By Jane Stevenson
Toronto Sun
TORONTO – Donald Fagen, one half of smart, sarcastic, ’70s jazz-rockers Steely Dan, had a serious case of writers block in the ’80s.
But lately the 58-year-old New Jersey-born, Manhattan-based singer-keyboardist-songwriter has been experiencing his most creative period.
After two Steely Dan albums — 2000’s Two Against Nature and 2003’s Everything Must Go — Fagen is back with Morph the Cat, a new solo disc, in stores Tuesday. The new collection also completes a solo trilogy that began with 1982’s The Nightfly and continued with 1993’s Kamakiriad.
Each album deals with a specific time in Fagen’s life — a young man’s journey, middle age, and impending and actual death. In fact, now that there’s a third album, there are plans for a box set later this year.
The latest collection, partly inspired by the passing of Fagen’s mother in 2003, looks at the songwriter’s own mortality and laughs at it in “Brite Nightgown,” which gets its title from what W.C. Fields used to call call death, “the fellow in the bright nightgown.”
Fagen’s younger self also has an imaginary discussion with the late Ray Charles about his luck with the ladies on “What I Do.”
But it’s not all about the great beyond. Political concerns like homeland security and right-wing government are addressed on “Security Joan” and “Mary Shut The Door,” respectively, but with Fagen’s sense of humour firmly intact. “Security Joan,” for example, is about an arousing encounter during an airport security check.
Fagen, who plays Massey Hall on March 13 as part of his first solo tour, has jokingly referred to the new album as Apocalypse Wow. As usual, there’s crisp production, excellent musicianship and lengthy jams throughout, even if a mellow vibe does dominate the record.
Here’s a track-by-track review of Morph The Cat:
Morph the Cat
Donald Fagen
Reprise/Warner
3 1/2 stars out of 4
The Songs
MORPH THE CAT 6:49: There’s either something sinister or sensational occurring in this slinky, slow-grooving song about a large presence taking over Manhattan. “What exactly does he want, this Rabelaisian puff of smoke/To make you feel all warm and cozy, like you heard a good joke,” Fagen sings. Frankly, I’m just impressed with someone who can name drop 15th-century French writer Francois Rabelais.
H GANG 5:14: This likable, upbeat song documents “the birth, life and death” of a band that should not be confused with Steely Dan presumably. “I hear Denise is back on the outside, that she’s got a wicked plan/She’s callin’ in the Gong Sisters again, to form the ultimate five-chord band,” Fagen relates.
WHAT I DO 6:00: Fagen’s longtime love of jazz includes an appreciation of the late, great Ray Charles and his legendary way with the ladies. So Fagen, as a young man, has a imaginary conversation with Brother Ray about his womanizing technique. “Well, you bring some church but you leave no doubt, as to what kind of love, you love to shout about,” advises Ray.
BRITE NIGHTGOWN 7:15: The first real “dance” song on the album could be this year’s “Peg.” There’s some funk to be found for sure on this track about facing the Grim Reaper in a variety of situations — a high fever, armed robbery or a drug overdose.
THE GREAT PAGODA OF FUNN 7:36: Fagen, who married singer-songwriter Libby Titus in 1993, gets uncharacteristically schmaltzy on this love song, one of the weaker tunes on the new disc. At least it’s got a good title.
SECURITY JOAN 6:08: The funniest track imagines an unlikely hookup between a airline passenger and a female security checkpoint employee at LaGuardia airport. “She flashed that crooked smile and said, ‘Hon, I believe you missed your flight’/I said, ‘There’s been a minor change of plan’/And I’ll be stayin’ for one more night,’ ” Fagen sings. Sadly, it doesn’t have the melody to sustain the sexy story.
NIGHT BELONGS TO MONA 4:14: A dark narrative about a depressed girl living in a Manhattan hi-rise. “Will she fall hard or float softly to the street?” Fagen ponders. “Maybe it’s good that she’s above it all, things don’t seem as dark, when you’re already dressed in black, we try not to see the writing on the wall, what happens tomorrow.”
MARY SHUT THE GARDEN DOOR 6:26: The arrival of the Republican convention in Manhattan inspired Fagen to prophetically write about a secretive, thug-like government that inspires paranoia. “They came in under the radar, when our backs were turned around, in a fleet of Lincoln Town Cars, they rolled into our town,” he sings.
MORPH THE CAT (REPRISE) 2:52: I’m not sure why this song reappears in a shorter version, but it does.
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