Anyone out there a excited as I am to receive the new CD and possibly see Fagen live? All I can say at this point is the 0:30 second clips on the web sound pretty good with The Night Belongs To Mona proving to be the kind of quintessential Steely-esque-tune that you crank while zipping down the highway at about 75....

Yeah Zeke, I am. I think he's playing in my neck of the woods this week, but I haven't gotten any tix yet. If you hear of anyone getting a soundboard recording or good audience recording of any of the shows, let me know!

I just noticed that Fagen is coming to Ottawa next Sunday now that you guys mentioned it. I wonder if there are any tickets left.

I'm looking forward to getting this one, as welll as the new David Gilmour album.
Not much chance of seeing him live too close to Resume Speed, IL.

I'm looking forward to getting this one, as welll as the new David Gilmour album.
Not much chance of seeing him live too close to Resume Speed, IL.

The new Fagen is, as one would expect, a flawless recording. A tad predictable but still very good.

The new Gilmour album is, in my opinion, a MAJOR snoozefest. :boring:

The new Fagen is, as one would expect, a flawless recording. A tad predictable but still very good.



I was totally unimpressed with it. Especially since I had to spend over $25 to buy it in Sudbury :sigh:

I listened to it three times, just in case I missed something. Sadly, I did not, unfortunately.

I was totally unimpressed with it. Especially since I had to spend over $25 to buy it in Sudbury :sigh:

I listened to it three times, just in case I missed something. Sadly, I did not, unfortunately.

Definately not breaking any new ground here, for sure. I was referring more to the sound quality.

Sound is clean, but could he not progress, try something a little different? I guess as long as suckers like me buy it before reading reviews, why change...

Seems more guitar-oriented than previous works. I have yet to sit down and listen to it start to finish...it's in my car, so I'm doin' it in 15 minute chunks, hopping from track to track. As usual, IMPECCABLY recorded, meticulously arranged. Title tune somehow reminds me of a New Orleans jazz band doing a funeral march...the very measured cadence, muted trumpets, etc. "The Great Pagoda of Funn" is a classic...Fagen poignantly distills a pop ballad. Just plain sweet. "Brite Nightgown"? Fagen meets Prince with very funky results. Grim subject matter counterpointed by a party beat. "Security Joan" shows that Don can sit right down and write a fun pop tune with an amusing story and a great jazz-rock soundtrack. "The Night Belongs to Mona" is almost neck-and-neck with "Pagoda" in the composition department...just sublime. "Mary Shut the Garden Door" is a pointed political statement rolled up in another classic Fagen tune. "What I Do" describes the narrator's encounter with the ghost of Ray Charles...a very soulful number. IMHOP, "H-Gang" is the weakest cut on the disc...so of course the idiots at Reprise push it as the single. (But...what good is a single release for a disc like this? It's not rock, not CHR, not Smooth Jazz [although Smooth Jazz stations will probably air selected cuts]...it exists in a world of its own.) "Morph The Cat" is a disc that will just get better and better with each listen...there's so much worked into each tune that repeated listens reveal something new. BTW: the band is killer. Keith Carlock (drums) and Freddie Washington (bass) stitch it all together seamlessly. Jon Herington, Wayne Krantz and the indispensable Hugh McCracken provide all the guitar licks you could want.
Also...the Steely Dan message boards are blazin' with talk of a Dan summer tour...more of a co-tour, though...with Michael McDonald. It'd be great to hear Mike on some of those old Dan tunes again!

I thinks it's a pretty good album (I also liked the last two Dan albums) and the DVD-A sounds incredible.

Cheers

I just saw that Steely Dan/Michael McDonald are coming to Phoenix July 18!!!!
I saw SD 3 years ago,but this time,its an open air arena :yikes:
I dont care.If I have to die of sun stroke/dehydration,let it be listening to the Dan.
I hope this time they play Bodhisatva.
Jimmy

Y'all talked me into it - gotta copy comin' from Amazon, along with Mark 'n Emmy's "Roadrunning" and Neko Case's latest.

As with most Dan music...sometimes you give a first listen to a tune and think "...this kinda sucks..." but then as you listen to the instruments, read the lyrics, and groove to the groove...........before you know it your humming the tunes and you're HOOKED!

On the new album I heard the clip (prior to release) of Mary Shut The Garden Door ... and thought "no thanks".......but it is now my favorite song on the CD....the music/instrumentation and beat are killer.

The other one that grew on me...and this is a driect result of the reprise on track 8 or 9 on the disc, is Morph the Cat....the lyrics are hilarious and very clever.

I saw him in Chicago in March....short sow but he did Mary Shut... and it was very nice.

I bought the LP some months ago and just got around to listening to it early this week. Sound quality is excellent and the performance, if not up to vintage Steely Dan, is pretty solid.

I have to agree with most postings here: excellent sound, well recorded, but predictable and unintriguing. I have not played my copy in three months---at least it was a freebie.

The more you play it, the more you'll play it! It definitely grows on you.

The more you play it, the more you'll play it! It definitely grows on you.

I agree - it took a while to start growing on me, but it really has :yes: