The Royal Scam Tracklist
Under the pressure of high expectations, Steely Dan released its' fifth album, The Royal Scam, on May 31, 1976. The lyrical nature of The Royal Scam displays a sense of cynicism throughout with its tales of outlaws, drug dealers, and cheaters. The LP reached Number fifteen on the Billboard albums chart, despite the lackluster appeal of its two singles, “Kid Charlemagne” and “The Fez.”
Critics provided a mix of approval and disappointment. Rolling Stones called it “some of their most accomplished and enjoyable music” while AllMusic retroactively claimed that “The Royal Scam is the first Steely Dan record that doesn’t exhibit significant musical progress from its predecessor.”
All of the songs were written by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, after re-established Steely Dan as a duo following their dropping of the five-piece lineup from previous albums.
In an interview with Music Gig, Fagen said that:
The reason critics were disappointed was that they get tired…the first LP is always the easiest to like, the second they still like, the third they think is pretty good. The longer you last as a group the harder the critics are…[M}yself, I think it’s one of the best one’s we’ve done. I think, in fact, that each record is a little better than the last.
