Steely Dan tightened things up with an expanding cast of session major dudes for this twisted minstral show. The success of their debut 'Can't Buy a Thrill' and the relative commercial letdown of the followup 'Countdown to Ecstasy' had left the band divided. Songwriters Donald Fagen and Walter Becker had decided that they would rather spend their time in the studio while other members of the band wanted to go on tour. Since Fagan and Becker felt that the second album had suffered from being too hastily recorded during a hectic touring schedule, they hunkered down to record 'Pretzel Logic', determined to take as much time as needed.
The sessions at the Village Recorder in West Los Angeles with producer Gary Katz featured Donald Fagen on keyboards, saxophone, and lead vocals; Walter Becker on bass, guitar, and background vocals; Jeff "Skunk" Baxter on lead guitar; Denny Dias on guitar; and Jim Hodder on backing vocals; with Jim Gordon and Jeff Porcaro on drums; Michael Omartian and David Paich on keyboards; Timothy B. Schmit on bass and background vocals; Wilton Felder and Chuck Rainey on bass; Ben Benay on guitar; Dean Parks on guitar and banjo; Plas Johnson, Jerome Richardson, and Ernie Watts on saxophone; Lew McCreary on horn; Ollie Mitchell on trumpet; Michael McDonald on keyboards and backing vocals; and Royce Jones and Victor Feldman on percussion.
Fagan would explain at the time: “We’re a big noisy band now...It’s kind of a workshop…’cause we’re always juggling musicians around—although lately the eight musicians we have now seem to be working out very well. The band as it stands is now quite stable...I did most of the singing on the first album and on the albums since. But then we realised that in order to sell records you have to go out and actually play.”It was very difficult to convince me to get up in front of people and sing. But finally I got enough, courage to do it, And I’ve been getting into it slowly. Now it’s come together pretty well...The first album was more or less experimental. I think the latest one comes closest to what we’ve been wanting to do...We don't necessarily try to communicate any specific thing to the listener. It's more or less we try to communicate an impression, and the listener has the freedom to interpret as he wants...We really don't think about it. The record company was starting to get annoyed with us because they couldn't get a single off 'Countdown To Ecstasy'. The only thing we did was tightened up the arrangements. The songs weren't quite so long. And 'Night By Night' was basically written for commercial purposes.”
'Pretzel Logic' wound its way to number thirty-seven in the UK, twenty-three in New Zealand, eighteen in Australia, eight in the US, and number five in Canada.
http://www.steelydan.com/
"Rikki Don't Lose That Number" – 4:30
was a major hit for the band, going to number four on the US pop singles chart, making it their highest charting single. Fagan says: "That's a very simple love song to a young lady. I always thought it was a rather erotic, decadent sort of thing. Here you find a guy, a rather rich gentleman living in a resort, and he somehow manages to capture this young lady."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfZWp-hGCdA&feature=kp
"Any Major Dude Will Tell You" – 3:05
"Through with Buzz" – 1:30
Fagan says: ”’Through With Buzz' was just about a more-or-less platonic relationship between two young people. There's nothing really sexual about it until one, of the young people in the relationship realises he's being used and starts having paranoid fantasies and breaks off the relationship. There's no symbolism or anything. We never used puns. It's a very saccharine sounding track with a very cynical lyric. We often do that for an ironic purpose. That is to juxtapose a rather bitter against rather sweet music."
"Pretzel Logic" – 4:28
Fagan explains: "When it says, ’I stepped up on the platform / The man gave me the news', we conceived the platform as a teleportation device. And there are other key lines like ’I’ve never met Napoleon but I plan to find the time'. What we're actually saying is I plan to find the time in that he lived in."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xaw0oDqDFlY
"Charlie Freak" – 2:41
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2PBEblkrXk
'Pretzel Logic'
full album:
https://myspace.com/steelydan/music/album/pretzel-logic-8179438
All songs written by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, except where noted.
Side one
"Rikki Don't Lose That Number" – 4:30
"Night by Night" – 3:36
"Any Major Dude Will Tell You" – 3:05
"Barrytown" – 3:17
"East St. Louis Toodle-Oo" (Duke Ellington, Bubber Miley) – 2:45
Side two
"Parker's Band" – 2:36
"Through with Buzz" – 1:30
"Pretzel Logic" – 4:28
"With a Gun" – 2:15
"Charlie Freak" – 2:41
"Monkey in Your Soul" – 2:31
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