Album: “Two Against Nature”

Description

Steely Dan: Donald Fagen (vocals, keyboards); Walter Becker (guitar, bass). Additional personnel: Hugh McCracken, Jon Herington, Dean Parks, Paul Jackson Jr. (guitar); Roger Rosenborg (clarinet, bass clarinet, saxophone); Roger Rosenberg, Lawrence Feldman (clarinet, saxophone); Roy Hitchcock (clarinet); Lou Marini, Chris Potter, Dave Tofani (saxophone); Michael Leonhart (trumpet, Wurlitzer); Jim Pugh (trombone); Ted Baker (piano, Fender Rhodes piano); Steve Shapiro, Dave Shank (vibraphone); Tom Barney (bass); Keith Carlock, Vinnie Colaiuta, Michael White, Ricky Lawson, Sonny Emory, Leroy Clouden (drums); Daniel Sadownick, Gordon Gottlieb (percussion); Amy Helm (whistler); Carolyn Leonhart, Cynthia Calhoun, Michael Harvey (background vocals). Engineers include: Phil Burnett, Roger Nichols, Elliot Scheiner. Recorded at River Sound, Clinton Sound and Electric Lady, New York, New York; Hyperbolic Sound, Maui, Hawaii. TWO AGAINST NATURE won the 2001 Grammy Award for Album Of The Year, won the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album, won the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album and "Cousin Dupree" won the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. 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 backup crew of jazz players with impeccable chops to season the proceedings. With both Becker and Fagen hovering around age 50, 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, and the fusion from which the duo has previously borrowed nuances. In the 20 years that elapsed between 1980's GAUCHO and its follow-up, Steely Dan linchpins Donald Fagen and Walter Becker dabbled in solo projects, toured with the Rock & Soul Revue, 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 gathered an impressive backup crew of jazz players with impeccable chops to season the proceedings. With both Becker and Fagen hovering around age 50, 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 lines between light jazz, bebop, and the fusion from which the duo has previously borrowed nuances.