“Medical Science”— (bonus track) 11 Tracks of Whack (Walter Becker) (1994)

Apparently, this song is a “bonus track” on the Japanese release of Walter Becker’s 1994 album, 11 Tracks of Whack (which already contained 12 tracks—not sure which one wasn’t “of Whack”). In other words, obscure—but it’s not really, because you can find the song instantly on the internet and listen to it—and on a website called “Walter Becker Media” there are even demos and notebook pages of lyrics—so there you go—a pretty fun song to check out. His handwriting looks a lot like mine—i.e., borderline illegible. To me, it sounds as good as anything on the record—so I wonder why it didn’t make it on the record. It’s a pretty good song, actually. Actually, a great song. Well, I guess that’s why someone made a point to add it as a “bonus track,” and someone else put it on the YouTube (etc.)—and Steely Dan and Walter Becker fans are happy to hear the song. Walter Becker’s solo stuff is growing on me, as time goes on, and his sleepy hipster style of singing is also growing on me. It shouldn’t surprise me that I like a lot of his songs. This one has a nice groove, a good bass part, and a cool, minimal stripped-down sound. The lyrics lament the troubles of some less fortunate characters, I guess. The title refers to the chorus, which ends: “Because medical science is helpless/ helpless in a case like this.” Which is a pretty useful expression, one that could easily be apt in quite a lot of situations in which a cool head and an understated sense of humor might certainly come in handy.

—Randy Russell 5.12.24