11 Tracks of Whack (1994)

I watched the classic Boris Karloff version of The Mummy tonight. I couldn't help but smile when a doctor character said "medical science is helpless in a case like this." Still wild to me that it was only a bonus track and didn't make the album proper. It's so melodic and catchy and the lyrics have some of my favorite lines Walter ever wrote.

When I was ten years younger, aka a teenager, I didn't even really factor Walter's solo work into Steely's output. His sound/voice didn't really interest me. I've got no idea why. What changed me was hearing Slang of Ages on Everything Must Go. Seeing how cool and laid back he sounded on that track really made me warm up to his voice. Still, it took revisiting the Steely catalog in my twenties to buy a Walter album, and that was this one.

I really dig that kind of cynical jazz funk vamping on some of these tracks, and as someone said, it's a successor to the cynical jazz funk vamps on the Royal Scam. I always thought of RS as Walter's albums, because it's got a similar kind of rockish aggression to it. The loud electric drums, to me, while dated, kind of make me think of the back cover with the broken glass. The "Whack" so to speak is Walter's punching you in the head over and over again with his drums. It's as close as Steely Dan ever got to a "grunge" album.

I full agree with the analogy that Walter is Lennon and Fagan is McCartney. Kamikariad is a naughty and introspective, yet smooth, melodic and futuristic flight of fancy, while Tracks of Whack is Walter wrestling with his demons in a way similar to Don't Take Me Alive. At least to me

I posted this over at WB's Quote of the Week...but if it's a-gonna get any interest or attention this might be the luckier place. 👂

This is from WB's very early notes on 11 Tracks of Whack:

All that really matters:

Songs. Structure. Soul.

I think it encapsulates everything we heard WB say about his freshman effort, even though very few paid attention or believed artists can begin a project with a set of goals in mind for themselves beyond "intending to make a hit". I know it usually fell on deaf journalistic (and audience) ears; they didn't realize he was speaking about his interest in writing songs with creative and unique structures, as compared to showing off all he could do with the production of a song. If Becker (and his solo career) has shown us anything, it's that the vast majority of listeners don't or can't make that distinction. To them, it's not a good song if it isn't fully realized with the full spit-polish production...everything from the arrangement to the cowbell.

The soul: I'm thinking in particular of him saying during a few interviews that, knowing he had little to offer in the matter of dulcet tones and impressive pipes, he thought and hoped he could bring to his vocals, and sought to bring to his vocals, a little bit of soul, at least (I could call that personality or presence as well).

And somewhat tangentially, he said many times that he had decided: without a doubt, his most favorite activity among all the myriad skills and tasks he had mastered, was....the writing, whether in partnership or solo. He became more certain of this as he got older. Because once you have a good song, it's perfect. Never to be perfect again. Before you hear the contractor say "that can't be built that way", or "the material you want for the cabinets doesn't exist".

ANYHOO, I sure would be interested in any discussion or shared observations--- what you all think about Walter's pithy self-talk about his goals for 11TOW. I know there will be some disagreements among you... with whether WB's goals were met, or realistic ,or self-sabotaging, or irrelevant, or whatever. And that could be the most interesting part of any exchange, sez I. Thanks for listening...

OK, well there you have it @Moderator: D-Mod! Much more reliable than my memory. But, I would like to research whether it was played at the '93 SD show I was at. I'll get around to that...

I listened to Girlfriend today for the first time in a while, and I was reminiscing about how great that sounded live with a full band. I know I heard it at Slim's, and pretty sure I also heard it at one of the early SD 1993 tour shows, in Pittsburgh (not shown at setlist web site but that site is about as dependable as my memory is these days). But anyway... @Moderator: D-Mod, wondering if you are aware of a full-band studio version of Girlfriend that he recorded with the Lost Tribe gang, that may see the light of day sometime? I bet it would sound really interesting.

MOD...Ugh. It's not lame, it's respectful and YOURS to process, we are grateful you're sharing anything and how you choose to do that is yours alone!! No worry on us here!

TBD: that sense of being possessed by Walter's thoughts, view of the world; sometimes frightening-- always a little magical. I'm grateful for that feeling today, when it comes. Thanks for reminding...

we do have most Whack-era "demos" in the chute. In some cases, it's a matter of finding the best copy among very many (very many) rehearsal versions, several of which are great in their own unique way. So much so that we're mulling over how to handle certain tracks that have so many versions, many substantively different from one another, that it seems crazy to try to pick among them. In other cases it is in trying to clean up the warble and pops on a cassette. In another case, chasing down a lead on the possibility of there being a 24-track version (which we haven't gotten to yet). .. and always, I have certain principles WB expected me to follow. Since in some sense we are selecting "versions of record", we trying to be super thoughtful with our selections. Greatly appreciate your patience.

