{"product_id":"sacd-steely-dan-the-royal-scam","title":"SACD - Steely Dan - The Royal Scam","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Royal Scam\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e— Steely Dan's platinum-selling fifth studio album reissue\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHybrid Stereo SACD release from Analogue Productions!\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMastered direct to DSD from the original master tape by Bernie Grundman\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePlays in all CD and SACD players\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Most listeners tend to name Aja or maybe Gaucho as the go-to Steely Dan albums, and I'll admit to being partial to their debut, while this stunner from 1976 — their fifth release — tends to be among the overlooked. And yet it is quintessential Dan, and the album which gave us guaranteed classics in 'Kid Charlemagne,' 'Haitian Divorce,' and 'The Fez.' Although the jazz-inflected rock genre has been maligned of late with the sarcastic epithet 'Yacht Rock,' this album is utterly gorgeous and continually rewarding, especially for rock devotees who love cryptic lyrics and superior musicianship. If you can't afford the UHQR vinyl, it's sublime on SACD.\" — Sound Quality: 90% — Ken Kessler, \u003cem\u003eHi Fi News\u003c\/em\u003e, December 2025\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSteely Dan's platinum-selling fifth studio album\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Royal Scam\u003c\/em\u003e, was produced by Gary Katz and was originally released by ABC Records in 1976.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Royal Scam\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003efeatures more prominent guitar work than the prior Steely Dan album,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eKaty Lied\u003c\/em\u003e, which had been the first without founding guitarist Jeff Baxter. Guitarists on the recording include Walter Becker, Denny Dias, Larry Carlton, Elliott Randall and Dean Parks.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe album was certified platinum-selling and peaked at No. 15 on the\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eBillboard\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e200.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn common with other Steely Dan albums,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Royal Scam\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis littered with cryptic allusions to people and events both real and fictional. In a BBC interview in 2000, Becker and Fagen revealed that \"Kid Charlemagne\" is loosely based on Owsley Stanley, the notorious drug \"chef\" who was famous for manufacturing hallucinogenic compounds, and that \"Caves of Altamira,\" based on a book by Hans Baumann, is about the loss of innocence, the narrative about a visitor to the Cave of Altamira who registers his astonishment at the prehistoric drawings.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eRolling Stone\u003c\/em\u003e, in its review of the album, described\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Royal Scam\u003c\/em\u003e, as Steely Dan's \"mostatypical record, possessing neither obvious AM material nor seductive lyrical mysteriousness. It also contains some of their most accomplished and enjoyable music.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"... the overall feeling of\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eScam\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis one of just that: tension. There is little of the self-confident gentleness that dotted\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003ePretzel Logic\u003c\/em\u003e, less still of the omniscience that suffused\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eKaty Lied\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Royal Scam\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis a transitional album for Steely Dan; melody dominates lyric in the sense that the former pushes into new rhythmic areas for the group (more \"pure\" jazz, semireggae and substantially more orchestration than before) while the verbal content is clearer, even mundane, by previous Dan standards,\" said the\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eRolling Stone\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ereview.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNearly every song on\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eScam\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003econcerns a narrator's escape from a crime or sing recently committed, the review continued. \"Becker and Fagen have really written the ultimate 'outlaw' album here, something that eludes myriad Southern bands because their concept of the outlaw is so limited. Rather than just, say, robbing banks ('Don't Take Me Alive,' in which the robber is a 'bookkeeper's son'), Becker and Fagen's various protagonists are also solipsistic jewel thieves ('Green Earrings'), spendthrift divorcées ('Haitian Divorce') and murderously jealous lovers ('Everything You Did').\"\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Encore Records Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47670506586366,"sku":null,"price":59.99,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1546\/6351\/files\/CAPP_138_SA__171047__08112022020530-8695.jpg?v=1767637862","url":"https:\/\/encorerecords.ca\/products\/sacd-steely-dan-the-royal-scam","provider":"Encore Records Ltd","version":"1.0","type":"link"}