Dude! You had him in the palm of your hand and you didn't recommend Aja?! D'oh! Throw back the little ones, I guess
Aja seemed like the cop-out choice to me. Really, you'd have to know the guy, which is part of the reason I suggested Scam. The Onion: REAL fake news
Yeah well I read about the publication in Wikipedia before posting, and "they" said it could be both depending, so I was left still confused... The content of the Fagen article did sound kinda likely...
Bad Sneakers I still am adamant in the "including yours and mine" - the protagonist and other person present (they are holding a conversation - not D&W) With the Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Ghost - the chimp - a clever way of rounding out the five Don and Walt rarely wrote direct songs about themselves Some tangential They strived for something more universal They had too much fun developing Fully formed characters Listen to the rest of the lyrics in the song "That ditch out in the valley that they're digging just for me" He is dismayed not vindictive. Songs that were more biographical or they could relate to "Deacon Blue" "Monkey in your soul" is as specific as it gets It was an interesting double meaning but the "I got one and you want four" relates to how many albums they have in the can and how many are left on the contract. It works beautifully on other levels too. Notice how it's the first verse I got one and you want four It's so hard to help you I can't keep up with you no more And you treat me like it's a sin But you can't lock me in You want me here with you right to the end No thank you my friend I fear the monkey in your soul When in doubt with the Dan Think universal - writing from an outside character's perspective Even The Nightfly's semi autobiographical focus was more on a decade evolving take off point abstractions and Donald's experiences (new frontier - atomic bomb drills, his fascination with late night NYC jazz stations) Don's ideallic view of romance - Maxine, Raindrops set in the period - but these obviously don't come from an 8 year old kid. W&D nearly always had more abstract - higher artforms in mind or cleaver wickedly funny skeevy characters but I see very little evideNce of them writing so obviously in the first person They were enjoying taking on the cloak of someone else too much
Okay back to Scam Everything You Did This one is really sick Don't read it if you don't want to have that connotation I jumped out of me easy chair It was not my own A Monica Lewinski moment
The organ during the verses on "Everything You Did" sorta reminds me - and I mean this as a compliment - of "soap opera organ". Back in the day when soap operas were broadcast live, they'd have an organist providing musical accompaniment. During the more melodramatic moments, there'd often be an ominous organ undertone with the occasional surge for punctuation. That's the feel I'm picking up, though it's by no means as over the top. Carlton's trademark guitar moans accentuate that feel, as if they're the "roller skater's" side of the disagreement.
OK, in an effort to boost my rating of The Royal Scam a bit (from joint last, the only way is up!), I've had the tracks I didn't think I liked on repeat for a couple of days. The Caves Of Altamira - yeah, this one's alright actually. Nice chorus, sax and horn parts. I don't like it as much as tracks 1, 3, 7 or 8, but I'm generally favourable. Sign In Stranger - oh no. I really can't get past that stuttering rhythm which totally prevents me getting any enjoyment out of this one. Some nice guitar fills and interesting ragtime piano. But set against that backbeat? Naah. And just when they put a nice horn part in, it's faded out before you noticed it. The Fez - ah, this is more like it! Here's a groove I can get into! For 30 seconds. And then you realise it's basically just an advertising jingle. For condoms. I mean seriously, just what the hell is this doing in their catalogue? Did they need one more track to fill up the album length and only had 30 minutes studio time left to toss one off? Yes, deliberate choice of words. Green Earrings - yep, talk about a drop in the middle of an album. I don't get this one either. I'd like to isolate the drum track, as it sounds like there's some really great playing going on there. But the rest of it just reminds me of one of those horrible Lee Ritenour jazz funk albums on GRP in the 80's. The Royal Scam - mmm, I'm in two minds with this one. On the one hand, it's got great instrumentation, texture and atmosphere, which kind of fits with the lyrical content. On the other hand, it just plods...and plods...and plods along for 6.30 with barely any relief. Reminds me of Third World Man in that respect. It's that repeated bass / kick-drum beat all the way through that does the damage. Ditch that and come up with something with a bit more flow or occasional peaks or swells and this one could have been a lot more interesting. General view of the album overall? Go on then, I'll put it 6th out of 7, above Pretzel Logic.
