HiRez Poll Steely Dan - TWO AGAINST NATURE [DVD-A]

[leevitalone1]

the dvd-video is great! one of my 1st dvd music videos I still enjoy it and contiue turning people on to it. I had that long before the dvd-a. the video is both dd and dts. I stongly recomend this if you even slightly like the dan, you will appreciate this video.

 

[test4965]

As time has passed i can see why it won Grammy for Best Album-it
was the best album released that year and sounds great in DVD-A.

 

[callmez]

I suppose the votes on this one have suffered a little by comparisons to Gaucho, Nightfly, Kamakiriad et al. Musically, it's not as good as these but it's not bad either (particularly "Cousin Dupree") and I have no complaints about the mix. A nine.

Mark Z

 

[filper]

It is a great sounding disc !

The 'Dan' formula for sure, not that that's a bad thing.

8

 

[GabeL]

Quick question...I am now holding two different versions of the DVDA version of this album in my hands. One has a gray disc, the other a green disc. Slightly different inserts/booklet art. Catalog numbers are 7599-24719-9 vs. 9 24719-9. I'm curious to know the difference (country of origin seems to be one difference USA vs. Europe) between them. Any difference in the quality??

thanks,
GabeL

 

[Chris Gerhard]

This is a nice disc but all of the Fagen solo surround discs and Gaucho suround disc are better, placing this one at a 7 for me. Worth owning but certainly not at the premium price it seems to demand now so mine may end up for sale.

 

[JonUrban]

Quick question...I am now holding two different versions of the DVDA version of this album in my hands. One has a gray disc, the other a green disc. Slightly different inserts/booklet art. Catalog numbers are 7599-24719-9 vs. 9 24719-9. I'm curious to know the difference (country of origin seems to be one difference USA vs. Europe) between them. Any difference in the quality??

thanks,
GabeL

Gabe,

I've seen those "overseas" DVD-A's from time to time on eBay and wondered if there were any difference in them. I doubt the data is any different, but you never know. It would be interesting if someone had both and could compare.

 

[GabeL]

Gabe,

I've seen those "overseas" DVD-A's from time to time on eBay and wondered if there were any difference in them. I doubt the data is any different, but you never know. It would be interesting if someone had both and could compare.

Hey there Jon,

Sadly, I don't have the gear for a true comparison...anyone else do this??

Thanks,
Gabe

 

[fredblue]

A "7".

The only Steely Dan album that really doesn't do it for me. The follow-up is much, much better, imho.

Cousin Dupree is great and Janie Runaways ok.. but thats it. this is the low-point in the SD discography for me.

how ironic then that it won plaudits, grammies and praise galore!

the surround mix is not bad and reading along to the onscreen lyrics some of those have that trademark SD quality about them.. but it can't redeem what for me is an album lacking in that key thing that every SD album has in truckloads... AMAZING TUNES!!!

 

[blue.monk]

This is a great sounding disc with excellent 5.1 mix. No, the material overall doesn't live up to their brilliant 70's output (how could it?) but there's still plenty to enjoy. A 9 for me.

 

[sbrom]

Late to the game, once again reviewing an old DVD-A here in 2017

Surround mix & audio quality are impeccable, but the songs on Two Against Nature don't blow me away like other Steely Dan albums. I'll go with a net 9.

I'm building my Steely Dan-related surround library - presently have Gaucho (SACD), Two Against Nature (DVD-A), Everything Must Go (DVD-A), and Morph the Cat (DVD-A). Waiting for delivery of The Nightfly, and still looking for a bargain on Kamakiriad before I pull the trigger.

I surely wish the earlier albums were readily available in surround! My favorite is Can't Buy a Thrill but I'd buy them all if I could.

 

[jsulzinger]

Late to the game, once again reviewing an old DVD-A here in 2017

Surround mix & audio quality are impeccable, but the songs on Two Against Nature don't blow me away like other Steely Dan albums. I'll go with a net 9.

I'm building my Steely Dan-related surround library - presently have Gaucho (SACD), Two Against Nature (DVD-A), Everything Must Go (DVD-A), and Morph the Cat (DVD-A). Waiting for delivery of The Nightfly, and still looking for a bargain on Kamakiriad before I pull the trigger.

I surely wish the earlier albums were readily available in surround! My favorite is Can't Buy a Thrill but I'd buy them all if I could.

If you don't have this one it is worth getting and cheap.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/STEELY-DAN-...729377?hash=item56941719e1:g:3XYAAOSw9GhYhCK7

 

[sbrom]

Great suggestion. I have it, and it offers a great view into a small venue live performance.

If you don't have this one it is worth getting and cheap.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/STEELY-DAN-...729377?hash=item56941719e1:g:3XYAAOSw9GhYhCK7

 

[LuvMyQuad]

Late to the game, once again reviewing an old DVD-A here in 2017

Surround mix & audio quality are impeccable, but the songs on Two Against Nature don't blow me away like other Steely Dan albums. I'll go with a net 9.

