Donald Fagen | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Donald Fagen was one of the two masterminds behind Steely Dan, the seminal jazz-pop band of the 70s. Fagens solo work has been a continuation of the bands work of the early 80s -- carefully constructed and arranged, intricately detailed pop songs that are more substantial than their stylish surface may indicate. His 1982 solo debut, The Nightfly, was the best album he had made in years; it covered the same ground as the last two Steely Dan albums, yet surpassed them in terms of ambition and achievement. After the success of The Nightfly, Fagen suffered a case of writers block; for the rest of the decade he contributed music to the occasional film and briefly wrote a column for Premiere magazine in the mid-80s. In the early 90s, he toured with the New York Rock and Soul Revue as he finished the material for his second album. With his former Steely Dan partner Walter Becker producing, 1993s Kamakiriad sounded like Aja recorded with 90s technology. It had some success on the adult contemporary charts, but it was overshadowed by the duos decision to re-form Steely Dan and tour for the first time in nearly 20 years; the tour was a massive success. One more album -- 2003s Everything Must Go -- came out of the reunion before Fagen decided to begin work on his third solo album. With death as its main theme, Morph the Cat appeared in March 2006. Soon after the albums release, Fagen embarked on his first solo tour. It was the beginning of an extended period of live performances for Fagen. Steely Dan toured several of their classic albums in 2009, by which time Fagen had become a regular at Levon Helms Midnight Rambles in Woodstock, New York. In 2010, Fagen formed the touring blue-eyed soul revue the Dukes of September with Michael McDonald and Boz Scaggs. The group had a second tour in 2012, and after its conclusion, Fagen released the lively Sunken Condos, his first album since Morph the Cat. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 12 Title: The Nightfly Released: 1982-10 Tracks: 8 Duration: 38:53 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 I.G.Y. (06:04) 2 Green Flower Street (03:42) 3 Ruby Baby (05:39) 4 Maxine (03:49) 5 New Frontier (06:21) 6 The Nightfly (05:46) 7 The Goodbye Look (04:50) 8 Walk Between Raindrops (02:38) |
| The Nightfly : Allmusic album Review : A portrait of the artist as a young man, The Nightfly is a wonderfully evocative reminiscence of Kennedy-era American life; in the liner notes, Donald Fagen describes the songs as representative of the kinds of fantasies he entertained as an adolescent during the late 50s/early 60s, and he conveys the tenor of the times with some of his most personal and least obtuse material to date. Continuing in the smooth pop-jazz mode favored on the final Steely Dan records, The Nightfly is lush and shimmering, produced with cinematic flair by Gary Katz; romanticized but never sentimental, the songs are slices of suburbanite soap opera, tales of space-age hopes (the hit "I.G.Y.") and Cold War fears (the wonderful "The New Frontier," a memoir of fallout-shelter love) crafted with impeccable style and sophistication. | ||
 | Album: 2 of 12 Title: The Early Years Released: 1983 Tracks: 10 Duration: 37:37 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Brain Tap Shuffle (03:01) 2 Come Back Baby (04:09) 3 Dont Let Me In (04:21) 4 Old Regime (03:11) 5 Brooklyn (05:58) 6 Mock Turtle Song (03:33) 7 Soul Ram (02:10) 8 I Cant Function (04:05) 9 Yellow Peril (04:04) 10 Let George Do It (03:05) |
 | Album: 3 of 12 Title: The Collection Released: 1988 Tracks: 21 Duration: 1:04:21 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Brain Tap Shuffle (03:00) 2 Brooklyn (05:55) 3 Mock Turtle Song (03:31) 4 Yellow Peril (04:04) 5 Soul Ram (02:07) 6 Ida Lee (03:36) 7 Any World (03:38) 8 You Go Where I Go (02:06) 9 This Seats Been Taken (02:40) 10 Berry Town (02:46) 11 More to Come (02:54) 12 A Little With Sugar (03:28) 13 Take It Out on Me (02:23) 14 Android Warehouse (03:20) 15 Roaring of the Lamb (03:07) 16 Charlie Free (02:37) 17 Sun Mountain (02:51) 18 A Horse in Town (02:55) 19 Stone Piano (02:18) 20 Parkers Band (02:15) 21 Oh, Wow Its You (02:42) |
 | Album: 4 of 12 Title: Trans-Island Skyway Released: 1993 Tracks: 3 Duration: 17:37 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Trans-Island Skyway (edit) (05:37) 2 Big Noise, New York (05:22) 3 Home at Last (live) (06:38) |
