The ‘Pretzel Logic’ of Steely Dan To Be Back On Vinyl For The First Time in 35 Years

Continuing the recent spate of Steely Dan re-releases, July 28 is the date that Geffen/UMe will release  Pretzel Logic on vinyl again for the first time in 35 years. The 1974 release was one of the best albums of that year. It was a pivotal year for pop music, soul and rock’n’roll that saw the releases of Joni Mitchell’s Court and Spark, Kraftwerk’s Autobahn, Tangerine Dream’s Phaedra, Jackson Browne’s Late For The Sky, Neil Young’s On The Beach, Blue Oyster Cult’s Secret Treaties, King Crimson’s Red, Brian Eno’s Here Come The Warm Jets, Electric Light Orchestra’s Eldorado, Randy Newman’s Good Old Boys, Labelle’s Nightbirds, Robin Trower’s Bridge Of Sighs, Bob Marley’s Natty Dread and plenty of other long-lasting treats (including albums by Stevie Wonder, Roxy Music, Eagles, Lou Reed, Marvin Gaye, Mott The Hoople, Loretta Lynn, Ry Cooder, Tom Waits, Queen, Rufus, The Meters, Bob Dylan, Rolling Stones, Thin Lizzy, UFO, Ohio Players, David Bowie, Elton John, John Cale, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Funkadelic, Rory Gallagher, Miles Davis, Frank Zappa and Genesis.)

Pretzel Logic was Donald Fagen’s masterpiece. He came out of Passaic prideful and arrogant. With much to prove on album #3, he carefully—some would say too carefully—constructed every note by every musician with exacting and painful repetition. The procedure was calculated. The product, in the end, pristine. It proved to be his biggest success up to that point, cracking the Top 10 (something that Can’t Buy A Thrill or Countdown To Ecstasy couldn’t do).

Plans call for Katy Lied, The Royal Scam and Gaucho to make their vinyl returns in the coming years.