Walter Becker aficiando Preston Frazier chooses his five favorite songs by the Steely Dan co-leader.

Walter Becker and Donald Fagen have complementing talents — that’s a major reason of what made their partnership such a success — but there’s some overlap too, and one of the things they are both big on is making their songs groove. You May Also Like: Walter Becker, “Medical ScienceRead More

<<< BACKWARD (“Fall Of ’92”) ||| ONWARD (“Medical Science”) >>> *** STEELY DAN SUNDAY INDEX *** With vicious and vulgar prose, it’s easy to figure out why “Fall of ’92” failed to get included on 11 Tracks of Whack. I’m not really sure what barred “Lies I Can Believe” fromRead More

There were a few tracks that didn’t make it into the Whack Eleven, and “Fall of ’92,” credited to both Becker and Donald Fagen, was one of them. Musically, it can hang with most any of the approved ones found on 11 Tracks Of Whack You May Also Like: WalterRead More

<<< BACKWARD (“This Moody Bastard”) ||| ONWARD (“Little Kawai”) >>> *** STEELY DAN SUNDAY INDEX *** This detailed re-evaluation of Becker’s first solo record from the mid-90s gave me a better appreciation of the album, but there are some quirks I still can’t overcome and the whole of “Hat TooRead More

<<< BACKWARD (“My Waterloo”) ||| ONWARD (“Hat Too Flat”) >>> *** STEELY DAN SUNDAY INDEX *** Back during the time that 11 Tracks Of Whack was new, I’d pop that CD out of the player after “Girlfriend” most of the time; I thought that most of this album’s filler wereRead More

<<< BACKWARD (“Cringemaker”) ||| ONWARD (“My Waterloo”) >>> *** STEELY DAN SUNDAY INDEX *** There are some things I don’t like about “Girlfriend” and other things I just love. You May Also Like: Walter Becker, “Cringemaker [Swamp Version]” (circa 1994)

The real charm of 11 Tracks of Whack is not how much it sounds like classic Steely Dan, but how much it distances itself from it. You May Also Like: Walter Becker, “Cringemaker [Swamp Version]” (circa 1994) Walter Becker, “Medical Science [Demo]” (1994): Steely Dan Sunday Steely Dan, “Hey Nineteen”Read More

Throw together a funky, faux-reggae pulse, some dancehall horns, a delectably angular Becker guitar solo and his light-hearted humor about a relationship based on desperation, and you have a “Hard Up Case.” You May Also Like: Walter Becker, “Hard Up Case (Live at Slim’s 1995)” (2024): Steely Dan Sunday

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. You May Also Like: Walter Becker, “Medical Science [Demo]” (1994):Read More