Donald Fagen-Sunken Condos

Even on a bad day the newer Fagan/Becker stuff is currently much more interesting than 99% of the crap out there, and that's all I can ask of them. Actually, I can ask of them to make more of it, as I'm sure they're hanging on my every word. I listen to Jazz and Classical most of the the time anyway so I don't care that much, although I did ask Peter Washington (Bill Charlap Trio bass player...I mixed a live show of theirs a few weeks ago) about opening for Steely Dan and he said something like, "They're brilliant but a bunch of perverts"...and that made me smile. I expect nothing less from Becker and Fagan.

I agree 101% with Wolf! There are a few of the above posters that say "it's the same old stuff"...DUH! That's why I listen to Steely Dan...I LIKE THEIR STUFF!!!

I also listen to the Eagles, the Beatles, Van Morrison, Elton John, Jackson Browne, etc. Know why? Because I LIKE THEIR STUFF! If they changed so dramatically, I wouldn't like their stuff.

That's why we all listen and like certain artists. It's not rocket science guys. If you want something different, find another artist.

I admit it required a bit of time to warm up to, but I am loving "Sunken Condos".
I like the sq on my system.
Going to put it on now!

Regards,

Chazro,
Guilty as charged! What happened was this:
When the album first came out, I was in a hurry to hear it, so I downloaded it from iTunes. Then it hit me that without the album cover and liner notes, I was missing part of the experience, so I bought the CD on Amazon.
Then as I begin to listen to the album more, I realized that the sonic quality was far below what I was used to hearing from Steely Dan or Donald Fagan records. So I bought the high resolution download. (Which, by the way, seems to me to be the best sounding version so far.) I actually hit the point that you were talking about, however, when I considered buying the vinyl. At that point, it was like, "This is crazy. Why have four copies of the album I don't like that much?"
I think it's also partly that I have been such a huge fan for so long that I couldn't quite accept the idea that Donald would put out an album that I didn't like that much.
By the way, I agree with Marty that Walter Becker's 11 Tracks of Whack, is brilliant. There was a period of time a few weeks ago when Hat Too Flat (the chorus thereof) was stuck in my head for several days in a row. It also happens to be a really good sounding record, in its own, quirky way.

I may have said this before, but I can't remember and am too lazy to go back and read this thread...The use of carefully arranged vocal harmony always gets these guys bonus points from me. "Circus Money" is also brilliant, although maybe it requires some extra listening time for that fact to sink in. Regardless of the imagined "total point score" of any of this stuff in the run for the Steely Dan Related Output Championship, I think they put a lot of labor into their quirky music and like it or not, that always shows through.