A critic grabs us, and says without a smile "Leave the 'Unplugged' sessions
to Eric Clapton or Rod Stewart. On his new album `Kamakiriad,' Fagen
is plugged in, revved up and sounding like he was never away." "Though slightly more aggressive in the
rhythm section, and somewhat fuller in the horn arrangements, 'Kamakiriad'
is instantly recognizable as the late-period Steely Dan sound, a comparison
made all the more pertinent by the presence of Fagen's old Dan cohort
Walter Becker as producer, bassist and guitarist. Becker's quite a virtuoso:
on guitar, he has a relaxed, swingy jazz style, while his bass lines
bring to mind the circuitous peregrinations of the Motown legend James
Jamerson. This track is one of the standouts -- though, as with 'The
Nightfly,' there are no duds -- with Fagen's crafty lyric hints couched
in the most incongruous of lounge-jazz idioms. Who else could sing a
couplet like 'We hit the street with visors down/With our thermasuits
sealed up tight' and make it seem like the most natural, wholesome,
new-age thing on earth? Grown-up album of the year, so far." "From the streamlined funk of 'Tomorrow's
Girls' to the bouncy saunter of 'Countermoon,' the songs find a groove
and gather momentum as breezy vocals and serpentine horn charts glide
over a swinging rhythm section. 'Trans-Island Skyway' builds from a
muttering bass line and ice-cool finger snaps to an exhilarating joyride
that derives part of its thrill from the danger lurking around the next
bend. When Fagen sings, 'Strap in tight, 'cause it's a long sweet ride,'
it's like speeding in a convertible with the top down." "Disco flashes back for 'Florida Room,'
using Philadelphia International hi-hat cymbals and a plucky motor-booty
shake made famous by K.C. and the Sunshine Band at Miami's T.K. Records.
It's a Saturday Night Feverish arrangement, heavy on the '70s production
features, and enjoyable in a retro way." "Where `The Nightfly'
looked back on a mythical American past, 'Kamakiriad' places itself
on the cusp on the millennium. This is the Fagen-Becker sensibility
filtered through Philip K. Dick, a world of cyborg cuties ('Tomorrow's
Girls'), virtual reality ('Springtime'), and a car called a Kamakiri
that has a vegetable garden in the back ('Trans-Island Skyway'). 'The
Nightfly' was a monstrously hard act to follow, but incredibly Fagen
has pulled it off. I don't know when he is planning to release his third
solo album, but when he does I will be first in line, pension book in
hand." "Donald Fagen and Walter Becker are back
together for Fagen's new record, and the results are stunning. This
is as good as it gets for rock/jazz/pop fusion. It takes place in the
future and begins with 'Trans-Island Skyway,' a funky number that tells
the story of a guy about to take a journey in his new dream car, a custom-tooled
Kamakiri. The tale gets weirder as it goes along, but the music is exhilarating
throughout. The story line is not easy to follow, but this record remains
an invigorating listening experience. Fagen and Becker haven't done
much the past few years, but this is a comeback record that proves they
haven't lost a thing. 'Kamakiriad' is creative, refreshing and a total
joy." "On 'The Nightfly' Mr. Fagen came across
both cool and approachable, pairing glistening melodies with warm, nostalgic
yearnings for the lost innocence of the Kennedy era that come from his
heart rather than just his head. Here, he is retracing his steps, settling
for a Steely Dan throwback that -- while certainly colorful -- is more
paint-by-numbers than masterpiece." "No, they rarely make albums like this anymore
-- which is exactly what seems amiss. A good chunk of what is called
pop these days -- from sloppy grunge to jumping rap -- sounds as if
it were swiftly pieced together in someone's basement. By contrast,
'Kamakiriad' recalls a time when musicians and producers would spend
months or years in the studio in search of the perfect pop record --
and when melody, not crackling, jubilant noise came first. Just to prove
how old-world it is, 'Kamakiriad' is one of those antiquities known
as a concept album. The low-energy melodies amble along in a pleasant
but noodling way, with an exception being the jaunty 'Hey Nineteen'-like
swing of 'Tomorrow's Girls.' That's where Fagen's perfectionism gets
in the way. You have to admire him for taking his work so seriously,
but those diligent arrangements only tend to zap whatever spontaneity
existed to begin with. And spontaneity -- or at least implied spontaneity
-- is the trademark sound of '90s pop. To anyone other than the baby
boomer Dan fans who have been eagerly awaiting this album, 'Kamakiriad'
will probably be perceived as a quaint theme park all its own: a pop
world that has itself gone the way of the carnival calliope." "Fagen's new album 'Kamakiriad' is very
much in the spirit of its predecessors but is even drier in tone and
more enigmatic. A futuristic song cycle, suggests the fantasy of an
overgrown kid who dreams of touring the galaxy in the coolest automobile
ever built. Over the next few songs he stops at various locations in
a future world that suggests a sleek, ultratechnologized caricature
of the one we live in. 'Tomorrow's Girls' creates a superwoman-from-outer-space
scenario that is part 'War Of The Worlds' (via Orson Welles), part 'Invasion
Of The Body Snatchers', part 'Barbarella."' "Perhaps nostalgia is just bare sentimentality,
but that's right at the root of Fagen and Becker's own delight in Charlie
Parker's band, madness 'bout Brubeck, and ability to get silly to 'Trane
on the Trans-Island Skyway. The Odysseus of this tragicomikiriad understands
the need to look back to see forward. Fagen is an illusionist, a cineastic
composer with all the adorable idiosyncrasies and flourishes of Ellington
or Woody Allen, and he possesses both those artists' gift for making
such qualities inseparable. Maybe one day they'll all have lunch and
talk about the good times." "Fagen understands deep, spacious sound
and the power of pervasive bass better than any other white soul man.
The slowly fluttering textures of horns and keyboards alone recommend
'Kamakiriad' to confirmed Steely Dan fans. The uninitiated should go
back to 'Pretzel Logic' or 'Countdown to Ecstasy' and work up to 'Kamakiriad'
-- probably around the turn of the century." "At its languid, lucid best, the album
recalls the sacred first side of 'Aja'; compliments come no higher." There must have been something in the Molson Ale up in The Great White North in May because none of the Canadian critics seemed to care much for the album. We can't figure it out but. maybe some of you can, eh? "It starts off well enough, with the classic
jazz-pop SD sound percolating through 'Trans-Island Skyway' and 'Countermoon,'
but the eight tracks have a plodding sameness about them that ultimately
slam 'Kamakiriad' into a brick wall." "Could this really be the team that made
'Rikki Don't Lose That Number,' 'Reeling In The Years,' and 'Deacon
Blues?' "Cool. Casual. Occasionally clever. And
by day's end a lot like stroking a pair of nylons on the car seat beside
you ... only no one's in them." |
Metal Leg contents | The Steely Dan Internet Resource
Last modified on 2/2/2003