The album was critically praised at the time of its release. In a mixed review, Noel Coppage of Stereo Review was impressed by the album's music but wrote that "the lyrics baffle me; maybe they know what they're talking about, but I can't get a clue."
At the end of 1974, Pretzel Logic was named NME magazine's album of the year. It was also voted the second-best album of 1974 in Pazz & Jop, an annual poll of prominent critics published by The Village Voice. Christgau, who created Pazz & Jop, ranked Pretzel Logic number one on his own year-end list, and later wrote that the album encapsulated Steely Dan's "chewy perversity as aptly as its title", with vocals by Fagen that "seem like the golden mean of pop ensemble singing, stripped of histrionics and displays of technique, almost [...] sincere, modest." Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine called the album Steely Dan's "richest" and wrote that Becker's and Fagen's songwriting was "seamless while remaining idiosyncratic and thrillingly accessible." Patrick McKay of Stylus Magazine called the album "superb" and said it found Becker and Fagen "relying instead on crack studio musicians that could realize their increasingly complex compositions". Rob Sheffield, wrote in The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004) that, when making Pretzel Logic, "Steely Dan's songwriting and Fagen's singing were at their peak of fluid power: The whole album is flawless".
Pretzel Logic has appeared on retrospective "greatest albums" lists. In 1994, it was voted number 67 in Colin Larkin's book All Time Top 1000 Albums, with Larkin calling the album's mix of jazz, R&B, and pop styles "highly inventive" and "greater than the sum of its parts"; it fell to number 292 in the update of the ranking from the year 2000. In 2003, the album ranked 385th on Rolling Stones list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time"; it dropped to 386th on the 2012 update of the list. The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
Tour
Steely Dan's tour to support Pretzel Logic went on for 53 U.S. dates and five UK dates (their first appearances outside of the U.S.) from March 1, 1974 until July 5, 1974. The touring band consisted of the five members of Steely Dan, Royce Jones (percussion and vocals), Michael McDonald (Wurlitzer electric piano and vocals), and Jeff Porcaro (drums, along with Jim Hodder); Porky and Bucky from Steely Dan's previous tour were dismissed because Becker and Fagen decided that having female backing vocalists was "too showbiz". The performances often used different lead singers than the studio recordings; ordered with songs from Pretzel Logic first, the songs in the setlist were:
- "Rikki Don't Lose that Number" (lead vocal by Fagen)
- "Any Major Dude Will Tell You" (lead vocal by Jones)
- "Barrytown" (lead vocal by Fagen)
- "Pretzel Logic" (lead vocals by Fagen and McDonald)
- "Do It Again" (lead vocal by Fagen)
- "Dirty Work" (lead vocal by Jones)
- "Reelin' in the Years" (lead vocal by Fagen)
- "Brooklyn (Owes the Charmer Under Me)" (lead vocal by Jones)
- "Bodhisattva" (lead vocals by Fagen, Jones, and McDonald)
- "The Boston Rag" (lead vocal by Fagen)
- "Show Biz Kids" (lead vocal by McDonald)
- "My Old School" (lead vocal by Baxter)
- "King of the World" (lead vocal by Fagen)
- "This All Too Mobile Home" (lead vocal by Fagen)
The Pretzel Logic tour was more hectic and grueling than Steely Dan's previous tours, and as their fame built from the success of the album and the single "Rikki Don't Lose that Number", Becker and Fagen became uncomfortable with the intense interest of their fans, who attempted to access the backstage through skylights and fire escapes and in some cases crushed fellow audience members against the front of the stage. Becker and Fagen felt guilty about being the cause of these incidents, and faced additional stresses from financial negotiations between their management and the record label and the lack of any profit from their touring. The UK leg of the tour was scheduled to be 12 dates, but the last 7 dates were cancelled due to Fagen's medical condition, which seemed to be exacerbated by stress. A month later Steely Dan played 8 more U.S. dates, and then Becker and Fagen dissolved the original band and withdrew from touring.
Track listing
Personnel
;Steely Dan
- Donald Fagen – keyboards (including solo on 5), alto saxophone on 5, lead and backing vocals
- Walter Becker – bass, guitar on 5 and 8 (including solo on 8), backing vocals
- Jeff "Skunk" Baxter – electric and pedal steel guitars
|align="center"|18
|-
|-
|-
|-
|align="left"|US Billboard Top LPs & Tape
| style="text-align:center;"|8
|}
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
! scope="col"| Chart (2025–2026)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
! scope="row"| Greek Albums (IFPI)
| 46
|}
Year-end charts
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!align="left"|Chart (1974)
!align="left"|Position
|-
|-
|align="left"| US Billboard 200
|align="center"|41
|}
Singles
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
! Year
! Single
! Catalogue number
! Peak<br />position
! Chart
|-
|1974
|style="text-align: left;" | "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" (B-side: "Any Major Dude Will Tell You")
|ABC 11439
|4
|rowspan="2" | US Billboard Hot 100
|-
|1974
|style="text-align: left;" | "Pretzel Logic" (3:59 edit) (B-side: "Through with Buzz")
|ABC 12033
|57
|}