11 Tracks of Whack
As one half of Steely Dan, bassist, guitarist, and  cowriter Walter Becker was often overlooked simply because the words came out of his partner's mouth.  But any  post-Dan suspicions that it was Donald Fagen who carried more weight in shaping the duo's stealth- pop  are brilliantly atomized by this superb, if underrated, 1994 solo debut for Becker, which confirms his stand- alone gifts for intricate jazz harmonies, his instincts for superb arrangements, and above all his powers as a  lyricist.  On the evidence of11 Tracks of Whack, it's Becker who excels at the oblique, coded  language that was one of Steely Dan's most insidious weapons: from the opening "Down in the Bottom" and the  withering, yet tender "Junkie Girl," "Book of Liars" and  "Cringemaker," Becker crafts shadowy relationships, telling  gesture, and street patois into brilliant, highly stylized songs.  Apart from shedding fresh light onto one of the most potent  writing partnerships in pop, theseTrackspack whack indeed.-- Sam Sutherland