 Steely Dan If I were Steely Dan I'd be pissed. I'd be thinking "My god, we spent all that time making these immaculate studio records and no one even gives a shit anymore? It's like they fucking forgot about us!" And I'd be right to think that. Aside from a whole lot of wedding bands and a very small handful of hip-hoppers, there are really almost no telltale traces of a Steely Dan influence running through the current musical climate. Maybe the Steely Dan magic has trickled down to the world of smooth jazz? Certainly they'll always have a place on classic rock radio, but even there the current trend holds much more of a focus on "real rock" than Steely Dan's ganjafied fusion of CTI Records jazz and Abbey Road-style pop. But then, I'm not sure how much sympathy I really have for these guys. I mean, I'm sure that A Decade of Steely Dan has got to be one of the biggest selling CDs of all time – if for nothing else than for virtually everyone who ever joins a CD club getting it out of obligation. "Well, I get 12 CDs to start out with – let's see, well, I guess I should get A Decade of Steely Dan …" Actually, I'd be willing to bet some serious money that Steely Dan will enjoy some kind of renaissance in the future, although I'd be absolutely unwilling to try to predict a timeframe for that to happen. 5 years? 50 years? 250 years? Any of these choices could happen. The music is pretty much 100% quality, although at this moment, there is something a bit hollow about listening to this disc. It's hard to explain this feeling – maybe it's that Steely Dan has become perhaps the most genuine definition of a "guilty pleasure" that there is. Even more so than, say, Yes or Chicago, I'd say that Steely Dan has few real defenders right now. Yes, on the one hand, will always have a dedicated audience of prog-heads, and Chicago will be in business as long as people continue to need music for break-up mix tapes. But Steely Dan is much smarter than these groups, less bombastic than Yes, less cheesy than Chicago – but its pure self-satisfaction might be the root of its current status. Steely Dan sounds like they love themselves. Like a 12-year-old genius who can't resist telling people his IQ number, Steely Dan flaunts its chops and its cleverness in your face even as it entertains and thrills you with truly impressive melodic twists and memorable, actually meaningful lyrics. As you can see, I'm divided on this group. This CD has been a part of my collection, on and off, for about as long as I've been buying CDs, and I always end up selling it back. When I think about the disc, I'm like "Wow, that's a Seven-L'il-Puppy album if ever there was one." Then I put it on and I'm all "Hm, I feel like I shouldn't even be encouraging these guys." The production is slick, the arrangements are tight, the players are great (sidemen include Pretty Purdie, Victor Feldman, Don Grolnick, and Wayne Shorter, among many others), the songs are incredibly well-constructed. I guess maybe it's that nothing really seems that emotional – it's all very LA. I mean, you play this next to Tigermilk by Belle and Sebastian and it's like you've just traveled across the galaxy. Actually, I'm listening to "East St. Louis Toodle-Oo" right now and it wouldn't be out of place in the cantina scene in Star Wars. Lots of favorites on the disc: "Peg" is always a treat, "Hey Nineteen," "My Old School" and then there's "Bodhisattva" – a rapid-fire blues with Buddhist imagery, you don't get that just anywhere. The FM radio staples are tired, but can catch you in the right mood occasionally and really deliver – "Reeling in the Years," "Rikki Don't Lose That Number," "FM," "Babylon Sisters," "Deacon Blues," even "Do it Again." And kudos to "Kid Charlemagne" for having virtually exactly the same hook as "Them Not So Dry Bones" from Schoolhouse Rock. Bob Dorough rules, as always. I guess I'm just struggling with the essential pointlessness of listening to this CD. There's nothing new to discover here. You can hear all the best tracks on the radio almost every day. But then, it's good. I don't know. I'm sure I'll sell it back out of boredom, but I'm just as sure I'll buy it again within 5 years, especially if Columbia House comes out with a particularly good enrollment deal.
Review by El Churro |