Pretzel Logic

Japanese only SHM-CD (Super High Material CD - playable on all CD players) paper sleeve pressing. Universal. 2008.

Pretzel Logic marked a transition for Steely Dan from a studio-bound rock band producing hits such as "Reeling in the Years" and "Do It Again" to a looser constellation of studio musicians under the direction of songwriters Walter Becker and Donald Fagen. That later version of Steely Dan would paint its masterpiece with Aja. Pretzel Logic is much more playful than that, and also jazzier than the albums that came before. The jazz intentions are made perfectly clear on "Parker's Band," a swinging tribute to bebop titan Charlie Parker, and a crafty cover of Duke Ellington's "East St. Louis Toodle-oo." The lyrics displayed their own twisted logic, presenting a tumble of images in search of a unifying principle that most often remained elusive. Steely Dan was that rare act that could work such purposeful obscurity to its advantage: "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" was a top-five hit even though nobody had a clue as to what it was about. Or, perhaps, everybody had a clue, but nobody could agree. --John Milward