The notes state "For distribution by fan club only," NOT TO BE SOLD.

Side A -- Daddy Don't Live In That New York City No More; Chain Lightnin'; Black Friday; Rose Darling; Throw Back The Little Ones

Side B -- Doctor Wu; Your Gold Teeth II; Do It Again; Reelin' In The Years; Unmitigated Authority Records SD7000

Starved, as we have been, of new material (one album and three items of miscellany in eight years is a poor ratio), the chance to hear something new (in this case old/new) is very rewarding indeed.

Times are hard -- if a bootleg of Walter Becker tuning his guitar became available, I'd buy it.

Apart from feeding on morsels like Century's End (a juicy morsel nevertheless), it's bootlegs like this one that keep our insatiable appetites at bay -- and as bootlegs go, this is a tasty one!

Bent Over Backwards has been with us a few years now. Basically, it's nine cuts taken from two different sources, the Katy Lied sessions of 1974/75 and some supplementary live concert material from circa 1972/73.

The sound quality if generally good, especially on the studio cuts, and even though the tracks should be familiar to all and sundry, it's interesting to hear this music under slightly diffrent circumstances. The studio outtakes provide the album with most of its material (seven out of nine tracks).

It's hard to determine exactly what this selection represents, but it sounds very much like the finished product, just prior to the final overdubs. For example, there is a distinct lack of guitar solos on several of the songs and Phil Woods' tantalizing sax on Doctor Wu is conspicuous by its absence, and only a smattering of background vocals exist.

What we have, therefore, is a skeleton of the Dan's full-bodied sound. Stripped to the bare bones, and without its extra embellishments, it's fascinating to hear the band working away at the core of the music. Indeed, most of the items on display sound "live," maybe one-take efforts, all superbly executed with Denny Dias' guitar solo on Your Gold Teeth II, an exemplification of the skills on show.

Already recorded for posterity, his work is good enough for Donald Fagen to exclaim excitedly, "Holy fuck, that's great!" during the middle section of the solo -- an embellishment that was wisely omitted from the final recording!

It's a pity, of course, that there are no obscurities or unreleased gems to salivate over and some of the cuts end rather abruptly, but it's fascinating to hear these songs in their slightly-embryonic form.

The aforementioned Mr. Dias comes off rather well on this record, actually. (Whatever Happened to Denny Dias? T-shirts will be available with the next issue!) His sterling guitar work drives along the live percussion-orientated version of Do It Again, with Royce Jones singing lead and taken from an American concert performance. Along with Reelin' In The Years, theother live cut -- which incidentally sounds like the soundtrack to the only surviving TV clip of the band in action and the one that BBC gives an airing to now and then -- these two tracks not only showcase the dexterity of the two Dan guitarists but give a good indication of how exciting the band was in concert back in those heady days of 1973/74.

Unfortunately, Reelin' In The Years sounds "doctored" (it's longer than it should be) and the sound quality of these tracks isn't so great, but they both stand up well in comparison with the live version of Bodhisattva, which appeared on the "B" side of the Hey Nineteen single (a bootleg-type recording if ever I heard one).

So, overall a good album, essential listening for fans starved of their favorite Dan delicacies. If you don't own a copy of this LP, shame on you!

If you do, stay hungry!

Last modified on Fri Apr 12 14:53:36 1996