Since September 2010, this blog has recorded the journey of this music junkie as I attempt to listen to all the music in my CD collection. CDs revisited in their entirety from start to finish - no skipping tracks, no shuffle. Compact Discs only - no vinyl, no tapes, no files.

Friday, May 19, 2017

Steely Dan - Pretzel Logic (1974)


My least favorite Steely Dan album. That doesn't necessarily mean that it's bad; this CD just doesn't get much playing time around here. It would have made a fantastic EP if you got rid of the fluff (read: stuff I don't dig as much). In any case, the whole album barely clocks in at a paltry 34 minutes so it's not needed, but here's my EP suggestion:
Side 1:
Rikki Don't Lose That Number (single edit) - 3:58
Barrytown - 3:17
Monkey in Your Soul - 2:31

Side 2:
Any Major Dude Will Tell You - 3:05
Pretzel Logic - 4:28
Through With Buzz - 1:30

You can't really tell by reading the above, but I actually like most of the thing - just not as much as most critics (see below). And, hey, if they had to go through this to get to the greatness of Katy Lied, I'm all for it.

Press of the time:
  • Billboard: "the songs here are unfortunately weak lyrically and that cuts the band's artistic ability."
  • CashBox: "Knowledgeable fans have waited a long time for this one, and they certainly won't be disappointed."
  • Robert Christgau (A+): "This album sums up their chewy perversity as aptly as its title--all I could ask is a lyric sheet."
  • Stereo Review: "Though they are treading water, I would rather hear Steely Dan do that than hear most bands at full stroke."
  • Record World: "Incandescently catchy cuts"
  • Rolling Stone: "accessible and sophisticated"

In its 2003 list of Greatest Albums, Rolling Stone magazine placed Pretzel Logic at #386; it did not rank in the 2023 updated list.


Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #8

Tracks: see above


Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Everything Must Go (2003)
Two Against Nature (2000)
Alive In America (1995)
A Decade of Steely Dan (1985)
Gaucho (1980)
Aja (1977)
Katy Lied (1975)


No comments:

Post a Comment