{"id":39624,"date":"2006-01-27T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2006-01-27T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/everything-must-go\/"},"modified":"2006-01-27T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2006-01-27T00:00:00","slug":"everything-must-go","status":"publish","type":"review","link":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/everything-must-go\/","title":{"rendered":"Everything Must Go"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

After an extended layoff, Donald Fagen and Walter
\nBecker faced quite possibly the biggest challenge of their career
\n— namely, showing they were still able to produce the kind of
\nmusic they had become known for in their salad days. Two Against
\nNature<\/i>, despite all the awards and acclaim it won, was a shaky
\nfirst step that seemed to follow the lackluster “final” release
\nGaucho<\/i> plod for plod. It was, in fact, boring as hell.<\/p>\n

Everything Must Go<\/i>, the second release from
\nthe rejuvenated Steely Dan, shows the boys finally seeming to
\nbecome comfortable in their roles again, and while it still doesn’t
\nreflect some of the group’s glory days, it is a more
\norganic-sounding album that holds out the hope of something
\nmind-blowing just around the corner. If only we had the chance to
\nexperience that with this disc.<\/p>\n

Becker makes his first “official” studio appearance
\nas lead throat on “Slang Of Ages” — and while it’s different not
\nhearing Fagen’s vocals, Becker holds his own extremely well, and he
\nsounds more comfortable here than he did on Alive In
\nAmerica<\/i>. It almost makes me wonder why he didn’t step up to the
\nmic sooner.<\/p>\n

Where Two Against Nature<\/i> was almost sterile in
\nits performances (not unlike the note-for-note perfection they were
\nknown for in the ’70s), Everything Must Go<\/i> almost sounds
\nspontaneous at times. This turns out to be the linchpin that holds
\nthis disc together, making it fun to listen to at times, even if
\nnone of these songs can hold a candle to classics like
\n“Bodhisattva” — yet. (Chances are I’d have been making the same
\ncomments about the older albums had I reviewed them when they came
\nout.)<\/p>\n

This isn’t to say there is no hope for some of these
\nto reach that echelon. “The Last Mall” almost drips with the
\nsarcastic wit that Steely Dan has become known for, while the title
\ntrack almost dares to suggest that Becker and Fagen would be
\ncomfortable enough to call it a day again as Steely Dan. (That’s
\nthe message I took from it, at least — and I don’t claim to be
\nright.)<\/p>\n

Likewise, “Blues Beach,” “Godwhacker” and “Pixeleen”
\nhave the germination of the seeds of greatness in them, but it
\nsometimes feels like they just haven’t reached songwriting maturity
\nyet — at least in Steely Dan terms. That’s not saying these songs
\nare bad; indeed, they’re quite enjoyable.<\/p>\n

Yet there are times when you wonder just what
\nhappened to the glint of a great idea. Reading over the lyrics for
\n“Lunch With Gina,” you almost expect this to be a knock-’em-dead
\nclassic. Instead, this turns out to be one of the more menial
\ntracks on the disc — a shame, really.<\/p>\n

I’d like to think that Everything Must Go<\/i> is
\nSteely Dan’s effort to once again achieve the greatness of discs
\nlike Aja<\/i> — namely by recognizing they had some rust to
\nshake off their pens and inkwells. While this isn’t a true return
\nto form for Steely Dan, it is most definitely a step in the right
\ndirection.<\/p>\n

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