Released May 1976 The Royal Scam
(1976) Aja
(1977) Release date May 1976 Producer Gary Katz | Length 41:11 Artist Steely Dan Label ABC Records | |
 | ||
Recorded November 1975 -
March 1976;
ABC Studios in
Los Angeles;
A&R Studios in
(Manhattan) New York Genres Rock music, Jazz fusion, Funk rock Similar Steely Dan albums, Jazz fusion albums | ||
The Royal Scam is the fifth album by Steely Dan, 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 other Steely Dan albums since the departure of Jeff Baxter. Guitarists on the recording include Walter Becker, Denny Dias, Larry Carlton, Elliott Randall and Dean Parks.
Contents
- Dont take me alive steely dan
- Cover
- Reception
- Track listing
- Side one
- Side two
- Personnel
- Charts
- Songs
- References
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.
The album was re-issued by MCA Records in 1979 following the sale of the ABC Records label to MCA.
Dont take me alive steely dan
Cover
The album cover shows a man in a suit, sleeping on a radiator, and apparently dreaming of skyscraper-beast hybrids. The cover was created from a painting by Zox and a photograph by Charlie Ganse, and was originally created for Van Morrison's unreleased 1975 album, Mechanical Bliss, the concept being a satire of the American Dream. In the liner notes for the 1999 remaster of the album, Fagen and Becker claim it to be "the most hideous album cover of the seventies, bar none (excepting perhaps Can't Buy a Thrill)."
Reception
The album was not as highly rated upon its release as its predecessors with most reviewers noting that it did not seem to represent any musical advancement. 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.
Track listing
All songs by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, except where noted.
Side one
- "Kid Charlemagne" – 4:38
- guitar solo by Larry Carlton
- "The Caves of Altamira" – 3:33
- tenor saxophone solo by John Klemmer
- "Don't Take Me Alive" – 4:16
- guitar solo by Larry Carlton
- "Sign in Stranger" – 4:23
- piano solo by Paul Griffin
- guitar solo by Elliott Randall
- "The Fez" (Becker, Fagen, Paul Griffin) – 4:01
- guitar solo by Walter Becker
Side two
- "Green Earrings" – 4:05
- guitar solos by Denny Dias (1st) and Elliott Randall (2nd)
- "Haitian Divorce" – 5:53
- talk box guitar solo by Dean Parks, altered by Walter Becker
- "Everything You Did" – 3:55
- guitar solo by Larry Carlton
- "The Royal Scam" – 6:30
- guitar solo by Larry Carlton
Personnel
Steely Dan
Additional musicians
Production
Charts
Album
Pop Singles
Songs
1Kid Charlemagne4:39
2The Caves of Altamira3:34
3Don’t Take Me Alive4:16