Steely Dan
Two Against Nature

By Steven R. Rochlin
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  Here we have musical legends and not another boy-toy band or Britney "gag me" Spears. Steely Dan consist of Walter Becker (bass) and Donald Fagen (vocals, keyboards) and bring a smooth California-type easy rock sound that is both refreshing and relaxing. Those familiar with the great 1982 Donald Fagen album The Nightfly and more recently his 1993 album Kamakiriad will know what i am talking about here. Thankfully the new Steely Dan album Two Against Nature is better engineered than Kamakiriad which may have wonderful music, yet is so harsh in the upper frequencies as to be virtually unlistenable on many music reproduction systems. This new album is still a bit whispy in the upper frequencies, but at least it is not overly accentuated as to be unlistenable. To expand on this, it is as though the drummer's hi-hat is more a ssssssss sound vs. a proper shshshshsh. Then again music is music and sound quality is sound quality. Let's get to the music shall we.

This album reminds me quite a bit of Fagen's The Nightfly released way back in 1982. Many of the same beats and sounds seem to have made their way here. What proves the true worth of this music is how it never sounds dated in any way. Proof that great music can stand the test of time (or at least a few decades). The first song "Gaslight Abby" will easily get your slow groove jive going. It has the usual Fagen feel to it we have all grown to love. The next song "What a Shame" has more of the old time Steely Dan sound from the album of Aja and the likes. Another great slow groove yet this time with a half-speed type chorus added every so often. A total of nine tracks and around 50 minutes fill this CD. Hope i can find it on vinyl one day. Could be even better sonically which would make my day.

Any true lover of Steely Dan or Donald Fagen will easily find "Two Against Nature" thoroughly enjoyable. Every track will bring you back to knowing why you feel in love with Steely Dan in the first place. Glad i bought it and hope you do too.

Enjoyment: 95

Sound Quality: 85