Cosmic America

The mid-70s are in full swing, and the contemporary malaise is starting to seep into pop music more and more. Keen cultural observers Becker and Fagen are right there to document the troubles, and we get to hear a lot of those observations in the lyrics of The Royal Scam. We also hear some decidedly evolutionary changes in the music --- the influences of disco and hard rock start to seep into the cellar of many songs on this album. And yet --- you could make an argument that The Royal Scam is the least satisfying of the early Steely Dan records. There are some tremendous moments, but there are also some moments that don't feel entirely realized. It's still miles better than most albums that came out in 1976, but does it live up to the Steely Dan standard that the group has created in the first four years of their career?