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Rickenbacker · 12-21-2009, 03:57 PM

Bulldog sent me -

Donald Fagen - The Nightfly

"What a beautiful world this will be, what a glorious time to be free..."

Look at the cover. Fagen, the lead singer and primary songwriter of Steely Dan sits in a swivel chair in a radio studio, nonchalantly smoking Chesterfield Kings while spinning a Sonny Rollins. He sits, sleeves rolled up and tie loosened, as the epitome of New York night-life cool. So why does his record, entitled The Nightly, fail to meet the expectations set by the cover?

The problem with Donald Fagen's solo debut is not a conceptual issue. The Nightly chronicles the dreams of a young Fagen, who wants things greater than his current situation as a middle class New York rebel allows (for one, to "Move up to Manhattan and fill the place with friends" - Maxine ). This works for The Nightfly, and the lyrics, while verging on cheese at times ("The key word is survival on the new frontier" - New Frontier) are adequately interesting from a story-telling perspective. It's no Born To Run lyrically, but it gets the job done.

The problem lies in the music itself. Donald Fagen's idea of soul is righteous, but his execution of it on The Nightfly is patchy at best. An American, the Steely Dan singer could not best the blue eyed soul of the U.K. at that time. The year following the release of this album, Paul Weller's soul duo "The Style Council" released their debut album, the vocals of which, while not better in the classical sense than Fagen's, are filled with more soul than it seems Fagen can materialize. The two records are similar, but the difference in quality is clear. This is testament to the musical truth that just a very fine line divides musical brilliance and failure.

5.7/10

Sorry Bulldog!

12-21-2009, 03:57 PM	#975 (permalink)
Rickenbacker / Join Date: May 2009 Location: The Conn Posts: 1,338	Bulldog sent me - Donald Fagen - The Nightfly "What a beautiful world this will be, what a glorious time to be free..." Look at the cover. Fagen, the lead singer and primary songwriter of Steely Dan sits in a swivel chair in a radio studio, nonchalantly smoking Chesterfield Kings while spinning a Sonny Rollins. He sits, sleeves rolled up and tie loosened, as the epitome of New York night-life cool. So why does his record, entitled The Nightly, fail to meet the expectations set by the cover? The problem with Donald Fagen's solo debut is not a conceptual issue. The Nightly chronicles the dreams of a young Fagen, who wants things greater than his current situation as a middle class New York rebel allows (for one, to "Move up to Manhattan and fill the place with friends" - Maxine ). This works for The Nightfly, and the lyrics, while verging on cheese at times ("The key word is survival on the new frontier" - New Frontier) are adequately interesting from a story-telling perspective. It's no Born To Run lyrically, but it gets the job done. The problem lies in the music itself. Donald Fagen's idea of soul is righteous, but his execution of it on The Nightfly is patchy at best. An American, the Steely Dan singer could not best the blue eyed soul of the U.K. at that time. The year following the release of this album, Paul Weller's soul duo "The Style Council" released their debut album, the vocals of which, while not better in the classical sense than Fagen's, are filled with more soul than it seems Fagen can materialize. The two records are similar, but the difference in quality is clear. This is testament to the musical truth that just a very fine line divides musical brilliance and failure. 5.7/10 Sorry Bulldog! __________________ last.fm rym Talk About the Passion - R.E.M.'s Discography Reviewed Last edited by Rickenbacker; 12-21-2009 at 04:14 PM.