11 Tracks of Whack

11 Tracks of Whack is the first solo album by Steely Dan co-founder Walter Becker, released in 1994. It was his third collaboration since 1980 with Steely Dan partner Donald Fagen, who produced the album, after Becker produced Fagen's Kamakiriad (1993), and Becker and Fagen played on Rosie Vela's debut album Zazu (1986).

11 Tracks of Whack
Studio album by Walter Becker
Released	1994
Recorded	1993–1994
Studio	Hyperbolic Sound (Maui, Hawaii) Signet Sound Studios (Los Angeles, California)
Genre	Jazz rock
Length	56:46
Label	Giant
Producer	Donald Fagen, Walter Becker
Walter Becker chronology
11 Tracks of Whack (1994) Circus Money (2008)

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	[2]
Entertainment Weekly	B[3]
The Great Rock Discography	5/10[4]
Q	[5]
(The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide	[6]

The New York Times concluded that "11 Tracks of Whack, like Paul Simon's Still Crazy After All These Years, applies singular musical ingenuity to visions of shrinking horizons and squandered opportunities... Steely Dan's snide intelligence has been fused with a sense of mortality."^[7]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Walter Becker except "Cringemaker" which was co-written by Dean Parks. Horn and rhythm arrangements were written by Donald Fagen.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Down in the Bottom"	4:16
2.	"Junkie Girl"	4:07
3.	"Surf and/or Die"	6:15
4.	"Book of Liars"	4:09
5.	"Lucky Henry"	4:39
6.	"Hard Up Case"	4:56
7.	"Cringemaker"	5:11
8.	"Girlfriend"	5:43
9.	"My Waterloo"	4:02
10.	"This Moody Bastard"	5:18
11.	"Hat Too Flat"	5:26
12.	"Little Kawai"	2:44

Japan Bonus Track

No.	Title	Length
13.	"Medical Science"	4:30

US Promo CD Single Track

No.	Title	Length
14.	"Fall Of '92"	5:26

Personnel

• Walter Becker – vocals, guitar solos, ukulele, bass
• John Beasley – keyboards
• Donald Fagen – keyboards
• Dean Parks – acoustic guitars, electric guitars, first guitar solo (5)
• Adam Rogers – electric guitars (3, 5, 11), second guitar solo (5)
• Fima Ephron – bass (3, 5, 11)
• Ben Perowsky – drums (3, 5, 11)
• Paulinho da Costa – percussion
• Bob Sheppard – saxophones, woodwind solos
• Bruce Paulson – trombone
• John Papenbrook – trumpet
• Catherine Russell – backing vocals
• Brenda White-King – backing vocals

Production

• Walter Becker – producer
• Donald Fagen – producer
• Roger Nichols – engineer, mixing
• David Russell – engineer, mixing
• Tom Hardisty – second engineer
• Earl Martin – second engineer
• John Neff – third engineer
• Craig Siegel – MIDI engineer, technical support
• Glenn Meadows – mastering at Masterfonics (Nashville, Tennessee)
• Linda Starr – project coordinator
• Mick Haggerty – art direction, type design, punch photography
• Kathleen Philpott – type design
• Annalisa – photography

References

1. 11 Tracks of Whack Walter Becker AllMusic William Ruhlmann
2. "Walter Becker". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2011-08-16.
3. Dimitri Ehrlich. Entertainment Weekly review September 30, 1994
4. Strong, Martin Charles (2002). "Steely Dan". The Great Rock Discography. The National Academies. ISBN 1-84195-312-1.
5. Q January 1995, p.245
6. Sheffield, Rob (2004). "Walter Becker". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 58. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
7. "Recordings View: Steely Dan (Half of It, That Is) Strikes Back". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2023-01-05.