Steely Dan - Two Against Nature
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Free Music Notes for Two Against Nature
Free Music Review: Becker And Fagan Back At It Again
Hit: 5 Stars
Considering Steely Dan's twenty year absense from the record racks in terms Kamakiriadof new music this album itself not only came as something of a surprise but more over that it won a grammy. Personally I haven't since that time seen an album as fully creatively deserving as this every win such an award. So where were Steely Dan musically at this point anyway? Well as it turns out much in the same concept as Al Green's 21't century comeback they elected to do almost nothing to change their sound and concentrated mainly on new songs. So musically if you are a love albums such as Gaucho and Fagan's Kamakiriad you'll love the music here. In the end it's just like with Al;it's a sound that is so wonderful and works so well everytime you'd rather see it used again with some melodic variations here and there than see people like these jump on a shallow flavor of the month trend that will embarrass them. One thing that has expanded to a degree is the lyrical focus. Steely Dan always tended to revel in overly cryptic lyrics that could mean a number of things,usually darkly humorous tales of sociaties misfits and such. By the turn of the millenium not only had the definition for misfit scarily broadened but this gave Becker and Fagan an awful lot of new ground to cover in their songs. Extending upon some of the ideas expresssed on Kamakiriad most of these songs have to do with different types of modern women from the shortlived summer affair of "Gaslighting Abbie",the forbiddan romance of "Janie Runaway",the run down addict of "Negative Girl" and the mecurial and moodswingy sorts featured in "What A Shame About Me" and "Almost Gothic". One of the funkiest tunes on the entire album is "Cousin Dupree",a pretty straight forward tale of a man with impure thoughts about his cousin musing over what would be so wrong about a "good old fasioned family romance". It also has to be one of the only pop songs that uses the word "quid pro quao" in the lyrics. Even though the sound of this album hasn't changed from earlier ones there is more concentration on jazzy chord progressions than outright pop melodies,especially on the title song and "West Of Hollywood". And again that brings to something of a mystery to me how this album not only faired well commercially but won an award. Not that that's what they were going for by any means but the subject matter and musical stylings of this album are a bit too obscure and sometimes very perverse for the usually more childishly explicit "pop" music of it's time but at least I am happy that,at one point someone had the right idea that sometimes,even in an age of a lot of generic things that every so often pop music needs to have it's surprises.Free Music Review: ...I'm sizzling like an isotope!
Hit: 5 Stars
As a Dan Fan from the beginning, believe me when I tell you that Two Against Nature has made my decade. I've spent the last several months with the entire Citizen Steely Dan box, The Nightfly and Kamakiriad gracing the 6-disc magazine of my car's Kenwood CD-changer, and Two Against Nature feels just like part of the family spinning in the CD slot of the in-dash unit right along with its siblings.Like others have said, Two Against Nature doesn't immediately knock you out. On the first couple auditions, I was having a difficult time distinguishing between cuts thinking, "They all sorta sound alike." Now, two weeks and at least 50 listens later, I can't get *ANY* of these rhapsodic melodies out of my head, and all I can say is, "Thank you Donald and Walter! "
The mix of pop and jazz influences on this disc fairly drips from the speakers. Complex harmonies, unexpected yet deeply satisfying key changes, and tight arrangements make Two Against Nature an absolute joy to listen to -- and here's the secret -- OVER and OVER and OVER again. The time spent soaking in Two Against Nature rewards the listener 100-fold.
I've read comparisons of this disc to Kamakiriad, but I don't think that is very accurate. The warmth of Two Against Nature is so much more enveloping than Kamakiriad's -- dare I say -- sterile feel, that I would never think to lump them together stylistically. The Steely Dan of Katy Lied, Gaucho, and, yes, even Aja, are present on this disc from beginning to end. This is a mellower, funkier, "hearty gulping wine" and I find Walter's reserved, deliberate lead guitar offerings perfect for this material. Donald's cool, whiny vocals are still there with a slightly raspier texture due, undoubtedly, to the ravages of time. The percussion is outstanding track-in and track-out as are the horns, especially the saxophone solos on Janie Runaway and, of course, West of Hollywood, and the trumpet work on Almost Gothic.
Lyrically, Donald's words are as witty, biting, humorous and poignant as ever. "He's a one way rider on the shriek express, and his new best friend is at the throttle more or less," indeed!
The standouts for me are Gaslighting Abbie, Two Against Nature, Janie Runaway, and Jack of Speed. West of Hollywood is also fantastic, as is the rest of the disc.
This is a wonderful collection of music and lyrics that will definitely be grouped in the future near the top of Steely Dan's offerings...period.
Free Music Review: Becker and Fagen Do It Again
Hit: 5 Stars
If you can remember back that far, Gaucho, Steely Dan's last album a mere 20 years ago, was savaged by critics as being relentlessly banal and slick. It was misunderstood then, but not anymore. Now it's a recognized classic, beloved by DanHeads everywhere. Two Against Nature is the logical followup to that album, although it more follows Aja's burning avant-jazz approach than Gaucho's minimalist pop/jazz sound. Walter Becker and Donald Fagen sound fully rejuvenated, and not a day older. Two Against Nature is dense, cerebral music built on burning grooves, complex chording and cheeky lyrics. The guys are now working in a way Thelonious Monk would have loved, and the music shows Monk touches throughout. Nothing goes where it logically should in this music, yet everything holds together, especially upon repeated listenings. The hooks are there, but they are the least important elements in this music. The players get to stretch out, especially Chris Potter on tenor sax, who sends the album out with a furious bop solo that seems to say, "This is what we're all about, so THERE!"
