Steely Dan’s latest might capture a new generation

Editor’s Note: In Sound Advice, which runs each month, veteran NEWS entertainment writer Dale McGarrigle and a revolving stable of NEWS writers review new albums from across the musical spectrum.

“Everything Must Go” (Reprise) – Steely Dan

Twice in a generation? Could it be?

Yes, it’s true. A mere three years after their Grammy-winning “Two Against Nature,” Donald Fagen and Walter Becker are back with another collection of jazz-tinged, thought-provoking songs. (That compares with the 20 years that Steely Dan fans waited for “Two Against Nature.”)

Their new release finds the duo working with a familiar backing band of New York City-based musicians. In this case, familiarity bred comfort, as Fagen and Becker were able to lay down and use mostly live tracks, with few studio bells and whistles. The resulting sound isn’t acoustic bluegrass around one mike, but it’s certainly clean and crisp.

The pair’s best albums are actual short-story compilations, and this one is no exception. They muse about characters on the edge of society, against a background of memorable hooks. Whether it’s a man obsessed with a video game vixen (“Pixeleen”) or another being stalked by a wannabe girlfriend (“Lunch With Gina”), Fagen and Becker make these people come alive.

So here’s to hoping that Steely Dan has captured another generation with their obtuse poetry. And may they keep recording more regularly, rather than slipping back into hibernation. – Dale McGarrigle

“The Golden Age of Grotesque” (Interscope) – Marilyn Manson

The man who once reveled in kicking listeners in the head has apparently traded his stomping boots for slippers.

The seventh release from Marilyn Manson, “Golden Age” lacks the oomph and unbridled aggression that scandalized soccer moms across the country and made the Florida quartet a four-letter word. The album’s sanitized production has sucked the raw emotion out of what is still an ominous live act.

As the newest recruit, guitarist John 5 leaves true Manson fans aching for the head-rocking, thrash-and-burn guitar lines of ex-member Twiggy Ramirez. John 5’s droning guitar lines on cuts such as “Spade” and “Para-noir” lack rhythm and imagination. The album’s backbeat is solid and predictable, but Madonna Wayne Gacy’s gurgling synthesizer chirps fall short of giving the music actual depth.

Lyrically, Manson doesn’t stray from his monotone and grainy rasp as he claims to embody evil and purvey real American hate. Dropping the f-word with little discretion, Manson’s offers some solid social commentary on pop culture’s lack of originality in “This is the New S**t.”

What’s tired here is Manson’s hate – the government, fake people, himself. Enough, already. We get the picture.

But “Golden Age” is not without its shiny moments. Blended with a cheerleader chorus, the foot-stomping anthem of the lemmings, “mOBSCENE” plays off the group’s visceral side, while the swinging big band beat of “Doll-Dagga Buzz-Buzz Ziggety-Zag” makes for a refreshing gulp of the band’s spooky metal.

Truth be told, the band should have lopped $8 bucks off the album’s price and nixed the last seven tracks of fluff. – Anthony Saucier

“Holy Road … Freedom Songs” (Warner Bros.) – Lizzie West

So many female vocalists are leading their listeners on spiritual journeys these days that, frankly, I don’t want to go anymore. Especially if the road is as precious – and ultimately ridiculous – as Lizzie West’s. The CD opens with Lizzie’s automoton voice telling listeners that they will be directed to “the center for social, philosophical and spiritual research.”

Creepy.

And it just gets worse. “Dusty Turnaround,” which has received some airplay in Maine, has equally inane lyrics: “You take that dusty turnaround, yellow brick road. Just remember, man, there ain’t no place like home.”

Indeed. With the stereo on mute.

West has a husky, sultry voice that sounds like Natalie Merchant after a pack of Marlboros, and she shouldn’t be wasting it on such inane lyrics. There are a few gems on the CD, which almost redeems her: “Day We Met” is so sweet, so pure, and so unself-indulgent that it seems misplaced. And “Prayer,” which I first heard on an episode of “Alias,” has potential before it spirals off into a mantra that came straight from yoga class.

The press release for this CD describes West as a “neophyte visionary.” Neophyte, indeed. Visionary? Well, that remains to be seen. Perhaps she should set off on another journey. One that doesn’t involve a yellow brick road. – Kristen Andresen

“The Madrigals E.P.” (Epic) – Howie Day

The pressure must be on for Howie Day. While still working on a follow-up to “Australia,” the twentysomething troubadour and Brewer native must need to keep his name afloat on the current wave of young singer-songwriters. This is the only explanation for the flotsam that is “The Madrigals E.P.”

Day still makes lovely, starry-eyed pop, but maybe just not enough of it. The E.P.’s first two tracks, “Madrigals” and “You & A Promise,” which are both labeled as “demos,” hint at new material but the remaining three tracks are pure rehash: an alternate version of a single and two live tracks, all taken from Day’s sole album, “Australia.” And then, before you can actually say “madrigals,” it’s over.

While the live tracks, book-ended with requisite audience oohs and ahs, are a compelling showcase of Day’s raw, simple pop and engaging performance style, the alternate version of “Ghost” and the two demo tracks don’t add up to much more than filler.

“Madrigals” is the type of release that only the fiercely devoted with 15 bucks to burn could find a use for. Everyone else should just keep their fingers crossed for a new album, that and a Celebrity Death Match with John Mayer. – George Bragdon