Walter Becker's second solo album,
Circus Money, arrives 14 years after his first, 1994's
11 Tracks of Whack -- which just happens to be the span of time separating
11 Tracks and
Steely Dan's
Gaucho, the last album
Becker cut before going solo. Apart from producing credits, he was quiet during that first 14 years but during the second
Steely Dan became a going concern again, as
Becker's reunion with
Donald Fagen -- first broached when the former produced the latter's 1993 record,
Kamakiriad, a favor
Fagen returned for
11 Tracks -- turned into something permanent, a base that they could pivot from and release solo projects.
Circus Money is about as solo as it gets for
Becker, as it represents the first time he's recorded an album without the collaboration of
Fagen, choosing to work with producer/writer
Larry Klein instead. Not that you could tell any of this from the sound of the album, as this shares the same impeccable production and soft jazz grooves that have been the duo's stock in trade since
Gaucho. Sonically speaking, this is a close blood relative to
Everything Must Go, just as
Fagen's 2006 solo album
Morph the Cat was, but
Circus Money is thematically the opposite of
Morph, as it's not a concept album and it's ever so slightly less reliant on jazzy, keyboard-driven rhythms, feeling more like the work of a small-scale combo -- a combo that happens to have a penchant for really relaxed reggae rhythms, a new development that is the only new wrinkle in
Becker's sound and one that fits in easily with the mellow, immaculately soulful grooves. At its heart,
Circus Money is a groove album -- a pristine, precise groove album to be sure, but this is an album where feel is paramount, so much so that it takes a few listens to dig into the sardonic dirty jokes, satire, and vignettes that
Becker serves up in each of the 12 songs. Again, this is nothing new but that doesn't mean it's unwelcome, as
Becker continues to live up to his high self-imposed standards with this very fine album. Plus, hearing him here on his own, completely separate from his running partner, makes it easier to appreciate that dry wit and sly guitar, two things that have always been his calling card but resonate strongly when heard outside of
Steely Dan. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine