General Article name: Circus Money
Genre: Pop/Rock Product type: CD Label: 5 Over 12 Number of tracks: 12 Duration: 59:59 Tracklist CD - 1 1. Walter Becker - Door Number Two 4:33 2. Walter Becker - Downtown Canon 5:36 3. Walter Becker - Bob Is Not Your Uncle Anymore 4:45 4. Walter Becker - Upside Looking Down 4:08 5. Walter Becker - Paging Audrey 6:48 6. Walter Becker - Circus Money 4:15 7. Walter Becker - Selfish Gene 4:38 8. Walter Becker - Do You Remember the Name 4:14 9. Walter Becker - Somebody's Saturday Night 4:29 10. Walter Becker - Darkling Down 5:04 11. Walter Becker - God's Eye View 6:02 12. Walter Becker - Three Picture Deal 5:27   Description Description

Walter Becker's second solo album, Circus Money, arrives 14 years after his first, 1994's 11 Tracks of Whack -- which just happens to be the span of time separating 11 Tracks and Steely Dan's Gaucho, the last album Becker cut before going solo. Apart from producing credits, he was quiet during that first 14 years but during the second Steely Dan became a going concern again, as Becker's reunion with Donald Fagen -- first broached when the former produced the latter's 1993 record, Kamakiriad, a favor Fagen returned for 11 Tracks -- turned into something permanent, a base that they could pivot from and release solo projects. Circus Money is about as solo as it gets for Becker, as it represents the first time he's recorded an album without the collaboration of Fagen, choosing to work with producer/writer Larry Klein instead. Not that you could tell any of this from the sound of the album, as this shares the same impeccable production and soft jazz grooves that have been the duo's stock in trade since Gaucho. Sonically speaking, this is a close blood relative to Everything Must Go, just as Fagen's 2006 solo album Morph the Cat was, but Circus Money is thematically the opposite of Morph, as it's not a concept album and it's ever so slightly less reliant on jazzy, keyboard-driven rhythms, feeling more like the work of a small-scale combo -- a combo that happens to have a penchant for really relaxed reggae rhythms, a new development that is the only new wrinkle in Becker's sound and one that fits in easily with the mellow, immaculately soulful grooves. At its heart, Circus Money is a groove album -- a pristine, precise groove album to be sure, but this is an album where feel is paramount, so much so that it takes a few listens to dig into the sardonic dirty jokes, satire, and vignettes that Becker serves up in each of the 12 songs. Again, this is nothing new but that doesn't mean it's unwelcome, as Becker continues to live up to his high self-imposed standards with this very fine album. Plus, hearing him here on his own, completely separate from his running partner, makes it easier to appreciate that dry wit and sly guitar, two things that have always been his calling card but resonate strongly when heard outside of Steely Dan. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Contributors Artist: Walter Becker Vocals (Background): Windy Wagner Assistant Engineer: Justin Gerrish Vocals (Background): Tawatha Agee Piano: Ted Baker Pandeiro: Luciana Souza Record Label: 5 Over 12 Vocals (Background): Cindy Mizelle Production Coordination: Jill Dell'Abate Keyboards: Henry Hey Guitar: Dean Parks Engineer: Jay Messina Vocals (Background): Luciana Souza Vocals (Background): Sir Harry Bowens Producer: Larry Klein Organ: Larry Goldings Engineer: Elliot Scheiner Sax (Baritone): Roger Rosenberg Mixing: Helix Hadar Transcription: Andrew Rathbun Vocals (Background): Sweet Pea Atkinson Percussion: Gordon Gottlieb Management: Sandy Roberton Vocals (Background): Terry Dexter Vocals (Background): Carmen Carter Production Coordination: Cindi Peters Piano (Electric): Ted Baker Soloist: Luciana Souza Assistant Engineer: Chad Lupo Keyboards: Ted Baker Drums: Keith Carlock Vocals (Background): Sharon Bryant Vocals (Background): Kate Markowitz Bass: Larry Klein Soloist: Dean Parks Organ (Hammond): Larry Goldings Clarinet (Bass): Roger Rosenberg Mastering: Bernie Grundman Engineer: Helix Hadar Management: Irving Azoff Engineer: Brian Montgomery Percussion: Keith Carlock