Morph the Cat | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | March 7, 2006 | |||
Recorded | 2004–05 | |||
Studio | Avatar Studios (New York City) Clinton Recording Studios (New York City) Sear Sound (New York City) Sugar Sound (Kauai) | |||
Genre | Jazz-rock, jazz-funk | |||
Length | 52:49 | |||
Label | Reprise | |||
Producer | Donald Fagen | |||
Donald Fagen chronology | ||||
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Aggregate scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 83/100 [1] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
The A.V. Club | B+ [3] |
Entertainment Weekly | B+ [4] |
The Guardian | [5] |
The Independent | [6] |
Los Angeles Times | [7] |
Q | [8] |
Rolling Stone | [9] |
Uncut | [10] |
USA Today | [11] |
Morph the Cat is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Donald Fagen. Released on March 7, 2006, to generally positive reviews from critics, [1] Morph the Cat was described by Fagen as his "death album" in an interview with Fred Kaplan of The New York Times . [12] Musicians on the album include drummer Keith Carlock, saxophonist Walt Weiskopf, bassist Freddie Washington, and guitarists Frank Vignola, Jon Herington, Wayne Krantz, and Hugh McCracken.
Morph the Cat was released on CD and on a CD/DVD-Audio 2-disc package, with a 5.1 surround sound mix engineered by Elliot Scheiner. [13] [14] The surround recording won the Grammy Award for Best Surround Sound Album. [15]
All songs written by Donald Fagen.
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Morph the Cat" | 6:49 |
2. | "H Gang" | 5:15 |
3. | "What I Do" | 6:01 |
4. | "Brite Nitegown" | 7:16 |
5. | "The Great Pagoda of Funn" | 7:39 |
6. | "Security Joan" | 6:09 |
7. | "The Night Belongs to Mona" | 4:18 |
8. | "Mary Shut the Garden Door" | 6:29 |
9. | "Morph the Cat (Reprise)" | 2:53 |
Album
Year | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|
2006 | The Billboard 200 | 26 |
2006 | Top Internet Albums | 26 |
2006 | UK Top 40 | 35 |
Singles
Year | Single | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|---|
2006 | "H Gang" | Smooth Jazz Songs | 29 |
Steely Dan is an American rock band founded in 1971 in New York by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen. Initially the band had a stable lineup, but in 1974 Becker and Fagen retired from live performances to become a studio-only band, opting to record with a revolving cast of session musicians. Rolling Stone has called them "the perfect musical antiheroes for the seventies".
Donald Jay Fagen is an American musician best known as the co-founder, lead singer, co-songwriter, and keyboardist of the band Steely Dan, formed in the early 1970s with musical partner Walter Becker. In addition to his work with Steely Dan, Fagen has released four solo albums, beginning with The Nightfly in 1982, which was nominated for seven Grammys. In 2001, Fagen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Steely Dan. Following Becker's death in 2017, Fagen continued to tour under the Steely Dan name.
Aja is the sixth studio album by the American jazz rock band Steely Dan, released by ABC Records on September 23, 1977. On the album, band leaders Donald Fagen and Walter Becker pushed Steely Dan further into experimenting with different combinations of session players, enlisting the services of nearly 40 musicians, while pursuing longer, more sophisticated compositions and arrangements.
Everything Must Go is the ninth studio album by American rock group Steely Dan. It was released on June 10, 2003, by Reprise Records, and was the band's second album following their 20-year studio hiatus spanning 1980 through 2000, when they released Two Against Nature. Everything Must Go is the band's most recent studio album and their last with founding member Walter Becker before his death in 2017.
Two Against Nature is the eighth studio album by American rock band Steely Dan. Their first studio album in 20 years, it was recorded from 1997 to 1999 and released on February 29, 2000, by Giant Records.
Kamakiriad is the second solo album by Steely Dan artist Donald Fagen, released in 1993. It was his first collaboration with Steely Dan partner Walter Becker since 1986, on Rosie Vela's album Zazu. Becker played guitar and bass and produced the album. The album is a futuristic, optimistic eight-song cycle about the journey of the narrator in his high-tech car, the Kamakiri. It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of the Year 1994.
