If you know me, you know I have a love for all things Steely Dan. From that follows a lesser, but pronounced obsession for al things Walter Becker and Donald Fegan. The Nightfly is on my list of all-time favorite albums as well as any pre-reunion Steely Dan album.

After the initial demise of Steely Dan, Donald Fegan continued to make music. The Nightfly definitely had a Gaucho feel to it as well as lesser, but good follow-on albums. Walter Becker also made an album early on called Eleven Tracks of Whack. that made me remember that he was the angrier element of Steely Dan. Quite a nice album way back when that did get some play. Then Walter fell off the musical earth as a solo artist. He owes us nothing, so I don’t begrudge him not being right there with Fegan.

After many years appears Circus Money very much in the same spirit as Eleven Tracks of Whack. Definitely elements of Steely Day and definitely a Walter Becker album. Nothing I’ve listened two on the album belies its origin in Walter Becker’s mind. If you are a Steely Dan completist, you need to have this. If you’re not, I’m not so sure. Yep, it’s a great pop/rock album, but it has elements of Michael McDonald in there. You know, great artist from time gone by that drinks from the adult contemporary fountain of youth. Nothing here is as obvious as that - just a hint of production quality that makes me leery.

Writing this late on a Sunday evening, listening to Circus Money, maybe I’m being too critical and maybe it’s me that’s gone soft and overcompensating. Circus Money is brilliantly produced and recorded as one would expect. If you like Eleven Tracks of Whack it will not surprise you to know that you’ll also like Circus Money. If you’re a classic Steely Dan fan or more of a Donald Fegan fan, maybe not so much.