“Kid Charlemagne” debuted on the Citizen Steely Dan Tour in 1994, and has never left the setlist. It’s become a live staple with good reason.
The bass and drums are infectious, and the original guitar work by Larry Carlton is among the best in rock history. Having seen it performed by the band with the guitar duo of Georg Wadenius and Walter Becker in 1994, Wayne Krantz and Walter Becker in 1996, and Jon Herington and Walter Becker from 2000 on, with occasional appearances by Larry Carlton sitting in, I’ve always been amazed at how Steely Dan pulls it off live.
The version on 2021’s Northeast Corridor: Steely Dan Live!, with its brief electric piano/clav intro before the iconic rhythm blast by bassist Freddie Washington and drummer Keith Carlock, is a quick and tasty addition. However, little else has changed over the years.
Like the update on 1995’s Alive in America, with its synthesizer stabs by Donald Fagen and the vibraphone touches, the feel here is close but not a duplication of the original.
Is this “Kid Charlemagne” better than the Alive in America version? It’s as good. Fagen is less prominent in the Northeast Corridor take, Jon Herington is more faithful to the original, and Connor Kennedy provides able rhythm work.
Alive in America features Tom Barney on bass and Dennis Chambers on drums, and they are an imposing rhythm section. But the same can be argued for Carlock and Washington. It’s just a matter of taste.
But Jon Herington’s end solo ends up surpassing many versions of the songs I’ve heard by Wadenius or Krantz, as he seems to stretch the original theme just a little more. Is it possible to improve on perfection? Maybe not, but it’s fun to sit in your underwear drinking beer in a dark room while listening for the differences in the many versions of a perfect song.
The following track on Northeast Corridor is certainly not the definitive live version, but we’ll get to Steely Dan’s latest pass at “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” next week.
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