{"id":39606,"date":"2006-01-16T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2006-01-16T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/the-royal-scam-2\/"},"modified":"2006-01-16T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2006-01-16T00:00:00","slug":"the-royal-scam-2","status":"publish","type":"review","link":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/the-royal-scam-2\/","title":{"rendered":"The Royal Scam"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

If Katy Lied<\/i>, Steely Dan’s fourth effort,
\nrepresented a step in the right direction for Walter Becker, Donald
\nFagen and their “hired guns,” then The Royal Scam<\/i>, their
\nfifth release, signified a leap backward.<\/p>\n

Despite the presence of one or two solid tracks on
\nthe album, The Royal Scam<\/i> is easily the weakest and most
\nboring effort to date in Steely Dan’s catalog. The fact that no
\nsongs leap out from the track listing as being oversaturated on
\ncommercial radio made me wonder what was up with this disc.<\/p>\n

In a way, it sometimes feels like Becker and Fagen
\nset out to record a disc that was not meant to be for the “singles”
\nmarket, but rather put out music on their terms. In that regard,
\nmission accomplished — but at what cost?<\/p>\n

True, songs like “Kid Charlemagne” and “Sign In
\nStranger” have some of the excitement that other classic Steely Dan
\nsongs have exhibited throughout the band’s history. (“Sign In
\nStranger” counts in my book as a track just awaiting re-discovery.)
\nEven so, there is something different about the feel of these
\nsongs, but not enough of a change to make them unable to be
\nenjoyed.<\/p>\n

Regrettably, these two tracks make up the strongest
\npillars on The Royal Scam<\/i>. The remainder of the disc’s nine
\ntracks range from passable filler (“The Royal Scam”) to moments
\nwhere the listener has to wonder what on God’s earth the boys were
\nthinking of (“The Fez” — a track that smacks of
\nrepetitiveness).<\/p>\n

In retrospect, it does seem that Steely Dan tried to
\nmake an album that was intentionally non-commercial, but in doing
\nso, the boys lost their focus on what they do well. Tracks like
\n“Haitian Divorce,” “Everything You Did” and “The Caves Of Altamira”
\ncould have been substantial marks in the band’s catalog had there
\nbeen a little more re-working of these tracks. Instead, they have
\nthe sound and feel of filler that does little to challenge the
\nlistener — or the band, for that matter.<\/p>\n

It would be wrong to suggest that The Royal
\nScam<\/i> is an album whose title is appropriate to the content;
\nindeed, there are a handful of tracks that are well worth the
\nlistener’s attention. But maybe a better title would have been “The
\nBig Yawn.”<\/p>\n

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