Donald Fagen: Morph The Cat : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Smitten with obscure wordplay and ornate sonics, Donald Fagen hasn't focused on hooks since he reunited with Steely Dan partner Walter Becker in the mid-Nineties. So it's a welcome surprise that his first solo album since 1993's Kamakiriad contains his catchiest, most immediate compositions in decades. This renewed emphasis on melody hasn't ruled out Fagen's reliably wry metaphors: The opening title track describes how Manhattan gets happy when visited by a benign feline phantom, and "Mary Shut the Garden Door" likens Bush's reign to a terrorizing invasion of Lincoln Town Cars. But the tunes are as ripe and fleshy as summer fruit: When Fagen converses with Ray Charles' ghost on "What I Do" and flirts with airport security during "Security Joan," spirited results prove Fagen can still pop amid his jazz.

BARRY WALTERS

(Posted: Mar 6, 2006)

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Review 1 of 4

2of 5 Stars

I don't know about the music, but as a huge fan of Steely Dan since the biggening I can say Donald,s voice has deteriorated with his posture. His voice almost sounds like nails on a chalkboard. This is obviously a huge fall from grace as his voice in the 7O's was about as good as it got, at least for
me. And that double voicing he does is just plain dispicable. He needs to bring David Palmer back, this time he is at last needed. Pick up any Steely Dan album from the 70's and see what I mean.

Apr 4, 2006 00:47:56

Review 2 of 4

3of 5 Stars

lame, inferior release from a major artist.
very few memorable moments- playing is mostly uninspired.
sorry- i am one of the world's most dedicated SD fans and this one is unlikely to enter my CD carousel- unlike 2 Against Nature which was stuck in my car CD player for 1 year and was the only thing i listened to when i drove around- and i didn't mind one bit!

Apr 3, 2006 12:42:11

Review 3 of 4

5of 5 Stars

Fagen has once again proven he IS Steely Dan. With his third, and best solo project, Morph the Cat, he has proven that jazz and pop, with some rock, has a place in our society. Backed again by the great Jon Herington on guitar and the heavy bass beat of Freddie Washington, Fagen does not let us down in his view of a post-9/11 New York City. His singing is clear and his melodies are rich. A must buy for all Dan fans. Thank you Donald for adding many hours to my Dan/Fagen collection.

Mar 17, 2006 17:40:01

Review 4 of 4

5of 5 Stars

24 hours of almost non stop listening and this cat is definitely growing on me....although I would have started with "It's what I do" as the lead off track. Sue me, I just love those languid & bittersweet ladies in the background!
Luckily I bough the download from Rhapsody, so I got the bonus track "Rhymes", in my opinion, the best track of them all. My only regret is that the CD wasn't released before the tour began. I saw Donald at the Borgata last Friday and would have been better able to appreciate the nuances of the live performances of tracks from Morph if I'd been able to listen to whole tracks ahead of time (the way we could before "Everything Must Go" was released).

Mar 16, 2006 13:56:13

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