It has been said many times and in many ways
that what the world needs now is another rock and roll band. This could very
well be the one of which the pundits spoke.
The crisp and exacting music of STEELY DAN has been a long time coming, although
the group itself was formed only shortly before this inspired recording was
made. The DAN consists of six parts: composers Becker and Fagen performing on
electric bass guitar and keyboards respectively; Jim Hodder, percussionist,
bronze god, pulse of the rhythm section; guitarists Jeff "Skunk" Baxter
and Denny
Dias; and vocalist David Palmer. For the past ten years or so each of these
fellows has been pursuing his own private destiny within the confines of the
"pop music jungle." Their varied apprenticeships includes stints within
famous groups from past decades and more recent sorties such as the short-lived
but illustrious "Ultimate Spinach." As is so rarely the case, the
whole of STEELY DAN is greater than the sum of its parts, and the newly formed
amalgam threatens to undermine the foundations of the rock power elite.
The selections on this first album tend to run the gamut of musical expression
from the pastoral lyricism of Dirty Work to the urban "Sturm and Drang"
of Do It Again. From the vacuous historical romance of Kings to the modern-as-tomorrow
angularity of Fire In The Hole. From the east coast cynicism of Only A Fool
Would Say That to the sun-struck, L.A. optimism of Change Of The Guard. From
the frank, industrial-grade polish of Midnite Cruiser to the rhapsodic Turn
That Heartbeat Over Again. And so on.
The superlatives commonly found in liner notes are often as empty as the music
they applaud. This is not the case on your new STEELY DAN album. For example,
hear the raw urgency of Jeff "Skunk" Baxter's solo on Change Of The
Guard and savour his tasteful utilization of the spinal vibrato. Or hear how
he displays the cunning of the insane on steel guitar in Fire In The Hole. Can
you believe visiting guitarist Elliot Randall's exultant chromaticism on Kings?
Or David Palmer's bittersweet rendering of Dirty Work? Or drummer Hodder's driving
beat throughout?
And there's more. Tradition and experimentation reign side by side when Denny
Dias accepts the burden of resurrecting the electric sitar on Do It Again and
makes it sound easy. On the same cut, an inexpensive, imported plastic organ
(an instrument which long ago fell into disuse in most rock circles) is competently
fingered by Donald Fagen. And dig those startling high-register bass effects
on the final cadence of Heartbeat!
Thus treads heavily the titanic STEELY DAN, casting a long shadow upon the contemporary
rock wasteland, aspiring to spill its seed on barren ground, and at the same
time, struggling to make sense out of the flotsam and jetsam of its eclectic
musical heritage. With a solid first album under its belt, and with an ever-expanding
reputation as a dynamic performing group, it would appear that the DAN'S place
on the American musical scene is assured.
Dan Steele. Outre Daniel. STEELY DAN.
It's growing.
Metal Leg contents | The Steely Dan Internet Resource
Last modified on 1/11/2003