The Nightfly
by Donald Fagen

From calsper 04/06/2015 22:41 | #138964 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

The sneakiest masterpiece in pop music. Fagen took a huge risk in clashing with the monopoly of analogue recording when he created what would become the very reference album in terms of production and execution.

Being the ever early bird to be entirely digitally recorded, Fagen showed the courage, the wit and ever-determined will to produce this stellar pop record.

With a legendary personnel including Abraham Laboriel, Larry Carlton, Marcus Miller, Greg Phillinganes and legendary Toto drummer Jeff Porcaro, this record is ruthless in its precision and effortless execution.

The lyrical themes are sophisticated autobiographical, and drawn from Fagen's fantasies from his time in the late 50's when he was fantasizing about his future days, as described in the booklet of the LP.

The liner notes of the record denotes 31 session musicians included in the album, a typical example of Fagen's extreme perfectionist approach to the recording process - this tendency apparently didn't end with Steely Dan's Gaucho in '80 but continued into his debut solo album that truly is fantastic in the daring exploration in perfect sound and sophistication.

In some aspects, it's like just another Steely Dan album (and that's meant as a compliment) but in other ways this sounds like something only Fagen could accomplish on his own, mostly because of the lyrical consistency. Steely Dan albums generally strove for a connecting sound but never bothered with an overarching story. Fagen's got a story to tell here and it's a compelling one, harkening back to the mythical era of American expansionism, prior to the assassination of John Kennedy. This isn't to say that the music is a throwback. No, it displays the same sophistication that marked Fagen's time in Steely Dan. Almost in keeping with the notion of a "New Frontier", Fagen eschewed analogue recording and used nascent digital technology. Even today, the album remains a touchstone for sound engineers. But don't let that take away from the music. Every song here is rewarding. This is music everybody should have in their collection.

Picking up where, gaucho, left off, the nightfly, is another piece of late night super smooth jazz pop. In fact, it almost feels like a sequel. It's a lovely album. Alright, it does sound a little dated in places and the CD could really do with a remastering job, but the LP is the ultimate late night album in a heat wave. Some nice tracks in, I.G.Y., new frontier, and the title track, make, the nightfly, an excellent record.

From rockinsteve 05/11/2019 04:56 | #236127 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

Just picked up the CD of this one at my local Barnes and Noble for under 5 bucks! I've listened to just the first five songs so far, but I love this album already! The cuts "I.G.Y." and "New Frontier" are just fantastic. They're easily as good as the best of any Steely Dan songs. What a nice surprise this disc turned out to be! (Edited)

This album is full of depth and feels so rich to the ears when you listen to it. Even to this day the quality of the production is fantastic with the flow of the record being incredible and each instrument being allowed to pop. This is even more difficult to do with the huge array of diverse instrumentation and they are all blended together so beautifully. This has led to a focused and cohesive listen which feels complete when you finish the record which leaves a feeling of fulfilment for the listener. The mastery of sound and instrumentation on here by Fagen is staggering and everyone should admire the phenomenal work he has done on this record. Overall, this album is grand, rich and a really relaxing listen and its quality is vastly under appreciated. (Edited)