steely dan / albums

3,027,712 plays
717 SHARES
1,203 FAVS
170 fans

- The Royal Scam (Reissue)
- - 121,325 plays
  - 18 favs
  - 26 shares
Steely Dan
Released 1976

Everything You Did
03:55
8,704 plays

Don't Take Me Alive
04:16
20,027 plays

Kid Charlemagne
04:38
17,651 plays

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songs

- 1
- Kid Charlemagne
- 04:38
- 17,651 plays

- 2
- The Caves Of Altamira
- 03:33
- 13,990 plays

- 3
- Don't Take Me Alive
- 04:16
- 20,027 plays

- 4
- Sign In Stranger
- 04:23
- 10,937 plays

- 5
- The Fez
- 04:01
- 14,252 plays

- 6
- Green Earrings
- 04:05
- 10,363 plays

- 7
- Haitian Divorce
- 05:51
- 12,389 plays

- 8
- Everything You Did
- 03:55
- 8,704 plays

- 9
- The Royal Scam
- 06:31
- 13,012 plays

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album review

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, All Music Guide