Steely Dan’s ‘The Royal Scam’ Returning To Vinyl
The band’s 1976 guitar classic features favorites like ‘Kid Charlemagne,’ ‘The Fez,’ and ‘The Caves of Altamira.’
Steely Dan’s 1976 LP The Royal Scam has been out of print on vinyl for 45 years, but that’s about to change. A new repress of the album is coming June 6 as part of Geffen/UMe’s extensive reissue campaign, which also includes recent reissues of Can’t Buy A Thrill, Countdown To Ecstasy, Pretzel Logic, Katy Lied, Aja, and Gaucho.
The Royal Scam is another fantastic chapter in Donald Fagen and Walter Becker’s storied songwriting history, showing off the duo at the peak of their sharp, cynical wit and intricate musical vision. The album boasts beloved tracks like “Kid Charlemagne,” “The Fez,” “The Caves of Altamira,” and the title track; though not received as an instant classic upon initial release, it has since been embraced by fans and critics. Rolling Stone gave it five stars in a 2004 Hall of Fame review, while Stereogum later ranked it as the second best album of Steely Dan’s career, praising it as “their fiercest, funkiest record in their entire catalog, a classic that transitioned them from the uneasy company of the yacht-rock smooth to a mean unit that grooved like Stevie for pessimists.”
The Dan’s longtime producer Gary Katz was once again behind the boards, and Fagen and Becker are backed as usual by a crack team of session musicians, including Larry Carlton, who contributes all-time great guitar solos to songs like “Kid Charlemagne” and “Don’t Take Me Alive.” The Royal Scam marked the band’s first album with drummer Bernard Purdie, and the soulful voice of Michael McDonald can be heard in the background throughout.
The album’s new vinyl reissue is available in multiple formats. The standard 33 1/3 RPM 180-gram version was remastered by Joe Nino-Hernes at Sterling Sound from high-resolution digital files and pressed at Precision. There’s also a limited edition premium 45 RPM version on Ultra High-Quality Vinyl (UHQR) remastered by Bernie Grundman from the original analog tapes, pressed at Analogue Productions, the audiophile in-house reissue label of Acoustic Sounds. Analogue Productions is also releasing the Steely Dan reissue series on Super Audio CD (SACD).
