I loved 2vN from first listen. I was prepared, sonically, for the more groove-oriented sound because I'd grown to love "Karmakariad" by that point and "Gaslighing..." seemed to pick up where that left off. Plus, over the grooves, the album also seemed to have more of those great ear-challenges changes and harmonies that harkened back to Gaucho and Aja-era Dan. Just a bit more sterile. That said, I see a lot of people really like "What a Same..." which is a song that always kinda rubbed me the wrong way as a SD song (as opposed to, say, if it was just a Fagan solo song) because it was so lyrically clear and plain-speaking. I tend to like my SD with a little more abstraction and open to interpretation. A few of the songs on the album "suffered" from that, more clear narrative approach - like "Cousin Dupree." Becker and Fagan had always said how THEY knew what they were singing about, like short stories, they knew what was happening in the narrative, but they always left out key parts to leave space for the listener to find their own meaning. There's a LOT less of this on "2vN" (as well as "EMG") and, while it sometimes doesn't bother me at all ("Gaslighting..." "Things I Miss..."), other times they just don't feel like SD songs, lyrically. Not a deal-breaker. Just makes some of the tracks a little "less" to me than most of the earlier work and the rest of the songs on those post-90's SD albums. But, hey, they're allowed to evolve how they approach songwriting and it's not like these are bad songs or albums in any way. All together, Becker and Fagan really did a lot of interesting, eclectic, different, experimental, risky work post "Gaucho" and my only complaint is that there isn't more of it.
We're gonna discuss the Plush Party show in detail as part of the live Dan discussion, don't worry. I will say that it's excellent, I've got a rip of the DVD and the audience recording for one of the shows as well. IMO the dry, sterile production is a flaw but it doesn't take away from the fact that there are definitely some melodically challenging tunes here. @Rose River Bear That is true, the lyrics are a bit more straightforward than usual. I wouldn't go so far as to say 'dumbed down' but I think they were more interested in the music and the arrangements than deep meaning in all of the words this time around. Some of the lyrics don't quite seem finished though, like first draft stuff. Or knowing these guys maybe they planned it that way You got that right.
STEELY DAN-TWO AGAINST NATURE (B) 1. Gaslighting Abbie (C) 2. What a Shame About Me (B) 3. Two Against Nature (C+) 4. Janie Runaway (B-) 5. Almost Gothic (A-) 6. Jack of Speed (A-) 7. Cousin Dupree (B) 8. Negative Girl (C-) 9. West of Hollywood (B) 1. Gaslighting Abbie (C) The funk just pops out of the speakers on the opener “Gaslighting Abbie”, the song that signaled the return of Steely Dan, now in the 21st century. The bass in particular has a great sound, tone and bubbles up in all the right ways. The rhythm bobbles like apples in a barrel, but the melody isn’t quite apple crisp. All melodies-verse, refrain, bridge and instrumental sections just arrive without the hooks we’ve heard before. There’s no apple to bite into once the song’s over, so we’re left witnessing a great rhythm without much else. Fagen sounds like his old familiar self however and Becker’s wincing guitar break has a great tone. A vague tale about the art of ‘gaslighting’ or taking advantage of Abbie by a couple in different ways. 2. What a Shame About Me (B) A lighter beat tipped with piano, again the bassline is a highlight, but this time there’s a more substantial song as its foundation. With just a bit of funk here, the lyrics have more room to breathe and so does the melody. Horns permeate the backing throughout with the song cut in the middle by two tight guitar solos blending in blues. Fagen’s voice seems a touch weak here but the emotion and phrasing are there. If only the refrain was as good musically as it is lyrically. Fagen is singing for two people discussing how life is working out after not seeing each other for sometime. The verse is Franny who’s successful and the chorus is Donald who’s not successful. At the end, Franny wants to get with him but Donald knows that he’s a mess so why bother. 3. Two Against Nature (C+) The title track’s intro is a great moment of fusion for one of jazz-rock’s greatest all-time bands. With a free jazz sax blowing, busy drumming and a catchy bass riff, Steely Dan slide into another funk groove that lacks melody, normally one of their strong points. Fagen sing-talks the brisk verses, but when the groove dips into the refrain, again they struggle to remove themselves from the groove, deciding to stick with it instead of opening up the song with their natural harmonic qualities. The sax solo is another great moment like the intro but for a title track, I expected more musically. In fact, the whole song sounds like it’s rushing too fast, yet they’ve pulled off songs faster than this. Another vague lyric that seem like Donald and Walter are superheroes pitted against the evils of the world. 4. Janie Runaway (B-) Another funk-inflected tune with jazz built in like the first 3 tracks but now, without other types of songs, the rhythms are growing weaker. With this much funk, they need more division amongst them rhythmically to better identify each. If not, at least the melodies should stand apart from each other, but again, Fagen is sing-talking through the verses. The chorus is like a sour tongue in a 50’s candy store as it goes for a throwback feel like The Nightfly but then sticks in your teeth. The brass of horns and sax bring a spirited performance with the sax really refining the groove with tasty licks. An easier lyric to decipher on this, The Dan are dating a runaway named Janie. 