WALTER BECKER : 11 TRACKS OF WHACK

1. Down in the Bottom
2. Junkie Girl
3. Surf and/Or Die
4. Book of Liars
5. Lucky Henry
6. Hard Up Case
7. Cringemaker
8. Girlfriend
9. My Waterloo
10. This Moody Bastard
11. Hat Too Flat
12. Little Kawai

Label : Giant Records

Release Year : 1994

Length : 56:54

Review (AllMusic) : It's not surprising that Steely Dan co-founder Walter Becker's debut solo album sounds like a Steely Dan record. What is a little surprising, though, is that, in his lead singing debut, he sounds so much like his erstwhile partner, Donald Fagen. Not that you'd mistake the two (Fagen projects more and is slightly grittier), but they sing in the same register with the same sly phrasing and the same accent. Other differences from the Dan are equally subtle: Becker adopts a sparer musical approach, for one thing, the missing element being the prominence of Fagen's keyboards (although Fagen does play on the record and co-produced it). Nothing gets in the way of Becker's voice, and he proves to be a less ornate lyricist than Fagen, restricting himself largely to tales of romantic dislocation. On the whole, this album sounds like what you'd expect - one half of Steely Dan.