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| Circus Money | 
 enlarge | Artist: Walter Becker
Label: Mailboat Records
Category: Music
List Price: $14.98
Buy New: $8.19
You Save: $6.79 (45%)
Buy New/Used from $8.19
Avg. Customer Rating:  (32 reviews)
Sales Rank: 1165
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 4505
UPC: 698268450523
EAN: 0698268450523
ASIN: B0016KJS3I
Release Date: June 10, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
| • | Door Number Two | | • | Downtown Canon | | • | Bob Is Not Your Uncle Anymore | | • | Upside Looking Down | | • | Paging Audrey | | • | Circus Money | | • | Selfish Gene | | • | Do you Remember The Name | | • | Somebody s Saturday Night | | • | Darkling Down | | • | Gods Eye View | | • | Three Picture Deal |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
It's been 14 years since Steely Dan co-founder Walter Becker's last (and first) solo album was released. Now, at long last, the wait is finally over for the second. Circus Money finds Becker's sardonic sensibility completely intact and each of the album's songs, inflected with jazz, reggae, and rock phrasing, is a masterpiece of musical understatement and lyrical nuance.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 27 more reviews...
 This CD gets better with every listen August 10, 2008
I like this CD.
It has touches of the first rate Steely Dan arrangements on it.
I know it doesn`t have the exact sound of a SD CD because it is Walter and not Donald on vocals.
That's alright though because it makes the CD distinctive.
Steely Dan,
Donald Fagen
Walter Becker. Its all good!
Who'd have thunk he did Reggae? (3.5 starsThe sound July 23, 2008
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
We've got some Steely and some Steel Pulse. The CD's good stuff, but it's not as epic as Steely Dan's music was. Listening the first time, you're not quite sure what you'll get next. I like the variety, but I think I've re-ordered the album on a playlist to have the similar styles next to each other, just a personal preference.
My favorites, from the reggae "Bob's Not your Uncle, Anymore." From the Steely Dan, "Circus Money."
My suggestion: if you're a Dan fan, listen to the selections and pick the music you want. If you're more eclectic, the whole CD may be for you.
Rebecca Kyle, July 2008
The dark side of Steely Dan July 22, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Walter Becker's previous solo album ("11 Tracks of Whack") was an optional purchase for many Steely Dan fans. Although it contained some great songs (notably "Junkie Girl"), it was slightly let down by average production and over-enthusiastic use of the drum machine, not qualities one usually associates with this band. In contrast, every Dan afficianado will want to buy a copy of "Circus Money", for one very simple reason. It contains at least two songs - "Downtown Canon" and "Paging Audrey" - that will immediately take their place as quintessential, 24 carat gold, spine tinglingly good, classic Steely Dan songs - high praise indeed, given the band's previous achievements. The rest of the album is very fine too, but these two tracks alone will justify the decision to buy for anyone with a serious interest in the band. "Circus Money" also identifies very clearly Walter Becker's distinctive contribution to the band's lyrical muse. The atmosphere of sleazy decadence, the pre-occupation with characters living marginal lives on the edge of society, the droll, self-deprecating humour with which the stories of these wayward characters are told - it's clear now that these essential ingredients of Steely Dan's rich imaginative world owe somewhat more to Becker than Fagen. There's also a freshness to the musical arrangements here, and the quality of the individual solos, that was sometimes (for me at least) missing from Donald Fagen's 2006 "Morph the Cat". Whilst Fagen's solo release contained, as always, much great music, there was a slight sense on occasions of some of the musicians being on auto-pilot, a noticeable tendency for some of the songs to follow a predictable course, as though they were sub-consciously modelled on an earlier Steely Dan vintage. If Fagen is to continue with his solo endeavours, he perhaps need to take a few more risks, as Becker has done here on "Circus Money". Personally I'd still prefer to see them working together, as the whole is even greater than the sum of the parts.
Nailed it... July 22, 2008
Do the gorgeous, sad refrains of 'Bad Sneakers' recall for you the bluesy, haunting peak of Steely Dan?
Remember that aching, after-hours sound, drowned away with a drink whose name you can barely remember let along pronounce? The pristine, but organic musicianship accompanying the bittersweet, cryptic lyrics; "Well I'm so alone, Tell me when they gonna send me home?"
If this is Steely Dan for you, you're in for a treat with Walter Becker's new, long awaited solo outing 'Circus Money'. 14 years in the wake of his last offering, '11 Tracks of Whack', this new album is of the same quality composition-wise and it's a huge improvement on the earlier album's 'home-made' production. Co-produced with one time Joni Mitchell's bassist/collaborator/life partner, Larry Klein, 'Circus Money' is a groovy, slick affair and the Klein/Becker junta is able to get more from the musicians (essentially variations on the last decade of Steely Dan's touring band) than just great performances.
Comparing this catalogue of tunes to Donald Fagen's last 2 solo LP's, Becker's songs seem to engage the musicians more, and their groove seems more compelling and faithful. Take for example, the drummer's drummer, Keith Carlock who plays on both Becker and Fagen's latest solo discs. On Fagen's 'Morph the Cat' he seems bound to play accomplice to Fagen's long standing mission to turn a human drummer into an unwavering groove machine, so 'in the pocket' and 'on the one' that he seems chained mercilessly to a click track. It killed me that Carlock seemed to have to beg permission to even add a fill at the end of 8 bars. Not so on 'Circus Money' with Keith's expression loosened up and allowed to prowl, snigger and spin where the material requires. It's like a different drummer and he's clearly enjoying the twisted jazz/reggae/pop/blues brew concocted by Becker on his new songs. The same can be said of the other top notch muso's gracing this album.
As for the songs, for me, they range from the magnificent 'Paging Audrey', 'Somebody's Saturday Night', 'God's eye view' - all of which I would've been happy to hear on any Dan album of the 70's (yes, I did just say that) to great tracks like 'Bob is not your uncle anymore', 'Selfish Gene' and 1 or 2 filler.
The words are sublime and befitting of Dan at their most canny:
"In that far-off room drenched in desert sun
Evil words were spoke -- dirty deeds were done
Could we sail back there snatch them from the air
I dare anyone"
The reason for 5 stars is that, with the sharp lyrics, and beautifully sad blues/jazz changes, there's just a hint of 'Katy Lied' back in the world to my ears, and that is really something to shout about. Make no mistake, Becker hasn't lost it; and hopefully he's just getting started with this great CD.
If you liked his last one, you may love this. If you like their 70's output, give it a listen.
I would even put this a definite notch above the last 2 Dan albums which could've benefited from more of the raspy, yearning cynicism of Becker's vocals; and certainly could've been improved with his more organic production style.
A self-confessed lazybones, Becker is finally back, better than ever, and we owe him thanks for reminding us that even people who can't be bothered still have a lot to say.
 Sad July 15, 2008
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
Looking for a souless reggae album? Here is your cd. I love the Dan and enjoyed all the solo stuff...until now. You will be better served downloading the few decent cuts from iTunes.
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