Everything Must Go (CD & Dvd)

Steely Dan | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 10, 2003)
• Original Release Date: 2003
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Reprise / Wea
• ASIN: B000096FTL
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #84,830 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. The Last Mall

2. Things I Miss The Most

3. Blues Beach

4. Godwhacker

5. Slang Of Ages

6. Green Book

7. Pixeleen

8. Lunch With Gina

9. Everything Must Go

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More Essential Dan, June 11, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Everything Must Go (CD & Dvd) (Audio CD)

After a relatively short wait since their grammy-winning "Two Against Nature," the new Steely Dan release is exactly what we have come to expect the Dan duo of Donald Fagen & Walter Becker; clean and sonically perfect arrangements with stellar musicianship, clever tongue-in-cheek lyrics, and music that keeps sounding better with each listen. There are several gems that I am apt to skip to, the most of which being the second track entitled, "The Things I Miss The Most," which features what I believe to be Fagen's best vocals among the last two albums. "Slang of Ages" is a tight little tune that features a lead vocal by Walter Becker, while sung competently, leaves the listener wondering how Donald would have handled the lead....

The most interesting track is a catchy song called "Godwhacker," that I have no idea what is about. The most I can decipher is that this Godwhacker character is one bad dude. There are no weak tracks on Everything Must Go; each entry on the album is compelling in its own way. In many ways this album seems more immediately accessible than Two Against Nature. The shame of it is that the music may not fit within the framework of most radio stations. It isn't classic rock, it doesn't quite fit in Top 40 pop, and it is likely to be seen as just outside of most jazz station playlists. This is too bad, because there hasn't been a smarter, more interesting album since, well, the last Steely Dan record...

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Everything Must Go.... back in the right direction, June 12, 2003

By 

Vernon Olson (Minneapolis, Minnesota United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Everything Must Go (CD & Dvd) (Audio CD)

For those listeners (like myself) who 'liked' 2 Against Nature, yet were not overjoyed by it's efforts... sit back and prepare for a nice, solid "Steely Dan" product. The reason I highlight "Steely Dan" is because "2AN" sounded more like an album of "Kamakiriad" (Fagen's last solo effort) outtakes than anything else. This album is well written, produced and performed.
While we may never hear the likes of "Aja" again... and gone are the days of Michael McDonald bellowing out layers of harmonies... Steely Dan have managed once again to produce a wonderful blend of jazz musicianship with rock and roll phrasing. Walter still has a tendency to "fill" everywhere he can with little guitar riffs (a pet peeve of mine), however his solo playing/writing is better than that on 2AN. We even get a Steely Dan first.... a harmonica solo. Highlights: The Last Mall, Blues Beach, Lunch With Gina, and Everything Must Go... All in all, a nice progression from the long awaited, and highly-anticipated 2AN.... for those who have a DVD player... don't pass up the CD/DVD combo. The DVD is quite fun.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Always worth the wait!, June 11, 2003

By 

Steven Yates "Videoviewer" (CT, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Everything Must Go (CD & Dvd) (Audio CD)

Donald Fagen and Walter Becker have done it again. They have produced a collection of slices of life in their slightly-off-center world, inhabited by losers, lovers, ne'er-do-wells, has-beens and assorted purveyors of ecstatic sadness and resigned joy. This one contains radio-ready singles ('The Last Mall' and 'Blues Beach') and last-call epics (Everything Must Go). There's one about a hit-squad targeting for the Almighty ('Godwhacker') and one about a cyber-heroine ('Pixeleen'). In short, it's everything a Steely Dan album ought to be: surprising, quirky, quixotic and a bit unsettling. The musicianship is top-shelf. There are sounds you've never heard on a Steely Dan album before. Like Walter Becker's lead vocal ('Slang of Ages'). And unlike previous recording where they have favored a track-by-track layered recording approach, this one was recorded 'live' and that lends a warm, cohesive feel to the work.

Packaged with the standard-issue CD is a DVD of 'Steely Dan Confessions'. This follows the dour duo through an aimless cab ride in Las Vegas. They meet a series of fans who seem to have stumbled into their orbit like characters from one of their songs. The twenty-minute video is entertaining and gives fans of the not-as-reclusive-as-they-once-were pair a chance to see them without their instruments, chatting about the new music.

Steely San's fans had to wait close to twenty years for their last release, the Grammy-winning 'Two Against Nature'. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famers cranked out this one in just a couple of years, but the quality just shines. Enjoy a rare treat.