Quantum Criminals: The Ace Steely Dan Book

"Mr. Steely Dan" and his Cohorts, In Words and Paintings

Quantum Criminals is the first book I've seen that really captures the galactic picture and microscopic fussiness, the words and music, and the unsettling but intoxicating vibe of Steely Dan. Written by Alex Pappademas with paintings by Joan LeMay, it is published by the University of Texas Press in Austin.

Unlike previous books, such as Brian Sweet's The Complete Guide to the Music of Steely Dan, Pappademas creates inventive stories about almost-always louche, cryptic characters invented by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen. The subtitle, less elegant than the perfect title, sets the scene: Ramblers, Wild Gamblers, and Other Sole Survivors from the Songs of Steely Dan.

The book is a full words-and-art collaboration. LeMay, a New York-based artist, provides more than 100 vivid "portraits" of until-now unseen of Steely Dan characters, her eye and hand guided by an imagination of names we could only hear before: The El Supremo, Buzz, Pepe, The Babylon Sisters, Mr. Whatever, Babs & Clean Will…