 | Album: 5 of 12 Title: Kamakiriad Released: 1993-05-24 Tracks: 8 Duration: 50:29 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Trans-Island Skyway (06:30) 2 Countermoon (05:05) 3 Springtime (05:06) 4 Snowbound (07:08) 5 Tomorrows Girls (06:17) 6 Florida Room (06:02) 7 On the Dunes (08:07) 8 Teahouse on the Tracks (06:11) |
| Kamakiriad : Allmusic album Review : Donald Fagens second solo album is a song cycle of sorts, following the adventures of an imaginary protagonist as he travels the world in his car, a brand-new Kamakiri. It is an odd concept, and one that is not obvious to the listener, but reflection upon Fagens liner notes while listening to the album does tend to evoke a vision of a non-apocalyptic near future, where swingers sip cocktails and fresh vegetable juices as they groove to synthesized jazz-rock. Evocative or not, this is not Fagens best effort. The songs on Kamakiriad are mainly static one-chord vamps, with little of the interesting off-beat hits or chord changes that characterized most of Steely Dans corpus (although, it must be said, Two Against Nature isnt too far conceptually from what Fagen is doing here). There is a slightly antiseptic feeling to Kamakiriad. Although the drum tracks are not synthesized, they sure sound that way, and even the horns sound electronic at times, a far cry from the lush arrangements of Aja. Another shortcoming of this record is the fact that the verse melodies dont sound very developed. The choruses are as catchy and cryptic as you would expect from Donald Fagen, but the verses are less than memorable. Walter Becker, who produced the record, as well as contributing bass and guitar, also co-wrote "Snowbound." Perhaps not surprisingly, it does the best job at evoking classic Steely Dan. Kamakiriad is pleasant as background music, but in the end it doesnt provide enough interesting moments to rank as a must-have. The static grooves, coupled with the long song lengths, and general lack of dynamic movement makes this record one of the least essential of Fagens recorded output. However, Steely Dan completists will certainly find enough here to keep them happy. | ||
 | Album: 6 of 12 Title: Catalyst Released: 1994 Tracks: 29 Duration: 1:29:46 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Sun Mountain (02:50) 2 Barrytown (02:42) 3 Take It Out on Me (02:23) 4 The Caves of Altamira (03:16) 5 Charlie Freak (02:36) 6 You Go Where I Go (02:04) 7 Any World That Im Welcome To (03:38) 8 A Little With Sugar (03:30) 9 Android Warehouse (02:11) 10 More to Come (02:51) 11 Parkers Band (02:12) 12 Oh Wow, Its You Again (02:36) 13 Stone Piano (02:16) 14 Yellow Peril (03:59) 15 Roaring of the Lamb (03:01) 1 This Seats Been Taken (02:40) 2 Ida Lee (03:35) 3 Sun Mountain (alt version) (02:58) 4 Undecided (03:00) 5 A Horse in Town (02:51) 6 Let George Do It (03:02) 7 Old Regime (03:08) 8 Brain Tap Shuffle (02:56) 9 The Mock Turtles Song (03:26) 10 Soul Ram (02:05) 11 Brooklyn (05:37) 12 Dont Let Me In (04:08) 13 Come Back Baby (04:06) 14 I Cant Function (03:57) |
 | Album: 7 of 12 Title: Becker & Fagen Founders of Steely Dan Released: 1998 Tracks: 16 Duration: 53:16 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Brain Tap Shuffle (02:55) 2 Come Back Baby (04:04) 3 Don’t Let Me In (04:09) 4 Old Regime (03:10) 5 Brooklyn (Owes the Charmer Under Me) (05:35) 6 Mock Turtle Song (03:25) 7 Soul Ram (02:07) 8 I Can’t Function (03:59) 9 Yellow Peril (04:01) 10 Let George Do It (03:04) 11 A Horse in Town (02:55) 12 More to Come (02:55) 13 Parker’s Band (02:16) 14 Ida Lee (03:38) 15 Stone Piano (02:18) 16 This Seat’s Been Taken (02:41) |
 | Album: 8 of 12 Title: Morph the Cat Released: 2006-03-14 Tracks: 9 Duration: 52:53 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Morph the Cat (06:49) 2 H Gang (05:15) 3 What I Do (06:01) 4 Brite Nitegown (07:16) 5 The Great Pagoda of Funn (07:39) 6 Security Joan (06:09) 7 The Night Belongs to Mona (04:18) 8 Mary Shut the Garden Door (06:29) 9 Morph the Cat (reprise) (02:53) |
