Special to The Star

The three stars of The Dukes of September Rhythm Revue — Donald Fagen, Michael McDonald and Boz Scaggs — delivered impeccable renditions of 22 songs. Yet they weren't necessarily the selections the audience of 3,500 wanted to hear.

It was a music obsessive's paradise and a casual classic rock fan's nightmare.

A reading of "The Shape I'm In" exemplified the conundrum. McDonald's vigorous lead vocals on the nugget by The Band were delightful. The vast majority of the audience would have preferred that McDonald had sung hits like "Yah Mo B There," "What a Fool Believes" or "Minute by Minute" instead. Most didn't anticipate hearing obscurities like Willy DeVille's "Cadillac Walk" when they spent $40 to $130 per ticket. And they probably didn't expect that "Reelin' In the Years" would be the sole song by Fagen's Steely Dan on the setlist.

At least every song was performed in the sleek style associated with Steely Dan. The twelve-piece aggregation played with grace and precision. Among the band's notable members were accomplished jazz saxophonist Walt Weiskopf and the tasteful guitarist Jon Herington. Their shimmering efforts were captured in a perfect sound mix. Still, the band's immense technical talent didn't always work to their advantage. A reading of a blues associated with Muddy Waters, for instance, was more appropriate for a penthouse suite than a gritty roadhouse. The members of the band were simply incapable of playing without refined elegance. That doesn't mean that they lacked soul.

Boz Scaggs' wonderful rendition of "Love T.K.O." overflowed with anguish. A memorable reading of "Takin' It To the Streets" began with a delicate piano solo and ended in gospel fervor. A creative overhaul of Buddy Miles' "Them Changes" was refreshing. The audience responded as if Aretha Franklin was on stage as Carolyn Leonhart delivered "Rock Steady." Not every cover worked as well. While delightful, McDonald's duet with Catherine Russell on "Don't Mess Up a Good Thing" was entirely derivative. The Grateful Dead's "Shakedown Street," The O'Jay's "Love Train" and The Beach Boys' "Help Me Rhonda" were as pleasant as they were pointless.

When heavy rain briefly halted the concert 40 minutes into the show, McDonald's "I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)" was the only big original hit the audience had heard. Most sat motionless as each unlikely song was rendered. Polite applause was gradually replaced by disgruntled murmuring and shouted requests between songs. Well into the second half of the concert, a collective sigh of relief greeted the opening strains of "What a Fool Believes," the soothing funk smash McDonald sang with The Doobie Brothers. It was followed by an energetic rendition of Fagen's "I.G.Y." and Scaggs' timeless hit "Lowdown." The latter song was received like manna from heaven from the hit-starved audience. Most fans rose to dance for the first time.

Had the band not seemed intent on delivering a well-intentioned music lesson, the entire concert could have been a rapturous dance party. While Fagen, McDonald and Scaggs seemed to be having the times of their lives, most of the audience only partially participated in their celebration.

SETLIST: Sookie Sookie, Heighty Hi, Don't Mess Up A Good Thing, Shakedown Street, You Never Can Tell, I've Got News For You, Green Flower Street, Miss Sun, I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near), Rock Steady, Rag Mama Rag, The Shape I'm In, Love T.K.O., I Love The Life I Live, I Live the Life I Love, Cadillac Walk, What A Fool Believes, I.G.Y., Lowdown, Takin' It To The Streets, Reelin' In The Years, Love Train, Help Me Rhonda. Them Changes, Sookie Sookie