By Ron Gonzales
For The Albuquerque Journal
The reigning pop duo of the ’70s finds itself back on top.
There are very few music artists who would dare to refer to either Marcel Proust or Sigmund Freud in a song. Then again, Steely Dan, the band that has dared to do it, is not a typical musical entity.
And on the opposite end of the seriousness spectrum from where Proust and Freud dwell are Donald Fagen’s and Walter Becker’s references to Cuervo Gold and ‘Retha Franklin — both in the same song — and the snarky personalities of the duo that fit quite nicely with its style of funky light jazz, or bluesy rock pop, whichever label one chooses to describe Steely Dan’s music.
And if you ask either Fagen or Becker, being serious in music has never been a priority.
“I think both of us have a lot of childlike qualities,” Fagen told Guardian Unlimited magazine in June. “Because we started to make a living at this when we were pretty young, it gave us a certain privileged status where we didn’t have to cope with some of the stuff that other people have to cope with.”
Becker added, “That’s right — we succeeded while still in the petulant-brat stage.” Though petulant brats, since 1968, Fagen and Becker have collaborated on some of the most elaborate and proficient lyrical and musical pieces known to the rock world. Even back then, the two did not take writing music very seriously, though, as they first attempted to sell songs to the schlock music publishers of the day. But through the ’70s, albums like “Pretzel Logic,” “Aja” and “Gaucho” established Steely Dan (and the many, many accompanying musicians who tagged along) as critical favorites.
But they were only getting warmed up.
In 2000, Steely Dan earned four Grammys for its “Two Against Nature” album, predictably annoying many longtime fans and critics.
“When we finished ‘Two Against Nature,’ all the record business people were trying to decide whether this was an important musical event or a pathetic attempt to reinvigorate a long-dead career,” Becker said.
Fortunately, it was the former, and furthermore, its success allowed Steely Dan to experiment even more with “Everything Must Go,” which hit stores in June.
“In a way, doing (‘Nature’) released us to do a couple of more poppy songs that would contrast with the jazzier, more harmonically advanced ones,” Becker said.
Themes found on “Everything Must Go” include voyeurism and older men trying to relate to young women (a la “Hey Nineteen”), which means the pair’s deliciously dark underbelly remains an integral part of Steely Dan ‘s existence.
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