5. Almost Gothic (A-) Finally...this is the first Steely Dan song that doesn’t remind us of the funk on The Royal Scam, bringing some of their other strengths to the forefront. Simultaneously, it’s the first song here that really tries to work a great melody. The tones are gorgeous when the Wurlitzer combines with the clarinets and horns throughout. I love the “in the summer, this could be the cool part of summer” interludes right after the first line of each verse (though the lyric changes). Like “Jack of Speed” coming up, they come up with a stellar clarinet riff during and after the refrain (classic Dan) but I just want that riff to repeat at least one more time. It does sound like a Katy Lied song. The lyric is about a woman The Dan lust for whose got dark thoughts like they do and two negatives equal a positive song as there’s no crazy or nutty ending, just appreciation throughout. 6. Jack of Speed (A-) Not quite funk but still a great choppy rhythm with plenty of horn riffs, funk electric piano, and easy going drums and bass, “Jack of Speed” plays just like some of the funk songs should have played. When Steely Dan was great in the 70’s, a big chorus, a melodic moment or a brief interesting diversion, usually cut their funk. Best of all, the catchy horn riff after the chorus –one of their trademarks, is back. The female singers accompanying Fagen sound like they haven’t aged a year, probably cause they’re different singers! Fagen himself still sounds great but with just the tiniest touch of husk in his voice now. The guitar soloing here is also better than the ones found on “What a Shame About Me”. Overall, the two conductors have waved their arms around a great arrangement. Of course this is a man (Teddy) living in the fast lane on speed/coke. The message being that he’s not the only one that will get hooked when the ‘jack of speed’ calls. 7. Cousin Dupree (B) The most known song of the collection, this funk swings like the best jazz and that’s the loose quality that has a more natural feel than the stiff efforts earlier. It also eases off the rhythm during the chorus to let the melody enter through the door. Very satisfying guitar solo from Becker and a competent melody including the main hook. “What’s so strange about a down home romance?” is one of their most memorable lines and one of the sickest. They really know how to get into crazy characters heads, and again the grotesque reappears. The album is starting to feel one of the darkest, if not the darkest and most extreme of their career from a lyrical standpoint. 8. Negative Girl (C-) An atmospheric opening leads us into a strange jazz pop tune that must be using a number of chords not normally found in typical pop/rock. There’s a disjointed quality to it that feels like a car driving on a tilted road. The backing of vibes and steel guitar along with the other jazz band instruments ride by lopsided forsaking both melody and groove in favor of experimentation. As close to free jazz as Steely Dan get, ultimately, the mid-tempo tune widens the scope of the album after the tight focus of funk and jazz pop but can’t sustain the quality of the album’s core songs. This one seems to have Becker’s fingerprints on it like many of the songs here. It’s a negative song about a married woman who Becker/Fagen is dating. 9. West of Hollywood (B) A rock song that transforms into jazz, the speedy song is the longest on the album because of the saxophone solo finale. The extended solo carries us to the end of the album, and by then, the beat has definitely got the toes tapping. At times, the sax contrasts with the fast rhythm, but by the end, a peak is climbed to as the sax releases a flurry of gold notes. Some of it may feel unnecessary but it’s just nice to hear the Dan let Chris Potter stretch out for so long. Lyrically, it seems like more summer mischief with a woman like on “Gaslighting Abbie”. Overall: B With so much funk, the natural melody they once had has severely diminished even since their 1990’s solo albums, and while some of it may be by choice, it appears, they truly lost magic melodically. The playing, arrangements and lyrics are as great as ever. Some lyrics have a more straightforward approach and some have a more vague approach but they work towards the negative more than on any Steely Dan album. The seething cynicism is at its strongest and grossest except in rare moments. Despite the professionalism and experience, there are less musical moments that wow. As their 8th album, it’s their weakest so far, below both Can’t Buy a Thrill and Gaucho. Vocally, they still use soulful female backup singers but Fagen’s voice is a tad weaker than we’re used to. The saxophone solo that closes the record is one of the few that sounds like an inspired moment and a lot of the rhythms that attempt loose funk are too tight and not impactful. They’ve lost the experimentation mostly except for the penultimate track and they don’t branch out much at all sticking to jazz funk rock most of the way. It’s their most streamlined album along with Gaucho, but while that album like all their others had peaks, there’s no peak here. There’s no knockout song or incredible highlight mainly because they can’t muster up enough melody. If the melody was there, we'd have a classic 8 albums not a classic 7. Still, this incredible catalog is the only reason why there’s any disappointment as its still a strong album overall. An album with funk songs you can't dance to and a lack of melody and it's still in very good territory-I don't know how they pull off a royal scam like this, but they always feel royal.
