Rosie Vela
Zazu

THE REVIEW

I know, looking at the cover photo you might think: "He's gone there too..."

Wait a moment, wait a moment, wait a moment. Let's put aside for a moment the physical appearance of the young lady in question, yet another proof that Eve, as the "second take" on Adam, turned out much better than the original. I know it's hard to look away from such grace of God, but let's take a look at the credits...

Synth: Donald Fagen

Guitar: Rick Derringer, Walter Becker

Bass: Jimmy Haslip, Tony Levin

Drums: Jim Keltner

And already we understand a little more... For once, this author and singer combines blinding beauty with remarkable composition and interpretation skills.

If we then add that at the time Fagen and Becker hadn't played together for 6 years (we're in 1986), you can understand the level of spasmodic expectation generated among fans around the world by the release of such an album, a splendid record by the way, with electronics masterfully used to caress and enhance the warm and expressive voice of Rosie Vela, and a handful of songs that are hard to be indifferent to, above all "Magic Smile", "Tonto" and "Zazu". The lyrics are witty, imaginative, cryptic, and have little to envy compared to those of Steely Dan. The production (Gary Katz) maintains the unreachable levels of "Gaucho" and "Nightfly" and the instrumental performances are, of course, excellent, with a mention for Rick Derringer's guitar. The arrangements favor a certain sparseness, once again bringing the voice to the forefront.

Incredibly, a second album has reportedly been ready for years but the artist hasn't found a single record label to produce it. Mysteries of show business...

But what is the music like? As if Kate Bush, Ricky Lee Jones, and Joni Mitchell got together to sing Donald Fagen's "New Frontier".

Satisfied?