River of Souls is the twelfth album by American singer-songwriter Dan Fogelberg, released in September 1993. The album features a variety of genres ranging from Celtic, Brazilian, country, and African soft rock. It received mostly positive reviews from fans and critics alike, praising the instrumentation and vocals. However, some of the song's topics, which included war and politics, were not well received.
Ross is the fourteenth studio album by American R&B singer Diana Ross, released on June 9, 1983 by RCA Records. It was Ross' third of six albums released by the label during the decade. It was released shortly before Ross gave a pair of free concerts in New York's Central Park. The album peaked at No. 32 on the US charts, No. 14 on the US R&B charts and No. 44 in the UK. The album's highest international chart position was in Sweden, where it reached No. 7.
Vocalese is the ninth studio album by Jazz band The Manhattan Transfer, released in 1985 on the Atlantic Records. Recording sessions took place during 1985. Production came from Tim Hauser and Martin Fischer. This album is considered to be The Manhattan Transfer's most critically acclaimed album. It received 12 Grammy nominations, making it second only to Michael Jackson's Thriller as the most nominated individual album. It also received extremely high ratings from music critics, including a 4.5 out of 5 stars rating from Allmusic. The album peaked at number 2 on the Top Jazz Albums and number 74 on the Billboard 200. The album's title Vocalese refers to a style of music that sets lyrics to previously recorded jazz instrumental pieces. The vocals then reproduce the sound and feel of the original instrumentation. Jon Hendricks, proficient in this art, composed all of the lyrics for this album.
Vox Humana is the fifth studio album released by American singer-songwriter Kenny Loggins. Released in 1985, it was Loggins' first album released after his appearance upon the soundtrack to the motion picture Footloose during the year prior.
The New York Rock and Soul Revue: Live at the Beacon is a live album which documented the New York Rock and Soul Revue. It was recorded on March 1 and 2, 1991 at the Beacon Theatre in New York City, a favorite venue of organizer Donald Fagen. The performances featured Fagen and included Phoebe Snow, Michael McDonald, Boz Scaggs, Eddie Brigati, David Brigati and Charles Brown. Selections on the album included a number of songs which were originally written and recorded by members of the revue, as well as other songs. The album was released by Giant Records.
Circus Money is the second and final solo album by Walter Becker released on June 10, 2008 through the 5 Over 12 label both in CD and digital download formats and July 14, 2008 through Sonic360 for the rest of the world outside North America. Unlike Becker's previous solo release, this album does not have the participation of Becker's fellow Steely Dan founder and bandmate Donald Fagen.
The Hunter is the seventh studio album by Jennifer Warnes, released in 1992.
If That's What It Takes is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Michael McDonald. The album was released in August 1982 and peaked at #6 on Billboard 200, while singles "I Keep Forgettin' " and "I Gotta Try" went to #4 and #44 on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively.
Zazu (1986) is the debut album released by American model and singer-songwriter Rosie Vela. The album was produced by Gary Katz, best known for his work in that capacity with Steely Dan, and many of the songs feature Steely Dan's Donald Fagen on keyboards and Walter Becker on guitar. Tony Levin plays Chapman stick on the songs "Tonto" and "Zazu".
20/20 is a studio album by George Benson, released on the Warner Bros. record label in 1985. The lead single by the same name reached #48 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was certified Gold by the RIAA. "You Are the Love of My Life" is a duet with Roberta Flack; it was one of numerous songs used for Eden Capwell and Cruz Castillo on the American soap opera Santa Barbara. Also included on 20/20 is the original version of the song "Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You" which would later become a smash hit for Hawaiian singer Glenn Medeiros.
Stardust is a studio album by American singer Natalie Cole, released on September 24, 1996. Cole won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for the song "When I Fall in Love", a duet with Nat King Cole, at the 39th Grammy Awards.
Against the Grain is the fifth album by singer-songwriter Phoebe Snow, released in 1978.
Sunken Condos is the fourth and most recent solo album from Steely Dan co-founder Donald Fagen, released in October 2012 through Reprise Records. It contains eight new songs and a cover of Isaac Hayes' "Out of the Ghetto". Fagen began recording the album in 2010 and described it as having a lighter feel than his earlier work, rather than being a continuation of his Nightfly trilogy.
Blink of an Eye is the fourth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Michael McDonald, released on August 3, 1993, by Reprise Records, three years after his previous studio album, Take It to Heart (1990).