Sold Date: April 1, 2020
Start Date: February 3, 2020
Final Price: £15.00 (GBP)
Seller Feedback: 1562
Buyer Feedback: 142

Steely Dan ‎ "The Royal Scam"  ABC Records ‎ABCL 5161  UK 1st press Vinyl, LP, housed in a printed inner sleeve and released in 1976.
The vinyl appears to have been lightly played and is in great condition. It played through beautifully on my elderly stereo - no hop, stick or jump. It is housed in its original printed inner sleeve which, apart from a small split to the bottom seam, is in good condition. The sleeve shows minimal signs of wear and is also in great shape - again, no rips or writing. The spine is intact and legible. Matrix / Runout  Side 1 : ABCL 5161-A2 Matrix / Runout  Side 2 : ABCL 5161-B2
"The Royal Scam" is Steely Dan's fifth studio album, originally released by ABC Records in 1976. The album went gold and peaked at #15 on the charts. "The Royal Scam" features more prominent guitar work than the prior Steely Dan album, "Katy Lied", which had been the first without founding guitarist Jeff Baxter. Guitarists on the recording include Walter Becker, Denny Dias, Larry Carlton, Elliott Randall and Dean Parks.
In common with other Steely Dan albums, "The Royal Scam" is littered with cryptic allusions to people and events both real and fictional. In a BBC interview in 2000, Becker and Fagen revealed that "Kid Charlemagne" is loosely based on Augustus Owsley Stanley, the notorious drug "chef" who was famous for manufacturing hallucinogenic compounds, and that "Caves of Altamira", based on a book by Hans Baumann, is about the loss of innocence, the narrative about a visitor to the Cave of Altamira who registers his astonishment at the prehistoric drawings. It is also influenced by Plato's Cave Allegory and Keats' 'Ode to a Grecian Urn".
The album was not as highly rated upon its release as its predecessors with most reviewers finding that it did not show any musical progress. In contrast, the original Rolling Stone review was more positive, and ultimately the magazine gave it five stars in a later Hall of Fame review. In 2000 it was voted number 868 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.
The self-isolating measures in the UK mean that I am unable to access my local post office. I am therefore using a courier service for the foreseeable future. This will have no cost implications for UK buyers, but anyone ordering from outside the UK should contact me for an accurate quote for postage costs.
As a rough guide, prices for the USA are likely to be around £20, Italy and Spain, £10, France £9 and Germany £8. I shall, of course provide an accurate quote for each request.