Walter Becker CIRCUS MONEY

Personnel: Dean Parks, Jon Herington (guitar); Chris Potter (tenor saxophone); Jim Beard (piano); Larry Goldings (organ); Ted Baker (keyboards); Keith Carlock (drums, percussion); Gordon Gottlieb (percussion); Cindy Mizelle, Kate Markowitz, Sharon Bryant, Tawatha Agee, Windy Wagner, Carmen Carter, Carolyn Leonhart (background vocals).
As one half of Steely Dan, Walter Becker is responsible for some of the smartest, most musically sophisticated music ever to come under the "pop" umbrella, but he's always remained in Dan frontman Donald Fagen's shadow. It took him 14 years to follow up his solo debut, 11 TRACKS OF WHACK, but CIRCUS MONEY doesn't feel even remotely labored. Like its predecessor, it bears echoes of Steely Dan's breezy jazz/pop/rock sound, but doesn't feel as fussy. The production doesn't have quite the bluesy, swampy tinge found on 11 TRACKS, but it still feels far more organic than any of Fagen's solo recordings. Becker's laconic singing does sound more like that of his partner than ever, but lyrically, he makes it clear that Fagen's not the only one with a knack for mixing heady conceits with biting wit.

• Format: CD
• Genre: Pop