Donald Fagen

Cheap Xmas: Donald Fagen Complete is a career-spanning compilation highlighting the undeniable musicianship of the GRAMMY Award-winning voice behind Steely Dan. This five-album set features his critically acclaimed works: The Nightfly, Kamakiriad, Morph The Cat, Sunken Condos and a bonus album of rarities. This is the definitive Fagen collection.

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.

A companion album to Northeast Corridor: Steely Dan Live, Donald Fagen's The Nightfly Live captures a 2019 performance of the 1982 album by Steely Dan (or the Steely Dan Band, as Fagen chooses to call them in the years following Walter Becker's 2017 death). Original producer Gary Katz is on board to capture all the sonic intricacies of this concert, helping the live album to sound remarkably similar to its studio predecessor. There are differences, to be sure: the digital punch of the 1982 record has been warmed, the beats swing a bit more, Fagen's voice is thin and wispy, the backup singers take the lead on "Maxine," and there's a bit more emphasis on R&B rhythms – all elements that make this feel like a concert despite the precision of the production and performances. It's enough to keep Donald Fagen's The Nightfly Live fleet on its feet, which is enough to keep this record fun.