Originally published in The Aquarian Weekly

September 13, 2006

STEELY DAN/MICHAEL MCDONALD

PNC Bank Arts Center/Aug. 23

by Ken Shane

HOLMDEL, NJ—This intriguing double bill, bringing

together former bandmates, promised to be one

of the highlights of the summer concert season.

Michael McDonald had a stint as a member of

Steely Dan prior to his rise to fame as a member

of the Doobie Brothers. Steely Dan had a rather

lengthy hiatus in the ’90s, followed by a reunion

and the release of two new albums in recent years.

At the same time, McDonald was reaching new

heights of popularity with his two “Motown” releases,

on which he covered classic soul songs.

McDonald and his band did not disappoint.He

led them through songs from every phase of his

career, including the Doobie Brothers songs “It

Keeps You Running,” “Taking It To The Streets”

and the mega-hit “What A Fool Believes,” early

solo successes like “I Keep Forgetting,” and of

course the covers of soul classics that have been

so big for him in the last few years. Early on, there

was a brilliant version of The Stylistics’“Stop, Look,

And Listen,” but it was toward the end of the show

that McDonald added a gospel choir to his excellent

Nashville-based band, and they raised the roof

on two Marvin Gaye-Tammi Terrell classics, “Ain’t

No Mountain High Enough” and “Ain’t Nothin’ Like

The Real Thing.”The fact is that Michael McDonald

is undeniably one of the great blue-eyed soul

singers of all time, and he displays not only great

talent, but great class as a live performer.

After a brief jazz introduction by the band, Steely

Dan came roaring out of the gate with an awesome

version of “Bodhisattva” from their second album,

Countdown To Ecstasy. I’ve rarely seen such a

great crowd reaction after just one song, but the

place was on its feet, and the ovation was such

that the usually taciturn Donald Fagen was inspired

to greet the crowd with a lively “Hiya kids!”

It’s not easy to follow an opening like that,

and I have to admit that the show became a little

bogged down in mid-tempo anticlimax after the

initial rush. Don’t get me wrong, Steely Dan played

a lot of great songs, and the band, especially

drummer Keith Carlock, was brilliant throughout.

It’s just that the music seemed to settle into a

mellow groove that got a bit tiresome. Still, there

were wonderful versions of “Aja,” “Hey 19” and

“Black Cow.”

The return of Michael McDonald was just what

was needed to raise the energy level onstage.He

joined his former colleagues to take the lead vocal

duties on the early Steely Dan hit, “Do It Again,”

and then added background vocals and keyboards

on classics like “Peg,” “Don’t Take Me Alive,”

“Kid Charlemagne” and the encore, “My Old

School.” By the time it was over, any lulls were

forgotten in the glory of the final songs.

It was an evening of impeccable musicianship

all around, and a reminder of how great music

can touch your soul.

steely d