11 Tracks of Whack
I listen to lots of music. I think if you played everything on my Ipod back to back, it could still be playing at the turn of the next century.
Most of the time in my car I listen to it on “Shuffle.” As such, most of my travels are infused with completely schizophrenic montages… … Social Distortion, followed by Mozart, then Cake followed by Muddy Waters…. …..you get the idea.
Every once in a while, during one of those sonic orgies, a particular song slams by brain against the driver side window and forces me to take the “Shuffle” off-line and listen to the whole album the proper way: from cover to cover. Then, once in a much longer while, that album slips me a mickey, …and when I regain consciousness I stumble upon the odd realization that I have just listened to the same album over and over for an entire unplanned drive from Tustin and Terre Haute (and then I stumble upon the further realization that I am late for my 10:30).
Ok. That just happened to me with Walter Beckers 1994 “11 Tracks of Whack. “ Yes, that is Walter Becker, of Steely Dan notoriety, and his first non-Steely Dan solo effort. Yes, those who know me well can tell you that I was listening to quite a bit of Steely Dan long before I gave up my Angel Flight slacks. However, I will admit, I have probably had “11 Tracks of Whack” for more than 10 years, and I am not sure I had ever listened to it cover to cover before. I just didn’t think it shimmered like classic Steely Dan, or even like Donald Fagans first solo effort (“Kamakiriad”). I remember thinking it was a bit rough and dark. So it is odd that now, steeped in my full 47 years of life, that those same qualities are exactly what sucked me in.
Like most of Steely Dan’s catalog, Beckers “11 Tracks of Whack” floats on a bed of jazz, rock and funk. …but… …but its like you are looking at it through the 2am haze of a Changzhao opium den. It all feels a bit “off” …like you’re hovering somewhere in between keys…but at the same time taking sophisticated, at times understated, musical twists and turns. …and the lyrics…. Well,…
As of the time of this post, used copies of this CD are available on Amazon.com at $1.98. So, if any of this resonates with you, get a copy and take a listen …better yet, 3 listens, and let me know what you think.
::Dirkshadows.com 