Circus Money 10 Year anniversary

So glad I have a place to say this:

Although I'd really liked 11 Tracks when it came out, when I first read about Circus Money, it just didn't sound like my thing. To be honest, it sounded a bit like a recipe for disaster: aging white rock star makes a reggae record with a producer whose work I wasn't all that fond of...I couldn't bear to even check it out. Yes, I know - stupid and closed-minded. What a mistake...

Five or so years pass and I get curious enough to stream it. And holy shit. Fell in love with this brilliant record from the first spin. The songs, the playing, the incredible production, and that singing - I just wasn't prepared for how much this record spoke to me. I'm not so much of a lyric person and yet so many of these songs moved me deeply.

However many years after that, I'm still spinning it regularly: at home, while I'm walking through the East Village, when I'm on a flight. Simply put, it's a record that makes me feel great, reminds me of why I love music. It's one maybe a half dozen records from my life that remains fresh, that speaks to my love of melody and rhythm.

And while I can't thank Walter Becker, thanks to anybody here who had anything to do with creating this masterpiece. It brings me peace.

Thanks! It’s been awhile...

Happy 11th to our much-cherished "Circus Monkey", still swinging amongst the tree-tops, uncaged.

Completely agree with you on Upside Looking Down!

II I spent two reorganizing  my studio . Today was day two and I pulled up circus money to see how the room was sounding it is such a beautiful amazing record I was mesmerized today by upside looking down complete Genius lyrics nobody goes right to the heart of the matter like Walter did. I still mourn his tragic departure

Flat hat tip? Why thank you! I knew that Ph.D. would get some use eventually. I love Hat's too flat--brilliant and more timely than ever. And Little Kawai right after--another sweet/funny song that would never, ever, be on a SD album! Great review by Jon Pareles, thanks for bringing it up, Randy, and thanks for posting, D-Mod. I really enjoyed reading such a thoughtful review. Thanks for sharing that. Very smart man that Pareles...I remember sitting next to him at a Robert Fripp solo gig and he was furiously taking notes.  few days later I read his really insightful review...not many like him around.

Here's the full article from NYT's Jon Pareles, the "Dean of Rock Criticism", when including 11 Tracks of Whack on his Top 10 of 1994: Fifteen years later, we find out who put the edge into Steely Dan. It was Walter Becker...

......the desperate characters and elliptical narratives, the jazz harmonies and the ingeniously warped structures. And it turns out he has exactly the right voice for his own words: a groan that's jaded, long-suffering, cranky and shrewd. The first words Becker sings are "In case you're wondering, it's alive and well." Read in 1994 NYT. Yes I need a dictionary.

... and the big stuffed bunny from the top row goes to amontuori; I'm not often sent to the dictionary. And for such a pluperfect Becker word, too! Flat Hat tip, brother.

Thanks for reminding me that it was Dean Parks who played that achingly gorgeous solo on Upside Looking Down. It’s one of my favorite moments on the album and one of my all-time favorite solos. In fact I originally thought it was Walter because it really sounds like his style of playing. I think my only regret about C$ is the fact that WB didn’t play more guitar than he did. But I’m glad he played so much bass!

Circus Money is right up there with my favorite albums. Whereas with DF albums you know you're going to get something that could be SD, not least because of DF's voice but also because the overall vibe and sound are similar, w/WB it's so much more raw and vulnerable and filled w/saudade. The lyrics are ridiculously smart (Darkling Down? Who throws in a buzzard's banquet and a cupo of spleen with a puke-streaked tunic? So funny and yet so deliciously--and troublingly--dark...) but there's just so much feeling--if SD cooly observes our human foibles and failings, WB speaks in the first person, and that's a big switch.

Anyway, I could go on so I'll spare you, but I do also want to add that the performances by the musicians are stellar--Chris Potter on Paging Audrey and Dean Parks on Upside looking Down are just two examples. Yes, they really did play their hearts out. When Dean Parks comes in for his solo it's like a revelation, the heavens opening up, and Potter's never sounded better, never more melodic. 

