The Royal Scam

The Royal Scam is the fifth studio album by the band Steely Dan, released on May 31, 1976 by ABC Records. Unlike their previous record Katy Lied, the album relies more on distorted guitars than percussion instruments and keyboards. The album utilizes mostly guitar work from Larry Carlton, who plays on 4 out of the 9 tracks. However, the album still has that perfect blend of jazz and rock as seen in Countdown to Ecstasy. The album produced the hit single "Kid Charlemagne".

Background
Starting with Pretzel Logic in 1974, bandleaders and songwriters Donald Fagen and Walter Becker had started to use more and more session musicians. However, as the quintet changed to a duo in 1975, they used session musicians to make up the album not just for overdubs. For their next project, they would use 28-year old guitaristLarry Carlton for the majority of the record. The album also introduced drummer Bernard Purdie to the band.

Music and Lyrics
The Royal Scam uses mostly distorted guitars with instrumental jams in the middle of tracks. Every song has a solo of some sort. Tracks like "Don't Take Me Alive" and "Sign In Stranger" are harder rockers, while "The Caves of Altamira" and "Green Earrings" explore the jazzier side of the album. Tracks like "Kid Charlemagne" mix jazz and rock perfectly. Unlike the happy, upbeat tunes of the "Las Vegas Loser Trilogy", this album features darker, almost gothic music.

The lyrics of the album are somewhat dark and real too. "Kid Charlemagne" is about a man who creates and serves acid, "Don't Take Me Alive" is about an insane man who takes hostages and considers killing himself so he doesn't have to go to prison, "Everything You Did" is about a cheating lover, and "The Fez" is about safe sex. However, the album deals with lighthearted subjects sometimes, like how "The Caves of Altamira" is about hieroglyphs and how "Green Earrings" is about jewelry.

Distorted guitars and organs create the soundscape of the album, and usually the songs are in a minor key, so they feel dark and sad at times. "Haitian Divorce" features a talk-box guitar and solo, and the lyrics are about falling in and out of love. The songs are too much to talk about here, so you should look at the song pages.

Packaging and marketing
The album cover shows a man laying on a radiator while dreaming about monster-like pillar creatures. Fagen and Becker acknowledged the cover in the 1999 re-issue, saying it's the ugliest cover of the 1970s (except for Can't Buy a Thrill). The album features the hit single, "Kid Charlemagne", sampled in Kanye West's "Champion". The biggest hit was technically "Haitian Divorce" because it peaked at 17 on the UK Charts.

Track listing

 * 1) "Kid Charlemagne" – 4:39
 * 2) "The Caves of Altamira" – 3:34
 * 3) "Don't Take Me Alive" – 4:16
 * 4) "Sign In Stranger" – 4:24
 * 5) "The Fez" – 4:01
 * 6) "Green Earrings" – 4:05
 * 7) "Haitian Divorce" – 5:51
 * 8) "Everything You Did" – 3:56
 * 9) "The Royal Scam" – 6:31

Personnel
Steely Dan


 * Donald Fagen – vocals, keyboards
 * Walter Becker – bass, electric guitar

"Kid Charlemagne"


 * Donald Fagen – vocals
 * Larry Carlton – electric guitar
 * Chuck Rainey – bass
 * Don Grolnick – keyboards
 * Michael McDonald – backing vocals
 * Clydie King – backing vocals
 * Sherlie Matthews – backing vocals
 * Venetta Fields – backing vocals
 * Bernard Purdie – backing vocals

"The Caves of Altamira"


 * Donald Fagen – vocals, keyboard
 * Walter Becker – electric guitar
 * John Klemmer – tenor saxophone
 * Plas Johnson – tenor saxophone
 * Chuck Findley – trumpet
 * Dick Hyde – trombone
 * Rick Marotta – drums

"Don't Take Me Alive"


 * Donald Fagen – vocals, keyboard
 * Larry Carlton – electric guitar
 * Rick Marotta – drums

"Sign In Stranger"


 * Donald Fagen – vocals
 * Elliot Randall – electric guitar
 * Paul Griffin – piano
 * Bernard Purdie – drums

"The Fez"


 * Donald Fagen – vocals
 * Walter Becker – electric guitar
 * Paul Griffin – organ
 * Bernard Purdie – drums

"Green Earrings"


 * Donald Fagen – vocals, synthesizer
 * Elliot Randall – electric guitar
 * Larry Carlton – electric guitar
 * Chuck Rainey – bass
 * Timothy B. Schmit – backing vocals
 * Paul Griffin – Clavinet
 * Dan Grolnick – Fender Rhodes
 * Bernard Purdie – drums

"Haitian Divorce"


 * Donald Fagen – vocals
 * Dean Parks – electric guitar
 * Walter Becker – talkbox guitar
 * Bernard Purdie – drums

"Everything You Did"


 * Donald Fagen – vocals, piano
 * Larry Carlton – electric guitar
 * Bernard Purdie – drums

"The Royal Scam"


 * Donald Fagen – vocals, piano
 * Larry Carlton – electric guitar
 * Chuck Rainey – bass
 * Bernard Purdie – drums