Hey Laz (or anyone who really likes Steely Dan a great deal), what do you think of Donald Fagen's The Nightfly? I heard it for the first time in several years tonight, and while it's both horribly and brilliantly produced (great engineering, but veneered to hell), I really found it more charming than I remembered. The subject matter of late '50s suburbia is sharply addressed, and I feel that the album really does stand among Fagen's best as far as songwriting is concerned. The Goodbye Look is about as strange and intriguing a story as nearly anything on Royal Scam, and Maxine is just heartbreaking (as is IGY, really).
In short, very interesting record, but I just hate how fucking polished it is. Hearing the first few albums, it's strange and frustrating to hear how far their studio perfectionism took them. For the record, it was among my very favorite albums as a kid. Bought it in the same few months as Achtung Baby back in like 2002, so I was 11. I think the title track was my favorite then, and I don't remember liking New Frontier, although it's clearly a highlight.