Here's another one for Drew, who was wondering about buying the latest (and probably last) Steely Dan album. The cut is called "Godwhacker," which is about hiring a hit man to kill God. Don't listen to it on a Sunday morning.

Slate.com called the song "a pitch for Götterdämmerung, the cool ravings of a modern Job turned nihilist, Nietzsche crossed with Shaft." I like the bass.

It's a funky track, pretty typical for a Dan album that stays in the pocket for the duration of the disc. Released in the spring of 2003, it was the first Dan album to be recorded with the same consistent band (Walter Becker on bass and lead guitar, Donald Fagen on most vocals and keyboards, Jon Herington on rhythm guitar, and the soon-to-be-legendary Keith Carlock on drums) since 1973 -- and the first SD album since 1976's "Royal Scam" to be recorded in pure analog.

"Godwhacker" is as dirgy and mean as the album gets, not a lot of the typical Dan harmonies abound, but (as with all Steely tracks) it gets to you on a 2nd or 3rd listen. It also features a nice call-and-response section between Becker (guitar) and Fagen (keytar) in the solo break.



Buy "Everything Must Go."

- posted by kellydwyer @ 1:59 AM