Donald Fagan - Morph the Cat

I have to listen again now that my expectations are lowered. I'm sure i'll enjoy it more.

quote:

Originally posted by kuma:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Chayro:
Any good?

No.

A total snoozer.

Interesting only for the editorial content.
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Worth a purchase if you're a big Dan fan, especially as we won't get another Don album till about 2019.

I played it again last night, but fell asleep. Had to switch to Jah Wobble to wake me up.

Nigel

Do I have the same album as you lot?

I love it and no I don't suffer from insomnia.

Has anyone got 5.1 sound from the DVD ,if so how? seems a waste of time ,my 950 eats everything I throw at it ,but not this one, 2.0 only.Come to think of it is worth the bother , not a patch on Nightfly!!

[QUOTE]Originally posted by gaucho:
not a patch on Nightfly!!
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True, but precious little is. Thankfully, miles better than Kamikiriad though.

Can anyone give an opinion on 'The New York Rock And Soul Review'? i.e. is it worth buying?

Worth having IMO - but please bear in mind that I have to have absolutely everything Fagen/Dan have ever worked on.

Worth having for live pretzel logic by itself.

In case anyone is interested Walter is working on an album as well. He has a website www.walterbecker.com I think.

Have to admit I struggled with the last one !

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Simon Matthews:
please bear in mind that I have to have absolutely everything Fagen/Dan have ever worked on.
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Even 'Eleven Tracks Of Whack'?, that's above and beyond the call of duty.

Simon,

Have you got any of those very early (Pre Dan) Cd's that are readily available online? I will not bother if sound quality etc is too poor but I understand there is some familiar stuff included in draft form.

After reading the queries and comments on W & D's production methods, I revisited the "Classic Albums - Aja" DVD and it is always interesting. Highly recommended for anyone curious about their studio technique.

As far as "Eleven Tracks.." is concerned, IMHO it is a somewhat inferior Dan album rather than a Walter solo. It's usually fairly close to the current playstack though.

Have a good day

Ron

There are about three tracks I really like on 11ToW - I agree that it is generally speaking a country mile away from their best stuff.


Ron

Regarding recordings made prior to the first studio album proper:

There is a number of cheaply pressed compilations of really primitive early stuff - so lots of different album names floating around for this material. Tracks which will confirm this period are stuff like Ida Lee, berry town, caves of altimera, little with sugar etc. The recording is primitive in the extreme, typically with donald on piano and walter on bass. Interesting primarily as a snapshot into the writing process and to hear how much a track like Caves of Altimera developed for the Royal scam.

The Early Years - By far the best pre Dan material IMO - well worth seeking out. Tracks include Brain tap shuffle, don't let me in, Brooklyn etc. This is a much better recording and contains some tasty playing. Denny Dias was onboard by this point. Although a million miles away from the uber-polished Dan stuff this music really gels. Nice also for Fagens Dylan style vocal on Brooklyn which is better than Palmers on Can't buy a thrill IMO.

You Gotta walk it like you Talk it - Soundtrack.
I think Don and Walt had gone to see Hair or had some excellent quality acid prior to this recording. Without doubt their most obscure and sixties influenced material. Most would probably hate it - not me! Worth the entrance fee for 'dog eat dog' I think - Get out those loon pants dude!

Dallas/sail the waterway - two great tracks recorded in the west coast on abc dunhill but prior to recording the first album proper. Not sure if available on CD but I have a very rare 12 inch of this material - yum.

Beyond the studio albums every Dan fan needs to have FM and Here at the Western World - Two classic tracks. The sax extended sax solo of FM on the 12inch b side is a further jem.

Beyond all of that there are a number of bootleg albums of very mixed quality which contain studio outakes and unreleased material. These are mostly from the Katy and Gaucho sessions. The track 'second arrangement' which was accidently errased by a studio engineer is a lost Gaucho classic. A real shame they never had the stomach to start from scratch again. Well apparently they tried but couldn't capture the same feel again. This sort of stuff makes me love them all the more.

Cheers

quote:

....is a lost Gaucho classic

That's my problem with Morph. I got my Nightfly LP out last night and as a result followed that with Gaucho on Vinyl, aswell.
After that popping Morph on the CDS3 no longer seemed so attractive.

regards
geoff

Well morph on my cds3 is doing it for me! (and believe me I LOVE my SD vinyl on my lp12)

I wonder if a part of the dissapointment is born out of an attempt on behalf of the listener to try to recreate how nice and easy life was about half a life time ago when albums such as Gaucho and Nightfly came out. At the time Gaucho was attacked for being a weak response to aja yet we now love it for the classics it produced and for the perfect exploration of a burnt out LA existence.

In other words, how objective are we capable of being with regard to the quallity of music from a long standing artist when so much time and emotional baggage is intrinsically a part of the music's place in our hearts?

For what its worth I think there are three tracks on Morph which immediately rank with the very best of the SD cannon.

Maybe we need another twenty or so years before we can grow to love this one!

I am sure ther is a lot in what you say Simon. I have the "Two against Nature" live show DVD and find myself listening most to the oldies on there like "bad sneakers" and "josie" the most.

Maybe like you say the new ones will become the great oldies one day but I ain't holding my breath!

patience grasshopper

Are people getting into the album now after some repeated listens?

Absolutely, I'd even go so far as to say it compares favourably with the Nightfly, or even Gaucho.

Pleased to here that.

I try to use the word sparingly but I really think that this one is a classic.

Hi Roy And Gaucho, i changed between 5.1, DTS and 2.0 on screen.DVD player is a 3 year old Nad player.

Regards
David

Is Morph the Cat available on vinyl?

The bass is so good on this recording for me that, after having new PVC double glazing installed in the house and the necessary removal of curtains, i chucked the 802s back in ( heaved) to see what sonic differences the new windows would have (dont laugh)( i actually specified smaller panes to hope fully raise the resonance frequency of the room , didnt have a real clue actually!!) and found that the sound was better, bass lower, less overhang, but i think i had the room overdamped with full length window to wall curtains with carpet underlay behind.

A more normal curtain set up will be re-installed !! much to my wifes pleasure.Trying to convince her over the cutain underlay thing was testing. Swoopey cutains and tie backs here we come.

David

quote:

Originally posted by MichaelC:
Is Morph the Cat available on vinyl?

Yes.

Thanks - pre-ordered

Kuma

Crappy Reprise don't consider that this album justifies a UK album release - w.....s!

Anyhoo - Is ordering it from acoustic sounds a reliable route? I saw the vinyl version on Uk ebay available at a wopping 30quid but it is described as a double. I am confused now - Is there two versions floating around - a single and double? Is the ebay guy incorrect in his description and just plain greedy?

Any advice welcome!