By Neal McGarity
Hartford Courant
Two Against Nature
Steely Dan
Giant Records
More an evolving musical concept than a group, Steely Dan enjoyed unlikely success in the hard-rock ’70s by smoothly blending jazz and rock on meticulously produced albums loaded with lyrical cynicism.
Singer/keyboardist Donald Fagen and guitarist Walter Becker — working with a revolving parade of hot-shot studio musicians — banged out a string of platinum albums and then mysteriously pulled the plug on Steely Dan in 1980.
On “Two Against Nature,” the first album of new Steely Dan material in 20 years, the group sound is a little less plush than in the past, and perennial producer Gary Katz is absent, but the studio reunion of Fagen and Becker hasn’t led to any major changes. The smooth vocals, tricky arrangements, dark lyrics and the obsession for sizzling musical chops on which the group built its reputation are all here in the millennium edition of Steely Dan.
Two Against Nature proves once again how matchless Steely Dan is in merging jazz and rock in seductive ways. “Jack of Speed” joins bop with rock so seamlessly it’s impossible to tell where one begins and the other ends. Led by their jazz instincts, Becker and Fagen seize a number of opportunities to stretch out musically, especially on “West of Hollywood,” the last four minutes of which are nothing but a red-hot jam session. The album is loaded with impeccable studio musicians, but Walter Becker’s sublimely crisp guitar work throughout this album shines the brightest.
Though middle age has put a wee bit of graininess in Donald Fagen’s creamy voice, he’s still a master at informing his material with a wistful, almost impenetrable, sadness. The bittersweet mood Fagen conjures on “Almost Gothic” is a direct throwback to the group’s classic Aja album, in which mysterious sorrow is presented to the listener in aesthetically beautiful ways.
Of course, no Steely Dan reunion could be considered authentic without lyrical observations from losers, perverts and crackpots. Two Against Nature is full of oddball narrators. “Cousin Dupree” may present a dilemma for radio programmers in these very politically correct times. The narrator spins an undisguised tale of familial lust, but the song just might be the group’s best musical groove yet.
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