I love Steely Dan and will buy the new one,downside in my opinion is that Two Against Nature was their worst release.
Steely Dan - New release / June 10th
Are there any other huge Steely Dan fans out there anxiously awaiting the new release "Everything Must Go"?
I really liked "Two Against Nature" due to the heavy jazz influence on it and I have heard two tracks from the new album. One entitled "Blue Beach" sounds very good. This should provide a nice soundtrack for the summer of '03.
Comments?
I really liked "Two Against Nature" due to the heavy jazz influence on it and I have heard two tracks from the new album. One entitled "Blue Beach" sounds very good. This should provide a nice soundtrack for the summer of '03.
Comments?
31 responses Add your response
When Two Against Nature first came out I was able to find a U.K. pressing limited edition, which sounds good but has just a slight bit of noise pressed into it, not the best ie virgin vinyl I've heard. I remember when Donald Fagen's 2nd solo album came out in the early 90's and for only a very brief period you could buy U.K. LP pressings of it and then it disappeared, I'm still kicking myself for not having had picked that one up. I have all the Dan albums on vinyl, usually two copies, domestic and import, with which to compare. The best by far are the MFSL 1/2 speeds, Asia and Katy Lied. You should, with much patience, be able to buy mint import copies from japan, UK or Germany on Ebay. Just make sure they are described as 'mint' and not 'excellent'... I've been buying import pressings on ebay for 3 years now and very rarely have had a problem. |
OK, I posted on this some time ago but no one knew anything then with respect to vinyl. I found a place in Germany that is taking preorders for the vinyl. http://www.vinylnet.de Be VERY careful to ask about shipping costs, though! It helps to know your German. Some of thier site if "auf Englisch" but not everything. Don't say I did not warn you if you are not specific with them before giving CC number. |
One is also supposed to be able to order this through diversevinyl.com but I can never get the link to work. UPDATE: you can go to [url]www.diversevinyl.com[/url] to preorder but the site has moved recently, is unstable, and slower than the mind of an inbred child. I do know it is a German pressing on the Warner label, as opposed to Two Against which is on Giant If you're not in a big hurry, hang in there. EIL.com, among others, will have it listed soon. Xiekitchen, if you're taling about KAMAKIRIAD, it isn't too hard to find. Bought the UK copy from a US dealer the other day still sealed for $20. The guy had it listed under Steely Dan instead of Fagen, though, so it pays to sift carefully. And for those who are not aware, the boys are touring this summer with tickets for several venues already on sale. Got mine for three dates! Get yours before they be gone! |
Buscis2, with respect to who is with the Boys on this effort, this is from the Dan website: "Everything Must Go took roughly a year to record -- a veritable wind sprint given Becker and Fagen's legendary meticulousness in the studio. "We went for live tracking this time and got great, in-the-pocket tracks," says Becker. Donald Fagen adds "It's mad: it's wiggy: I love it". The core band included Keith Carlock (drums), Ted Baker (keyboards), jazz sensation Bill Charlap (keyboards), and Jon Herington and Hugh McCracken (guitars). Becker played bass and guitar, while Fagen contributed keyboards, organs, Rhodes, synths, and -- on all but one cut -- lead vocals. Becker's solo singing on one tune marks the first such credit for him in Steely Dan's studio oeuvre. Engineering were Elliot Scheiner, Dave Russell, Roger Nichols -- all of whom received Best Engineering Grammys® for Two Against Nature -- along with newcomer T.J. Doherty. Superstar tracking and mixing engineer Elliot Scheiner comments on the process, saying "We did a few things differently -- including tracking and mixing in analog instead of digital. That contributed to giving this album a really rich and satisfying sound"." |
Cool, Thanks 4yanx. And I'm surprised to find this to be Becker's first solo vocal credit. Becker's solo album "11 Tracks of Whack" was a great demonstration of Becker's kind of funky voice and singing style. It seems to be so synergistic to the Steely Dan sound. I'm really looking forward to the new release. |
I'm with Ben on Two Against Nature, I'm more of an Aja guy myself. I bought tickets for their upcoming tour, I'm seeing them for the second time in my life on August 14th in Toronto. I saw the Dan in San Jose many years ago, very much like seeing Zappa live. Lotsa musicians and the band was VERY tight. Having said that Becker was almost invisible and Fagen well... "Anthony Robbins teeth" when he sings and he seemed uncomfortable performing live. The "supporting" band members were exceptional musicians, that's why I laid out the green and will make the five hour drive for the August show. |
