''Circus Money'' is the second and final solo album by
Walter Becker released on June 10, 2008 through the 5 Over 12 label (an imprint of
Mailboat Records) both in CD and digital download formats and July 14, 2008 through
Sonic360 for the rest of the world outside North America. The release is notable for not having the participation of fellow
Steely Dan founder and bandmate,
Donald Fagen
Donald Jay Fagen (born January 10, 1948) is an American musician best known as the co-founder, lead singer, co-songwriter, and keyboardist of the band Steely Dan, formed in the early 1970s with musical partner Walter Becker. In addition to his ...
.
The cover artwork features graphic work inspired by a photograph of a
Yup'ik mask
Yup'ik masks (Central Yup'ik language, Yup'ik ''kegginaquq'' sg ''kegginaquk'' dual ''kegginaqut'' pl and ''nepcetaq'' sg ''nepcetat'' pl; in the Lower Yukon dialects ''avangcaq'' sg ''avangcak'' dual ''avangcat'' pl ; in Nunivak Cup'ig lang ...
, reproduced in
Ann Fienup-Riordan's ''The Living Tradition of Yup'Ik Masks''. Becker wrote that after obtaining the rights to re-use the photograph (from Fienup-Riordan as well as the book's publisher and the original photographer), the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
's
National Museum of Natural History
The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. In 2021, with ...
(where the mask is held) was notified of the intended use of the photograph. The museum attempted to block the use of the photograph, citing cultural sensitivity and the sacred nature of the mask. Following legal advice, it was deemed the museum had no legal basis for blocking the photograph's use.
Circus Money , FAQ , Walter Becker
/ref>
Track listing
All songs written by Walter Becker and Larry Klein, except "Circus Money", written by Becker.
# "Door Number Two" - 4:33
# "Downtown Canon" - 5:36
# "Bob Is Not Your Uncle Anymore" - 4:45
# "Upside Looking Down" - 4:08
# "Paging Audrey" - 6:48
# "Circus Money" - 4:15
# "Selfish Gene" - 4:38
# "Do You Remember the Name" - 4:14
# "Somebody's Saturday Night" - 4:29
# "Darkling Down" - 5:04
# "God's Eye View" - 6:02
# "Three Picture Deal" - 5:27
# "Dark Horse Dub"''*'' - 6:46
''*International release only''
Personnel
Musicians
* Walter Becker – vocals, guitars (1, 2), bass (1-5, 7-12), guitar solo (7, 9, 10)
* Ted Baker – keyboards (1-3, 5, 7, 10-12), acoustic piano (4, 6, 9), electric piano (9)
* Jim Beard – acoustic piano (1, 3, 5, 7, 12), keyboards (5, 6, 8, 11), clavinet (5), calliope
In Greek mythology, Calliope ( ; grc, Καλλιόπη, Kalliópē, beautiful-voiced) is the Muse who presides over eloquence and epic poetry; so called from the ecstatic harmony of her voice. Hesiod and Ovid called her the "Chief of all Muses ...
(7), RMI Rock-Si-Chord (12)
* Larry Goldings – organ (2), Hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs ...
(10)
* Henry Hey – keyboards (4, 8)
* Jon Herington – guitars, slide guitar (8)
* Dean Parks
Weldon Dean Parks (born December 6, 1946) is an American session guitarist and record producer from Fort Worth, Texas.
Albums
Parks was member of the North Texas State One O'clock Lab Band before moving to Los Angeles to work with Sonny and Ch ...
– guitars (2, 4, 9), guitar solo (4)
* Larry Klein – bass (6)
* Keith Carlock – drums, percussion (1)
* Gordon Gottlieb – percussion (2, 3, 7, 10, 12)
* Luciana Souza – vocal solo (7), pandeiro
The pandeiro () is a type of hand frame drum popular in Brazil. The pandeiro is used in a number of Brazilian music forms, such as samba, choro, coco, and capoeira music.
The drumhead is tunable, and the rim holds metal jingles (''platinelas'' ...
(9)
* Chris Potter – tenor saxophone (1, 5, 6)
* Roger Rosenberg – bass clarinet
The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B (meaning it is a transposing instrument on which a written C sounds as B), but it plays notes an octave ...
(11), baritone saxophone (12)
* Carolyn Leonhart-Escoffery
Carolyn Leonhart (born July 10, 1971) is a jazz singer, daughter of jazz bassist Jay Leonhart and sister of the trumpeter Michael Leonhart. She has performed as a back-up vocalist for Steely Dan on several tours and recordings.
Childhood and educa ...
– backing vocals (1-5, 8-11)
* Kate Markowitz
Catherine Judith "Kate" Markowitz (Born 28 April 1956) is an American singer-songwriter known as a backup singer who has recorded and performed with a number of singers, most notably James Taylor but also Willy DeVille, Shawn Colvin, Mylène Farm ...
– backing vocals (1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9-12)
* Cindy Mizelle – backing vocals (1, 2, 4, 5, 9-12)
* Windy Wagner – backing vocals (1, 2, 4, 6, 9-12)
* Carmen Carter – backing vocals (2, 6, 9)
* Tawatha Agee – backing vocals (5, 12)
* Sharon Bryant – backing vocals (5, 12)
* Sweet Pea Atkinson
Hillard "Sweet Pea" Atkinson (September 20, 1945 – May 5, 2020) was an American R&B singer known as one of the vocalists for the band Was (Not Was).
Biography
Atkinson was born in Oberlin, Ohio, and moved to Detroit as a child. He worke ...
– backing vocals (11)
* Sir Harry Bowens – backing vocals (11)
* Terry Dexter – backing vocals (11)
Production
* Larry Klein – producer
* Helik Hadar – engineer, mixing
* Jay Messina – engineer
* Elliot Scheiner
Elliot Ray Scheiner (born 18 March 1947) is a music producer, mixer and engineer. Scheiner has received 27 Grammy Award nominations, eight of which he won, and he has been awarded four Emmy nominations, two Emmy Awards for his work with the Ea ...
– engineer
* Jim Beard – additional engineer
* Brian Montgomery – additional engineer
* Justin Gerrish – assistant engineer
* Chris Lupo – assistant engineer
* Bernie Grundman
Bernie Grundman is an American audio engineer.
He is most known for his mastering work and his studio, Bernie Grundman Mastering, which he opened in 1984 in Hollywood. The studio, which includes engineers Chris Bellman, Patricia Sullivan, and ...
– mastering at Bernie Grundman Mastering
Bernie Grundman is an American audio engineer.
He is most known for his mastering work and his studio, Bernie Grundman Mastering, which he opened in 1984 in Hollywood. The studio, which includes engineers Chris Bellman, Patricia Sullivan, and ...
(Hollywood, California)
* Roger Sadowsky – guitar and bass technician
* Andrew Rathbun – musical transcription
* Jill Dell'Abate – production coordinator
* Cindi Peters – production coordinator
* A. Denovo – design, photography
* Carol Bobolts – design support
* Irving Azoff
Irving Azoff (; born December 12, 1947) is an American entertainment executive and chairman of Full Stop Management, which represents recording artists. In the mid-1980s, he brought success to MCA Records.
Since September 2013, he has been chai ...
– management
* Sandy Roberton – management
References
{{Authority control
2008 albums
Albums produced by Larry Klein
Walter Becker albums