Personnel includes: Walter Becker (vocals, guitar, harmonica, bass); Donald Fagen (vocals, whistle, piano, electric piano, organ, keyboards, synthesizer); Jimmie Haskell (arranger); David Palmer (vocals); Ben Benay (acoustic guitar); Jeff "Skunk" Baxter (guitar, pedal steel guitar, Spanish guitar); Denny Dias (guitar, sitar); Dean Parks, Elliot Randall, Hugh McCracken, Larry Carlton, Jeff Mironov, Lee Ritenour, Steve Khan, Jay Graydon, Mark Knopfler (guitar); Tom Scott (clarinet, tenor saxophone, lyricon); David Sanborn, Phil Woods (alto saxophone); Pete Christlieb, Wayne Shorter, Jerome Richardson (tenor saxophone); Ronny Cuber (baritone saxophone); Lanny Morgan, Bill Perkins, Ernie Watts, John Rotella (saxophone).
Compilation producers: Donald Fagen, Walter Becker.
Engineers include: Roger "The Immortal" Nichols, Bill Schnee, Al Schmitt.
Includes liner notes by Michael Phalen.
Digitally remastered by Roger Nichols (Digital Atomics).
Personnel: Donald Fagen (vocals, piano, keyboards); Dean Parks, Elliott Randall, Hugh McCracken, Jeff Baxter, Larry Carlton, Rick Derringer, Walter Becker, Denny Dias (guitar); Royce Jones (saxophone, background vocals); Ernie Watts, John Rotella, Lanny Morgan (saxophone); Snooky Young (flugelhorn); Michael Omartian (piano); Jim Hodder (drums, percussion); Hal Blaine, Jeff Porcaro (drums); Sherlie Matthews, Patricia Hall, Myrna Matthews (background vocals).
Liner Note Authors: Donald Fagen; Walter Becker.
Recording information: Soundworks Mew York NY (1972-1980).
Unknown Contributor Roles: David Sanborn; Mark Knopfler; Michael Brecker; Tom Scott.
There is an audience for the double-disc set Showbiz Kids: The Steely Dan Story 1972-1980, although it may be a small one -- it's a set for listeners who want something a little more extensive than A Decade of Steely Dan or Gold yet don't want to invest in full albums. On that level, it works quite well, since it does have all the chart and radio hits, plus a terrific sampling of classic album tracks from "Only a Fool Would Say That" through "Any Major Dude Will Tell You" to "Time Out of Mind." So Showbiz Kids winds up being useful for neophytes -- although it's hard not to imagine anyone who gets this set, believing that this will be all the Steely Dan they'll ever need, eventually succumbing and buying all the studio albums. If that's the case, at least they'll already have "Here at the Western World" and "FM," and won't have to purchase one of the two multi-disc sets that contain these non-LP songs. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
One of the most lyrically and musically sophisticated bands of the 1970s, Steely Dan went farther than any other mainstream group in stretching the definition of what a "rock" band could be. Challenging the traditional notion of fixed personnel, the ensemble had a constantly shifting cast that revolved around core members Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, their obscurantist lyrics owed more to Donald Barthelme than Mick Jagger, and their unusual, jazz-schooled musical settings were miles beyond anything else one might hear on "classic rock" radio.
As the definitive, two-disc anthology SHOWBIZ KIDS makes abundantly plain, Steely Dan's real accomplishment was that they were able to break so much ground while remaining completely accessible and maintaining their considerable popularity through a string of complex, adventurous albums. SHOWBIZ KIDS hits all the high points, from the R&B-flavored early hit "Dirty Work" (featuring guest vocalist Barry Palmer) to the ubiquitous "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" (complete with Horace Silver-derived bass line), and the slick, latter-day pop-funk of "Hey Nineteen." It quickly becomes clear that Steely Dan had so few imitators because most acts never had the guts to try. minimize