A great read everyone! A big thank you for being out there. and RIP Walter. A sad loss to music. 1. Royal Scam (by a country mile) It only has one of my favourites on it) But it works in it's entirety. As Hendrix said of Electric Ladyland, it's "kind of a diary." 3 songs scoring 10's, with Kid their deepest cut after Do it again for me. The 5 seconds from the needle drop, the anticipation and silence, to the opening few bars of Kid blows me away every time. Then the transition to the second track with that sax solo. There's two 10s right there. Haitian divorce gets the other 10, the perfect story pop record, for those of us who grew up listening to this record. I had pneumonia when HD was charting and hospital radio was always onto the Dan Don't get the dislike for Everything You Did. I thought it always belonged right there. All in all, RS is a perfect record, with my original UK vinyl with it's smooth production sounding well engineered on 1971 vintage Sansui solid state with Celestion speakers - released at a time when I hated over-production, but it seemed to be a record that fitted the need for slickness. 2. CE 3. Pretzel 4. Katy 5. Thrill. Do it again is my desert island pop disc ... 6. Aja 7. Gaucho
I always thought that a famous actress hitting on a down on his luck dude she once knew (who has just catalogued his lack of success, and still holds some sort of flame for her) was not a charitable act, but her using him for…validation, I guess? Attention seeking? By turning her down, our man gets some shred of dignity in his less-than-ideal situation.
Thanks for posting that, it was well worth watching (especially since I never saw it before). One of the best parts of this show is the backstage Q&A where Becker and Fagen seem to obsess over the fact that some Dan alumni musicians are still mad at them. Those segments just added some spice to the overall show.
SteelyDan.com is more interesting than it looks. For instance the contact section. Watch how they gradually work their magic as you read the FAQ on the Contact section of SteelyDan.com ----- "My email to you bounced, even though the address I used worked before. What gives?" From time to time we change our email address, to shake the Spam. You can always email to our current address by coming to this page and use this link ------ "I'm trying to reach a band member, employee, or someone else currently or formerly associated with Steely Dan" We don't have the means to find or relay email intended for any one of several hundred Steely Dan associates past and present -- although some information on this site and on the web at large may be helpful for "trackers". ------- So so far things seem kind of normal about contacting them. -------- "I have a question about Steely Dan history, music, discography, lyrics, musicians, recordings, performances, merchandise, chronology ..." Regrettably, we don't have the resources to individually reply to questions whose answers are already available elsewhere on this site. -------- "Hey - what did you think of that sound file/ photo/ movie / novel/ poem/ whatever/ I emailed you?" We never saw it. Our mail servers do not accept delivery of any attachments or enclosures of any kind; they are automatically deleted without being downloaded or viewed. -------- "I'd like to send an email to SteelyDan.com" OK: Since your message is NOT about about "press contacts, bookings, publicity, representation, credentials, production, scheduling, approvals, passes, interviews, auditions, distribution, clearances, tickets, agreements, performances, products, charities, project development, publishing ... or any other professional or administrative function" [because we are confident you have read and headed that item earlier on this page], you can use this link -------- By now, they're starting to sound a little paranoid... -------- "Why are you so paranoid about Spam and other email schmutz?" Any email address becomes contaminated almost as soon as it appears in someone else's Address Book. In fact, bots are probably stealing entries from your PC address book right now! -------- "$%^&#$@!!! You sent me Spam!!" Steelydan.com does not send unsolicited email. In some cases ,these days, entire servers can be hijacked and turned into email servers under the control of hackers and spammers. In short... the spam that seems to be "from" us is really from some snot-nosed code slime. --------- "I heard a crazy story that once a long long time ago people emailed this website and the email was posted online ... .and sometimes even answered! I'm sure this is just an urban myth...right? " I know it sounds a bit bizarre... [e-mail archives] I know it gives a person pause... [dead letter department] But that's how conditions were... [front page archives] ----- Anyway, not incredibly funny but there a number of humorous things on that site. If you click on the email archives, you'll see some funny responses from Steely Dan. They really are funny writers. There I go again, they were funny writers.
