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20 years after Steely Dan's last studio album, Gaucho, we have been re-introduced to the greatest band of the 70's. The wait was worth it. Granted, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker (the driving force behind SD) released "solo" projects that they worked together on (and I recommend all, especially "The Nightfly" by Fagen), but this is the first SD studio album since 1980. "Two Against Nature" takes off beautifully with GASLIGHTING ABBEY, a heavily bass-influenced tune about a love triangle. GREAT song, funky and jazzy with a new edge to the old SD sound. WHAT A SHAME ABOUT ME is an awesome self-loathing, soul searching tune about how cruel life can be if you let it beat you down. The music is heavy on keys and guitar and has a great jazz backbeat. Pure SD negativity and sarcasm. The title track, TWO AGAINST NATURE, is a little exploratory, a bass lover's dream with great percussion and keys and some really bizzare, jazz sax that is the closest thing to 'free-form' jazz that I have heard from SD. JANIE RUNAWAY, JACK OF SPEED, COUSIN DUPREE & WEST OF HOLLYWOOD all strike true in the SD classic jazz/rock/blues/funk genre that they are known for. ALMOST GOTHIC is a great, soft, bluesy tune with soft percussion and soothing keys nicely supported by R&B backing vocals and some smooth guitar work. NEGATIVE GIRL is perfect. Another experiment in diminished sound, that comes off perfectly, showcasing Fagen's developed style of singing and some nice piano work with smooth guitar. I am a SD fanatic, and this album did not disappoint. 20 years later, the bad boys of the 70's still got it. They may be older and wiser, but they are still smart-assed and socially biting, cynical as hell. The album is definitely lighter in the sound department but it seems to me that the guys have just refined their sound as they grew musically, fully embracing the jazz roots that they love. SD has evolved musically and a lot of old school SD fans are not pleased with the new, jazzier, less rock sound, but I love the direction that SD has taken as they continue to move not-so-gracefully in to mid-life.Read full review
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