Steely Dan - Two Against Nature (2000)

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Steely Dan - Two Against Nature (2000)

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Review: 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 hooksmore 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.

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Steely Dan - Two Against Nature (2000)

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In the 20 years that elapsed since 1980's GAUCHO, Steely Dan linchpins Donald Fagen and Walter Becker have dabbled in solo projects, toured with the Rock & Soul Review, and spent most of the '90s gearing up for the band's long-awaited eighth studio album, TWO AGAINST NATURE. Only nine songs long, TWO AGAINST NATURE is a clear example of quality over quantity. As has been the modus operandi throughout Steely Dan's existence, Fagen and Becker have gathered an impressive backupcrew of jazz players with impeccable chops to season the proceedings. With both Becker and Fagen hovering around age50, it's not surprising that most of this rich material deals with the uncertainties of middle age. Themes addressed include the complexities of relationships, whether they involve family ("Cousin Dupree"), a toxic significant other ("Negative Girl"), or an old flame met by chance ("What a Shame About Me"). Throughout, Steely Dan manages to successfully straddle the line between the empty calories of light jazz, andthe fusion from which the duo has previously borrowed nuances.