I too think Lies I Can Believe is probably my favorite of the excluded tracks. Our Lawn is a winner too.

Queued up for the next post is something very few people have heard -- from early 90s -- and something of a mystery in which your guess will be as good as mine if that mystery is to be solved.

(I know some of you think this sort of thing is lame -- involving readers instead of just spooling out the tracks. A "Shut up and Post" kinda thing. But please understand; I don't do this because I'm trying to generate interest out there; I do it to try to survive it in here. I would rather feel "oh here's a mystery, let's think about it!" than the honest truth -- which is; I can't ask him. There is so much I will never know, ever. He's gone)

I believe this to be a passage for the ages, from the personal to the universe ...

"I'm pullin' in a picture now Up off my back pages And all at once am privy to The entire grim design Of a great civilization In the terminal stages Of a slow but steady mental moral spiritual decline And so it goes And thus it is written And all I want to know is Where does a guy like me fit in??

Right where you were Walter, right where you spent your life I think.

Thank you for filling our minds with your thoughts!

Love this album, it's so very cynical, and I love every second of it. Held together with solid guitar work. Still think my favorite tracks aren't on the album. Lies I can Believe is up there as one of my favorite outtakes, don't know how this one ended up abandoned. Fall of 92 is another great track but I can easily see why it didn't make the album (amazing that something could be too outright cynical to be on that album, quite an accomplishment) glad that one was at least released though. Ghosts of Hypno's past was pretty good track too. Sanpaiku, was an interesting track a little outtake, like some things about it but its a bit rough. Was interesting to finally hear another version of Three sisters shaking on this page, it really ticks me off apple doesn't think Walter Becker ever deserves an artist picture and to this date you get the mic for him on itunes and i devices.

:-)

all good things come to those who wait :-)

Please... is there any chance you could provide downloads of those 'outtakes/demos' from 11 TOW like Lies I Can Believe? You know, I'd pay for stuff like that if they were released properly.

Keyboards for the entire album are credited to Donald Fagen and John Beasley. That said, those solos sound a lot like Walter, so I wouldn't be surprised if he either just didn't give himself credit or if Fagen or Beasley took a lot of direction from what Walter had done in earlier demos.

Same thing on Book of Liars, I think that's DF on the solo.

OnTheCorner: I'm pretty sure it’s Fagen.

here's a random question - does anyone know who takes the wonderfully weird and sloppy keyboard solo on Hat Too Flat? Kinda sounds like Fagen on acid to me?

11TOW took some time to hit for me, too. For me, the programmed drum sounds were the major hurdle; I have nothing against programmed drums in general, but the samples themselves sounded instantly dated to me. I still can't say I love the snare sound in Down In The Bottom. But that all feels like nitpicking these days because when the album hit, it hit hard.

Since I first started listening to SD (in '73), when I was a too-bookish kid in high school, I first concentrated on the lyrics, to the exclusion to the music. When I figured I had the lyrics knocked, I then got to float along on the music for my overall album experience (headphones on, please!). When I first listened to 11 TOW, I did likewise; but didn't get the same "feel." At first, I agreed with the people that opined that all the tracks sounded like demos, which I got, sort of. But at the same time, I kept thinking that If I were making a solo record after being in SD, I'd probably go in the same direction WB did; stripped down and kind of DIY sounding. And again, I went back to the lyrics, which were so affecting. The music came later for me, but after repeated listenings, I did come to appreciate the totality of the songs, and have come to love it (though not as much as Circus Money, which is, to me, a by far more "loveable" album).

Matt - that's a very fine and interesting story about SD–11 TW– SM etc. People's stories about how they came to "get" 11 TW are always interesting. Just as interesting are the stories from people who just never did "get" it. I pretty much "strongly dislike" stories that imply that those who just don't care for the album are simply "Unenlightened" in some way. That's nonsense. I hope some of the people who never clicked with 11 TW will post "their process" here as well. (lol. Process: "I just hated the damn thing. end of story". lol).

Matt - I wonder if sometime (but not now: We mods are hogging the discussions! ) you would share our conversation about "subtracting SD", which we had after listening to the earliest and I mean earliest version of… damn I forget what it was. But if you are willing to share your observation, that would make, I think, for a really interesting exchange about a topic with great variation of opinions amongst Dan fans. I can already see we're getting to trust one another pretty well. I know we'll get an discussions on that one.