*** STEELY DAN SUNDAY INDEX ***
NICK DERISO: I was a huge Steely Dan fan, so I once bought even the individual releases, pining for those lost moments of the 1970s.
Meaning: I was ready to love Fagen’s second solo album. Bought it out of the box, hoping for “Aja” with a ’90s spin.
What I got was the same kind of boring vamps that characterized that too-obvious Motown schlock Fagen had been doing in the years after the excellent “Nightfly” album.
It seemed more and more that Fagen needed Becker, and badly.
Then, I noticed that Becker produced the thing. Oops.
A quick rundown: The drums sounded fake, the writing felt lazy, the concept was drearily antiseptic.
OK. There is, however, one distinct saving grace — and a neat precursor to their successful reunion.
Nick’s Pick was the Fagen tune that was co-written with Becker, “Snowbound” … now, that was a lot more like it. True collaboration seemed to be the key.
Glad they got back to it.
- How Deep Cuts on ‘Music From Big Pink’ Underscore the Band’s Triumph - July 31, 2023
- How ‘Islands’ Signaled the Sad End of the Band’s Five-Man Edition - March 15, 2022
- The Band’s ‘Christmas Must Be Tonight’ Remains an Unjustly Overlooked Holiday Classic - December 25, 2016