I'm so glad this forum is here--Walter's work has been so significant for me, it's wonderful to have the opportunity to read the words of people who also clearly appreciate and understand his contribution, so thank you guys for creating this and sharing the love and the sounds.

Thanks D

Came by to check out the new post (Hi Randy), and for the first time in a while, I read through all the comments in this thread. And man...how I wish Walter could read them too. A cliche, a bad one: "how I wish X was here to see Y". But I'm telling you; you guys laid down some incredible individual comments. And when taken together, they convey such a warm admiration and appreciation, it's pretty mind-blowing. Makes me feel so grateful that he had listeners as expansive and discriminating as you.

I believe Walter knew you were out there.

But to hear actual testimonies like these .... I can only say...Amen.

As was told to me it is like a fine whiskey, better with time. I pick up more every time I listen..

wow - that's 2 reported long-lasting relationship birthed in part by...Walter Becker?! As Howard Rodman said "...our lives are long and strange and on a good night, not unwonderful"

I revisit CM every couple of weeks and find something new to fall in love with almost every time. On the topic of love, my 11ToW CD went missing for weeks. I found it in my then-girlfriend's Honda, at which point I knew I had to marry her. That was 17 years ago this month (we're still married, got two great kids.)

Hey, Sam. You captured something important and ineffable about Walter (“life may or may not get better but…”) and that can be hard to do.

His advice to Berklee graduates was "The blues. Playing the blues. Play the blues -- it works over everything.” He’d often say something like that — I think I read somewhere that he whispered much the same thing to a guitarists who was having trouble wth a solo — and most people figured it was just a cute little affectation Uncle Walt liked to style.

But he really meant it — much the way, I think, you seem to mean it too. All manner of music can often stop the bleeding. It’s just that some people seem to bleed alot…and for them, only a certain type will do. And even that won’t “ cure” them. It will nurture them just enough to keep putting one foot in front of the other... and for them, that is as much of a "cure" as one could hope for.

Welcome, Sam.

This is the last album I truly anticipated and bought the day it was released. I loved it immediately though there was a song or two I tended to skip. Now those songs I felt were lesser are some of my favorites. I remember checking the Steely Dan page daily and googling Don and Walt when I first got to work. When the news of this album came out I was thrilled. Walter has always been my favorite part of the Dan. I feel such a profound lost now that he’s not here. My life has been a series of disappointments and something about Walter’s lyrics (I feel I know which are his) always feel relatable.He has been the soundtrack to my life. He gave the sense that life may or may not get better but a little rhythm and blues makes it tolerable.

Hoping to have more from that Slims SF thing we got 3 Sisters from...:-)

I heard the 2011 solo- or club-date rumors too, & socked some money aside, & told my staff that they could expect me to disappear on short to no notice. Figured I'd be going to some small room in NYC, or LA, or (& maybe this was just wishful thinking) Maui, where the audience might only consist of a hundred or hundred & fifty bodies, tops. Not to be, & I understand the cost involved in hiring & rehearsing sidemen. & etc., "charts of doom," transportation, catering & the rest so maybe there was a bit of wishful thinking involved. & still...

2011 Interview

Would you ever do a solo tour? I don't know is the answer to that. I'd like to get a band together and play live, but I probably would do that for a while in one place and try to grow it in a stable environment with musicians in the town that they live rather than starting to schlep it around straight away.

I come back to Circus Money more than any other post-reunion SD/DF/WB record. I think part of the reason is the quality of the mix and recording, It's such a warm record that envelops you instantly. If I went song for song, I might say I have a slight preference for 11TOW, but this always felt like a more cohesive work. It also happens to feature my favorite Dan collaborators - Carlock (of course), Chris Potter, and the best keyboard players DF and/or WB ever worked with, Ted Baker and Jim Beard.