It's liner note Sunday! After 2vN came out in 2000, Don'n'Walt remastered all of their MCA catalog discs and wrote new liner notes for each release. I've been reprinting the 2000-era liner notes here, but there's one more set. It's from the Showbiz Kids compilation - but really doesn't have any bearing on it. It actually seems to have more in common with 2vN. So - here it is - the return of journalist Michael Phalen and another visit from Per-Golem Nyquistlimid. (And remember Pete Fogel is a friend of theirs - wrote the Steely Dan FAQ, etc.) Cheers, Paul -------------------------- From: Michael Phalen To: Roger Nichols Dear Mr. Nichols: I'm not at all sure that you would remember who I am after all these years, so let me reintroduce myself - my name is Michael Phalen and I am the journalist who interviewed Donald and Walter over a couple of days during the Aja sessions and subsequently wrote the liner notes for Aja. You gave me a ride in your Pantera to the Chateau Marmont one night, my bloody shirt and tattered trousers notwithstanding, after Donald and/or Walter had taken the distributor cap off my rented car, as a prank - one of many tasteless gags that were perpetrated against me on the final fateful evening. We talked about a lot of things, you and I - your American flag jumpsuit, the future of high fidelity, the correct equipment needed for an authentic Chinese basket job, and much much more - but you may very well have forgotten that long-ago night drive up Sunset Boulevard, inasmuch as you've been working with the guys again and no doubt have had a lot on your mind lately. Let me be perfectly frank - I've been busy too, and I have reached an impasse in my endeavors which can only be surmounted with your able assistance. Maybe I should begin my story at the beginning, okay? I am, or was, after all, a journalist, and have some idea about how such things should be done. You may recall that my interview sessions with the band (ha! some band! two manic malcontents, a "Harry the Horse" wannabe, and you) were, to say the very least, stormy. Most of the "fun and jokes" were at my expense, and I don't think anyone can as much blame me for freaking out a little bit on that last evening at The Village Recorder as I was waiting for the paramedics to arrive to staunch the arterial bleeding. Feeling a bit put out, as I was at the time, and knowing that the last mixes had been completed, I calculated that a strategic theft of a precious master tape would likely go unnoticed for some considerable time, and that only at some distant future moment would the crime be discovered, to the utmost inconvenience of my tormentors, at which moment my revenge would be complete - Ha! - It Was I - long suffering Michael Phalen, who stole your priceless Aja multitrack master so long ago! and on whose account you are now unable to make your nasty 5.1 surround sound remix blood money! You may ask yourself, why does this cur of an ex-journalist confide to me, by all accounts an utterly loyal employee of Steely Dan, Inc., the details of this villainous act? Excellent question, dude! You are, I suspect, every bit as sharp as you ever were! To answer, I must digress a bit and give you some personal biographical information, the confidentiality of which I am sure you will respect. It is a sad fact that, in the aftermath of the Steely Dan-Aja debacle (that's what it was for me, an absolute career-killer), my professional and personal life began to fall apart in short order. By the winter of 1978, I found myself to be utterly cross-addicted to two over-the-counter remedies, the anti-diarrheal medication Lomotil and the decongestant Sudafed. How did this sorry thing happen to me? Jeez, Rog, I guess the only answer is that it happened one day at a time. All I know is, I woke up on Easter morning in 1979 and realized that A) nothing had come out of either end of my body for a very long time, and B) I was most definitely not, as I had briefly supposed, "Jesus' Son", and C) my current living conditions, i.e., sleeping in an empty refrigerator carton underneath the Santa Monica Freeway, were not consistent with good mental health nor were they conducive to recovery. I knew that my life had become unmanageable and that , if I was ever to sneeze or excrete again, I would have to surrender myself to a higher power, get off the pity pot [a complete waste of my time, under the circumstances (see A above)], and get with the program. Okay, this is running a bit long now, so - fast forward to 1997. Cured for the most part of my addictions but still somewhat delusional and maybe a wee bit obsessed with former interviewees Becker and Fagen, I find myself sharing an apartment in the East 90s directly across from their recording studio, where work is under way on the new Steely Dan album. My roommate, a young woman whom I will identify only as "Couch Girl," was, or believed herself to be, the frequent object of Becker and Fagen's voyeuristic reveries as they gazed from the 3rd floor landing of the River Sound headquarters building. I myself have seen them there often enough in the twilight where they would languish of an evening after having given up on the day's tedious overdubs. Couch Girl - this is the name with which they christened my attractive 23-year-old roommate, as I was later to learn from their studio employee, Per-Golem Nyquistlimid, during