Steely Dan are just full of surprises lately.

First and foremost, of course, was their reappearance in 2000 with Two Against Nature -- their first album in 20 years and a disc that earned them a controversial but long-overdue Grammy award. Now, after a mere three years, here they come with a followup that finds guitarist Walter Becker and singer-keyboardist Donald Fagen adding a few new wrinkles to their sound. Don't worry -- Everything Must Go is still a Steely Dan record at heart, with all the turtleneck-sweater jazz-pop grooves, cucumber-cool session-cat performances, blue-eyed soul, ice-pick guitar solos, crisply tasteful production and arch lyrical cynicism that entails. But perhaps due to their relatively brief incubation period, these nine cuts feel looser, funkier and more immediate than usual, as if Becker and Fagen were less concerned with working their musical pretzel logic and more interested in simply finding a good groove. The biggest news of all, though, has to be Becker's lead vocal -- his first in three decades with Dan, as far as we know -- on the bluesy Slang of Ages. Not everything about Everything is a pleasant surprise, mind you. A few cuts seem less than inspired, as if the duo are just recycling old melodies and arrangements. And at just 42 minutes, the disc feels a little slight in this era of hour-long albums. Still, it's comforting to know that while they may have picked up the pace and streamlined their approach, Steely Dan haven't dropped their standards or sold out on Everything Must Go. Sometimes, the best surprise really is no surprise at all. (More on Steely Dan.)

Track Listing
1. The Last Mall
2. Things I Miss The Most
3. Blues Beach
4. Godwhacker
5. Slang Of Ages
6. Green Book
7. Pixeleen
8. Lunch With Gina
9. Everything Must Go