20th Century Masters: Millennium Collection

• Artist: Steely Dan
• Rating:
• Release Date: June 12, 2007
• Type: Compilation (best of)
• Genre: Rock

Review

Steely Dan mainstays Walter Becker and Donald Fagen are credited as co-compilation producers with Universal Music executive Andy McKaie on the Steely Dan entry in Universal's discount-priced series 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection. It's a rule of thumb: get the artist involved in a compilation, and the choices are bound to be idiosyncratic. The rule holds here. Becker and Fagen eschew the boring hits-only approach, ignoring the Top Ten "Hey Nineteen" and the Top 40s "Black Friday," "Peg," and "FM (No Static at All)" in favor of album tracks "Any World (That I'm Welcome To)" and "Third World Man," as well as the B-side "Only a Fool Would Say That" and "My Old School," which peaked at number 63 on the Hot 100. It doesn't really matter. More than three decades after the fact, "My Old School" sounds as much like a Steely Dan hit as any of the band's actual Top Ten singles, and it gets as much play on classic rock radio. Is this the best of Steely Dan? No, but some of the group's best songs are included, among them "Do It Again" and "Rikki Don't Lose That Number." A neophyte wanting to get an idea of what Steely Dan sounds like can do so by listening to these ten tracks. Real Steely Dan fans already have multiple copies of each of these songs. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Do It Again (Lyrics)	Donald Fagen, Walter Becker	Steely Dan	(5:56)
Reelin' in the Years (Lyrics)	Walter Becker, Donald Fagen	Steely Dan	(4:34)
Only a Fool Would Say That (Lyrics)	Donald Fagen, Walter Becker	Steely Dan	(2:56)
My Old School (Lyrics)	Donald Fagen, Walter Becker	Steely Dan	(5:44)
Rikki Don't Lose That Number (Lyrics)	Walter Becker, Donald Fagen	Steely Dan	(4:33)
Any World (That I'm Welcome To)	Donald Fagen, Walter Becker	Steely Dan	(3:54)
Deacon Blues (Lyrics)	Walter Becker, Donald Fagen	Steely Dan	(7:32)
Josie (Lyrics)	Donald Fagen, Walter Becker	Steely Dan	(4:31)
Time out of Mind	Walter Becker, Donald Fagen	Steely Dan	(4:12)
Third World Man	Donald Fagen, Walter Becker	Steely Dan	(5:14)

Credits

Pete Christlieb (Performer), Denny Dias (Performer), Mark Knopfler (Performer), Donald Fagen (Compilation Producer), Elliot Randall (Performer), Andy McKaie (Compilation Producer), Walter Becker (Performer), Donald Fagen (Performer), Walter Becker (Compilation Producer), Victor Fledman (Performer), Jeff Baxter (Performer), Gary Katz (Producer)