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The Royal Scam

      More of the standard affair from Steely Dan on The Royal Scam with good jazz fusion. I'll say, I think that this is the smoothest album from the band yet. It's got more aspects of groove/funk in there that give it a good flow and makes it just sorta wash over you at times. It's got some good new sounds that it experiments with but nothing too crazy or too much of a step forward, similar to how I felt about the jump from Countdown to Ecstasy to Pretzel Logic. The composition of the album itself is a little wonky, with most of the better songs lumped onto the first half, leaving the second to drag a little and peter out. The quality is still very much in tact throughout and their style and sound are still up to the quality of their better works, but overall the songs aren't as memorable as the standouts that've come before. I personally still like it a good deal and say that the stuff that's good here is really good, but I do think it's a bit of a dip in...
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Flying Beagle

      Man, this album's great! Lively jazz with a good range of sounds and vibes. It's mostly upbeat and often has elements of funk in there too, but has enough variety to keep it from becoming repetitive. Some of the solos especially are just amazing, the guitarwork on a few of the tracks is just transcendental and the saxophone and piano spotlights are great as well (special shoutout to that one organ part on Ducky Ducky, that shit is pure fire!). I don't really have all to much to comment on here; the music is great and I can't really find any fault with it, everything just works really well together. I can tell I'll be revisiting this one a lot.     Highlights: Look Your Behind!, Flying Beagle, Fluffy, Sand Storm, Ducky Ducky. Rating: 6/6
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Rumours

      I want to preface this by saying that I'm predisposed to not liking Fleetwood Mac. I have no idea why, I just don't really care for their big hits that get a lot of airplay. Oh hey would you look at that, Rumours is mostly their big hits that get a lot of airplay. The main feel of Rumours is pretty laid back and makes for some good easy listening type stuff, but it's pretty generic in my opinion and doesn't have too strong of an identity; I think that it really is best described as "radio rock" similar to Led Zeppelin (as in "broadly appealing but less unique rock that gets a lot of exposure"), but with more hints of pop and acoustic folk mixed in. Some of the tracks were standouts and were pretty memorable, like the strong drive on The Chain or the more groovey You Make Loving Fun, but for the most part the songs were mostly the easygoing pop rock sound that doesn't leave much of an impression in my mind. I will say, I didn't outright ...
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Operation: Doomsday

      DOOM's debut album delivers exactly what I'd want from it. Great lyricism with great flow over good samples and backing. The construction and overall presentation is, although a bit scuffed, really good and gives off a strong and defined atmosphere and character. The album is able to really develop a sense of who DOOM is through it's use of the old Fantastic Four cartoon as samples, mixed and matched to create his origin story. In a way it feels like a prototypical version of Madvillainy, with it's use of old cartoon samples and emphasis on a supervillainous presence/perspective. This comparison is a little unfortunate for the album because, in my opinion, Madvillainy's more professional production gives it an edge over Operation: Doomsday and, again, makes this feel more like an "early version" of sorts (although I may be biased just by having heard Madvillainy first). In a similar vain, DOOM's flow is less refined here and (again, by Madvillain...
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...And Justice for All

    Following on the heels of Ride the Lightning and Mater of Puppets, ...And Justice for All is a little underwhelming for me. It still seems to strive for the general sound that Metallica had achieved on those previous albums but falls just a little short. The energy of the guitar isn't as present as before and the overall structures of the songs feels almost like an imitation of what they'd done before that just barely misses the mark. On top of this a lot of album feels drowsy, almost? Especially in the first half, the raw energy that was so appealing is sorely missed and leaves a good chunk of the album feeling aimless and unmemorable. Thankfully the latter half of the album manages to pick up and regain the power in the feel and sound of the music. In terms of lyricism, the album continues and expands on the political nature of a lot of the songs on Master of Puppets and takes even wider swings. To me this feels like a bit of a double edged sword because while I feel tha...
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Katy Lied

      More good jazz-rock from Steely Dan and some blues thrown in in the first half on Katy Lied. The band, at this point primarily a duo between Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, continues the excellent output of tightly composed and well performed jazz fusion that the first three albums established. Katy Lied is able to provide more of this style while refining it further and adding enough variety for it all to feel fresh, especially after Pretzel Logic's experimentation. The composition in the instrumentation and especially with the various solos are still great here and really get across whatever mood each song is going for, be that jazzy, blues, or whatever else. The lyricism, which I normally greatly enjoy in SD's works, is a little lacking in places/perhaps a little too vague to where I had trouble grasping onto a songs meaning from the lyrics. Not a big issue as I still think that they're good overall, but thought I'd mention it since it stood out to me a little....
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"I'm Going For A Walk"

      After more development time than I care to admit, my new game "I'm Going For A Walk" is out now!  Link to the game! It's an interactive fiction game with simple mechanics and an emphasis on walking around (so more "fiction" than "interactive" I guess). Explore at least 1 area and discover the secrets held within (and without)! Uncover the mystery of whatever is going on, it's not really clear! Estimated playtime is around 2-2.5 hours. And of course feel free to reach out to me if you get stuck or need help, I'll be happy to help you within 1 business day. Thanks for reading and happy trails! Special Thanks: The Inform Recipe Book intfiction.org Forums My friends :) Steely Dan
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