Donald Fagen

There are no surprises in sound and style on Morph the Cat, Donald Fagen's long-awaited third solo album, nor should any be expected – ever since Steely Dan's 1980 masterwork, Gaucho, his work, either on his own or with longtime collaborator Walter Becker, has been of a piece. Each record has been sleek, sophisticated, and immaculately produced, meticulously recorded and arranged, heavy on groove and mood, which tends to mask the sly wit of the songs. When it works well – as it did on Fagen's peerless 1982 solo debut, The Nightfly, or on Steely Dan's 2001 comeback, Two Against Nature – the results go down smoothly upon first listen and reveal their complexity with each spin; when it doesn't quite succeed – both 1993's Kamakiriad and the Dan's 2003 effort Everything Must Go didn't quite gel – the albums sound good but samey on the surface and don't quite resonate.

Deluxe Audiophile Pressing Strictly Limited to 6000 Numbered Copies. Donald Fagen's largely autobiographical The Nightfly remains one of the best-sounding albums ever made. Revered by audiophiles, the Steely Dan co-founder's 1982 set immediately became a demonstration disc at audio salons and hi-fi shows the world over. It also quickly emerged as an irreplaceable monitor-evaluating tool for recording-studio engineers and front-of-the-house testing device for concert-venue soundboard engineers who continue to use it today. Painstakingly recorded over eight months by producer Gary Katz and engineers Roger Nichols and Elliot Scheiner, The Nightfly endures as a rare trifecta of superlative performance, consummate songwriting, and crisp, benchmark production. Mobile Fidelity is honored to give this seminal effort unsurpassed treatment befitting the most serious music connoisseurs.

The release of ‘Sun Mountain' completes the three volume set released on the Thunderbolt label and featuring the early work of Walter Becker and Donald Fagen (see also 'Old Regime' CDTB 040 and 'Stone Piano' CDTB 054). The first nine tracks on this release represent the first known recordings by the duo. Prominent throughout are the distinctive lead vocals and keyboard skills of Donald Fagen with Walter Becker providing the bass line and occasional harmonies. These have been compiled with four tracks each from the earlier two releases. The first four of these are taken from 'Stone Piano' and clearly illustrate the development of artists towards a more complex instrumental backing for their compositions.

For about the thousandth time, these very early recordings by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen that have remained officially unreleased for a reason: they're terrible and only vaguely resemble the actual Steely Dan that came years later. This is not to say that there is no merit to them, only very little, and only for those who are so obsessed by the Steely Dan legend they need to hear every bent note, of which there are plenty here. This is another shabby Dressed to Kill effort that should be avoided. Period.