Two Against NatureSteely DanGenre: PopDescription: PRODUCT DESCRIPTION Country of publication: Germany. Release Date :2000 AMAZON A half-decade after their concert comeback and a mere 19 years after Gaucho seemingly closed out their recording career the jazz-pop conceit of Walter Becker and Donald Fagen deliberately dropped back into a recording landscape where they weren't so much seasoned vets as alien ambassadors. Two Against Nature indeed. The tack is instantly familiar: a musical/lyrical reconciliation of Monk and Newman with familiar harmonic flourishes nimble studio chops and an icy world-class cool as wilfully insulated from hip-hop and dance as it was from disco and Top 40. Less concerned with melodic hooks than a canny sophistication of mood and manner Becker and Fagen never let a trite melody get in the way of a good story whether their protagonists are plotting some nefarious obliquity (Gaslighting Abby) Southern-fried incest (the deliciously funky Cousin DuPree) or bleakly confronting dashed expectations (What a Shame About Me). A little more musically languorous perhaps its trademark cynicism now undercut by hints of sadness and regret this is nonetheless a Steely Dan album worthy of the name and like the best of them one whose subtle charms reveal themselves in surprising ways. --Jerry McCulley END
Steely Dan Two Against Nature (CD) would be the perfect fit for fans of their earlier and more retro-focused albums.