I was just thinking that Christgau complained about the "melodic retreat" of Royal Scam and scored it a B. Yet he gave the Dan's comeback album, Two Against Nature, an A. What, 2AN was a melodic masterpiece?
I must admit, I don't see the connection... Given Fagen's fond memories of late 50's/early 60's TV he probably was aware of that soap opera organ...you know what Dan song where I really hear that kind of organ sound (played by Fagen himself, no less)? "My Rival". Are you a reggae fan? The rhythm of "Sign In Stranger" is very reggae, which is why for me the juxtaposition between the reggae rhythm and New Orleans style piano and horns makes for interesting listening. I also mentioned in my song-by-song critique that "Sign In Stranger" sounds vaguely Beatlesque to me, it's the horns that do it. The Trojan people should have used "The Fez" for an advert Really, they were stupid not to...that is, if Becker and Fagen would have allowed it, of course. Yowza- I am surprised at the lack of love for "Green Earrings"! Like I said, it's my favourite song on the album, thanks to the drumming and the guitar solo (and the overall funky feel of the piece in general). As for Lee Ritenour, as you probably know he makes a cameo appearance and the next album. I admit I agree with your comparison of "The Royal Scam" and "Third World Man"...IMO both songs do sort of plod along, but are generally redeemed in my eyes by Larry Carlton's guitar solos. Lyrically they seem to share a theme of certain peoples' disillusionment with society (immigrants in the case of "The Royal Scam", war veterans -specifically Vietnam vets- in the case of "Third World Man")
Yeah, this is my take too. I'm a fan of funk, but more from the soul end, and am allergic to the stuff that is conservatory-graduate jazzers in high-end studios showing off their chops. Both 'The Fez' and 'Green Earrings' veer far too much in that direction for me to be able to enjoy them.
As part of our TV cable package we get the Stingray music stations. When the adverts come on the station i'm watching I'm wont to switching to one of the Stingray channels- usually one of the jazz ones. The stuff yer allergic too sounds a lot like most of the crap they play on their "Smooth Jazz" station- it either seems to be stuff like that or bad imitation instrumental Steely Dan on that channel. I'll take my own imitation instrumental Steely Dan music over that crap, thanks! Robert Christgau -along with the rest of those hyperopinionated music critics, but Christgau is the worst of the lot IMO- can kiss my white Irish butt! To paraphrase John Lennon, "I'd like to hear some of Robert Christgau's music please, y'know, just play me some!"
I have always enjoyed a lot Everything You Did, its cha-cha beat and Beatles-like guitar counter-melody. Awesome guitar solo too!
That is the reason I don't care for Aja and Lee Ritenour actually appears on it. It sounds like smooth jazz fusion with lyrics.
Yeah, I've got quite a bit of 70's reggae: Culture, Burning Spear, Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Congos, Aswad, Steel Pulse. I was reminded of absolutely none of them when listening to Sign In Stranger.
Speaking of Aja...I'll let the Royal Scam discussion simmer for another day or two so that those folks here who aren't around on the weekend can weigh in. With the caveat that if I should have to bump this discussion off the fifth page of the Music Corner like I've done once already, we're moving on to Aja. Fair 'nuff. I suppose anybody who's into the real stuff would probably find guys like Steely Dan or the Stones playing reggae as kind of pretenders...dilettantes.
I actually agree with you here - I just listened to Two Against Nature again recently to see if there was something I was missing...and yes, it's far less hooky than any of their "classic 7". Maybe I just need to spend still more time with it, I don't know... Well...rock critics are supposed to have opinions - that's their job, you know. Surprised if Lennon actually said that - Christgau generally rated John's stuff pretty highly (at least when warranted). And saying a music critic is not qualified to make judgements about music if they haven't created music themselves is a ridiculous critique on the face of it - they're paid to be writers, not musicians. Personally, I love reading Christgau - his capsules especially are succinct and often witty, and he's turned me on to a lot of great music I might not otherwise had been aware of or fully appreciated.