Walter Becker, since he isn't the singer in Steely Dan, has been under-appreciated for his contributions to both the songwriting and the arrangements of Steely Dan's previous recordings. Two Against Nature corrects that. Unlike on previous albums, Becker is solidly out front as a guitarist and bassist here. The songs really wouldn't exist without his aggressive R&B grooves and rocking leads. No smooth Larry Carlton smoothly burnished guitar hooks are floating here; Becker laces all the tunes with multiple stinging guitar licks that sometimes push Fagen's trademark distanced vocal style into the background.
There is no Deacon Blues or Peg here, but the new songs reveal an astonishingly sophisticated control of the textural and thematic elemnts of music. The structures are unique, with the lyrics playing nicely against the music rather than nestling inside it.
For those who worry that this album will be another stiffly performed effort like Kamakiriad (Fagen's last solo album), don't worry. This is Steely Dan at their best, even if they are fashionably late. Jazz fans ought to eat this album up, and the pop fans will love it, too, if they give the songs enough time to sink in. It's only March, but it's hard to believe there will be a better, more audacious, more impudent album released this year. It's a Jazz Symphony masquerading as entertainment. Stunning!
Free Music Review: Still in Their Prime
Hit: 5 Stars
The big news for fans of high-quality pop music is "Two Against Nature", the first release by Steely Dan in twenty years, . Walter Becker and Donald Fagen had each done a solo project in the 90s, but as good as these records were in part, they often lacked the inherent aesthetic and distinctive trademark Dan sound that is only magical when both are in the studio and writing together. The result is one of the freshest sounding, no-compromise projects by anyone in years. Don't expect any concessions to techno or hip hop -- the Dan continue their distinctive musical hybrid of rock and jazz- RnB that made each previous album sell millions. Here, the elements all fall together seamlessly: the intelligent and ambitious song structures, the funky backbeats, the textural horn arrangements and stunning chord progressions, their illustrious studio wizardry and those witty, imaginative lyrics. Rarely does one see clever phrases in any recent pop song like "the tyranny of the disallowed" or "the dreary architecture of your soul", or my favorite, "she's pure science with a splash of black cat". These guys are SERIOUS lyricists and musicians whose combined intellectualism has always been their strength. And with that infamous dark humor, hipster lingo and irony intact. This is one of those rarefied albums that reveals new layers of surprise the more you listen. For loyal Steely Dan fans, a scent of familiarity in the writing here and there lets us know they still are up to their old tricks, but their legendary perfectionist ways in the studio -- taking years to make an album -- reward us with a new maturity and upbeat clarity in tunes like the infectious " Cousin Dupree" and the title track. Other cerebral yet highly accessible tunes like "Almost Gothic" and the title track make this album at least as invigorating as was 1977's AJA . Their richness of musical vision and obvious artistic integrity treat even the new listener (who's willing to really get deep inside this music) to new ways of listening to some brilliant songwriting. The reeling in the years they've done since their last album "Gaucho" hasn't made them skip a beat, and "Two Against Nature" is a worthy addition to their legacy. Let's hope a new generation wakes up to the lasting greatness and great fun that has always characterized Steely Dan. I can hardly wait to get tickets for the upcoming tour this summer!Free Music Review: My god this is good!!!!!!
Hit: 5 Stars
Steely Dan where oh where have you been all my 18 years on this earth? These last two weeks or so I've delved in to the Steely Dan collection, and I ain't finished yet... my god, it just keeps getting better and better... I bought Aja first, as it is their most famous one, and I was immediately hooked... Gaucho followed, and that was a revelation for me as well... both albums had quickly become my two favorite albums, and it was hard to pick a better one... then yesterday I bought this one... I heard the song Jack of Speed which I loved, and I heard parts of live versions of a couple of the other ones before I bought it, and man, this is one awesome album... Steely Dan can't go wrong... Gaslighting Abbie is a very funky number with great horn and clarinet flourishes throughout, but the highlight of it is the bass clarinet solo... yup yup, that's right, a bass clarinet, and it fits perfectly... the next two songs What a Shame about Me, and the title track are the two weakest tracks on the album, but Janie Runaway straight through to West of Hollywood is perfect... Janie Runaway is a kinda laid back funky little number which is very very good... Almost Gothic is awesome, with a great little muted horn solo... Jack of Speed is almost like the Peg of this album, it's the most radio friendly of the songs, but still, it is very much a part of the album, and is one of the strongest songs... Negative Girl is probably my favorite right now, with it's beautiful melody, and I love that, ummm, isn't that a xylophone solo in there? It's called vibes in the liner notes, anyways it's awesome... oh, and West of Hollywood has a 4 minute sax solo, which is TOTALLY awesome... this is one spectacular album... it's amazing to me how Steely Dan has actually been popular on radio and stuff all these years... but I'm glad, cause it's nice to hear good music on the radio... I questioned why these guys won the grammy awards back in february or whenever it was, but that was before I had any experience with their music... now I realize that it was the right decision... anyways, I babble... the bottom line is that this album is one of the best to come out in, well, since Guacho was released... so that would be like 20 years... it's less accessable then Aja and Guacho, but all that means is that you have to listen to it a few times... once you get into it, it's very rewarding... check it out, you won't be dissappointed!!!!...