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
-- 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"
"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
, like the sneering
"Kid Charlemagne"
"Sign in Stranger,"
rank as genuine
classics. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine