Steely Dan - Two Against Nature
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Free Music Notes for Two Against Nature
Free Music Review: mIdnight music for adults
Hit: 5 Stars
The songs still have that contagious appeal, that way of impressing a pattern on your brain so it keeps repeating in your mind at odd hours of the night; yet unlike many songs that do that to me, these are thoughtful and subtle. After a year of owning this CD, I find them still coming back to me and still relevant, not popcorn. It talks about life, love and especially sin and sorrow in America, and while not eulogizing, is a reflective backdrop for contemplation.
If dwelling on illicit love for about half of the songs seems a bit wankish, well, perhaps it is. For me, it isn't just about underage women though, but sort of a portrait of the upscale "toxic bachelor," and his menagerie of galpals.
This is a full statement of the Steely Dan at the older, more mature phase of the lives of Becker and Fagan. If you are old or experienced enough to appreciate Steely Dan, you will not be disappointed. If not, the richness and subtlety of this album my be lost on you.
Greatest songs on this one, for me, are "West of Hollywood," a real Steely Dan classic on par with any of their greatest hits, the title song, which is also the most complex in every sense; "What a Shame about me." Those three really do it for me.
Then the girlie songs, "Janie Runaway," "Negative Girl," and "Almost Gothic," almost feel like they should be ads for some kind of intimate apparel or something, the narrative voice in these songs is so addled by these young girls. Surely this is at least partly Becker and Fagan in reality, but also Becker and Fagan singing the sorrow and loneliness of being a loner and a bit of a rake, which still shows through after all these years.
Free Music Review: A great record!
Hit: 5 Stars
I got into Steely Dan about three months ago. I'm a jazz guitarist, and my intro to the group came when I discovered that Kid Charlemagne had one of the three best recorded guitar solos ever. I bought all the old records up through Aja and started listening. Those records rank with the best recordings ever made, in my opinion. I must have listened to Katy Lied about twenty times, and each time, I found something that I hadn't heard before. Great melodies, great lyrics, great groove, and harmonies that clash just right.
I just recently picked this one up. I had downloaded a few of the songs when I was just getting into Steely Dan, and none of them really seemed to pull me in like the older stuff. I figured I'd give it another chance. Wow. This is just as good, even better in some respects.
The groove is perfect. Perfect. The bass, especially. It just drives. More sparse than the older records (except maybe some of Gaucho), but in a good way. The timing and note placement are flawless.
I actually prefer Walter Becker's guitar playing over some of the stuff on the old records. When they would have studio musicians come in and play solos for a day or two, they would play great solos, but they wouldn't necessarily be familiar with all the nuances in the songs. With Becker playing more lead material, the fills especially seem to match with the other parts in some really interesting ways. His playing is blues-based, but with a twist.
The songs are as catchy as ever, lyrically and musically.
When people say this record grows on you, they're telling the truth. Give it a couple of plays. You'll see.
Free Music Review: Album of the Year? Absolutely!
Hit: 5 Stars
I am a big fan of Steely Dan's from the early 70's on, so I snapped up this CD the first week it hit the stores. It lived in my CD player and in my car MD player for weeks. I ate up the wonderful fusion of Jazz/Pop/rock that I have come to expect from Becker/Fagan. After loving this album for about a month, I put it away for a while to focus on new recordings. Several times over the past few months I have gone back to this album to enjoy the tunes. Then I received the Steely Dan box set, entitled "Citizen" from a friend for Christmas. It is a four cd set that contains every studio recording from every Steely Dan album from "Cant Buy a Thrill" to "Gaucho" and the handful of soundtrack and "just single" recordings. They are all in chronological order and listening to them that way and then listening to "Two Against Nature" at the end was a revelation. Those who wish to write these guys off as washed up 70's pop stars coming back to the money trough for one last feed are totally wrong. This new album is a capstone in the progression of a brilliant "band". It is wonderfully written, expertly crafted evolution of a highly original, distinctive style. In a musical world where pop musicians are expected to completely re-invent themselves for each new album and are then roundly criticized when they venture into areas that they are not suited to, I find albums reflecting this kind of progressive growth much more satisfying than I will when Brittney Spears decides to do RAP, or when Eminem comes out with his "ballads" album, or when Madonna come up with a collection of showtunes.Free Music Review: Album Of The Year, Boyeeee!
Hit: 5 Stars
Incredible---"Two Against Nature," Steely Dan's first new album in 20(!) years, wins the Grammy for Album Of The Year, and the whole world goes into shock. Right on! Personally, I'm thrilled for the guys. Their surprising victory at the Grammys, and their recent induction into the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame were LONG overdue. Walter Becker & Donald Fagen are two of the most intelligent dudes in the music biz. Every album they've created in their laboratory (i.e. the recording studio) is the epitome of cool. I've always dug their unique blend of pop/rock with several shots of jazz. Not a bad record among their whole catalog. Who cares that they're now in their 50's? Steely Dan are STILL hip cats to be reckoned with.Listening to the Dan's comeback album, "Two Against Nature," you'd never guess that these guys had ever gone away. 20 years? It sounds like they picked up right where they left off after "Gaucho," a mere 20 DAYS after recording it! In fact, "Two Against Nature" sounds like a great blend between the styles of "Aja" with "Gaucho." It's laid back, but punchy at the same time, with the hallmark Dan sound gracing every track (as well as Fagen's solidly cool voice). Every single song clicks, starting with "Gaslighting Abbie" straight through to the grand finale, the jammin' "West Of Hollywood." Like Steely Dan's best waxed hot ones of the past, "Two Against Nature" is a *groovy* record. It's the Album Of The Year, and deservedly so. It's classy music speaks for itself. Congratulations, Walt & Don, and welcome back. :-)Free Music Review: Another outstanding album from Steely Dan
Hit: 5 Stars
This album has the very high musical quality one can always expect from Steely Dan. When you combine songwriting, musicianship, harmonic color, and overall musical sophistication Steely Dan is about the best ever in pop/rock music. It even sometimes surprises me that music of such high quality can be so popular. But that's great! It's such a world apart from the normal drivel of what tops the charts in popular music. My only criticism of this album is that it lacks the great guitar playing typically featured by Steely Dan in the past. Walter Becker plays the guitar solos and while he is an overall great musician he is only an adequate guitarist. I saw Steely Dan live in 1993 and Drew Zing was playing lead guitar. His playing was as beautiful as any guitar playing I have ever heard and was stylistically perfect for Steely Dan (I saw Jimi Hendrix live and Eric Clapton when he was young and really played). When Walter Becker would take a solo after him it was kind of like why does he want to embarrass himself in front of all of these people? Walter's playing is choppy and never legato, doesn't flow, lacks beauty of tone, and simply isn't the playing of a great guitarist. If they would have used Drew Zing or Larry Carlton this album could have been 6 stars. One last thing: I do respect Walter Becker but Donald Fagen's the man. His solo albums all sound like Steely Dan, and I think he's the major creative force behind this great group. His singing is also perfect for their music. Anyway, I'm glad that Steely Dan's back, and the timeless popularity of their music attests to its high quality.