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Elly Roberts reviews
Sonic360
- Released: July 2008
- Rating: 4/10
- Vote and comment on this album:
Steely Dans Walter Becker doesnt rush his solo albums his last was 14 years ago! Now we know why.
However much he and his cohort Donald Fagan try, the SD template isnt too faraway. Even the song titles have a SD ring to them.
Anyway, as The Dan, Fagan takes charge of the singing, and its easy to seewhy, because Becker is no singer. His paper-thin voice barely breaks loose, whereasFagan has plenty of curl. Amazingly, his early efforts Door Number Twoand limp Downtown Canon are pretty, well, dull.
A massive improvement comes with reggae-infused Bob Is Not .and the coolbass-line is foot-tappingly infectious, though again his singing lets him down. He really isnt comfortable taking the lead and it shows at everylevel, but as wed all expect, the jazzy numbers and slick production help himget by. By the time hes got to Upside Looking Down hes got into hisstride and the song is baring all the confidence of a Fagan song, curiously,but lacking any stardust.
The laidback Paging Audrey ambles along to a steady beat and has somenifty sax breaks courtesy Chris Hooper, but, you get the feeling this wouldhave been a Dan reject. He improves again, well, a bit, on the quasi-scientificconcept of the Selfish Gene, but annoyingly neither he (or Fagan cometo that) fail to let their past develop into something really different, whichshows their insecurity as artists, and too (artistically) joined at the hipof Steely Dan.
Skipping the next two for snooze value reasons, Becker perks up on the delightfulDarkling Down: the chunky groove is really cool, despite the negativityof the lyrics. Quickly passing by Gods Eye View (something to do withexperimental psychology terminology yawn yawn), I reach the American Songbookquality, well, the start at least, of Three Picture Deal. Its really Dan-tightand definitely the albums best track, real quality stuff and by far the mostadventurous (and interesting) but too long overdue.
File under: Can live without it.
Weblink:walterbecker.com
The full list of tracks included are :
1. Door Number Two
2. Downtown Canon
3. Bob Is Not Your Uncle Anymore
4. Upside Looking Down
5. Paging Audrey
6. Circus Money
7. Selfish Gene
8. Do You Remember The Name
9. Somebodys Saturday Night
10. Darkling Down
11. Gods Eye View
12. Three Picture Deal
Elly Roberts passed away in 2011, but he was a man who was so passionate about all types of music and loved meeting his musical heroes, such as Mick Hucknall at a book signing at the Trafford Centre, Manchester in 2007.
A former teacher and also a music journalist, DJ and radio presenter on local community station Calon FM, plus appearances on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 2, Elly started doing reviews for DVDfever.co.uk in 2004 and he did the majority of the CD and concerts reviews on the website.
I know also that he loved getting away for the summer to Spain and I hope that wherever he is now he is enjoying the hot sunshine and, as one of his friends has said on his Facebook page, that he is interviewing his musical heroes.