Editor's Note: From the Drum Throne will now be expanded to include CD reviews and assortment of other topics. It will continue to be a drum-oriented perspective on all things musical.
By Keith Augeri
A recent visit to my local used record store yielded a purchase that I thought I would share with you all. I came across the newest release "Morph The Cat" from Donald Fagan, which I promptly listened to from start to finish.
From the opening bars of the title track you know that you’re listening to either a new Steely Dan record or a new solo offering from Mr.Fagen – the phase-shifted electric piano sound is a dead giveaway. Although one could argue that he relies on this sound a bit much, one thing is irrefutable: the man knows how to write and how to construct a groove! He has assumed another persona for this CD, the third in his series of solo efforts – a “ghostly cat-thing” that descends from above.
NYC is the setting for this story, and Fagen has on tap the rhythm section of Keith Carlock (drums) and Freddie Washington (bass). There are a handful of guitar gunslingers which include Hugh McCracken, Wayne Krantz, Frank Vignola, John Herrington and Ken Wessel, all of which contribute some great guitar work at various points. As you might expect, the production value (kudos to Elliot Scheiner – the track & mix engineer) is first rate.
The title track (Morph The Cat) is a lesson in discipline, particularly the drum track (which leaves
plenty of space for the other instruments to shine) and the suspended bass line figure (which gives this song a haunting quality). The second track, “H Gang” with its driving beat reminded me of “Do It Again” off the first Steely Dan album.
“What I Do” is billed as a tribute of sorts to the late great Ray Charles; I liked the sentiment expressed but found the track a little weak. The fourth track is worth the wait: inspired by a W.C Fields quote (referring to death in its many incarnations), the tune is called “Brite Nightgown”. It has all the hallmarks of the great Fagen formula: the dark humorous vocal, the killer shuffle feel, with the excellent Wayne Krantz’ guitar solo. The track also has burning horn lines and a great end tag – this was by far my favorite song on the album.
The fifth track, “The Great Pagoda Of Fun”, finds Fagen recycling some of the feels that I associate with the “Katy Lied” era Steely Dan; with the chimes and laid-back rim-click – not much new here, but still fun.
“Security Joan” will wake you back up with the driving lines, whirly piano, organ/piano and pristine vocal harmonies. The seventh offering, “The Night Belongs To Mona”, finds Fagan in mid-tempo form once again using a well-worn device of his, namely a straight 4/4 beat juxtaposed against a reggae-type groove. This track also has a nice harmonica performance by Howard Levy (former Flecktone).
“Mary Shut the Garden Door” moves you through a tale of “ominous governmental thuggery and paranoia”. The inspired melodica solo makes this track worth a listen, as do the vocal harmonies supplied by Carolyn Leonhart.
Fagen closes the disc with a reprise of the title track, with some slices and dices in the song-form and some re-harmonies that would make a Berklee School of Music professor proud. This is all made more than bearable by the Hugh McCracken guitar solo – the end horn tag sounds suspiciously like one of melodies off Fagen’s first solo effort (IGY anyone?)– too cute by half.
Overall I found the record to be better than the last Steely Dan effort,“Everything Must Go”, which leads me to believe than Fagen might have been holding out on Becker to have a little something for this record. I would highly recommend this Cd, but I wouldn’t call it his best work ever. Heck, over the past 3 decades, he has set the bar pretty high.
CRITICS are so jaded.For anyone to say that Donald Fagen's latest
album is just ok.... I mean what does a person have to do these days? Make diamonds out of duck feathers? Listen to it again and appreciate what Donald has given
us.Thank you Donald!
Posted by: ron tillman | January 15, 2007 at 11:33 AM