. . . the best session guy in the world – probably.

STEELY DAN   "Two Against Nature"

The first studio album from Mssrs. Fagen and Becker in over 20 years and it was definitely worth the wait.

April 1 2000

Now, it should come as no surprise that being of a certain age and involved in the music biz, SD occupies a pivotal place in my musical psyche. I've been on-board since the release of Can't Buy A Thrill way back in '72 and what a great ride it's been.

It's been 20 years since the release of Gaucho, and whilst we have enjoyed some excellent solo offerings, notably Donald Fagen's The Nightfly and Kamakiriad albums, we have been denied the alchemy which seems to occur when these two guys get together.

On first listening, the album has marked similarities in style to the aforementioned Kamakiriad, Fagen's homage to a futureworld, which may not be good news in everyone's book – rather metronomic and minimal. But on successive listenings, this album has yielded up it's inner secrets. Many 'Dan' trademarks are here: mouth-watering chord progressions, exquisite brass, backing vocals that seem to waft down from heaven and Fagen's pathos-filled singing. But as usual, the key to the heart of this piece of work, is in the lyrics. Although as inscrutable as ever, they seem to document the ups and downs of two men in their middle years who have been through the rock 'n' roll mill a time or two and have come through older but wiser. But given the effortless listening they represent it's hard to believe that you're being handed such tough messages.

It's an absolute joy, which I heartily recommend.

I bought my copy on-line from www.101cd.com   It cost £9.99 plus £1 p&p - very reasonable I thought, and it arrived within two days. The album ref. is: GIANT 74321 62190 2.

Why not check out The Dan's official Web site at: www.steelydan.com  There are a couple of major downloads for the serious fan, as well as lyrics and tour news.

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