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indÉmodable
La moitié du noyau dur du groupe Steely
Dan, Donald Fagen (né en 1948, New Jersey) a établi
une réputation dans les années 1970 de perfectionnisme musical.
Fagen a rencontré son associé Walter dans les années
1960. En 1972, le groupe devient Steely Dan. En 1981, les huit albums
de Steely Dan sont déjà disques d'or ou de platine avec
des tubes comme "Do It Again","Time Out Of Mind."
Leur réputation de perfectionnistes de studio est légendaire.
Becker et Fagen se séparent et Donald Fagen travaille alors sur
son album : NightFly. Reçu les bras ouverts par les fans de Steely
Dan, Nightfly est rapidement disuqe d'or. La version très classy
de "Ruby Baby" est une reprise de Leiber et de Stoller - la
première reprise de Fagen. L'album est un petit chef d'oeuvre de
maestro dans l'utilisation du synthethizer, de minimalisme brillant et
d'une classe rare. Fagen disparait pendant a majeure partie des années
80, mais l'album NightFly, à la sonorité moderne indémodable,
continue de consolider sa réputation.
1993, les fans de Steely Dan se réjouissent : Fagen a finalement
livré la suite de Nightfly, Kamakiriad - qui entre dans le Top
10 - et retrouve Becker, producteur de l'album. Un autre album à
thème vaguement futuriste de Fagen, Kamakiriad, comporté
des chansons proches du Steely Dan original. Steely Dan, dont Donald Fagen
reste l'essence même. 2006, Morph The Cat reveint encore plus aux sources.
everlasting
class
TAs one half of the creative core of Steely Dan,
Donald Fagen (b. 1948, New Jersey) established a reputation in the '70s
as a musical perfectionist.
Fagen met his partner Walter in the mid-'60s.
In 1972, taking their name from William Burroughs's novel Naked Lunch,
the group became Steely Dan.
By 1981, every one of Steely Dan's eight albums had entered the top 40
and gone gold or platinum with hits like "Do It Again","Time
Out Of Mind." Their reputation as studio perfectionists was becoming
legend.
Becker and Fagen finally parted ways in 1981. Received with open arms
by Steely Dan fans, The Nightfly quickly went gold and reached No. 11
on the charts; its first single. Aside from its very classy version of
Leiber & Stoller's "Ruby Baby"- the first cover version
Fagen had ever recorded- many fans noted that The Nightfly sounded very
much like a brand new Steely Dan album. However, the album is a little
masterpiece of synthethizer maestro, minimalist brillance and class.
Fagen laid low--extremely low--for most of the '80s, emerging only toward
the end of the decade as catalyst of the New York Rock & Soul Revue.
1993 was a banner year for Steely Dan fans on two levels: Fagen finally
released The Nightfly's follow-up, Kamakiriad--which entered the charts
at No. 10 and quickly went gold--and had reunited with Becker, who was
the album's producer. Another Fagen album with a theme, Kamakiriad was
set sometime in the future and featured such songs as "Trans-Island
Skyway" and "Tomorrow's Girls," all of which again sounded
like prime Steely Dan. But the biggest surprise of all was the summer's
accompanying Steely Dan tour--one of the year's hottest concert tickets,
and one of the most critically-lauded "reunion" tours in rock
history. 2006, Donald Fagen get back to his roots : smooth funk jazz with his latest Morph The Cat.
Official
Site: donaldfagen.com
Alternative: SteelyDanFanClub
E-mail
your favorite
Steely Dan / Donald Fagen Site
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