17 replies to this topic

[Ryan H.]

I don't obsess over many bands, but I just can't get enough Steely Dan.

Donald Fagen (one half of Steely Dan) is releasing a new solo album, SUNKEN CONDOS on October 16th.

Track listing is as follows:

1. Slinky Thing

2. I'm Not the Same Without You

3. Memorabilia

4. Weather in My Head

5. The New Breed

6. Out of the Ghetto

7. Miss Marlene

8. Good Stuff

9. Planet D'Rhonda

Fagen's last solo outing, MORPH THE CAT, was a knockout. I can't wait to see what SUNKEN CONDOS serves up.

[Burke]

A month ago I had the chance to see the Dukes of September which is Donald Fagen, Michael McDonald, and Boz Scaggs backed up by a 9-piece blues revie band.

[Ryan H.]

Burke, on 18 August 2012 - 09:36 PM, said:

A month ago I had the chance to see the Dukes of September which is Donald Fagen, Michael McDonald, and Boz Scaggs backed up by a 9-piece blues revie band.

That must have been fun.

I saw Steely Dan and Michael McDonald together when they toured a number of years ago, and that was a blast.

Edited by Ryan H., 21 August 2012 - 06:10 PM.

[Ryan H.]

You can listen to "I'm Not the Same Without You" at Rolling Stone.

[Ryan H.]

MSN is streaming SUNKEN CONDOS.

[Christian]

Nicely timed! I just finished listening to one of Ken's "Thin Place" podcasts (Looper. Can't remember Ken and Todd using so many superlatives during a "Thin Place" podcast) and was looking for something else to listen to. Done and done.

[Ryan H.]

What did you think, Christian?

I dug it, but I dig practically anything by Fagen. It's a bit more mellow than the last two Steely Dan albums or MORPH THE CAT, but that's not to say there isn't good stuff here. "Miss Marlene" is sticking with me.

[Christian]

I was afraid you might ask.

I listened to 30 minutes of it, and couldn't shake the feeling that I'd heard all that before.

Fagen does that. He makes great records, then albums that sound like pure retreads. Maybe more of the latter than the former? I'm not sure I buy into the conventional wisdom on his recordings. I love his previous CD, which I don't think was all that well received, was it?

I always qualify strong reactions with, "but I might change my mind upon further listens." In fact, I surely will change my impression somewhat; the question is whether I'll flip completely to positive, or grow more hardened in my early negative take.

[Ryan H.]

Christian, on 10 October 2012 - 04:36 PM, said:

He makes great records, then albums that sound like pure retreads.

I don't think a retread is such a bad thing in Fagen's case, though. Nobody else is out there doing what he does (or did), so I'm content for him to deliver something that's a bit more of the same. The whole Fagen/Steely Dan body of work has never really had all that much variety, anyway. (But I'm also a die-hard fanboy; I don't think Fagen or Steely Dan has put forth a bad album.)

That said, the further I got into SUNKEN CONDOS, the more it developed a pretty distinct feel.

Christian, on 10 October 2012 - 04:36 PM, said:

I love his previous CD, which I don't think was all that well received, was it?

I think it was very well received, actually, if Metacritic is any indicator.

Edited by Ryan H., 10 October 2012 - 07:18 PM.

[Christian]

Wow, Morph the Cat was well liked.

I don't mind Fagen's sound, but sometimes I just hit a wall with his stuff. Remember that Steely Dan album that won Record of the Year (or was it Album of the Year? I can never remember) at the GRAMMYs unexpectedly? Neither do I. I listened to it a few times. That was more than enough.

But so much Steely Dan is classic stuff. I love even the overplayed songs I hear on the radio. (Wait ... DO I hear Steely Dan on the radio any these days? Maybe not. But I heard 'em for years when I was much younger.)

[Ryan H.]

Christian, on 10 October 2012 - 08:08 PM, said:

Remember that Steely Dan album that won Record of the Year (or was it Album of the Year? I can never remember) at the GRAMMYs unexpectedly?

Yep. TWO AGAINST NATURE. I'd go as far as to say that it's one of their very best; my top three Dan albums are THE ROYAL SCAM, AJA, and TWO AGAINST NATURE.

Edited by Ryan H., 10 October 2012 - 08:45 PM.

[Christian]

Heh heh. We're both Fagen fans, yet we're poles apart on his least satisfying work.

[Josh Hurst]

Christian, on 11 October 2012 - 10:00 AM, said:

Heh heh. We're both Fagen fans, yet we're poles apart on his least satisfying work.

I was actually thinking the same thing: Ryan has listed what may be my three least favorite albums from the Dan! Not that I in any way begrudge you your selections, Ryan-- it's just funny, isn't it: Their work is so consistent, and so of-a-piece, that preferences among fans seem to vary a great deal.

Pretzel Logic is far and away my favorite from them-- and I'd put Morph next in line, I think, if we're allowed to lump the band's work and Fagen's solo work together.

Edited by Josh Hurst, 11 October 2012 - 10:12 AM.

[Ryan H.]

I tend to like Fagen/Steely Dan when they go for a darker, almost bitter, vibe, with undercurrents of anger and despair, which is why those three albums really click for me in a way the others don't.

I like PRETZEL LOGIC a lot, too, but don't think it comes together anywhere near as well as THE ROYAL SCAM or AJA, which are, IMO, pretty much track-by-track perfection. PRETZEL LOGIC always felt a bit uneven to me, even though the title track and "Monkey in Your Soul" are about as good as the Dan gets.

But I love MORPH THE CAT a lot, too. It's by far my favorite of Fagen's solo albums.

Edited by Ryan H., 11 October 2012 - 11:01 AM.

[Andy Whitman]

I love Fagen and Steely Dan. Although there's an obvious similarity in the sound of all the albums (as well as the same cynical worldview), I'm probably most impressed by the second album, Countdown to Ecstasy, which is perfection from start to finish, and which exhibits the most sonic variety of any Steely Dan album. In my opinion, "Boddhisattva," "Show Biz Kids" and "My Old School" are stone-cold classics.

There's not a bad album in the catalogue, although Everything Must Go and Two Against Nature probably impressed me the least. But look, those are four-star albums. Fagen takes his sweet old time, but he consistently delivers high quality music. And for what it's worth, Morph the Cat is my favorite Fagen solo album. He's a smartass and pop genius. What's not to love?

[Andy Whitman]

I like the new album. It's not nothing new, and one would have to listen hard to detect much difference between this and anything Fagen has recorded since Aja 35 years ago. It's ultra-slick jazz rock with smart, often cynical lyrics. But Fagen does this better than anyone else, and more of the same is perfectly welcome as far as I'm concerned. He's created a consistent - almost monolithic - body of work. All in all, here's another brick in the wall.

[Christian]

Maybe I would've liked this CD more if I'd listened more closely to the lyrics. I appreciate Teachout's contrast here between Fagen and other aging rockers.

[Ryan H.]

Christian, on 03 January 2013 - 09:31 PM, said:

Maybe I would've liked this CD more if I'd listened more closely to the lyrics.

I find that close attention to Fagen's lyrics is always essential, and it usually takes me multiple listens before the songs give up their secrets.

I had a leg up with SUNKEN CONDOS, though, because I read an interview with Fagen where he walked through each song's lyrical complexities.