Bare-bones yet comprehensive?

Steely Dan: one of the most enigmatic, talented, underappreciated bands in history. That's no hyperbole, that's gospel truth that anyone who's heard them will tell you. Maybe what people like most about the Dan is their impenetrable veneer of callous irony that prevents us from knowing their true feelings and attitudes. So how does one go about compiling a boxed set for these masters of post-modern jazz-rock? "Citizen" is a noble attempt that succeeds by demonstrating a philosophy that it's compilers were most likely not striving for: minimalism.

Here we have four homogeneous-looking compact discs, comprising every Steely Dan studio release up until the point of their 20 year hiatus. The few bonus tracks (a live version of "Bodhisattva," "Royal Scam" outtake "Here At The Western World," the title track of the soundtrack "FM," and a demo of "Everyone's Gone To The Movies") are interspersed chronologically, save for "Everyone..," which is thrown in at the very end of the set. The box itself is a pretty standard affair, with a modernist design concept that i find suiting to the mood of the music, and the band itself. An included booklet offers some positive and negative blurbs from reviews of these Dan albums, and a few snippets of cynicism from Becker and Fagen, the core of the band. Not too much, but enough to keep you entertained for your first listen. Perhaps you're picking up the fact that this box set is none-too-breathtaking in its "goodies" or aesthetics, but this is the whole key.

Becker and Fagen were and still are known for their perfectionism in the studio. Their songs are renowned for mathematical precision, but not in an overblown prog-rock way. Instead, the songs coat this polished musical base with dark, detatched lyrics, creating an unexpectedly deep mood that rewards the listener for paying attention.

Steely Dan did not write a bunch of songs and then patch together albums, there is no vault full of old Steely Dan masters that contain gems that will never see the light of day. Every song on every album is there because it was created to be exactly there. Anything not on the original album is not intended to be on the original album.

Essentially, this box set delivers every single steely dan album, in its original running order (with a little bit extra, perhaps just to please those who already own them all), at a cheaper cost and in one convenient package. And why isn't that enough? It's what the artists wanted you to have when they were creating this body of work. Truth be told, i would like this box set LESS if it was full of cheesy praise from some starry-eyed rolling stone columnist or bonus tracks that only contain half-ideas. This set is worth every penny to anyone who doesn't already own the Dan's full oveure. Sit back and experience the mood, the talent, and the other facets of Steely Dan's undeniable, inexplicable appeal.