Michael B. (Ichabod) reviewed Nightfly: The Life of Steely Dan's Donald Fagen on + 115 more book reviews
"You go back, Jack, Do It Again"... The mysterious voice and strange hypnotic music seeped its way out of transistor radio waves in late 1972. This stood out from the other fare coming from AM radio. An otherworldly electric sitar and plastic organ drove the tune up the charts. A few months later "Reeling in the Years" popped with a guitar solo that Jimmy Page said is his all time favorite.
Donald Fagen was the reluctant voice behind most of Steely Dan's music. He and Walter Becker founded the group, wrote the material, and charted its course. He was uncomfortable performing and they both absolutely hated touring-- describing the ordeal as "nights of shame and terror." Clips of the group on The Midnight Special verify this, even to the point of having a designated lead singer covering the vocals Donald performed on record. By the completion of the third album, Pretzel Logic, the band dissolved into Donald and Walter and an array of the world's finest studio musicians. Touring was stopped cold and sworn off forever.
Donald always kept to himself and showed reluctance to open up to the press. The mystery has been to figure where he ended and where Walter began. Their song lyrics are enigmatic and often cynical, including sordid tales of characters on the outskirts of accepted society. The music, too, was a complicated mixture of pop, jazz, R&B, blues and standards unlike anything anyone else was conjuring.
The "Gaucho" album, the group's seventh official album in nine years, was released in 1980. And then nothing for twenty years. In 1982 Donald released the brilliant, semi-autobiographical "The Nightfly" album and we finally saw clues as to what he brought to the studio apart from Walter. Finally, in 1993 the two reunited to work on Donald's second solo album, "Kamakiriad" and eventually started touring and recording again.
"Nightfly: The Life of Steely Dan's Donald Fagen" conquers some difficult challenges. It succeeds in giving us enough background to understand a very private man. Donald was never one to jump into the media promotion circus. His darker side is revealed, too-- there is more than one allegation of financial promises that were not kept. A nasty domestic violence episode is also brought up. We are not just presented with a Saint Donald bio.
The author, Peter Jones, has a jazz musician background, but he does not overcomplicate the explanations of the very technical demands of Becker and Fagen's craft. We see the world's greatest musicians tested to their limits with the long, grueling sessions in search of perfection.
Questions are answered. We see why the two seemingly inseparable geniuses broke apart for so long and what was happening during those dark days. The vehement anti-tour mindset slowly morphs into an aggressive performing outfit. Finally, we see how Donald took Walter's death and where things stand today, with Donald as Steely Dan.
While the book is essential for die-hard Steely Dan fans, casual rock music fans should enjoy it, too. It fills in a lot of the holes behind the enigma. An enjoyable read.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Donald Fagen was the reluctant voice behind most of Steely Dan's music. He and Walter Becker founded the group, wrote the material, and charted its course. He was uncomfortable performing and they both absolutely hated touring-- describing the ordeal as "nights of shame and terror." Clips of the group on The Midnight Special verify this, even to the point of having a designated lead singer covering the vocals Donald performed on record. By the completion of the third album, Pretzel Logic, the band dissolved into Donald and Walter and an array of the world's finest studio musicians. Touring was stopped cold and sworn off forever.
Donald always kept to himself and showed reluctance to open up to the press. The mystery has been to figure where he ended and where Walter began. Their song lyrics are enigmatic and often cynical, including sordid tales of characters on the outskirts of accepted society. The music, too, was a complicated mixture of pop, jazz, R&B, blues and standards unlike anything anyone else was conjuring.
The "Gaucho" album, the group's seventh official album in nine years, was released in 1980. And then nothing for twenty years. In 1982 Donald released the brilliant, semi-autobiographical "The Nightfly" album and we finally saw clues as to what he brought to the studio apart from Walter. Finally, in 1993 the two reunited to work on Donald's second solo album, "Kamakiriad" and eventually started touring and recording again.
"Nightfly: The Life of Steely Dan's Donald Fagen" conquers some difficult challenges. It succeeds in giving us enough background to understand a very private man. Donald was never one to jump into the media promotion circus. His darker side is revealed, too-- there is more than one allegation of financial promises that were not kept. A nasty domestic violence episode is also brought up. We are not just presented with a Saint Donald bio.
The author, Peter Jones, has a jazz musician background, but he does not overcomplicate the explanations of the very technical demands of Becker and Fagen's craft. We see the world's greatest musicians tested to their limits with the long, grueling sessions in search of perfection.
Questions are answered. We see why the two seemingly inseparable geniuses broke apart for so long and what was happening during those dark days. The vehement anti-tour mindset slowly morphs into an aggressive performing outfit. Finally, we see how Donald took Walter's death and where things stand today, with Donald as Steely Dan.
While the book is essential for die-hard Steely Dan fans, casual rock music fans should enjoy it, too. It fills in a lot of the holes behind the enigma. An enjoyable read.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
