Will the next Steely Dan Studio lp be released this century or next

[spotlightkid]

When will the next Steely Dan studio lp be released.it took the
Dan just over 20 years to release their last studio lp.are they going to release another studio lp or has Steely Dan been retired.

[Beagle]

I heard they are "already" working on the next one, but that doesn't mean it will be completed or released anytime soon.

They will have to make sure every note is perfect, even if that means redoing every solo note by note, 3000 times over. If there is any residual humidity in the air, the take must be redone. It must also be technically perfect and made to sound like it could not possibly have been produced by flawed animals such as human beings. If the signal to noise ratio is less than 100db, it's back to the drawing board. These things take time so don't hold your breath ;)

I say this mostly tongue in cheek, I like Steely Dan. "Countdown To Ecstacy" was my first SD album, probably my favourite, along with "The Royal Scam". After that, I found them trying to get a little too "perfect", although "Aja" and "Gaucho" do sound very good.

[PsychFan]

I like all their albums from the '70s (and I love Fagen's Nightfly), but Pretzel Logic, Katy Lied and Aja are particularly special to me. Such songwriting!

There's been no real news on steelydan.com for a long time. I expect if they are working on another album, it'll be years before we hear it. I was rather underwhelmed by Two Against Nature, so ... I can wait.

[Grant]

Originally posted by Jeff Partyka

There's been no real news on steelydan.com for a long time. I expect if they are working on another album, it'll be years before we hear it. I was rather underwhelmed by Two Against Nature, so ... I can wait. [/B]

I, too, was unimpressed with "Two Against Nature" , perhaps it was that the CD was TOO steirile. It just sucked all the life out of it. I want to hear it on vinyl!

I imagine that the new Dan album will be released when they finish the liner notes! It should take them another eight years.:D

[Sckott]

I did like "Two Against Nature" a lot, both lyrically and musically. I think Donald has gone through a lot of musical changes in his life (ya know it's bound to happen) and maybe many fans think more Steely Dan records are going to sound like another Donald Fagan solo work. It's hard to disagree there, but I thought 2 Against Nature deserves a re-listen.

[Dave B]

Originally posted by Grant
I, too, was unimpressed with "Two Against Nature" , perhaps it was that the CD was TOO steirile. It just sucked all the life out of it. I want to hear it on vinyl!

Grant, I don't know if you've seen the Two Against DVD, but some of the songs work better live. A little looser feel than any Steely Dan record. Plus some classics thrown in for good measure.

[spotlightkid]

i did see a copy of 2AN lp on ebay last year i think it was released by bmg overseas.WB said that the issue overseas was made from digital masters and that stateside they were going to release a all-analog mastered lp.

[PsychFan]

You may be right, Sckott. Maybe I'll throw it on the pile of CDs to be listened to this week ...

One of the things that irked me the most was the impression that Fagen has lost quite a bit of the vocal character that made him so distinctive in the past. His voice seems smaller and weaker these days, somehow ...

[JohnT]

I liked Two Against Nature. The DVD-Video disk is OK but the panning gets to me after a while.

Try the DVD-Audio disk as well. Very good sound.

[Sckott]

Read the lyric sheet against the music (like an ol' book & record!). I'm not saying the Dan's gonna win a literary prize, but when you listen to "What A Shame About Me", the lyrics fly right over you. It's totally locked into the melody like "vocalese". But when you realize there's actually more introspective lyrics being written than many earlier Dan titles, you listen a lot more closely.

It's one of the titles I've bought on CD and then on DVD-A. I dismissed this bit of work because the music didn't "stick to my ribs" until I read and paid attention. Maybe you'll see a whole different side to the music, maybe you won't. ;)

[Elton]

Jeff,

You may want to play 2 Against Nature on "random". I love the CD on first listen, but Scott is right, listen to it and read the lyrics. I think it will let each song breath (not seem so programed). :cool:

[Kym]

I obviously love Steely Dan, and Two Against Nature took a while to grow on me, but it is now one of my favorites from them.

I think the album would have been stronger if the drum parts weren't so mechanical and precise. But I do agree that the lyrics are required reading while listening to the music. There are stories to be heard in those words!

At first, I thought the one-note guitar solo in "Gaslighting Abbie" was very lame, but then I realized that may be the joke - Walter is gaslighting the listener with such an annoying solo!

I caught them on their tour in the summer of 2000 at the Universal Amphitheatre in L.A. Surprisingly for a "studio" group, it's my favorite concert of all time, so far!

[Beagle]

I found it a bit sterile, but maybe sterile is the wrong word. It is clean, unmuddy. Perhaps it is a little too "perfect" and unspontaneous. Or maybe it's a Roger Nichols digital experiment. One thing is certain, a lot of thought, work and effort went into that to make sure it sounded like it did. But perhaps that's part of the problem...

It is definitely a Fagan record, more like "The Nightfly" than, say, "Royal Scam".

Did any of you hear Walter Beckers solo album from about 5 years back? I found the music very interesting but the vocals were
definitely detrimental to my full enjoyment of it.

[PsychFan]

Originally posted by Beagle
Did any of you hear Walter Beckers solo album from about 5 years back? I found the music very interesting but the vocals were
definitely detrimental to my full enjoyment of it.

Ah, 11 Tracks of Whack ... yeah, I listened to that. I actually think there are a few really cool songs on there but there are some really duff ones as well ... I liked the more minimalist arrangements. Becker's voice, while a bit thin and lacking in expression, didn't really bother me. I've heard much worse.

My favorite line from that album: "There's a star in the book of liars by your name ..."

[Grant]

Originally posted by spotlightkid
i did see a copy of 2AN lp on ebay last year i think it was released by bmg overseas.WB said that the issue overseas was made from digital masters and that stateside they were going to release a all-analog mastered lp.

What;'s the point if 2AN is a digital recording?:rolleyes:

[Grant]

One good one that no one ever mentions is Fagen's "Kamakiraid".

[TSmithPage]

I loved Kamakiriad, and picked up the promo only gold edition of it, which to my ears was an improvement over the domestic release. I wish 2 Against Nature was half as good as Fagen's 2 solo works- it just never grew on me.

Of all of the Steely Dan works, it seems that the Nightfly is the only one (besides maybe 11 tracks of whack) that has never received a good remastering...With this band's history of repeated remasterings, you'd think Fagen would get around to this one as well.

[Beagle]

For it's digital origin, Nightfly has a nice touch of warmth to it, musically. I find the music really depicts or brings out the mood conjured up by the back cover, harkening back to an earlier, simpler time of life. My original MASTERDISC Warner LP certainly brings this out for me.

[Elton]

11 Tracks of Wack has about 5 good songs that sound like a Steely Dan record and Kamakiriad is a great album that does sound best on promo (20bit and SBM). But if you play them together you can see why 2AN had a different feel then there other albums. The sound may be becuse of too many toys in the studio, you know we are comparing this album against (at lest) 6 year old albums!

Or, maybe, that's the two against nature (don't put it past them!) ;)