There are a lot of comedic gems in Becker's lyrics here - the aforementioned "mind meld/ like a permanent picture of your pussyprint in cement" which is a just a stunning alliterative turn of phrase, or the "coal mine" bit in somebody's saturday night, most of "darking down" and "selfish gene."

I know many fans were hoping for some live performances of Circus Money tunes. When it became clear it wouldn't happen with Steely Dan, I recall a rumor (or maybe just wishful thinking) that Becker was considering a small solo tour or series of club dates. It would have been one hell of a show.

Circus Money is really something else.

It's an audiophile's dream, it's so crystal clear that Swarovski should find a way to make jewelry out of it. The bass is perfectly balanced, you can really feel it (in a literal and emotional sense) thanks to the tight bottom end with just enough midrange punch to be defined and melodic. I'd be happy just to listen to the multitrack tape of Walter's bass tracks only. The rest of the sound is three dimensional. The cymbals dance and float above your head, the shakers and triangles slide off somewhere in the depths behind my speakers, the backing vocals swirl around in circles, and every syllable Walter sings sounds like a conversation just inches away from my face. The musicians Walter chose to be on this record are there for a reason. Jon Herington says so much in just a 7 second guitar solo in Three Picture Deal. Keith Carlock has chops for days, but every tom hit or crash cymbal ringing out is there for a reason (remember kids, it's just as much about what you don't play!)

The songwriting and arrangements on Circus Money are just... I don't have a word here to do it justice. Larry Klein did a wonderful job working with Walter on this one. The melodies are the kind that are instant earworms, but don't get boring or tired. There's a huge emphasis on space and rhythm, and I dig that. The lyrics range from hilarious (Selfish Gene makes me smile like a doofus) to grabbing-my-heart (holy shit, Paging Audrey). I'm not the narrator in Downtown Canon, I've never gone through a relationship like that one, but goddammit if I don't feel like I am by the time we get to the "I’m leaving with all I need but less than I deserve" line. Makes me want to go down to the kitchen, grab a glass, and start working on a big pour of barrel strength bourbon. Also, I'd like to take a moment to appreciate this little bit of brilliance in Somebody's Saturday Night: "She looked good / In the available light." Paints a picture of the scene, and also leaves the potential for it to be either sincere, or one of the greatest backhand compliments I've ever heard.

Also, this album gave us the line "Like a permanent picture of your pussyprint in cement," which is not something I ever dreamed I would hear in a song. So, good job Walter.

"In the littlest hours tween the dusk and dawn, as the night light glows w the music on, you can climb so high in the dreamtime sky and go anywhere".....wow!! So profound, so sophisticated. My favorite. Thankyou and we miss you Walter!!

Ha! That's great. I wonder if that's Mark's CD? BTW, in answer to your original question, Circus Money holds up extremely well. I sometimes stop listening to all Walter and SD music for a while, then go back to it so it's a little fresh, and I always am amazed at the clarity, the pristine-ness (is that a word?) of the recording. His voice as clear and warm as if he were right there, and the music just sweeps me away anew. It's a gem.

Mr Vagoda must have been a creature of AM habit...

Skip Gildersleeve (RIP) got this picture, same neighborhood

Tangental to the release of C$... The morning after the show at the Beacon, several of us went out to breakfast. To our surprise, Abe Vigoda was at the diner as well. Matt or Jim may remember more details, but when Mr. Vigoda was leaving, Mark Drinan (RIP) went outside with him and showed him the CS liner notes (he had been mentioned on the second to last page) and explained who WB was and, I think, gave him his copy of C$.

I have already mentioned how much I thought W grew between his 2 releases, It's obvious those who know think so too. I bought CM twice when it first came out and am about to buy it again since the idea of having it in the CD changer at all times seems like the right thing (for me) to do!!!

"over & over" bout covers it for me, it's endlessly enjoyable to me, I'm happy to know he was proud of this remarkable record.

Thank you both so much!! Flat hat tip to W!

