- Rating - Music
- 3.00 star(s)
- Rating - Sound
- 5.00 star(s)
I was a bit surprised to see the appearance of two new releases scheduled for September 24th--Northeast Corridor: Steely Dan Live, and Donald Fagen's The Nightfly: Live. As the Steely Dan Band returns to the road in October for a short series of gigs up the US east coast, these two releases are released in tandem to keep the interest level up.
Other than the track listings, both albums are performed by the Steely Dan Band, consisting of many of the same members that have toured with Steely Dan since 2000's tour for their Two Against Nature album. So, there are many familiar names (Michael Leonhart, Jim Pugh, Keith Carlock, Jon Herington, Walt Weiskopf, and most of the vocal section), and the sound is pretty much the same as what we've heard over the years for latter-day Steely Dan performances.
And that may be these releases' major issue--we've heard this all before. These are nice documents of the gigging Steely Dan, but there's nothing new here. The band is as slick as clockwork, as usual--tight, more than competent, and they've gelled as a performing unit.
On the Steely Dan release, the arrangements take a few liberties over the originals. Sometimes an introduction is rewritten or, as with the album cut "Any Major Dude Will Tell You," the tempo is slowed down just enough and tweaked to give it a more bluesy vibe. Surprisingly, not a single tune from Two Against Nature, yet "Things I Miss the Most" from their weak Everything Must Go album appears here. The album closes out with a cover of the Joe Williams tune "A Man Ain't Supposed To Cry."
Where the Steely Dan release tweaks the tunes a bit, the live version of The Nightfly pretty much sticks to the original game plan. Only now, a few of the tunes are dropped in pitch so they are easier for Fagen to sing. And "Maxine" is mainly given over to the female vocal section as a feature for them. It's all nicely performed but, like the Steely Dan release, a bit unnecessary.
One thing I feel would have gone over better is a live recording of one of their "deep cuts" gigs, where they dig into unreleased tunes like "The Second Arrangement," "This All Too Mobile Home," "I Can't Write Home About You," or even the alternate version of "I Got The News."
So, should you buy these? If you want to hear the current Steely Dan Band in action, by all means you can't go wrong. Just don't expect anything new or surprising here with either release--you're not missing much that you haven't likely heard already. An interesting but nonessential release. These are available on streaming and CD, with the vinyl versions arriving October 1st.
Other than the track listings, both albums are performed by the Steely Dan Band, consisting of many of the same members that have toured with Steely Dan since 2000's tour for their Two Against Nature album. So, there are many familiar names (Michael Leonhart, Jim Pugh, Keith Carlock, Jon Herington, Walt Weiskopf, and most of the vocal section), and the sound is pretty much the same as what we've heard over the years for latter-day Steely Dan performances.
And that may be these releases' major issue--we've heard this all before. These are nice documents of the gigging Steely Dan, but there's nothing new here. The band is as slick as clockwork, as usual--tight, more than competent, and they've gelled as a performing unit.
On the Steely Dan release, the arrangements take a few liberties over the originals. Sometimes an introduction is rewritten or, as with the album cut "Any Major Dude Will Tell You," the tempo is slowed down just enough and tweaked to give it a more bluesy vibe. Surprisingly, not a single tune from Two Against Nature, yet "Things I Miss the Most" from their weak Everything Must Go album appears here. The album closes out with a cover of the Joe Williams tune "A Man Ain't Supposed To Cry."
Where the Steely Dan release tweaks the tunes a bit, the live version of The Nightfly pretty much sticks to the original game plan. Only now, a few of the tunes are dropped in pitch so they are easier for Fagen to sing. And "Maxine" is mainly given over to the female vocal section as a feature for them. It's all nicely performed but, like the Steely Dan release, a bit unnecessary.
One thing I feel would have gone over better is a live recording of one of their "deep cuts" gigs, where they dig into unreleased tunes like "The Second Arrangement," "This All Too Mobile Home," "I Can't Write Home About You," or even the alternate version of "I Got The News."
So, should you buy these? If you want to hear the current Steely Dan Band in action, by all means you can't go wrong. Just don't expect anything new or surprising here with either release--you're not missing much that you haven't likely heard already. An interesting but nonessential release. These are available on streaming and CD, with the vinyl versions arriving October 1st.