Steely Dan – Two Against Nature (2LPs, 45RPM, Analogue Productions)

“Two Against Nature” was a commercial success for Steely Dan. Their first studio album after a 20-year hiatus was released on February 29, 2000. On Metacritic.com, which ranks reviews from professional critics out of 100, the album received an average “generally positive” rating of 77, based on 13 reviews. Robert Christgau, writing for The Village Voice in March 2000, hailed the music as an excellent “rock comeback” and a “rockier and faster, more sour and tricky and less soothing” version of the jazz-pop that was on Steely Dan’s 1977 album “Aja” was heard, and referred to it as “Postfunk”. AllMusic’s Stephen Thomas Erlewine appreciated the “sharp humor” in the lyrics but was particularly struck by the music’s “depth and character” as he observed “almost endless permutations within its signature sound”.