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CD Review - Steely Dan - Two Against Nature
Steely Dan
First album release in twenty years
What's at the top of the charts today? Pre-fabricated, young, soulless product aimed at the wallets of teens. One exception, Carlos Santana, is this week's chart-topper. Another exception debuted last week at number 6. It's Steely Dan's new release, Two Against Nature. Steely Dan have made a career out of being the exception. Donald Fagen and Walter Becker met in 1967 and, after finding that they shared common musical and philosophical interests, teamed up and started writing songs. After a brief stint at the Brill Building, they formed Steely Dan and started cranking out the hits. Initially, they played the game by the rules, selling lots of albums and making themselves miserable. In 1975, they decided to ditch the rest of their band, hole up in the studio with session players, and begin crafting the new era of Steely Dan. The resulting "Katy Lied", "The Royal Scam", "Aja" and "Gaucho" releases were wildly successful, combining a smooth, jazzy sound with some hilariously subversive lyrics. And then they released... nothing. Their Steely Dan well ran dry. They released a trio of well-received solo albums, but couldn't come up with anything deserving of the Steely Dan name.
A dozen or so years later, the guys were reunited by circumstance, and decided to get onstage and try out a few of their old tunes. They had fun. So they booked a tour, had a good time, did another successful tour and decided that they needed some new songs to play. They went into the studio and emerged three years later with Two Against Nature. The tunes are lean and strong, with the kind of carefree efficiency. They aren't simple; jazz and funk elements are mixed in, producing a sound that's both diversely elegant and ruthlessly carefree. This is the soundtrack to a cooler, smoother, more refined life than any of us would ever lead. And a good thing that is, because the denizens of the Two Against Nature universe are people you don't want to get to know. In "Gaslighting Abby", the two main characters make a game out of driving an acquaintance insane. "Cousin Dupree" chronicles a failed set of feeble sexual overtures made to a newly-bloomed cousin Janine. She's too savvy for our hero, though, and when pressed into revealing exactly how she can resist such a man, she replies "Maybe it's the skeevy look in your eyes/ Or that your mind has turned to applesauce/ The dreary architecture of your soul". Ouch. A recurring theme is that of the older man who should know better, sabotaged by any of a wide palette of tragic flaws. And definitely not getting the girl. The standouts? "Almost Gothic" is one of the best of a good bunch. Musically it's a cousin to "Deacon Blues", with a subject who's fallen for a woman who is "pure science with a splash of black cat/ she's almost gothic and I like it like that". After being hit by the steamroller of love, he's "sizzling like an isotope". The track's so good, you can even forgive Becker and Fagen for that simile. "Jack Of Speed" is a slow motion glimpse of an impending drug-related wreck, with an incongruously light melody. The boys are back, and in prime form.
The Dan have legions of loyal fans who have been waiting for years for the next album. Well, now they've got it, and they love it. But will the kids buy Steely Dan? Probably not. If asked whether they would be interested in hearing the new Steely Dan track, the person buying the Sisqo CD in the CD shop would probably put on an even more ignorant face and say, "What's a Steely Dan?" You are, dude.
What's at the top of the charts today? Pre-fabricated, young, soulless product aimed at the wallets of teens. One exception, Carlos Santana, is this week's chart-topper. Another exception debuted last week at number 6. It's Steely Dan's new release, Two Against Nature. Steely Dan have made a career out of being the exception. Donald Fagen and Walter Becker met in 1967 and, after finding that they shared common musical and philosophical interests, teamed up and started writing songs. After a brief stint at the Brill Building, they formed Steely Dan and started cranking out the hits. Initially, they played the game by the rules, selling lots of albums and making themselves miserable. In 1975, they decided to ditch the rest of their band, hole up in the studio with session players, and begin crafting the new era of Steely Dan. The resulting "Katy Lied", "The Royal Scam", "Aja" and "Gaucho" releases were wildly successful, combining a smooth, jazzy sound with some hilariously subversive lyrics. And then they released... nothing. Their Steely Dan well ran dry. They released a trio of well-received solo albums, but couldn't come up with anything deserving of the Steely Dan name.
A dozen or so years later, the guys were reunited by circumstance, and decided to get onstage and try out a few of their old tunes. They had fun. So they booked a tour, had a good time, did another successful tour and decided that they needed some new songs to play. They went into the studio and emerged three years later with Two Against Nature. The tunes are lean and strong, with the kind of carefree efficiency. They aren't simple; jazz and funk elements are mixed in, producing a sound that's both diversely elegant and ruthlessly carefree. This is the soundtrack to a cooler, smoother, more refined life than any of us would ever lead. And a good thing that is, because the denizens of the Two Against Nature universe are people you don't want to get to know. In "Gaslighting Abby", the two main characters make a game out of driving an acquaintance insane. "Cousin Dupree" chronicles a failed set of feeble sexual overtures made to a newly-bloomed cousin Janine. She's too savvy for our hero, though, and when pressed into revealing exactly how she can resist such a man, she replies "Maybe it's the skeevy look in your eyes/ Or that your mind has turned to applesauce/ The dreary architecture of your soul". Ouch. A recurring theme is that of the older man who should know better, sabotaged by any of a wide palette of tragic flaws. And definitely not getting the girl. The standouts? "Almost Gothic" is one of the best of a good bunch. Musically it's a cousin to "Deacon Blues", with a subject who's fallen for a woman who is "pure science with a splash of black cat/ she's almost gothic and I like it like that". After being hit by the steamroller of love, he's "sizzling like an isotope". The track's so good, you can even forgive Becker and Fagen for that simile. "Jack Of Speed" is a slow motion glimpse of an impending drug-related wreck, with an incongruously light melody. The boys are back, and in prime form.
The Dan have legions of loyal fans who have been waiting for years for the next album. Well, now they've got it, and they love it. But will the kids buy Steely Dan? Probably not. If asked whether they would be interested in hearing the new Steely Dan track, the person buying the Sisqo CD in the CD shop would probably put on an even more ignorant face and say, "What's a Steely Dan?" You are, dude.
