Pretzel Logic by levipatrick

levipatrick - Pretzel Logic

levipatrick

May 06, 2025 07:51pm

<img src="https://www.songfacts.com/img-artalbums-145-30197383da822ae8ec3d46c7786a4278.png"> Album: Pretzel Logic (<a href="https://www.songfacts.com/browse/years/1974" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: rgb(251, 251, 251); color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">1974</a>) "Pretzel Logic" is a song written by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Becker" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">Walter Becker</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Fagen" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">Donald Fagen</a>, released as a single by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steely_Dan" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">Steely Dan</a> from their album <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretzel_Logic" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">Pretzel Logic</a>, originally in 1974 by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABC_Records" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">ABC Records</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretzel_Logic_(song)#cite_note-5" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[5]</a> It reached number 57 in the Billboard charts.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretzel_Logic_(song)#cite_note-6" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[6]</a> In <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RPM_(magazine)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">Canada</a> it reached number 48.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretzel_Logic_(song)#cite_note-7" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[7]</a>Background Steely Dan FAQ author Anthony Robustelli describes "Pretzel Logic" as a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blues" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">bluesy</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuffle_note" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">shuffle</a> about time travel.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretzel_Logic_(song)#cite_note-faq-8" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[8]</a> Fagen has stated that the lyrics, including anachronistic references to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">Napoleon</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minstrel_show" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">minstrel shows</a>, are about <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_travel" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">time travel</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretzel_Logic_(song)#cite_note-sweet-9" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[9]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretzel_Logic_(song)#cite_note-faq-8" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[8]</a> According to Robustelli, the "platform" referred to in the song's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridge_(music)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">bridge</a> is the time travel machine.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretzel_Logic_(song)#cite_note-faq-8" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[8]</a> But Something Else! critic Victor Aaron describes the lines "I stepped out on the platform, the man gave me the news/He said, 'You must be joking son, where did you get those shoes?'” as a memorable putdown line.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretzel_Logic_(song)#cite_note-something-10" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[10]</a> Steely Dan biographer Brian Sweet hypothesizes that the first verse was inspired by the band's distaste for touring, particularly the tours of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_United_States" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">American South</a> on which their record label had sent them the previous year.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretzel_Logic_(song)#cite_note-sweet-9" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[9]</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Brownsville_Herald" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">The Brownsville Herald</a> writer Bobby Alvarez felt the song was about Steely Dan's "quest for stardom" and represented their philosophy about themselves—that whatever they have not done or experienced in the past doesn't matter anymore since the past is gone.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretzel_Logic_(song)#cite_note-alvarez-11" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[11]</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_(magazine)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">Billboard</a> described "Pretzel Logic" as a "bluesy rock hit" and praised the vocals, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Producer_(music)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">production</a>, and the "catchy instrumental <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refrain" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">refrain</a>."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretzel_Logic_(song)#cite_note-bb-12" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[12]</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cashbox_(magazine)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">CashBox</a> said that "the accent here is on a funkier jazzy melody than '<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rikki_Don%27t_Lose_That_Number" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">Rikki</a>.'"<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretzel_Logic_(song)#cite_note-cb-13" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[13]</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Record_World" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">Record World</a> called it "a blues construction trimmed with hall-filling harmonies" and said that "The group's ability to meander and yet keep to a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hook_(music)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">hooky</a> home base once again proves their mastery of rock thought processes."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretzel_Logic_(song)#cite_note-rw-14" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[14]</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolling_Stone" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">Rolling Stone</a> critic Bud Scoppa describes "Pretzel Logic" as one of the album's most conventional songs, calling it a "modified <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blues" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">blues</a>."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretzel_Logic_(song)#cite_note-rs-15" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[15]</a> Aaron regards it as Steely Dan's song that remains most faithful to the blues, but acknowledges that a few non-blues chords are incorporated into the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refrain" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">refrain</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretzel_Logic_(song)#cite_note-something-10" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[10]</a> Scoppa particularly praised the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_guitar" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">electric guitar</a> improvisations for their originality and for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedal_steel_guitar" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">pedal steel guitar</a> parts that don't sound like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Country_music" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">country music</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretzel_Logic_(song)#cite_note-rs-15" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[15]</a> Scoppa credited <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Baxter" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">Jeff Baxter</a> for this, although according to Steely Dan biographer Brian Sweet, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Becker" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">Walter Becker</a> played the guitar solo.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretzel_Logic_(song)#cite_note-sweet-9" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[9]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretzel_Logic_(song)#cite_note-rs-15" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[15]</a> This is one of the first Steely Dan songs to feature Becker as a lead guitarist.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretzel_Logic_(song)#cite_note-faq-8" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[8]</a> Eduardo Rivadavia cites "Pretzel Logic" as one of several songs on the album on which Steely Dan hones their trademark sound, "as sweetly infectious as it was deceptively intricate, dark and witty."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretzel_Logic_(song)#cite_note-16" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[16]</a> Alvarez rated it one of the best songs on the album.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretzel_Logic_(song)#cite_note-alvarez-11" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[11]</a>