This is one of the better compilations of the pre-Can't Buy A Thrill Fagen/Becker material (my favorite is still "Found Studio Tracks"). Some of the other compilations are off-speed, unbearably noisy, or worse, contain studio overdubs which border on tacky and disrespectful. Fagen and Becker themselves would probably admit to a lot of this material being disposable. They never re-recorded many of these songs after all, but I myself am quite fond of Mock Turtle Song and Don't Let Me In.

Soooooo, you fancy your self a Steely Dan fan? You say that you just can’t get enough from this wayward duo, these traveling hipsters of the nigh, who lock themselves in the studio and don’t come out until every ‘i’ has been dotted, and every ’t’ has been crossed. Yes, Steely Dan lost many fans when Aja hit the record store shelves, but this [?], this will stop the most ardent fan in their tracks, cause them to blink unbelievably, like a ding in your new car’s door. And there’s a reason for that, and that’s that Android Warehouse is pre pre-Steely Dan, merely hinting at who they would later be, and even though you’re going to find many of the songs you know and love here, along with some unexpected misspent youth ramblings, the songs only vaguely resemble anything that Becker and Fagen would come to be known for.Of course you could consider these tracks with a country flavored influence to be mere sketches, but I for one think that they were dead serious at the time, proving that once in awhile, medication, prescribed or otherwise, can allow an artist to see the light and give them a moment of clarity that will change them forever … and in the case of Steely Dan, change the world forever.Some laughingly have referred to this collection as just another shabby dressed to kill effort that should be avoided by all but the most obsessed fans who want to hear every distorted note, off key vocals, and teeth chattering displays that I assure you should be sincerely overlooked.The album is impossible to rate, and equally impossible to describe as a genre, but don’t believe me, go and listen, believe your own ears … and then toss it down like hot potato, wishing that you could un-hear what’s just filtered from your speakers.Review by Jenell Kesler

This is a really awesome collection to own for any Steely Dan fan, because it shows you not only where they started, but where they were clearly going. Obviously you get stripped-down renditions of future classics such as "Parker's Band" and "Barrytown". "Caves of Altamira" has an additional verse and a different verse order, "Brooklyn" is practically ethereal (and sung here by Fagen) and "Charlie Freak" is much starker without the bouncy instrumentation that was added later. But you also get a number of gems that will leave you wondering why they never made it any farther than this collection, such as the sunny "You Go Where I Go", the kitschy "Soul Ram" (sung by the original vocalist of the band who also appears on several other tracks), the soul-bare "Take It Out On Me", and a sassy rendition of Lewis Carroll's "Mock Turtle Song". "Come Back Baby" could have easily sat alongside tracks by Average White Band or Player, and "Sun Mountain" will break your heart. (There's also my personal favorite why-didn't-this-ever-get-finished song, "Roaring Of The Lamb".) If you have all the Steely Dan albums, and the Walter Becker and Donald Fagen solo works, you should definitely round out your collection with this double CD.