| Morph the Cat : Allmusic album Review : There are no surprises in sound and style on Morph the Cat, Donald Fagens long-awaited third solo album, nor should any be expected -- ever since Steely Dans 1980 masterwork, Gaucho, his work, either on his own or with longtime collaborator Walter Becker, has been of a piece. Each record has been sleek, sophisticated, and immaculately produced, meticulously recorded and arranged, heavy on groove and mood, which tends to mask the sly wit of the songs. When it works well -- as it did on Fagens peerless 1982 solo debut, The Nightfly, or on Steely Dans 2001 comeback, Two Against Nature -- the results go down smoothly upon first listen and reveal their complexity with each spin; when it doesnt quite succeed -- both 1993s Kamakiriad and the Dans 2003 effort Everything Must Go didnt quite gel -- the albums sound good but samey on the surface and dont quite resonate. Morph the Cat belongs in the first group: at first it sounds cozily familiar, almost too familiar, but it digs deep, both as music and song. Sonically, at least superficially, it is very much a continuation of the two Steely Dan records of the new millennium -- not only does it share Fagens aesthetic, but it was recorded with many of the same musicians who have shown up on the Dan projects. There are slight differences -- without Becker around, theres a greater emphasis on keyboards and the songs stretch on a bit longer than anything on Everything Must Go -- but this, at least on pure sonics, could have functioned as a sequel to Two Against Nature. But Morph the Cat is very much a solo affair, fitting comfortably next to his first two solo albums as a conclusion to what he calls a trilogy. If The Nightfly concerned the past and Kamakiriad was set in a hazy future, Morph the Cat is rooted in the present, teeming with the fears and insecurities of post-9/11 America. Fagen doesnt camouflage his intent with the gleefully enigmatic rhymes that have been his trademark: his words, while still knowingly sardonic, are direct, and in case you dont want to bother reading the lyrics or listening closely, he helpfully offers brief explanations of the songs (for instance, on "Mary Shut the Garden Door," he writes "Paranoia blooms when a thuggish cult gains control of the government," a statement thats not exactly veiled). On top of this unease, Fagen faces mortality throughout the album -- he talks with the ghost of Ray Charles, borrows W.C. Fields phrase for death for "Brite Nitegown," writes about attempted suicides -- and every song seems to be about things drawing to a close. Its a little disarming to hear Fagen talk so bluntly -- although he came close to doing so on the deliberately nostalgic The Nightfly, the fact that he was writing about the past kept him at a bit of a distance -- but despite the abundance of morbid themes, Morph the Cat never sounds dour or depressing. In large part this is due to Fagens viewpoint -- he never succumbs to mawkishness, always preferring to keep things witty and sardonic, which helps keep things from getting too heavy -- but its also due to his smooth jazz-rock, which always sounds nimble and light. This, of course, is how Fagens music always sounds, but here, it not only functions as a counterpoint to the darkness creeping on the edges of the album, but its executed expertly: as spotless as this production is, it never sounds sterile, and when the songs start stretching past the five-minute mark -- two cuts are over seven minutes -- it never gets boring, because theres a genuine warmth to the clean, easy groove. More so than on Kamakiriad, or on the tight Everything Must Go, there is a sense of genuine band interplay on this record, which helps give it both consistency and heart -- something appropriate for an album that is Fagens most personal song cycle since The Nightfly, and quite possibly his best album since then. | ||
 | Album: 9 of 12 Title: You Gotta Walk It Like You Talk It... Or Youll Lose That Beat Released: 2006-06 Tracks: 8 Duration: 31:17 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Dog Eat Dog (03:44) 2 Red Giant / Green Dwarf (08:02) 3 You Gotta Walk It Like You Talk It (02:54) 4 If It Rains (07:05) 5 Flotsam & Jetsam (03:28) 6 Roll Back the Meaning (03:44) 7 War & Peace (01:37) 8 You Gotta Walk It Like You Talk It (reprise) (00:43) |
