The Cover Uncovered: How Steely Dan narrowly avoided a lawsuit for their iconic ‘Pretzel Logic’ sleeve
While the term ‘pretzel logic’ is often used to refer to a fallacy whereby someone tries to defend themselves or another with convoluted circular reasoning, there shouldn’t have been any reason for Steely Dan to have to defend themselves in any form when it came to creating the artwork for their similarly titled third album.
The album Pretzel Logic, and the song of the same name, do include some of Donald Fagen’s most cryptic and hard to understand lyricism, perhaps in reference to the album title, and although the two-word phrase isn’t uttered anywhere on the record, it’s clear that his razor-sharp wit and barbed satirical commentary is being utilised to its full potential over the course of the 11 tracks.
Many theories about the true meaning of the song and its accompanying album have been spread in the years since, but far less open to debate is the reason for the decision process behind the iconic sleeve. The album is called Pretzel Logic, and so, using sound logic, they settled on the idea of obtaining a photograph of a New York City pretzel vendor to slap on the cover.
Although its stark simplicity would suggest that very little discussion was needed at the drawing board, the concept is credited as a collaborative idea between Fagen and the band’s long-time producer, Gary Katz. Seemingly unbothered about taking the very literal route, which has yielded mixed results for other artists in the past, the black and white image that adorns the front of the record is memorable for its honest and true-to-life depiction of a New York street staple.
Symbolic of both their origins as New Yorkers and of their social commentary, this idea felt like the perfect shot to capture for the cover, and they recruited esteemed celebrity photographer Raeanne Rubenstein to capture the desired image for them.
Taken in close proximity to the road that runs through Central Park, the picture couldn’t have been more rooted in their home city and its culture, but rather than being able to walk away from the situation with their objective complete, they ran into an unusual stumbling block.
The unnamed vendor who appears on the cover of Pretzel Logic wasn’t exactly pleased with having been papped by Rubenstein, and refused to sign a release or consent form that would allow them to use the photograph for commercial purposes.
However, while this roadblock would have deterred most people from proceeding with using the image, upon closer inspection, Steely Dan’s label, ABC, discovered that the man in the photograph was selling his products without permission. This gave the label the confidence to go ahead as planned and use the photograph as the cover, considering that the vendor wouldn’t have a leg to stand on if he attempted to take them to court.
Pretzel Logic ends up being one of Steely Dan’s most iconic covers for how straightforward it is, and while they’ve used some more complex imagery on other albums like Can’t Buy A Thrill and The Royal Scam, it’s those with a more striking sense of realism about them that tend to be the more potent, with Katy Lied and Aja standing out as examples of their simplistic beauty.
