Shades of Steely Dan

Band: Love and Money.

Personnel: James Grant, guitar, vocals; Bobby Paterson, bass; Paul McGeechan, keyboards.

History: Grant and McGeechan played together in a Glasgow-based acoustic-flavored band called Friends Again. After that group broke up, they formed Love and Money with Paterson and drummer Stuart Kerr and signed to PolyGram in 1985. In 1986, with American producer Tom Dowd (Aretha Franklin, Eric Clapton, Allman Brothers), the group made the album “All You Need . . . ,” which featured the British hit “Candybar Express.” Indulging again in a taste for American producers, the group--now a trio with the departure of Kerr--hooked up with Gary Katz, best known for his work with Steely Dan. That teaming resulted in the 1988 album “Strange Kind of Love,” released here by Mercury in February.

Sound: “Strange Kind of Love” shares Steely Dan’s studio sheen and musicianly tastiness (Katz brought in Toto drummer Jeff Porcaro). But for the most part, these songs are more in line with Simply Red’s smooth soul, though with a bit more sting, courtesy Grant’s dry baritone and sharp guitar. Appropriately, the British press has used such terms as “classy” and “tasteful” to describe the album, with songs ranging from restrained rage (“Halleluiah Man”) to restrained funk (“Razorsedge”) to just plain restrained (“Strange Kind of Love”). But underneath the sheen and restraint there’s a cleverly delivered sense of irony aimed at both politicos and romantics--shades of Steely Dan! (The CD--and this is CD music--adds the band’s funkiest number, “Scapegoat City.”)

Where: Friday at the Palace, Saturday at the Ventura Theater.