Steely Dan Two Against Nature (180g 45RPM Vinyl 2LP) * * *

Steely Dan Two Against Nature Mastered and Cut by Scott Hull for 180g 45RPM Vinyl 2LP: Pressed at QRP

Though Steely Dan recorded prolifically for much of the '70s, they toured for only a brief spell early in that decade, deciding they much preferred the studio to the road. This allowed them to craft a wry, nuanced and hyper-literate series of albums - from 1972 to 1980 - that are highly regarded by connoisseurs of pop hooks, jazz harmony and desiccating wit. Beneath the highly polished surface of Steely Dan's music, astute listeners could hear a visceral love of and identification with the very soul of jazz. Donald Fagen and Walter Becker referenced Duke Ellington, Stan Getz and Horace Silver at least as much as any rock-oriented source material. Even so, there was a certain accessible quality to songs like "Reelin' in the Years," "Do It Again" and "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" that allowed Steely Dan to connect with rock fans.

The release of 2000's Two Against Nature was a major musical event, the first Steely Dan studio album of all-new material in two decades. A critical and commercial success, it took home four Grammy Awards including Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album, Best Engineered Album – Non-Classical, and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals (for the single "Cousin Dupree") and peaked at number six on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart on its ways to a Platinum certification. Writing in March 2000 for The Village Voice, Robert Christgau applauded the LP as an excellent "rock comeback" and a "jumpier and snappier" iteration of the jazz pop featured on Steely Dan's 1977 album Aja, describing it as "post-funk." Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic was especially impressed by the music's "depth and character," observing "nearly endless permutations within their signature sound."

This reissue is newly remastered by Scott Hull at Masterdisk and cut at 45 RPM.  The dead-quiet double-LP, with the music spread over four sides of vinyl, reduces distortion and high frequency loss as the wider-spaced grooves let your stereo cartridge track more accurately. The result is more sonic punch and more expression is captured.