If any song cycle released in the past fifty years or so has aged well, it is Walter Becker's incredibly wonderful Circus Money. This is easily one of my personal favorite chunks of music, period. I mean, you have these "Desert Island" albums, and then you have an elite group of discs (vinyl, CD, whatever) - "forever records" - music you just can't live without - that you'd choose to take with you on your first flight to Mars, or that you'd insist on listening to on your way to The Chair (when The Governor finally sez, "Fry that bastard's ass!"), or when you're about to otherwise shuffle off This Mortal Coil, reluctantly leaving those other/otherwise/very-slightly-lesser all-time greats behind on that God-forsaken little double-palm-tree clump in the middle of the ocean. Walter Becker's second album is in that elite/indispensable category for me. It's indescribably good, which is why all the overwhelmingly-positive reviews it received when it was released, and those it has garnered since then, have ultimately failed to convey how damn good it actually is. It's not enough to read about it, folks - you have to listen to it. Unlike some other "critically acclaimed" stuff...

Although - I love this quote from Matt's Amazon review - "Listing highlights on this album would be as simple as making a list of all of the songs, leaving none off..." - I couldn't have said it better, Matt. Because, very possibly no truer words have been spoken in the English Language thus far.

Spring/Summer 2008 seems like just a few minutes ago for me, and I have some delightfully clear memories of listening to Circus Money in its entirety several times on the long trip in June of that year from Toronto to NYC as we headed for a whole bunch of Steely Dan Beacon Theatre shows. Just as we were entering the Lincoln Tunnel, leaving New Joisey behind, Three Picture Deal was playing at full volume with the NYC skyline briefly in view in all its glory...I'll never forget that moment. Thanks, WB.

We (two of us, to be exact) had a little Circus Money Tenth Anniversary Party last night. An entire night of nothing but CM, over & over. It's a brilliant album, as thoroughly excellent as anything any human being has ever done, ever. I love Walter Becker's Circus Money, as much as one person could possibly love a thing, and you should too.

I still love it as much today as I did the day it came out. Upside Looking Down has brought me to the verge of tears several times, such a thing of beauty. Just happened the other day

Thanks Matt. You are one for whom your good early impression seems to have held. Interested in others' opinions; has CM "aged" well or not-so-well for you?

Circus Money was in my car's six disc cd changer from June 10, 2008 until l traded that car in last month. The new car doesn't have a cd player at all.

This was my review of the album, posted on June 10th, 2008 to amazon:

We would be remiss if we didn't take a moment to reflect on Walter's Circus Money release on June 10th, 2008, a decade ago this week. We hope that those of you who enjoyed the album have also enjoyed the bonus tracks and demos we have shared from it, with more coming in the days and months ahead.

At some point in the not so distant past, the online storefront that existed for the site's launch was taken offline, but those interested in purchasing the album can do so in digital format on amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Circus-Money-Walter-Becker/dp/B0016KJS3I) or iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/circus-money/281365415) and on most of, if not all of, your favorite streaming services.

Fans looking to purchase an actual physical cd jewel case copy of the album might note that prices on amazon (likely filled through third-party marketplace vendors) are currently astronomically high, in the neighborhood of $50 in the US or £50 in the UK. We have confirmed that Mailboat Records (https://www.mailboatrecords.com/walter-becker) is still shipping the physical jewel case cd for the much more reasonable price of $9.99 US. Long term, we are working to get our custom store back online to ensure all versions are available everywhere.

We would also like to take a moment to acknowledge Larry Klein (https://www.larrykleinmusic.com/), Walter's collaborator and producer for the Circus Money project, who has kindly and generously agreed to the release of demos, extras, and goodies from the CM sessions on this site. And a final thank you to you, the fans who have listened to, absorbed, and reflected on Walter's music. If it wasn't obvious by his words at hundreds of concerts, his output on the web, or his insistence on this project and the sharing of his previously unreleased work, he truly cared for his fans and their relationship with his music.