Steely Dan – A Review Of Donald Fagens Work
December 5, 2008
I must confess to being a life long fan of Steely Dan, probably from around 1974 or so, but mostly starting around 1978-80 during what I believe to be there most productive period, the making of ‘Aja‘ and subsequently ‘Gaucho‘.
Donald Fagen - Perth 2007
The sheer talent displayed by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen in the production of these two masterpieces, has to be heard to be truly appreciated. I was fortunate enough recently, to have been able to see the duo in action during their visit to Australia. I put myself at odds with the security people during the concert, as I felt an urgent need to take some snaps with my Canon EOS 400D, which is more commonly known in the US as the ‘Rebel’. Here for example is Don Fagen doing his best Ray Charles impersonation at the piano.
Don has always impressed me with his intellect, and his personality. He seems almost to be reticent sometimes, but due to the nature of his work, he seems to take on a different persona. Regardless, a very impressive man with an obvious love for his work. I scored a copy of his DVD entitled ‘Donald Fagen – Concepts For Jazz/Rock Piano‘ through Amazon, and if there was any doubt about his musical talent, and his ability to impart technical knowledge, then this DVD dispels that.
Within the DVD, he takes apart some of his musical compositions from his career such as ‘Chain Lightning’, ‘Josie’, ‘Peg’, in addition to some of his solo projects from ‘Kamakiriad‘ and ‘The Nightfly‘. Don has a seemingly generous nature, and the more complex parts of his personality come out when he works with Walter Becker on their Steely Dan projects.
My favourite solo work from Don was the 1982 Nightfly album, which came with some interesting tracks including an unexpected rework of ‘Ruby Baby’. All of the Donald Fagen tracks are interesting in their difference from his work with Walter Becker. The question has often been asked, who had the most influence in creating their sound? Well, I believe the partnership was equal, but on listening to both Walts solo projects and Dons, I believe that the musical sound was driven by Don and his wonderful keyboard work.
Dons 1993 follow up, if you can call an album that appears 11 years later a follow up, was also a unique sound. According to Don his latest solo work, ‘Morph The Cat‘ was the final work in a trilogy involving the first two. His reasoning was that the music had a logical theme, from a young man, middle aged man, to his current state.
Whatever the reasoning, I am glad to have had the pleasure of enjoying his solo output, as I am sure you will!
