The cool winds and hot sun of Los Angeles at the end of its stunted winter had been blowing through my mind for the past week or so. After 3 years in Europe, Japan, Northern Africa, the Middle East, and South America, I was back in the US for the first time. After a day in zippy NYsunshine, a night in brittle, diamond-encrusted new New York and I was finished with the city of my birth. I got on a jet and fled to LA for some decompression.

3 years gone. 1 day back and I was in heaven. USOUNDS lent me the company car, a lime green 1969 Citroen DS, and a sheaf of the latest CDs. Instantly my fingers felt the right one: the return of Steely Dan, 2 Against Nature.

The first few days the disc recycled itself in the back of my mind, as my eyes popped blondes and I sifted through Sunset stripteasers. On a high, 2 Against Nature filtered through the car and tickled the street, but I missed the theme, the tone-- I saw the reflection of lost Hollywood glamour in the CD case as Vine St. got seedier around me. Then one night, lowdown in drunken misery as I began to feel the urge to travel, I heard one of the songs in earnest.

From there the spark was lit: I started to realize that this album is a masterpiece of lowbrow storytelling and highbrow instrumentation-- in short, vintage Steely Dan. At first listen, 2 Against Nature lacks the glamour of Gaucho, the storytelling mastery of Royal Scam and the popcraft of Pretzel Logic. After a while though, tracks like Cousin Dupree (a lust-soaked tale of family relations) What a Shame About Me, West of Hollywood, and especially Almost Gothic reveal that this album manages to combine all three elements in a very satisfying way. Unlike just about every '20 years later' album ever, this one has at least three legitimate contenders as essential tracks.

In fact, one of the best things about this album is that it doesn't try to hide the fact that it really has been 20 years. Allusions to older songs in both word and sound are treasures for those that know the back catalogue. This is one gift of many that are bestowed on the listeners of this great record. After a few days I wondered how I could have missed so much at first...

But it's no surprise that first impressions can be fatal. Take LA... After a week or so of faceless women and soulless men, boozy nights and warm weather, general euphoria and sickening dread, I was ready to take off. 2 Against Nature is of course coming along for the ride...

USOUNDS || 03.17.2000