MCAD 4-10981 Citizen Steely Dan 1972-1980
previously released material
Released on December 14, 1993
GOLD RECORD (2/8/96)
Find it at GEMM
MCAD 4-10981 cover
[high resolution scan]		  

S teely Dan sucks. This is the worst box set I have ever encountered. I get the irony, they get the money, ha ha ha. I was just reading an excerpt of a Melody Maker review that said “Steely Dan were no more nihilistic than The Stooges,” and I sympathize with the vagaries of being handled by so many frustrated philatelists, but maybe that review is onto something, since Citizen Steely Dan reveals a rare combination of crankiness and commercialism more often associated with The Sex Pistols. The opening letter to MCA vice president Andy McKaie is hilarious and touching, but the rest of the “booklet” features critical quotes (some clever, some not) and the sort of generic info that you could glean from the back of any album cover. In the low tradition of MCA’s bare-bones reissue from the ‘80s, the four CDs feature single-sheet picture sleeves with no additional info, cutting albums in half like some expensive 8-track cassette. The only “new” track to collectors is a demo of “Everyone’s Gone To The Movies” at the end. For collectors, save your money and buy one of the European imports with early material on it (even if Dan doesn’t get a penny for it, and maybe especially so). The sound quality is fine, of course, though the vinyl originals still hold up wonderfully after all these years, so don’t pick Citizen up in the hope of hearing new details revealed (I didn’t hear anything new). So why an orange rating? (As if anyone notices what color I rate these things.) The music. Dan were a brilliant band, and there’s no ignoring it even in such drab packaging. To borrow a line from “Your Gold Teeth:” They don’t have to dance for us, we’ve seen their dance before. But a box set is supposed to be a little monument where the faithful can stop and reflect, and my thoughts inevitably stray to Citizen’s shortcomings.

MCAD 4-10981 disc one MCAD 4-10981 disc two MCAD 4-10981 booklet
MCAD 4-10981 disc one MCAD 4-10981 disc two MCAD 4-10981 booklet

TRACK LISTING

    disc one
  1. DO IT AGAIN    5:54
  2. DIRTY WORK    3:08
  3. KINGS    3:45
  4. MIDNITE CRUISER    4:06
  5. ONLY A FOOL WOULD SAY THAT    2:55
  6. REELIN' IN THE YEARS    4:36
  7. FIRE IN THE HOLE    3:26
  8. BROOKLYN (OWES THE CHARMER UNDER ME)    4:19
  9. CHANGE OF THE GUARD    3:38
  10. TURN THAT HEARTBEAT OVER AGAIN    4:58
  11. BODHISATTVA    5:17
  12. RAZOR BOY    3:10
  13. THE BOSTON RAG    5:39
  14. YOUR GOLD TEETH    6:59
  15. SHOW BIZ KIDS    5:23
  16. MY OLD SCHOOL    5:45

    disc two
  17. KING OF THE WORLD    5:00
  18. PEARL OF THE QUARTER    3:49
  19. RIKKI DON'T LOSE THAT NUMBER    4:07
  20. NIGHT BY NIGHT    3:38
  21. ANY MAJOR DUDE WILL TELL YOU    3:08
  22. BARRYTOWN    3:19
  23. EAST ST. LOUIS TOODLE-OO    (Duke Ellington/Bubber Miley)    2:48
  24. PARKER'S BAND    2:43
  25. THROUGH WITH BUZZ    1:32
  26. PRETZEL LOGIC    4:31
  27. WITH A GUN    2:17
  28. CHARLIE FREAK    2:43
  29. MONKEY IN YOUR SOUL    2:34
  30. BODHISATTVA (LIVE)    7:41
  31. BLACK FRIDAY    3:40
  32. BAD SNEAKERS    3:19
  33. ROSE DARLING    3:03
  34. DADDY DON'T LIVE IN THAT NEW YORK CITY NO MORE    3:13
  35. DOCTOR WU    3:54
  36. EVERYONE'S GONE TO THE MOVIES    3:44
  37. CHAIN LIGHTNING    2:59

    disc three
  38. YOUR GOLD TEETH II    4:12
  39. ANY WORLD (THAT I'M WELCOME TO)    3:53
  40. THROW BACK THE LITTLE ONES    3:13
  41. KID CHARLEMAGNE    4:37
  42. THE CAVES OF ALTAMIRA    3:32
  43. DON'T TAKE ME ALIVE    4:14
  44. SIGN IN STRANGER    4:21
  45. THE FEZ    (Walter Becker/Donald Fagen/Paul Griffin)    3:58
  46. GREEN EARRINGS    4:05
  47. HAITIAN DIVORCE    5:48
  48. EVERYTHING YOU DID    3:54
  49. THE ROYAL SCAM    6:31
  50. HERE AT THE WESTERN WORLD    4:00
  51. BLACK COW    5:08
  52. AJA    7:56
  53. PEG    3:55

    disc four
  54. DEACON BLUES    7:33
  55. HOME AT LAST    5:32
  56. I GOT THE NEWS    5:04
  57. JOSIE    4:31
  58. FM    5:05
  59. BABYLON SISTERS    5:48
  60. HEY NINETEEN    5:07
  61. GLAMOUR PROFESSION    7:28
  62. GAUCHO    (Walter Becker/Donald Fagen/Keith Jarrett)    5:30
  63. TIME OUT OF MIND    4:11
  64. MY RIVAL    4:30
  65. THIRD WORLD MAN    5:14
  66. EVERYONE'S GONE TO THE MOVIES (DEMO)    3:57

    Music and lyrics by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen unless noted

CREDITS

Vartan -- creative direction
Red Herring Design -- art direction
Ed Caraeff, Henry Diltz, Randall Kennedy, Michael Ochs Archives -- photography
Pete Fogul -- memorabilia

return to STEELY DAN discography

REGION RELEASE DATE LABEL MEDIA ID NUMBER FEATURES
WW December 14, 1993 MCA 4CD/4CS MCAD/MCAC 4-10981 digital remaster box set

 

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