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.

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