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| Name: |
Dan Belcher
<djbelc01@louisville.edu> |
| Rating: |
5 / 5 |
| Comments: |
Nowhere near as complex and "perfect" as Two Against Nature, Everything Must Go is a much lighter album, recorded mostly live-in-studio with limited multitracking. In fact, it was recorded on analogue equipment to bring a new sense of life and dynamics to the album, one described by Walter Becker as a "damned party album." By far the duo's most rock-oriented effort since 1976's Royal Scam, this album brings jazz, funk, rock, and some old school rhythm & blues together in one catchy yet sophisticated, slick package. Carried by Keith Carlock's grooves interplaying with Walter Becker's treble-drenched bass, this album has less emphasis on the Fender Rhodes piano than Two Against Nature. However, it still shows up in every song, usually at the hands of Donald Fagen, but occasionally Ted Baker and in one song Bill Charlap. There's some great Rhodes moments though. A personal favorite is the little fills Baker adds in the funky groovemonster Lunch With Gina (one of the best songs in their entire catalog). On songs like Things I Miss the Most and The Last Mall, the Rhodes works to fill in the gaps and really fill out the song. However, on Green Book, Slang of Ages, and the title track, the Rhodes takes a spot as a main instrument and really build the atmosphere well. Overall, it's an album that some people will love and some people will be less enthusiastic simply because it's such a departure from the more recent Steely Dan and back to the old rock-influenced group of the early to mid 1970s. |
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| Name: |
Juergen Martens
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| Rating: |
2 / 5 |
| Comments: |
Director Billy Wilder did a lot of great movies during his long spanning career, but in 1981 he made "Buddy, Buddy", an awful remake of a great French Movie. Although he lived 21 more years after this, it remained his last film, and he once said he he would have liked to end his active career with something less forgettable than this. I hope that EMG is not the Dan's final deed in the recording studio, because for me it's their weakest attempt to date. They prove that they can do way better with every other live show, so PLEASE guys - pick up your bits and pieces and give us a final mature masterpiece, rounding out your recording artists' career with the dignity your impressive body of work truly deserves. |
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