one of our all-night rap sessions at the Ski Bar, a neighborhood watering hole. Our friendship, Per's and mine, was overdetermined by our mutual loathing for the alleged artists Becker and Fagen, by our fascination with Couch Girl, or, more specifically, certain parts of Couch Girl's body, and our abiding love of Pure Theory and Mixed Drinks. No longer content to be simply the vile kidnapper of a famous master tape or, in Per's case, a disgruntled and obscure cyborg, we had decided one fateful evening to transmogrify, by any means available, the existing Aja master (ferociously bland and bourgeois capitalist tripe that it was) into a stunning and completely original work of mercilessly demythifying contemporary sound sculpture, with myself as author. By selectively and/or randomly replacing the original musical material ("tonespikes" or "slew plateaus") with new waveforms from my own self-generated library of musical and non-musical, or better to say, transmusical, sounds ("waveshapes," "package waves," or "containments," as the situation dictated), a bright and shimmering new work of A*U*D*I*O*L*A*G*E would gradually reveal itself on exactly the same piece of magnetic tape from which the old dour work had been dissolved, due to its stunning failure to reveal or even address the tonal incompatibilities or mimetic discordancies of the - where the hell was I? Never mind - the point is, I was erasing the old stuff and replacing it with stuff I liked better. In retrospect, I am cognizant of the fact that I may not have chosen wisely in this undertaking. I should have realized at the time that a monumental spitework of the type I had conceived, aside from being grotesquely over the top and speaking poorly for the authenticity of my "recovery," would never be accepted by the bourgeois artistic community as equal or greater in value to the kitsch "masterpiece" it had supplanted. Alas, a neogothic cathedral of theory and doctrine anchored in the too-soft flesh of vituperative vainglory ultimately will not stand. Thus my hope for redemption in the eyes of my severest critics were, even at the outset, utterly forlorn. To my dismay, I discovered that, as I thought things through and realized the position I was now in, my radical resolve had congealed into a hard dry bolus of middle class guilt and sentimental recrimination of a sort that I had once believed to be truly unworthy of me. From this sorry condition there was to be no relief. Although it has taken me several painfully long columns to explain all this to you, my only possible savior, I myself came to realization in a flash one morning in 1999 when I woke up from a deep drunken sleep thinking, "oh boy - am I ever f**ked!!!" By the way, when I say "I am f**ked," I mean not just myself. but Per and Couch Girl, too. Because both had been willing accomplices in the commission of my "masterwork" from its very inception, with which I think any court would agree, if it came to that - something similar could easily happen to you, by the way, if you turn me in - but also because, in Per's case, he was the guy who actually erased about 3 ½ minutes of the multitrack by accident on one of the last nights over at River Sound (Per had the keys, it was a nice place to work) - and in Couch Girl's case, because she was the second engineer, so-called, and because, unbeknownst to Per or myself, she was also servicing sttudio manager Phylo Goetz in the afternoons, long after she promised us she wouldn't do that sort of thing anymore. Look - can you and your famous computer restore this rock classic or not? If so, you must help me/us - if not for our sakes then for the sake of posterity or or, say, the culture at large, or even for the $600 reward, which we could split if that's okay, no questions asked - Couchie and I really need the bread right about now, the conky tonks here cost six bucks a shot! Per is gone missing and thank God for that. The dermatological condition of this hapless creature is, in and of itself, sufficient to make his absence a boon to all concerned. I know you can help us - there has got to be some flux or nanowebers or some fractal electromagnetic effluvium of some sort left on that reel of tape that somehow represents the original sonic gestalt of the song "Aja" or at least a reasonable approximation thereof. If so, I just know that you are the one and only guy who can make this American Tragedy come out right for all concerned. Help me, okay? Please - I'm begging you. aloha, Mike p.s. Just in case you can't or won't help me out on this one, we are laying low for a while at an unspecified resort locale, so don't look for us on 95th Street anymore. p.p.s. Rog, we are both aware that the original purloined reel contained two songs, not one - so you are probably wondering what happened to "Black Cow." A complete explanation would exceed the permissible scope of this modest postscript - but, if I were you, I would start the search with a thorough sweep of Pete Fogel's apartment and be ready to reimburse him the $96 for the tab at Le Bar Bat which he not so graciously picked up one night last fall. p.p.p.s. I haven't actually spoken in person to D or W for many years, but I did meet their personal retainer Freddie Tuttle, Esq., in a cathouse in Denver last Thanksgiving. He seemed like a nice guy, and the two Czechoslovakian girls he was with seemed nice, too.
