I’m a big fan of Steely Dan so when I learned of these two new CDs I was eager to listen to them. Sadly, I have to report I was disappointed in both. I really enjoyed Mayer Hawthrone’s Motown-inspired CDs, A Strange Arrangement and How Do You Do, so I set the bar high for Where Does This Door Go. The switch from soulful music to a more jazzy Steely Dan style must be a work in progress. Where I listened to Mayer Hawthorne’s earlier CDs constantly when they first came out, I’ve listened to Where Does This Door Go exactly once. This isn’t a bad CD, it’s just not memorable. GRADE: C
Things are more dire on the Mark Masters Ensemble’s tribute to Steely Dan, Everything You Did. Just about every track had a skip (or three) in it. At first, I wondered if this was some kind of weird engineered sound effect. But, no, this CD was just poorly manufactured. I listened to all the tracks despite the skips and found the music bland. The best cut on this CD, “Black Cow,” is light-years away from the classic Steely Dan version. I’m returning Everything You Do to AMAZON for a refund. The lesson I learned from listening to both of these CDs is to take Steely Dan off my record shelf and listen to the Real Thing. As for Everything You Do, skip it. GRADE: D (for defective)
Bummer. I try to listen on you tube before buying now. In fact, usually we get them from the library first too.
Patti, I had such good listening experiences with Mayer Hawthorne’s first two CDs, I blindly ordered WHERE DOES THIS DOOR GO. I should be more careful.
You summed it up yourself: Take the Steely Dan off the shelf and listen to the originals–which are so unique in style and arrangement, I think it would be very hard to cover them. I’m not interested in either of these CDs, but I’ll be happy to spin “Hey Nineteen” all day long!
Deb, I love “Hey Nineteen” and “Deacon Jones” and dozens of Steely Dan songs. I had high hopes for these two CDs, but they are nowhere as good as the Real Thing!
And please close the bolding. Thanks.
Deb, thanks for the heads-up on the bolding. The bolding (or italics) doesn’t show up in this View so I’m not aware things are wrong (unless you tell me). WordPress should fix that!
Thanks for buying these so we don’t have to. Of course I agree – listen to the real thing.
We have tickets to see Steely Dan again on October 1 at the Beacon (“greatest hits” and others this time). Last time was two years ago, but last year we saw Fagen with the “Dukes of September” (Michael McDonald and Boz Scaggs).
Jeff, I like it that Steely Dan is still performing. If they show up in my neighborhood, I’ll go see them.
Always listen to the original recordings (or significantly improved clean-ups. Covers, tributes and such are rarely worth the ear time. As for the bold/italic/ etc, George, that’s what the preview button is for.
You’re right, Rick. I should have been more cautious in my buying. When I PREVIEW my post, it doesn’t tell me that I’ve inadvertently bolded or italicized the Comments. I only learn that when Deb gives me a heads-up. When I go into WordPress’ Comments section, it doesn’t tell me the comments are affected, either.
I didn’t turn on the bold–I don’t think Patti did either. It’s almost as if bold (or italics) just pops up and needs to be turned off.
Deb, the weird thing about WordPress is that the formatting of my post extends to the comments. When I didn’t close the bolding on my GRADE: D, the bolding extended to all the comments (until I turned the bolding off). I appreciate you telling me when this happens since it doesn’t show up in the Comment view or the Preview View.