PRETZEL LOGIC

Pretzel Logic is the third full length studio album from US Pop/ Rock act Steely Dan. Their last album called Countdown to Ecstasy was a nice surprise for me with the addition of jazzy elements to their already cool and laidback Pop/ Rock style. Sadly Countdown to Ecstasy didn ´t sell enough, so Steely Dan was pushed in a more commercial direction by their record company and it´s very obvious when you listen to Pretzel Logic that their artistic ideals was pushed aside for a more commercial approach.

The opening song Rikki Don´t Lose That Number did become a hit and the album sold well. So did the operation go well allthough the patient died ? Well not quite. There are actually some enjoyable songs on Pretzel Logic and as always with Steely Dan they are executed to perfection. This is polished and cleverly arranged Pop/ rock with very little progressive ideas. So it might be a little hard to swallow for the hardcore proghead.

The musicianship is excellent and of course that saves the album a bit. Note that Jeff Porcaro who would later play in Toto plays drums on the album.

The production is wonderful. Detailed, warm and perfect.

This is not my favorite Steely Dan album and I would put it in the same catagory as the debut which I found enjoyable but nothing special. A small 3 star rating is deserved ( maybe only 2 stars, but I´m being nice).