Product Description

'Showbiz Kids' is a career-spanning retrospetive of one of rock's most maverick and original bands, Steely Dan. During the 70's and the early 80's, Steely Dan wowed listeners withtheir thrilling combination of jazz, traditional pop and blues, and this compilation is sure to appeal to both old and new fans alike. Includes the singles 'Do It Again' and 'Reeling In The Years'.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3858 in Music
• Released on: 2005-05-16
• Number of discs: 2
• Format: Box set
• Running time: 153 minutes

Customer Reviews

One of the greatest bands, and the absolute pinnacle of the jazz-rock genre
I hate lounge music and Fleetwood Mac style soft rock. They do not move me. So the fact that lounge style soft rockers Steely Dan are among my very favourite bands tells you something. If they can punch through my prejudices of those genres then they must be remarkable.

I've heard them described as dentist waiting room music. Which is accurate as the music is bland soft rock with all the jagged edges and thrilling bits painstakingly removed. So on the surface they are detestable. If you keep listening to them then you'll notice the substance. The tracks that before all merged into one dull sound suddenly start differentiating themselves. No two tracks sound the same once you get into them!

The music is complex (apparently only the most gifted musicians can play the songs without it turning into a mess) and every song has a strong melody. Their sound is very distinct but they seem to have a large range of musical ideas so they never just trot out their signature sound and recycle melodies from previous work. They're almost comparable to The Beatles in their melodic reinvention for every song.

The lyrics are obscure, cynical, bitter, witty, sarcastic and weird. Donald Fagan has a very nice voice that has a coarsly smooth quality to it.

This Best of is very comprehensive. It has been compiled with the best tracks and has not been used as an excuse to do some revisionism to point out forgotten unappreciated tracks (although it does includes two singles of so-so quality that are not on either of the seven albums).

Here's a short review of the albums:

Can't Buy A Thrill (3 stars): Inconsistent. Some of their greatest songs are on here (Reelin' In The Years is their best pop song) and some of their worst (Turn That Heartbeat Over Again is a big nothing). If you buy this Best Of then this album can be ignored.

Countdown To Ecstasy (5 stars): Their most consistent album of very high quality material. The last two songs are nothing special but the other six tracks are excellent. It's probably the best album they made, although I personally prefer Gaucho.

Pretzel Logic (3 stars): Strange album as it features a few short half songs that seem more like sketches that should have been expanded into proper songs. Having said that there are four or so classics here. If you buy this Best Of then this album can be ignored, although you would be missing out on a few interesting tracks.

Katy Lied (3 stars): Some people love this. I think it's their weakest album of undistinguished below par material. There is only two or three classic songs on it. If you buy this Best Of then this album can be ignored, although that is purely my own opinion as others like it.

The Royal Scam (5 stars): I didn't care much for this to begin with. Repeat listens have been very kind to it and I now see that it has about six or seven classics on it. It's not a warm album so I think it might take a few listens to appreciate it. It's probably the most rock orientated album they made, but it's still very far from heavy.

Aja (5 stars): Their sound changed from this album onwards. With the exception of the songs Peg and Hey Nineteen, all the pop leanings have been removed, and the songs are longer and more jazzier than before. Five classic tracks (all included on this Best Of) and two so-so songs towards the end. As much a jazz record as it is a muted rock album. Not a thrilling record but very enjoyable. Aja is their most popular and critically acclaimed release. If you buy this Best Of then it can be ignored as you have nearly all of it.

Gaucho (5 stars): A clinical cold album. It has been noted by some that it feels like it has no centre, as though an important track that ties it all together has been removed. It is flawed and maybe their most bland sounding album as the melodies aren't as pronounced as they used to be. Having said that, I think it's my personal favourite Steely Dan album. There is something appealing about its numb jazzy soundscapes (fans of Wish You Were Here era Pink Floyd and Moon Safari era Air should seriously check it out).

If you decide not to buy this excellent Best Of then all seven albums are worth buying.

I would not recommend buying Donald Fagan solo albums or the two Steely Dan albums they recorded since they reformed. They are as bland and as insipid as the 70's Steely Dan was inspiring and cutting.

Intelligent but not smug
I cannot really argue with the previous reviews of this album. These people are clearly more knowledgable about the band than I am. I just wanted to add that this music is just so fine; there's a lot of talk of "jazz" and "funk", both of which are there, but there is also a universal quality, that I would venture to call "pop", but like the best "pop" it moves beyond cliches and has a resonance which is anything but disposable. If you like "modern" music, these songs will live with you forever, they will crop up when you least expect, De La Soul, for example, recognised that when they sampled "Peg". You're not daft, you've got this far, check it out.

CLASSY END OF ROCK
EVERY ONE OF THEIR ALBUMS ARE VERY VERY GOOD EVEN IF CHANGING STYLE A BIT.
THIS IS THE IDEAL PLACE TO START GETTING INTO STEELY DAN. BY THE END OF SIDE TWO THE MUSIC HAD GONE TO A MORE JAZZY STYLE BUT STILL FANTASTIC SONGS AND GREAT PLAYING.IT'S ONE OF THOSE CD'S THAT YOU PUT IN THE PLAYER AND PRESS THE RANDOM BUTTON AND SIT BACK AND JUST ENJOY IT GREAT STUFF