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...