1. Door Number Two
2. Downtown Canon
3. Bob Is Not Your Uncle Anymore
4. Upside Looking Down
5. Paging Audrey
6. Circus Money
7. Selfish Gene
8. Do You Remember The Name
9. Somebody's Saturday Night
10. Darkling Down
11. God's Eye View
12. Three Picture Deal
13. Dark Horse Dub

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That Difficult (solo) Second Album (Lacks the Whack Factor)
I ordered this before it was released, determined to be first with a review. As soon as I listened to it, I knew I'd have to wait a while or risk rushing to a judgement I might regret. It needs a lot of listening over a reasonable period and, in my view, the uncomplimentary reviews here have been written too hastily.

Initially, there's nothing "obvious" - it's a lazy-sounding, laid-back affair but, eventually, the tunes start to take shape and the subtle rhythms begin to dig in. Ultimately, it's a beautifully hypnotic and satisfying experience with a mature, consistent rock-steady groove, knitted together with the typical Becker creepy storybook lyrics; quite suited to that late-night dimly-lit chill-out.

Musically, there's nothing on it as extrovert as can be found in his first offering, the superb Eleven Tracks of Whack, which boasts the bizarre funk-groove of "Girlfriend" (featuring berserk sax solo and Bugs Bunny exchange), the clever key-changes and beautiful keyboard phrases of "Moody Bastard" and the brilliantly knockabout "Hat Too Flat" with its Dr. Zeus-style references. Gone too are the slicing, glassy chords of "Surf and/or Die"; the angular, off-key guitar solos of "Junkie Girl" that put your fingers and toes on edge; the gorgeous discordant dual-tracked guitar and off-beat percussion of "Lucky Henry"; and the squelchy wah-wah reggae of "My Waterloo", itself perhaps the blueprint for much of Circus Money's mature, relaxed reggae groove. Yes, you're right; I did like that Whack album!

As for comparison with Steely Dan, I'd rather not get in to all that. Surely the point of a solo album from the artist's point of view is to explore and stretch new ideas, not to stake a claim to what made the band famous? I'd rather celebrate Becker & Fagan as individuals as well as enjoying their wonderful partnership but I suppose if you're considering buying Circus Money, a comparison is what you might be interested in and it does bear resemblance at times to Everything Must Go, although the reggae style used here (actually, only about half of it) is not a Dan trait. Instrumentally it's much sparser, depending predominantly on keyboards, percussion and gentle rhythm guitar, with the odd bit of sax or Becker guitar solo. Vocally, well - obviously - it's different, but Becker's drawly, casual style seems to fit perfectly here and the female backing vocals are pretty much as you'd expect, if a bit baby-doll at times. For me, it's a different album for a different mood and certainly not a Dan album in disguise. Lie back and enjoy!



It's taken a while
It has taken quite a while for his one.
At first , all I thought " why did he even bother this is an album that lacks any urgency, is flat, boring and quite a waste of time and space, especially when compared with donald fagens latest album".

Now however I have to say that I like it a lot.
There's a lot more going on here than I picked up on initially, and it is not pointless at all anymore".

It has taken a while though...which Can be a good thing.

Slow burning perfection
I have to admit, the first time I listened through the album it left me kind of cold. I'm not a big fan of reggae and the whole album is permiated by various takes on the genre. However, give it a second listen, maybe a third and trust me the songs suddenly come to life. The lyrics are some of the sharpest (and darkest) to feature on a Dan related album (and that's saying something). But what really stands out is the vocals of Becker. He demonstrates the unique ability to lift a song, convey emotion and humour in the subtlest of ways. A truely remarkable album that takes a few playings to catch, but once it does you won't be able to leave it alone.

in a coma
Mr Becker has created a world's first; a musical flatline. How can he feel remotely satisfied with this unimportant list of dreary outtakes?

Shame on you, Sir! Mr B is, in my opinion, one of the greatest musicians within the genre of rock/jazz/whatever-field-he-exactly-occupies since the late sixties.

I look forward to hearing how he intends to restore his reputation with his next offering because this Circus Money thing (what a cynical title if ever there was one!) tells no new listener anything useful about his true talents.

Gutted!!
Having bought every Steely Dan album since their first all those years ago, I rushed out and got Circus Money and couldn't tear the wrapping off quick enough. I am also a massive reggae fan so reading that this album had a "reggae flavour" was intruiging indeed! I spent an entire weekend repeatedly scouring the album for something that would make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up in time honoured Steely Dan fashion. Sadly, I found nothing that came anywhere near doing this on Circus Money. Yes, Paging Audrey is as good a song as critics claimed, but it could have been pulled from the outakes from Aja or Royal Scam.
The 'reggae' tunes I found to be utterly lacking in warmth with a hollowness that suggested that one or more of the band had walked out of the studio during recording! Circus Money will take its place on my shelves alongside all the other Dan albums, but I doubt that it will see much active service in the future- gutted!!!

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