I just bought this yesterday, and having listened to it a couple times I thought I'd post some impressions on it.
First off, Steely Dan is one of those bands you probably love or hate; my brother for instance absolutely loathes them, likely for the same reason I love 'em. I will admit that at times they're "too clever by half", and that occasionally they stray into the type of tunesmithing that feels like it was written by a random music generator, just feeding their signature riffs into a computer and having it spit out another song. However, at their best, the quirky music and downright bizarre lyrics is pure magic.
My first impression is that Everything is maybe not quite as good as Two Against Nature. Certainly it's close, but there aren't many songs I like as much as "Gaslighting Abby" or "Cousin Dupree", although the blaspemous and irreverant "Godwhacker" is certainly up there. A few songs suffer from a sameness from track to track, but overall they still have some fresh ideas. "Pixeleen", for instance, I'd put up there with some of their best vintage stuff of the 70's. "The Last Mall" and "Lunch With Gina" are also quite catchy. There are a couple of misfires, but I think if you liked "Two Against Nature" this one is a safe bet.
But make no mistake, whether you love Steely Dan or hate 'em, this DVD-A is boasts absolutely state of the art sound. I'd hold this up as a good argument for MC music, and a near textbook example of how to do MC right. Most of the sound is upfront and exists in rock solid space, with the surrounds being used in a completely organic way to reinforce that sense of space. When an instrument does pop up in the rear it never feels arbitrary, and the vocals will give you goosebumps. Assuming you have a decent system, this disc will open your eyes and force you to revise your opinion on just what your speakers are capable of.
The timbral accuracy of DVD-A is really spooky. There's a blackness all around and behind the music that LP and CD just can't match, and a complete "naturalness" to the sound that's spellbinding. And the bass on this disc is perhaps even better than the stellar DSotM 5.1 SACD, with fantastic extension and profound impact. Bass is one area where, although I can't explain why it should be, DVD-A seems to trounce CD.
Certainly Steely Dan albums always sound good and are very well produced, and this one is certainly no exception. IMO, this is a must have demo disc if you are interested in seeing what multichannel music can be.