Jeff, I had the honor of seeing Steely Dan at the Sony Studios on W54th St. in NYC. I was dating a young lady at the time, who used to have access to most of the performances held at Sony. It's a small studio with extremely limited seating, so the performance was "in your face". I understand that the majority of the songs played in that performance were actually used on the "Two Against Nature" DVD. I have always meant to purchase it. Needless to say, they were absolutely incredible. When you hear how tight those guys are, you have to wonder why they have never done a direct to disc recording. They don't even need a studio. That will be an experience I will always remember. And I should have never let that young lady go..... |
Buscis2, The "one" that got away? We all have regrets. An interesting anecdote, I got a request several years ago from a gentleman looking for some quality analog semiconductors to build a "headphone amp". I probed as to what his application was; he was an engineer at Studio Morin Heights who was working with Peter Gabriel at the time (Daniel Langois on the board). Suffice to say I hand delivered the parts at no cost!!!!!!!!!! Did you have the privilege of seeing Frank Zappa in concert? |
No Jeff, and man I wish I could of. FZ was such a great guitar player and many people who actually did see him say he was so incredibly focused when he played. In his later years, when he was conducting, often the orchestra musicians would comment on his levels of perfection and expertise. Frank, (I should say Dr.Zappa Phd) was an extremely significant musician in modern music history. You can consider yourself very fortunate having had the chance to see FZ. I think I can speak for all of us when I say "your very respectfully missed FZ". |
I just discovered a way to listen to the whole recording for free on their website: click on "Listen Now" and a pop-up appears where you can view weird video clips, but at the bottom click on "play songs from the new album". You can listen to each song in it's entirety. The quality is streaming audio, and a fast connection is probably needed, but I really like the sound of this new album...espcially "Green Book" Happy listening! Z |
The new album is much better than "Two..". It's a bit like they stopped concentrating on their golf swing and just started playing. Fagan and Becker are immense talents (with a great sense of deadpan humor), but it seemed that the "Two.." recordings were too 'tense', or some such thing.. "Everything.." features the added benefit of a Walter Becker lead vocal ("Slang of Ages"). If I dare say so, this may be the first Dan tune in years that would be right at home in a dusty bar... |
I have the redbook CD. I looked at the song's digital waveform using an editor and there appears to be a fairly strong digital clip right at that point, but what I'm hearing doesn't sound like typical digital overload. There's no raspy distortion, but instead a very strong, very low frequency thump. When I first heard the thumping I thought it was construction truck hitting a pothole while passing by my house. |
The new Steely Dan disc is very slickly played, fully homogenized, thoroughly gutted music without any of the spark, quirk, edge and interest of their best work(Count Down and Scam).Their evolution? has spawned a bunch of completely forgettable tunes.Too bad but they lost me after Aja. Don't get exited you hard core fans and send me any nasty email, just my take. Cheers, Lee |
"Royal Scam" is probably still my favorite also. I remember the first time I heard it was on radio the week it was released by a station that played side 1 without commercials and followed with side two uninterrupted following the break. It went to the top of my 'must have' list. I like "Two Against Nature" and "Everything Must Go" very much, but on a different level. They can never equal the experience of "Scam" for me because they came along at a different time in my life. "Scam" was special from the beginning and is associated with many good times over the years. It's possible "Two" or "Everything" will become similar favorites for fans, new or old, as "Scam" is for me. The guys made it on their talent and perfectionism, not hype and image like many new acts. I would sooner pay to see Steely Dan live and expect to get my money's worth than most new groups these days. |
I guess I'm a bit less critical of them. I'm just so dam glad their still jamm'n--I savor every tune and learn to love every album. I'll have to admit, after my first listen to "Two Against Nature" I was wondering if Donald & Walter had reached the "McCartney wall" of song writing. But after many plays, I couldn't turn if off. "Everything Must Go" has dispelled any thoughts I had about Dan loosing their edge. All I can say is: "Donald, Walter, if youre listening, PLEEEEEAAAAAASE don't stop make'n music!!!!! |