TRANSITIONAL DAN

Pretzel Logic was American band Steely Dan’s third album and contains their most successful single, "Rikki Don’t Lose That Number." It is also the album that marked their transition from a traditional recording/touring rock band to something altogether more idiosyncratic and special. Let’s take a tour of Pretzel Logic to see what makes both the album, and Steely Dan, special.

RIKKI DON’T LOSE THAT NUMBER

Their previous album having disappointed, sales wise, it was a relief for the main songwriters of Steely Dan—Donald Fagen and Walter Becker—to have a hit single propelling the new LP up the charts. "Rikki" did just that, reaching #4 in the US and scraping into the Top 40 in Australia. With its hypnotic piano motif and catchy chorus the song is both direct (keep this phone number, I’ll support you if you need it) and complex. There’s the spooky mallet introduction by British jazz musician Victor Feldman, Jim Gordon’s tight but grooving drums and a sparkling guitar solo by Jeff "Skunk" Baxter. Many have commented on the similarity to jazz pianist Horace Silver’s "Song For My Father", a connection Fagen has denied. Still, the jazz elements are fully present, an increasing feature of Steely Dan’s music.

NIGHT BY NIGHT

This funky little beast about living life in the moment contains another sharp "Skunk" Baxter guitar solo. It is notable for precipitating drummer Jim Hodder’s departure from the band. He was unable to nail the rhythm to the satisfaction of Fagen and Becker, so future Toto drummer Jeff Porcaro was brought in to do the job.

ANY MAJOR DUDE WILL TELL YOU

Known for their acidic observations and cynical view of the world, Fagen and Becker deliver an unusually gentle song here. With a swinging West Coast vibe and a surprisingly empathic lyric (about how things will improve if you hang in there) "Dude" has a delightful warmth and, as a bonus, a reference to the Squonk, a fictional creature destined to feature on a Genesis album a couple of years later.

BARRYTOWN

This observational lyric dates from the pre-Steely Dan days and certainly stands out as a simpler, more direct song. Baxter’s pedal steel guitar adds a country twang near the end.

EAST ST LOUIS TOODLE-OO

The only cover Steely Dan recorded, this reworking of a Duke Ellington tune is an homage to the jazz loved by Fagen and Becker.

PARKER’S BAND

Side two opens with another jazz influenced song, this time an upbeat celebration of jazz musicians in general and legendary sax player Charlie Parker in particular. The lyric, which also dates from pre-Dan days, is littered with "Bird" references (Parker’s nickname) and, though straightforward, includes a middle section that always surprises with its unexpected melodic shifts.

THROUGH WITH BUZZ

At one-and-a-half minutes, this is Steely Dan’s shortest recorded song. Unusually for the composers, it deploys strings."A very saccharine sounding track," Fagen said,"with a very cynical lyric."

PRETZEL LOGIC

The title track could be sub-titled "Walter and Donald’s Excellent Adventure". It’s the first of several blues-based shuffles, a style the Dan became enamoured with. This one has an entertaining lyric about visiting scenes from history; travelling minstrels, Napoleon, and on. Becker contributes a fine guitar solo, his first on a Dan LP.

WITH A GUN

Belting along with a rockabilly rhythm and a country guitar lick, this story of murder and mayhem checks out in 2:18. Short and not-so-sweet.

CHARLIE FREAK

A fascinating piano-based song that delivers a novella in under three minutes. The fast-moving piano part is played by Michael Omaritian, another example of a session musician imported to nail the vision. This trend permeates Pretzel Logic and marks the dissolution of the band as such, signifying the transition to Steely Dan becoming a vehicle for Fagen and Becker to create their own musical vision. Touring was a thing of the past from here on in.

MONKEY IN YOUR SOUL

The album finishes with this perky little number that bounces along with sax, fuzz bass and Victor Feldman’s marimba. The funky music is at odds with a dark lyric about addiction and relationship collapse, and the short song (another one!) finishes with an upward inflection that hangs like a floating question mark. Will Pretzel Logic, an album of tighter, shorter songs, be well received? Can we make records without a band? How much jazz can we get away with?

Such questions were explored in the fabulous Steely Dan records which followed. But that does nothing to diminish the enjoyment of Pretzel Logic, currently also available in a superb Analogue Productions UHQR box.

© Bruce Jenkins—September 2023