<<< BACKWARD (“Surf And/Or Die”) ||| ONWARD (“Lucky Henry”) >>> *** STEELY DAN SUNDAY INDEX *** A romantic, tear-jerking ballad is the last kind of song anyone would expect from Walter Becker. “Book Of Liars” is a ballad alright, but the other two adjectives don’t apply, not when Becker is telling his subject about what a legendary bullshitter she is.

Again, I had been waiting for it and, for just a few seconds, that kick drum and moaning blues harp had me ready for … disappointment. Out came a furiously-strummed acoustic guitar to frame what felt like yet another shell of a rock song.

<<< BACKWARD (“Junkie Girl”) ||| ONWARD (“Book Of Liars”) >>> *** STEELY DAN SUNDAY INDEX *** A slight modification of the surfer’s variation on the “no guts no glory” credo, “Surf And/Or Die” is a eulogy of sorts to a real-life young friend or acquaintance in Becker’s home environs at Hawaii who perished in an accident.

<<< BACKWARD (“Down In The Bottom”) ||| ONWARD (“Surf And/Or Die”) >>> *** STEELY DAN SUNDAY INDEX *** The co-architect of Aja comes out with a song fit for Tonight’s The Night. Well, OK, so maybe Neil Young didn’t use a drum machine or production that shimmered quite so much, but there’s that same desolation

For a couple of seconds, I waited for it. Kick drum. Snare. Repeat. Here it comes…here it comes… And so it did. The cheese. Oh, the cheese.

<<< BACKWARD (“Big Noise, New York”) ||| ONWARD (“Junkie Girl”) >>> *** STEELY DAN SUNDAY INDEX *** Next to Lennon and McCartney, Becker and Fagen is, in my view, the highest quality songwriting partnership in rock.

With the exception of Fridays and the holidays, I don’t normally put on music based on the situation. But as 2012 drew to a close, I found myself listening to Neil Young’s Psychedelic Pill quite often, probably every couple of days. And why was that?

This isn’t going to be pretty. It will, however, be honest… It’s not in my nature to just toss up my hands at a challenge, which is what I almost did when presented with the twelve songs of Tunnel Of Love.

<<< BACKWARD (“Confide In Me”) ||| ONWARD (“Down In The Bottom”) >>> *** STEELY DAN SUNDAY INDEX *** Another Fagen rarity, first appearing as the B-side to the “Trans-Island Skyway,” and finally finding a long-player home on the Nightfly Trilogy in 2007. No, wait, it actually first appeared as a Jennifer Warnes recording, on her 1992 disc, The Hunter.

My 1984 self just couldn’t identify with this song. My dad was a factory worker, but health issues forced him to retire long before his job vanished.