Description
Steely Dan have a well-deserved reputation as the ultimate studio band. During their 1970s heyday, Walter Becker and Donald Fagen became increasingly meticulous when it came to session musicians and state-of-the-art recording techniques, creating LPs that still stand as the epitome of sonic perfectionism for the era. That elevated level of craftsmanship always carried with it a healthy dose of irony, of course. Steely Dan’s records sounded perfect but the jaded, wasted and weird characters who populated the lyrics were the opposite.
Purists will no doubt point out that the group as documented on these two releases is missing an essential ingredient: Walter Becker himself, who passed away of esophageal cancer in 2017. While his elegant, understated playing is certainly missed, Becker’s spirit inevitably looms over Northeast Corridor, which cherry-picks some of his and Fagen’s finest compositions. Predictably, most of the selections come from the 1970s – though the one post-reunion number included is perhaps a sly nod from Donald to his departed co-founder and longtime friend: Things I Miss The Most, from 2003’s Everything Must Go, is a divorcee’s lament but it’s more sweet than bitter here, a wistful look back.
Anyway, one can only imagine that Becker would likely approve of Northeast Corridor. Steely Dan’s latter-day lineup plays impeccably and they’re captured with well-nigh studio-worthy sonics. Most importantly, those intricate arrangements that Becker and Fagen slaved over back in the day remain firmly in place.
