Steely Dan - Album By Album - The Nightfly

(from the Well we're gonna have a shindig department)

Okay - okay - I know - this isn't a Steely Dan album.  It's a Donald Fagen solo album.  But - we're doing all of the albums - including solo projects.  So - this one's in!

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"I'm Lester the Nightfly
Hello Baton Rouge
Won't you turn your radio down
Respect the seven second delay we use"

Well - radio listeners - you're just in time for Lester The Nightfly's review of Donald Fagen's The Nightfly.

In some ways - this is the ultimate reaction to Gaucho. Gaucho kind of ended up being a final statement from the original pairing of Don'n'Walt - kind of a weird goodbye to the 1970s. Now each of the Dan was free to follow their own destiny for a while. Walter went to Hawaii to regain his health and sanity - Donald ended up diving deep into the studio to tell a story of his youth and lose some of the snark he'd developed over the years.

The tone of The Nightfly belies its composition. According to Wikipedia: "Sessions often stretched long into the evening; Fagen would often refer to this as 'being on the night train.' In the end, the album took eight months to record, and was mixed in 10 days."

Kicking off with I.G.Y. - an acronym for International Geophysical Year - Donald immediately sets the tone of the album. Not burned out and cynical like Gaucho - but optimistic - looking towards the future. He couples these upbeat lyrics with an amazingly hummable melody - and BOOM we're in new territory. The sparkle of the brand new 3M digital system just about seals the deal.

Green Flower Street follows next - one of the more story-like narratives that Gaucho attempted, but this time - it works. The melody leaps out of the speakers - and so does the keyboards.

Ruby Baby - the only cover on the record - is next. I didn't want to like this one - but it's so darn infectious - I ended up loving it anyway. To me - it has a big band swing sound - brassy horns and sassy backup singers.

Maxine finishes out the side - quiet slow gorgeous harmonies - and yeah - quite possibly Donald's best vocal performance(s). Teenage angst and yearning at its finest. The fact that it was created from a discarded drum track just blows my mind.

New Frontier starts out side two. Burbling synth groove perfection - and one of my favorite Donald lyrics. The melody and the story are amazing - and the little touches - the tiny voice singing "Brubeck" in the background after Donald's Brubeck line - amazing. Easily one of my favorite tracks in all of Donald's work. I spent eons analyzing the words in this one: Ambush and a French Twist - I hear you're mad about Brubeck - I like your eyes, I like him too - etc. The eager young suitor as narrator. And - the promo video on the CD Video I mentioned earlier? Also terrific - and still looks amazing today - even converted to HD on YouTube.

The Nightfly was a track I had never really paid close attention to - until I saw it live this year. Then - I really clicked with the lyrics. Now - it's one of the highlights of the album for me. Like reading a pulp novel - set to a great melody.

And speaking of pulp novels - probably my second favorite song on the album - The Goodbye Look. For me - the narrative drive of the lyrics really makes this one. I find the melody as compelling as the other songs - but the lyrics - wow. They're kind of like the culmination of the story of tropical lowlife of Doctor Wu and Here At The Western World - only this time - he knows what's up and he has to get the hell out of that un-named country.

Finally - Walk Between Raindrops. This is the only disappointing song for me on the record. And - it's not a major disappointment by any means. I like the song - it just sounds like anyone could have written it. Which is its charm, I suppose. Donald finally writes the "standard" he'd been hoping to write. Still insanely catchy - and fits perfectly - just... not quite... my jam... I guess...

So - yeah - probably one of the strongest Steely Dan albums that's not a Steely Dan album. Right up there with Aja and Katy Lied for me - even though - lyrically - it's the complete opposite of cynical and bitter. (Which I do happen to normally enjoy - almost too much 😊 )

It also seemed to point to a new future for Donald. Instead - it turned out to be his curtain call for a long time. As he put it, it was the culmination of "whatever kind of energy was behind the writing I had been doing in the '70s.".

Next up - 11 years of... well... not much...

Stay tuned though - in a decade, with the help of therapy, Donald will beat the writer's block he's been struggling with - and finally reconnect with Walter, driving in his Kamakiri.

In the meantime, I'm Lester The Nightfly - signing off... reminding you that we're...

"An independent station
WJAZ
With jazz and conversation
From the foot of Mt. Belzoni"

Cheers,
Paul