yes, i know this was mentioned earlier.. but, i just got around to listening to it again, and it did seem like a warm up for donald fagen to play some steely dan tracks live again. ------ Various - The New York Rock And Soul Revue - Live At The Beacon i think it was a decent release, especially if you like some of the other artists on there. Recorded at the Beacon Theatre, March 1 and 2, 1991. Mixdown: River Sound Studios, New York. Special Thanks to: Irving Azoff, Ron Delsener, Larry Robbins, The Rhythm & Blues Foundation, Entire Staff at S.I.R. Studios, N.Y.C. This program was edited down from material recorded at the Beacon Theatre on March 1 and 2, 1991. Editing, resequencing and minimal post-recording were done to enhance home listening. Tracklist Show Credits 1 –Tom Schiller Intro 0:52 2 –Donald Fagen With Jeff Young & The Youngsters Madison Time 4:19 3 –Michael McDonald, Phoebe Snow Knock On Wood 3:55 4 –Donald Fagen Green Flower Street 4:39 5 –Phoebe Snow Shakey Ground 3:40 6 –Phoebe Snow At Last 5:32 7 –Michael McDonald Lonely Teardrops 5:25 8 –Boz Scaggs Drowning In The Sea Of Love 5:30 9 –Charles Brown Driftin' Blues 4:09 10 –Donald Fagen Chain Lightning 6:28 11 –Eddie Brigati And David Brigati Groovin' 4:24 12 –Michael McDonald Minute By Minute 6:26 13 –Full Cast* People Got To Be Free 5:18 14 –Donald Fagen With Michael McDonald Pretzel Logic 4:58 15 –Donald Fagen With Jeff Young & The Youngsters Madison Reprise 1:08 there was also a 1 track cd promo with pretzel logic on it: Various - The New York Rock And Soul Revue - Live At The Beacon Tracklist 1 –Donald Fagen With Michael McDonald Pretzel Logic 4:58 later -1
Trouble is IMO Becker uses that same tone repeatedly on the album- as a result his solos get a little samey-sounding over the course of the album. And unfortunately none of his solos reach the heights of some of his 70's playing like "Pretzel Logic" or "Bad Sneakers". "Snowbound" on Kamakiriad is probably the last Walter Becker guitar solo that really impresses me. "Two Against Nature" is another scatterbrained sounding song- it sort of reminds me of "Turn That Heartbeat Over Again" and "Throw Back The Little Ones", the juxtaposition between the various different parts of the song don't really work for me. That said, "Two Against Nature" is a kickass live track (that is, when they deigned to actually play it live) "Jack Of Speed" is probably the best, most well-developed song on the album. The fact that they worked on it and refined it for years sort of shows, and pays off in the end. I just wish they'd allowed the drummer to shake things up a bit during that coda section- we could have had another "On The Dunes" kinda thing going on here. Bit of a wasted opportunity IMO. I can't really argue with any of this. On 2VN -and to a lesser degree on Everything Must Go- I sort of get a sense that Becker and Fagen come across as being a little too clever for their own good as far as the 'sophistication' of the music goes. The horns and girls appear on every song, and though I understand that as being an element of their live shows, in some cases the big arrangements of some of the songs on 2VN seem gratuitious or, like on Gaucho, a sign of their lack of confidence in some of the material: "When in doubt, add a horn line or backing harmonies! Even if the song really doesn't need it!" As a result of all this, the album as a whole comes across as a bit repetitive sounding- I suspect that when making 2VN Becker and Fagen figured that if they were gonna call it a Steely Dan album they had to make a record they thought the fans would expect a modern "Steely Dan" record to sound like. And they overdid it, IMO. A bit of subtlety, some livelier drumming (not to mention a better drum sound) and some sparser arrangements here and there wouldn't have hurt.
One interesting thing about the 2vN and Everything Must Go period. The studio work was not fun for them - they much preferred playing live. That may have been why they were doing those back catalog nights. Possibly they were hoping for a good live version instead of trying endless studio takes. In a 2008 interview, Larry Klein mentioned this about Walter: "The process of making a Steely Dan record had become something that was very tough for him to deal with. He found it kind of agonizing. He was craving to make a record where you could hear the blood in it." They did have a lot of self-imposed pressure as Steely Dan. Gaslighting Abbie took 26 straight eight hour days to record. Becker and Fagen would critique each other's parts on paper and clipboard. Dave Russell, who worked at Becker's studio mentioned this about 2vN: "They were a real team, sitting side by side, and one guy would say something and the other would execute it on an instrument. There was some tension. Walter would wail on the drum kit while Donald dissected his parts. But Walter respected Donald. It was Steely Dan. It had to sound good." References here Steely Dan's Walter Becker: Inside His Troubled Life, Wry Genius Cheers, Paul
That's probably why they decided to cut Everything Must Go live in the studio with their touring band for the most part. Though I generally prefer the songs on 2VN I definitely prefer the feel of EMG by far for that very reason, the almost 'live' feel. 2VN sounds like a record that was painstakingly pieced together part by part, almost like they didn't learn much of anything from when they recorded Gaucho.
Could partly be an "older / wiser" thing going on there. I'm around the same age they were at the time, and I definitely find myself working smarter than I did at 30 - not sweating the small stuff and realizing perfection is always elusive and usually not attainable. I can easily imagine the umpteenth playback of some "troublesome" part triggering a sudden onset of "why the hell are we still doing this?" syndrome.