I'm building my Steely Dan-related surround library - presently have Gaucho (SACD), Two Against Nature (DVD-A), Everything Must Go (DVD-A), and Morph the Cat (DVD-A). Waiting for delivery of The Nightfly, and still looking for a bargain on Kamakiriad before I pull the trigger.

I surely wish the earlier albums were readily available in surround! My favorite is Can't Buy a Thrill but I'd buy them all if I could.

Cant Buy a Thrill, Countdown to Ecstasy and Pretzel Logic were all released in Quad back in the day. There are probably polls on this site for them. They are out there and can be found, either the original formats, or decodes from them. The mixes are poor to OK. Mostly ambient rears. I think Cant Buy a Thrill may be the most discreet of the three, but the version of Reelin' in the Years is a totally different with an alternate guitar solo than the version you know well. A poor choice IMO. Aja would be the holy grail of Dan surround.

 

[himey]

Cant Buy a Thrill, Countdown to Ecstasy and Pretzel Logic were all released in Quad back in the day. There are probably polls on this site for them. They are out there and can be found, either the original formats, or decodes from them. The mixes are poor to OK. Mostly ambient rears. I think Cant Buy a Thrill may be the most discreet of the three, but the version of Reelin' in the Years is a totally different with an alternate guitar solo than the version you know well. A poor choice IMO. Aja would be the holy grail of Dan surround.

Only Pretzel Logic is a poor mix imo. The other two are excellent and deserve a proper digital re-release.

 

[himey]

Great suggestion. I have it, and it offers a great view into a small venue live performance.

Rears on the live T.A.N. performance are very full range! Great mix, especially for a live recording.

 

[The Bright Side]

Only Pretzel Logic is a poor mix imo. The other two are excellent and deserve a proper digital re-release.

100% agree. The CBAT and CTE quad mixes are great. I consider them among the best I have in my collection.

Pretzel Logic isn't much to write home about, but it's still a bona fide surround mix and elevates an already beautiful album. It's just that it pales in comparison to the other two.

 

[sjcorne]

Finally managed to add this one to my collection (NOS $23!). My copy is the European version that says "this disc plays on all DVD players" across the top. I gave it an 8.

Reading this thread really lowered my expectations for the content, so it actually ended up being a pleasant surprise! It's maybe a bit too clean and/or clinical-sounding compared to some of the early stuff, but I still enjoy it. It will definitely get further plays. Makes for a nice back-to-back listen with Everything Must Go.

It took me a while to warm up to Gaucho, so hopefully this turns out to be a grower as well.

The mix is pretty much the same layout as the other Scheiner-mixed Fagen/Dan album: Main band upfront, with backing vocals, horns, and rhythm guitar in the rears. Sounds awesome!

 

[key_wiz]

Surprised I hadn’t voted on this one before. This was maybe the first DVD-A I purchased. (Way late to the game. I’ve only been doing the surround thing the last 4-5 years).

Surprised so many people don’t like this album. When it came out in 2000, I was hesitant to even buy it. The record of old bands reuniting to do new albums wasn’t particularly good. And if there was one band I didn’t want to see their legacy sullied, it was this one.

But I loved this album. Felt like it could have been released in ‘82 as a follow-up to “Gaucho”. They hadn’t missed a beat. Sounds much like a solo Fagen record, but the snark and depth are back to the lyrics. The dirty old man from “Everyone’s Gone To The Movies” had returned.

Only thing I didn’t care for was that they had foregone bringing in a collection of guitar heroes to play on the record and instead let Walter play most all the solos. But I suppose they had earned that conceit after all this time.

I don’t know of too many “reunion” albums that has tracks I’d put up with their classics. But this has them: I think “Gaslighting Abbie”, “Two Against Nature”, “Janie Runaway”, “Almost Gothic” and “Negative Girl” could have sat nicely on any earlier album. Only difference is I hadn’t spent 20-30 years listening to them all by the time this one came out.

The fidelity and surround mix on this are almost redundant to mention. Scheiner knocks it out of the park. This one sounds as if he mixed it in surround first. It’s hard to imagine it being in stereo or why.

Some like “Everything Must Go” better? Okay. Sounds like what it was to me—songs that didn’t make the cut for this one. But maybe the simplicity of those songs is more appealing to some? But that’s a review for another thread

But this album has bits that take me back to their earlier records in ways they never tried before. ‘Two Against Nature’ could have been on “Countdown to Ecstasy”. ‘Janie Runaway’ on “Katy Lied”. ‘Gaslighting Abbie’ on “Gaucho”. Only ‘Cousin Dupree’ sounds like they were trying to hard to be “Steely Dan” to me. The rest of the album is perfect.

 

[britmarc]

I wonder if they own their back catalogue multi track masters and are open to quad or re-mixed 5.1 for SACD release...???