 | Album: 10 of 12 Title: Nightfly Trilogy Released: 2007-11-20 Tracks: 35 Duration: 3:10:50 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 I.G.Y. (06:04) 2 Green Flower Street (03:42) 3 Ruby Baby (05:39) 4 Maxine (03:49) 5 New Frontier (06:21) 6 The Nightfly (05:46) 7 The Goodbye Look (04:50) 8 Walk Between Raindrops (02:38) 1 Trans-Island Skyway (06:30) 2 Countermoon (05:05) 3 Springtime (05:06) 4 Snowbound (07:08) 5 Tomorrows Girls (06:17) 6 Florida Room (06:02) 7 On the Dunes (08:07) 8 Teahouse on the Tracks (06:11) 1 Morph the Cat (06:49) 2 H Gang (05:15) 3 What I Do (06:01) 4 Brite Nitegown (07:16) 5 The Great Pagoda of Funn (07:39) 6 Security Joan (06:09) 7 The Night Belongs to Mona (04:18) 8 Mary Shut the Garden Door (06:29) 9 Morph the Cat (reprise) (02:53) 1 Rhymes (04:22) 2 Big Noise New York (05:21) 3 True Companion (05:10) 4 Confide in Me (04:15) 5 Blue Lou (07:02) 6 Shanghai Confidential (04:54) 7 Green Flower Street (live) (04:26) 8 Centurys End (05:33) 9 Hanks Pad (live) (04:49) 10 Viva Viva Rock n Roll (live) (02:42) |
 | Album: 11 of 12 Title: Sunken Condos Released: 2012-08-01 Tracks: 9 Duration: 44:07 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Slinky Thing (05:12) 2 Im Not the Same Without You (04:31) 3 Memorabilia (04:14) 4 Weather in My Head (05:29) 5 The New Breed (04:35) 6 Out of the Ghetto (04:54) 7 Miss Marlene (04:43) 8 Good Stuff (04:54) 9 Planet DRhonda (05:35) |
| Sunken Condos : Allmusic album Review : Morph the Cat wrapped up an alleged trilogy in 2006 -- a trilogy that only became apparent when Donald Fagens three solo albums were boxed in a set called The Nightfly Trilogy in 2007 -- and Fagen then busied himself with live performances, something he avoided at the peak of his popularity in the 70s and 80s. With Walter Becker, he took several classic Steely Dan albums on tour, he became a frequent fixture at Levon Helms Midnight Rambles, and, in 2010, he became the ringleader of the Dukes of September, a superstar blue-eyed soul revue featuring Michael McDonald and Boz Scaggs. All this high-octane rhythm can be heard on Sunken Condos, Fagens 2012 album and easily the liveliest solo album hes released since The Nightfly in 1982. Much of that is due to a pronounced emphasis on rhythm. Sunken Condos doesnt ease on its groove, the way the otherwise excellent Morph the Cat did. Sunken Condos crackles with energy even when things are smooth; witness how "Memorabilia" and "Weather in My Head," jazzy funk numbers both, never succumb to lite comfortable grooves, as Fagen and his peerless band keep pushing at the contours of their rhythms, letting the music breathe. And that addition of space is a marked difference from much of Fagens work since Gaucho, when he began to place an emphasis on precision over feel. Certainly, Sunken Condos boasts an immaculate production and there is not a note out of place but it is unmistakably a feel album, one where its a pleasure to hear the band play and to hear Fagen play with his delivery, sculpting his phrases with an impish glee. That Sunken Condos also contains his sharpest songwriting in a long time -- whether they percolate like "Im Not the Same Without You" or sweetly sigh like "Miss Marlene," the tunes are immediate the way the songs on Steely Dans 2000 comeback, Two Against Nature, were -- is no coincidence. Long a master of obfuscation, Fagen plays it straight on Sunken Condos, tightening his songwriting and letting his music swing, and the results are an absolute joy. | ||
 | Album: 12 of 12 Title: Cheap Xmas: Donald Fagen Complete Released: 2017-09-13 Tracks: 44 Duration: 3:54:33 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 I.G.Y. (06:04) 2 Green Flower Street (03:42) 3 Ruby Baby (05:39) 4 Maxine (03:49) 5 New Frontier (06:21) 6 The Nightfly (05:46) 7 The Goodbye Look (04:50) 8 Walk Between Raindrops (02:38) 1 Trans-Island Skyway (06:30) 2 Countermoon (05:05) 3 Springtime (05:06) 4 Snowbound (07:08) 5 Tomorrows Girls (06:17) 6 Florida Room (06:02) 7 On the Dunes (08:07) 8 Teahouse on the Tracks (06:11) 1 Morph the Cat (06:49) 2 H Gang (05:15) 3 What I Do (06:01) 4 Brite Nitegown (07:16) 5 The Great Pagoda of Funn (07:39) 6 Security Joan (06:09) 7 The Night Belongs to Mona (04:18) 8 Mary Shut the Garden Door (06:29) 9 Morph the Cat (reprise) (02:53) 1 Slinky Thing (05:12) 2 Im Not the Same Without You (04:31) 3 Memorabilia (04:14) 4 Weather in My Head (05:29) 5 The New Breed (04:35) 6 Out of the Ghetto (04:54) 7 Miss Marlene (04:43) 8 Good Stuff (04:54) 9 Planet DRhonda (05:35) 1 Rhymes (04:19) 2 Big Noise New York (05:19) 3 True Companion (05:09) 4 Confide in Me (04:12) 5 Blue Lou (06:59) 6 Shanghai Confidential (04:52) 7 Green Flower Street (live) (04:24) 8 Centurys End (05:31) 9 Hanks Pad (live) (04:46) 10 Viva Viva Rock N Roll (live) (02:39) |