The Royal Dan-A Tribute is of course non other than an all-instrumental, all-star tribute to the music of Steely Dan. Put together by Mike Varney and the folks at Tone Center/Shrapnel Records, this set features a host of heavyweights adding their six-string magic to ten Steely Dan classics, with the lead guitar work basically taking place of the vocals and carrying the melody lines. For those into jazz-rock, this will be a must hear release.
The core group here consists of Ernie Watts on sax, Jeff Richman on guitar, Peter Wolf on keyboards, Jimmy Haslip on bass, and Vinnie Colaiuta on drums, an impressive jazz line-up to say the least. Dixie Dregs/Deep Purple legend Steve Morse lays down some impressive electric and acoustic guitar picking on "Bodhisatva", turning what is a happenin' tune already into a blazing party rocker with plenty of fiery licks. Robben Ford adds in his bluesy jazz style to the laid back pop of "Peg", and the blazing technique of Al DiMeola is all over the classic "Aja", the end result sounding like a song that the guitarist was forever meant to play on, as he lays his melodic and yearning acoustic lines alongside the wonderful sax from Watts. Of course, you can't mistake the snarling tone of Steve Lukather on "Pretzel Logic", as the Toto mainstay rips some scorching leads throughout this piece. The tasty legato playing of Jeff Richman adds a warmth to the jazzy undertones of "Josie", and Jeff Graydon even gets to show his chops on "Home at Last".
Speaking of chops, the unmistakably fluid style of Mike Stern comes right out of the gate on "Dirty Work", one of Steely Dan's first hits. Starting out cool and relaxed, in fine Stern tradition he keeps building and building until he erupts with a fiery, distorted rock guitar climax. Things don't let up there, as Jimmy Herring blows through "The Fez" with plenty of funk and jam-band licks, while Elektric Band guitar hero Frank Gambale adds his blazing leads to the mysterious "FM" alongside some tight grooves from Colaiuta and Haslip. The CD closes with the jazzy "Hey Nineteen" with Elliot Randall's tasty runs battling it out with Wolf's wiry keyboard passages.
In the end, you'll wish there were more, as these guys sure did grab a hold of the feel and groove of Steely Dan quite nicely. As tribute albums go, this one's a keeper.
Track Listing
1. Peg-Robben Ford
2. Bodhisatva-Steve Morse
3. Home at Last-Jay Graydon
4. Aja-Al DiMeola
5. Pretzel Logic-Steve Lukather
6. Josie-Jeff Richman
7. Dirty Work-Mike Stern
8. The Fez-Jimmy Herring
9. FM-Frank Gambale
10. Hey Nineteen-Elliot Randall
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