a slick, tight groove (it should be noted that the estimable Bernard “Pretty” Purdie supplies much of the beats on the record).  Should’ve been on the F-Zero soundtrack.  Aside from the aforementioned framptonnery, the album’s only weak spots are the utterly skippable penultimate track and the final, title track, which has some decent ideas but never seems to ever get going in its dragging six and a half minute lifespan. A shame really, that such an otherwise pretty damn good record comes to such a wearying conclusion.

Best quote from the reissue's liner notes: "... we switch on the scratchy car radio to soothe our weary psyches, and lo - we are mocked and assaulted by the tinny bleat of our own recorded music, its every flaw hideously magnified, its every shortcoming laid bare. O cosmic hipsters, flipsters, finger-popping daddies - ye mighty gods of jump music - why has thou forsaken us? Well, probably for lots of good reasons, both known and unknown, but we come away from this soul wringing thought experiment convinced of two things - 1) this town is Going Down With The Beast, and 2) these L.A. cats are making us sound like a couple of goddamn pussies."