Hey Ranger Rick, Well, I thought that Take 6 or U2 had the performance of the night but different strokes to different folks. Anyway, the Steely Dan recognition was well deserved IMO. I love "2 Against Nature"! Like Bob M., you think it doesn't break ground and I can see that argument to an extent. But not everyone is a chameleon like Joni. I mean, you sound like one of Ellington's critics who felt that he hadn't evolved because he was "still" using a big band. In the 50s, would you have advised Louis Armstrong take up piano? 2 Against Nature is very inventive. Who else uses humor in almost every song? In fact, it's their funniest album to date and the characters are very well described. The lyrics are excellent on this album. I can see that the horn arrangements are recycled and I see Muller's point about the drumming. (I'm always very picky about drummers- while I agree that the drum parts are simple, there are so many other things happening that I don't care. The drumming *breathes* anyway. Imagine 2 Against Nature with drum machines and you'll see that it's simple but not catatonic.) The arrangements are as different from each other as they are from previous albums. The technical virtuosity is right there in the horns, guitars, and especially, in Walter's bass parts. Every single part is clearly recorded without one single instance of mic overloads. These guys *care*. You don't hear anything daring, exciting, innovative, creative or interesting on this album? Remember the groove at the beginning of the title track?? This is music by and for grownups. As opposed to wishing that I had slashed my girlfriend so I could watch her slowly bleed, bleed, bleed because she "done" broke ma heart. My two cents. Donald and Walter forever, the Blue Man Group never! Lama Rick said, [[ Steely Dan!!! Album of the Year!!!! What was new, daring, exciting, innovative, creative, or interesting about that re-hash of everything they've done in their career? Was this a nostalgia vote or a sympathy vote or an attempt to avoid controversy? I'm with the Rev here. IMHO Eminem gave the performance of the night.]]
