The last album Walter Becker and Donald Fagen recorded together under the name Steely Dan came out 20 years ago. But unless you pay close attention to some of the words--the reference to upscale New York grocery store Dean and DeLuca, for example, or the branding of one character as "the software king"--you might very well assume that Two Against Nature was a much more immediate followup to 1980's Gaucho. Fagen's slyly sarcastic voice doesn't sound like it's aged a bit, and from both a musical and production standpoint, the vibe here is more 1978 than 2000. (That's meant as a compliment, though Walt and Don might not think so.)
On the songwriting front, Becker and Fagen have picked up exactly where they left off, employing slick white-funk rhythms, sophisticated jazz-derived chord changes, and supremely witty lyrics. The melodies aren't as intricate as those on Gaucho, but they're still pretty complex, particularly "Gaslighting Abbie," "Janie Runaway," and "Negative Girl." And the subject matter will also be familiar to longtime Dan fans: the damage done by drugs, the bitterness of aging, the frustrating allure of younger women (this last tackled hilariously on "Cousin Dupree"). As always, the coupling of almost unrelentingly perky music with words that are alternately cynical and forlorn creates an oddly subversive effect.
What all this means is that Steely Dan's latest, far from being an embarrassment as so many latter-day reunions are, stands up surprisingly well against their classic work of the '70s. Personally, I wish the playing wasn't quite so smooth all the time, that Fagen and Becker would rock out just a little more, as they did (relatively speaking) back in the days of "Reelin' In The Years" and "Bodhisattva." But that was long ago, I know, and they're crabby old men now, so I oughtn't complain. Those who've been waiting two decades for this baby should be happy enough as it is; after all, how many other albums of this or any year will include the words "grok," "isotope," and "panatella"?
All recordings written by W. Becker, D. Fagan, courtesy of Giant/Reprise Records and Freejunket Music/Zeon Music (ASCAP), administered by Len Freedman Music, Inc.
