Steely Dan – Royal Scam (2025 Remaster) (1976/2025) [FLAC 24bit/192kHz]

Steely Dan – Royal Scam (2025 Remaster) (1976/2025)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 41:01 minutes | 1,51 GB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Geffen

Led by the songwriting and virtuoso musical duo of Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, Steely Dan released an extraordinary run of seven albums on ABC Records and MCA Records from 1972 through 1980. Filled with topline musicianship, clever and subversive wordplay, ironic humor, genius arrangements, and pop hits that outshone the Top 40 of its day, their records, which were as sophisticated and cerebral as they were inscrutable, were stylistically diverse, melding their love of jazz with rock, blues, and impeccable pop songcraft.

Released in 1976, The Royal Scam marked a pivotal moment in Steely Dan’s evolution toward studio perfectionism, delivering a darker, more cynical tone wrapped in complex jazz-rock arrangements. This album features some of the band’s sharpest songwriting and introduces legendary drummer Bernard Purdie to the fold—his first appearance on a Steely Dan record—bringing his signature groove to tracks like “Kid Charlemagne” and “Green Earrings.” Guitarist Larry Carlton delivers searing solos throughout the album, particularly on “Don’t Take Me Alive,” while Dean Parks adds talk box flair to the reggae-influenced “Haitian Divorce.” The album also includes standout cuts like the funky, offbeat “The Fez” and the epic title track, “The Royal Scam,” a scathing portrait of shattered American dreams. With contributions from bassist Chuck Rainey, keyboardist Paul Griffin, and the soaring background vocals of Michael McDonald, The Royal Scam combines biting social commentary with masterful musicianship, making it a cult favorite and a testament to Steely Dan’s uncompromising artistic vision.The Royal Scam is the first Steely Dan record that doesn’t exhibit significant musical progress from its predecessor, but that doesn’t mean the album is any less interesting. The cynicism that was suppressed on Katy Lied comes roaring to the surface on The Royal Scam — not only are the lyrics bitter and snide, but the music is terse, broken, and weary. Not so coincidentally, the album is comprised of Walter Becker and Donald Fagen’s weakest set of songs since Can’t Buy a Thrill. Alternating between mean-spirited bluesy vamps like “Green Earrings” and “The Fez” and jazzy soft rock numbers like “The Caves of Altamira,” there’s nothing particularly bad on the album, yet there are fewer standouts than before. Nevertheless, the best songs on The Royal Scam, like the sneering “Kid Charlemagne” and “Sign in Stranger,” rank as genuine Steely Dan classics. – Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Tracklist:

1-1. Steely Dan – Kid Charlemagne (04:34)
1-2. Steely Dan – The Caves Of Altamira (03:31)
1-3. Steely Dan – Don’t Take Me Alive (04:13)
1-4. Steely Dan – Sign In Stranger (04:21)
1-5. Steely Dan – The Fez (03:56)
1-6. Steely Dan – Green Earrings (04:06)
1-7. Steely Dan – Haitian Divorce (05:47)
1-8. Steely Dan – Everything You Did (03:57)
1-9. Steely Dan – The Royal Scam (06:31)

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