This is probably what I would consider to be the best Steely Dan. It's pure jazz/pop/rock and it has a nice clean sound that many would go on to copy. In fact I've always been a big fan of the jazz/rock albums by China Crisis who not only copied the sound but got Walter Becker to produce one of their albums. Steely Dan have a natural way of writing pop songs and there were three hits on this album "Deacon Blues," "Josie," and "Peg." You can definitely hear the sound that will be the basis for Donald Fagen's solo album, The Nightfly.
All of that said, I'm not a big Steely Dan fan and will certainly never listen to this album again. I can certainly understand picking this CD up to show off my fancy stereo equipment I was trying to sell someone, but can't see listening to it for pure entertainment purposes. There is a certain slickness and tightness about Steely Dan that always goes a bit far for me.
