ALBUM OF THE MONTH

#41: Album of the month is 11 Tracks Of Whack by Walter Becker released in 1994.

Walter Becker's solo CD was yet another sign that he and Donald Fagen were making music together again. After working apart during the 80's Donald and Walter joined forces again produce Donald's "Kamakiriad" in 1993, they toured as the Steely Dan Orchestra and Donald helped produce Walter's "11 Tracks Of Whack".

If Donald's two solo albums had sounded a lot like Steely Dan, you couldn't be too sure what Walter's record would be like.

Quoted in the press release at the time Walter said:

"My original concept involved a very stripped down sound, with strong emphasis on melody and bass line, and not too much in the way of chording. The idea was to get a kind of spacious feel, where the harmonies were more defined by melodies and roots than spelled out with static vertical comping-type chords."

He had to find a new way of writing music and songs:

"My first dilemma was, how do I go about writing by myself, that is, without Donald? In our collaboration he provided a lot of the harmonic direction and overall tonal framework, and his ability to develop great chord sequences, striking modulations, and so on, became an essential ingredient in our writing style. I decided to use a minimalist approach that would enable me to focus on the overall thrust of the song, rather that bogging down in harmonic complexities and ornaments that were perhaps irrelevant in the musical context of the day."

The lyrics are a lot more personal than on Steely Dan records. But still full of that dark humor.
And the fans of the group were split down the middle as far as liking Walter's record or not. It wasn't the lyrics but the singing that some found - and still find - hard to get used to.

It was a slow grower for me, but now I love the groove of the whole album. Singing and all.

"11 Tracks Of Whack" didn't sell, Steely Dan toured and eventually released the first studio album in 20 years when "Two Against Nature" appeared in 2000.
With news of Donald working on his third solo record - perhaps with Walter involved one way or another - it would be fun to see what a new Walter Becker album would sound like. I am sure it would be pretty different from "11 Tracks Of Whack".

While we wait for news on a new Becker CD we'll spin some tracks from this 1994 release here on RadioDupree. Of course we'll include "Medical Science" (only included on the Japanese pressing of the CD) and "Fall Of '92" (available on a three track promo released in 1994).

N.S.

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