Almost Gothic A play on words - the uplifting architecture / gloom/lost girl play on words "Almost Gothic" I'm working on gospel time these days (The summer - this could be the cool part of the summer) The sloe-eyed creature in the reckless room she's so severe A wise child walks right out of here ---our older protagonist has been going out nights with a younger goth girl She cherishes the dominatrix role - it's all sex and she gets the upper hand - no questions asked The reckless room - her bedroom - canvas of her conquests. He should be away on cool Long Island but is transfixed - spending far too much time in her lowly hot apartment All signs say flee I'm so excited I can barely cope I'm sizzling like an isotope I'm on fire so cut me some slack -- the build up - perhaps too quickly --Most likely he's restrained -- blind folds, dances, stimulants? First she's way gone then she comes back She's all business then she's ready to play She's almost gothic in a natural way -- she leaves him tied up Goes away for a while Has all her ready to wield embellishments ready - then has her playful way This house of desire is built foursquare (The city - the cleanest kitten in the city) When she speaks it's like the slickest song I ever heard I'm hanging on her every word As if I'm not already blazed enough She hits me with the cryptic stuff That's her style - to jerk me around -- house of desire - a four poster bed - ideal for restraints -- cleanest kitten - a term to mean she has been frequently gone down on --a higher form of talk dirty to me First she's all feel then she cools down She's pure science with a splash of black cat She's almost gothic and I like it like that -- her foreplay - rubbing herself against him when he cannot respond She has some well thought out tantilizing approaches And the fingernails - black cat - are a turn on too This dark place so thrilling and new It's kind of like the opposite of an aerial view Unless I'm totally wrong I hear her rap and brother it's strong -- tied up and on his back A mirror on the ceiling for a pleasureful view I'm pretty sure that what she's telling me is mostly lies But I just stand there hypnotized I'll just have to make it work somehow I'm in the amen corner now It's called love - I spell L -U- V -- luv is puzzling First she's all buzz then she's noise-free She's bubbling over then there's nothing to say She's almost gothic in a natural way -- he finds her personality - generally an age gap and her gothic disposition off putting But (amen corner) the sex is fantastic and he's in her good graces - basic instinct - I'm staying She's old school then she's like young Little Eva meets the Bleecker Street brat She's almost gothic but it's better than that -- he likes her sassy way -- an interesting twist on the older Dan protagonist falling and not able to walk away from the young temptress -- this goth gal clearly has the upper hand, ...and ropes around his wrists
RE: Steely Dan Plush TV Jazz-Rock Party. I've posted a link to the video/concert on the forum in the past since the interview sections are quite entertaining....almost as much as the music. They certainly offer some light to Donald and Walter's unusual personalities.
I don't doubt that they went through that, hence why when Roger Nichols suggested that a) they cut Everything Must Go analog and b) live in the studio with their band Becker and Fagen welcomed both suggestions with open arms. I will make sure it's reposted when we start discussing the Dan's live material once all the studio albums are finished.
I really enjoy Two Against Nature and play it more often than 3 of the original 7 albums. Favorite tracks include What A Shame About Me, Two Against Nature, Janie Runaway, Jack of Speed, Cousin Dupree, and West of Hollywood. I disagree about the lack of lyric complexity. As Becker or Fagen (can't remember who) said in an interview when the album came out, there's ambiguity just by where you decide to start and stop a song. In What A Shame About Me, maybe the hero's last line is actually his opening gambit? There are so many fine lyrics here; I particularly love "the dreary architecture of your soul" in Cousin Dupree. Fagen's voice is not what it once was, but it's still effective in delivering these songs. What a great thing it was to have Steely Dan back making excellent albums again. Especially after Kamakiriad made me wonder if there was anything left in the creative tank (11 Tracks of Whack never even made it onto my radar at the time).
1)psychological torture 2) shell of former self quenches his emotions 3) voodoo juju 4) keeping a young flame happy across state lines 5) paramour and more 6) homemade pharmaceuticals 7) scheevy dreary focus on the family 8) Black Cow, it's a coke head now 9) Annie's century is over, aimlessly carry on what's not to like
Wow, that's a lot of dominatrix you're adding in there. I don't see any lyrics like "Your Gold Teeth" here. But I really like the way you interpret lyrics and the way you write what they mean. Excellent stuff. I think most of your write-ups I've agreed with except for a thing here or there. I just don't think it's as physically intense as you say cause Goth girls don't automatically mean dominatrixes in black. Let me copy and paste this while I have a minute cause you're post was worth it and it's my fav song on the album : __________________________________________________ AudioTom's post A play on words - the uplifting architecture / gloom/lost girl play on words "Almost Gothic" I'm working on gospel time these days (The summer - this could be the cool part of the summer) The sloe-eyed creature in the reckless room she's so severe A wise child walks right out of here ---our older protagonist has been going out nights with a younger goth girl She cherishes the dominatrix role - it's all sex and she gets the upper hand - no questions asked The reckless room - her bedroom - canvas of her conquests. He should be away on cool Long Island but is transfixed - spending far too much time in her lowly hot apartment All signs say flee WES: Excellent interpretation and well-written too but I think 'reckless' just