From The Los Angeles Times, written by Richard Cromelin
Steely Dan, America's answer to the Guess Who, headlined its first local concert Sunday at Santa Monica Civic, and it appears that the band, which sounded like an expendable commercial commodity when it first emerged, is about ready to assert itself as one of the country's most versatile, listenable and downright brilliant ensembles.
Like Canada's premiere hitmakers, Steely Dan injects an uncommon degree of intelligence (if not sheer intellectualism) into its music without diluting any of its AM appeal. Perhaps the key to the group's genius lies in the fact that it sounds almost like everything else on the radio, but always throws in a little something that could be from no one but Steely Dan.
Highly derivative (its influences, from the Archies to Yes, are easily spotted) in rock's finest tradition, SD's ability to hang a broad spectrum of authentically touching emotions on that strictly commercial framework is its strongest forte. In performance the group sacrifices some of the cleanness of its recorded sound for an invigorating muddiness that flirts with but never succumbs to distortion, The addition of two women singer/dancers has livened things up considerably, and while their "Hullabaloo" go-go gyrations are at first distracting, it soon becomes clear that it's all a part of a carefully calculated and ultimately successful master plan.
And any group that encores with "My Boyfriend's Back" obviously has a lot going for it.
Opening the show was B.W. Stevenson, whose time would be better spent in the studio and at the writing desk than on the concert stage.
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