means hot sex but yes, she is in control ----------------------------------------- I'm so excited I can barely cope I'm sizzling like an isotope I'm on fire so cut me some slack -- the build up - perhaps too quickly --Most likely he's restrained -- blind folds, dances, stimulants? WES: He's excited/horny for a young sexy goth woman. I'm not seeing anything about blindfolds, dances, and stimulants here, or being restrained. ------------------- First she's way gone then she comes back She's all business then she's ready to play She's almost gothic in a natural way -- she leaves him tied up Goes away for a while Has all her ready to wield embellishments ready - then has her playful way WES: Again, you have a great imagination with lyrics but I don't see anything indicating being tied up. The first verse says she's a 'wise child' because in this verse, she goes away to work - 'she's all business' and when that's done, 'she's ready to play'. ------------------- This house of desire is built foursquare (The city - the cleanest kitten in the city) When she speaks it's like the slickest song I ever heard I'm hanging on her every word As if I'm not already blazed enough She hits me with the cryptic stuff That's her style - to jerk me around ----------------------- -- house of desire - a four poster bed - ideal for restraints -- cleanest kitten - a term to mean she has been frequently gone down on --a higher form of talk dirty to me WES: Foursquare and cleanest kitten in the city -it's about her speaking non-sexually and plainly like a normal person, then she 'hits him with the cryptic stuff' - she gets dark about life so she will switch her speaking style that's what 'jerks (him) around'. I never heard cleanest kitten = oral sex. Cryptic stuff I can't see equating to dirty talk- she's a goth - she has dark thoughts about life. He's the one who's 'blazed' as in high on pot. ---------------------------- First she's all feel then she cools down She's pure science with a splash of black cat She's almost gothic and I like it like that -- her foreplay - rubbing herself against him when he cannot respond She has some well thought out tantilizing approaches And the fingernails - black cat - are a turn on too WES: I agree 'she's all feel' is her having sex with him but who says he cannot respond? The black cat line I think just pertains to her being almost gothic. -------------------------------- This dark place so thrilling and new It's kind of like the opposite of an aerial view Unless I'm totally wrong I hear her rap and brother it's strong -- tied up and on his back A mirror on the ceiling for a pleasureful view WES: Again he's tied up? He never sings it in the song. It's so dark he can't see well - the opposite of an aerial view where you can see all. What mirror on the ceiling? Her rap is her strong talk. Nothing about sex in this verse. ----------------------------------- I'm pretty sure that what she's telling me is mostly lies But I just stand there hypnotized I'll just have to make it work somehow I'm in the amen corner now It's called love - I spell L -U- V -- luv is puzzling WES: Totally agree l-u-v as in it just happens and it's puzzling but also it's an old expression 'I love you l-u-v-'. ---------------------------------------- First she's all buzz then she's noise-free She's bubbling over then there's nothing to say She's almost gothic in a natural way -- he finds her personality - generally an age gap and her gothic disposition off putting But (amen corner) the sex is fantastic and he's in her good graces - basic instinct - I'm staying WES: She's all buzz- she talks then she's 'noise-free'. Nothing about age gap or being off put - he just sang that he was in love with her in the last verse. 'Bubbling over'- talks a lot, 'nothing to say' literally she stops talking. This could also be sexual as in 'bubbling over' then he doesn't know what to say to her after. Could be one or the other or both. The whole song is about him liking her gothic disposition. ------------------------------------------ She's old school then she's like young Little Eva meets the Bleecker Street brat She's almost gothic but it's better than that -- he likes her sassy way WES: She's "Old school" is an expression meaning she does things the old fashioned way - it was a new expression at the time. Like old Gothic buildings- I stayed in a gothic dorm at Bard with brick walls and vines growing outside my room. "She's like young" - young people say "like" a lot - just a little joke there. Little Eva is her name- he's the Bleecker St. brat. ------------------------------ -- an interesting twist on the older Dan protagonist falling and not able to walk away from the young temptress -- this goth gal clearly has the upper hand, ...and ropes around his wrists ------------------------------- Anyway, you're interpretation is fascinating, excellently written and thought out and entirely possible but in my opinion, goth girls are much more gentle than dominatrixes. I had goth friends and dated one and a couple were into kinky stuff but they are intelligent, gentle people who aren't always serious dominatrix types. Between the two of us, I think we pinned down the song well and again, I thought your post was entertaining and well thought out.
Jumping back to 11 Tracks for a sec. Just noticed this on its listing on the Steely Dan website: 20-bit mixes processed for CD with Sony Super Bit Map system I'm guessing there was never a hi-res release of this? Pity. Cheers, Paul
for steely dan collectors: -------------------------------------------- for the two against nature album: --------------------------------- most releases were the basic CD, Steely Dan - Two Against Nature and LP: ------- Steely Dan - Two Against Nature there was a promo CD: --------------------- Steely Dan - Two Against Nature DVD-A high resolution release: ------------------------------ Steely Dan - Two Against Nature DVD-Audio: Advanced Resolution 5.1 (24/96) Advanced Resolution Stereo (24/96) DVD-Video: DTS 5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1 and Stereo and some digital releases.. the singles will be next. later -1
