Product Description
Donald Fagen's fourth solo album for Warner Reprise, Sunken Condos, will be released on October 16. His first three solo albums, The Nightfly, Kamakiriad and Morph the Cat comprised the project known as "The Nightfly Trilogy." Sunken Condos begins a chapter in the creative evolution of this innovative artist, whose career is still going strong after forty years.

The nine tracks on Sunken Condos were co-produced by Michael Leonhart and Donald. All but one track, an Ashkenazi recasting of Isaac Hayes' "Out of the Ghetto," are Fagen originals. Some familiar names from the Steely Dan family of players are on hand (Jon Herington, the Steely Dan horns, Freddie Washington) plus some new faces. The word is that, from now on, everything Donald does has got to be funky.

1. Slinky Thing
2. I'm Not The Same Without You
3. Memorabilia
4. Weather In My Head
5. The New Breed
6. Out Of The Ghetto
7. Miss Marlene
8. Good Stuff
9. Planet D'Rhonda

CD
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008O9V4C2/?tag=imwan-20

MP3
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009SSGBOE/?tag=imwan-20

Vinyl
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00920HMNM/?tag=imwan-20

Not exactly new news, but with a new album forthcoming, why not start a thread already...?

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65A4ZB20100611

Donald Fagen hopes to do it again with new album
By Mark Egan

NEW YORK | Fri Jun 11, 2010 1:17pm EDT

(Reuters) - Donald Fagen, one-half the hit-writing duo behind rock perfectionists Steely Dan, says he will release his fourth solo record in 2011 with an album largely recorded on computers away from conventional studios.

Fagen, who with Walter Becker wrote the seminal 1970s hits "Reeling' in the Years" and "Do It Again" told Reuters he is recording in New York at the home of Steely Dan trumpet player Michael Leonhart, who is co-producing the album.

Fagen, 62, was prolific in the 1970s with Steely Dan, which was named after a sex toy featured in William Burroughs' book "Naked Lunch." But solo, his critically-acclaimed output has been roughly one album per decade -- "The Nightfly" in 1982, "Kamakiriad" in 1993 and "Morph The Cat" in 2006.

"Those albums were a trilogy," Fagen said, noting his first solo record was themed around the 1950s, the second about the current day and his third was futuristic.

"This one does not have a theme but they are good stories -- most of my songs have a plot," he said. "The album, or CD, or whatever they call it these days should be out next year."

Fagen said the as-yet untitled album is being recorded on computer using Pro Tools software. Some overdubs have been done at New York's Stratosphere Sound studio. He said the album will be released by Warner Bros Records as the final obligation under his contract with the recording giant.

Asked why he took so long between solo records, Fagen said he hated the 1980s and then was distracted by Steely Dan reunions. "I didn't feel like doing too much in the 1980s because they were so depressing," he said.

And, he said, he suffered from depression.

"I went to a shrink for a while in those days. I went for seven years during the '80s," he said. "I had various neurotic problems since I was a little kid."

"When you're young you have a youthful energy that allows you to ram your way through bad times...but when I got to my mid-30s I ran out of that energy and had to grow up," he said.

Given that Steely Dan seems to be touring again this summer, I'd bet this album doesn't see the light of day in 2011.

I am very much looking forward to this. This listener felt Donald's last solo effort Morph The Cat was better than the last 2 Steely Dan albums.

I concur.

I didn't care much for either of the 2000s Steely Dan albums or Fagen's album. Everything sounds the same. Two Against Nature had a few good songs but it was beyond overrated. Probably as good an album as they still had left in them though. Everything Must Go sucked however.
Morph The Cat was OK, but quite dull to me.
But I do like the Steely Dan live album.

of the trilogy i liked kamikariad the best.

I guess my mileage varies. I liked Two Against Nature and Everything Must Go. Morph The Cat had some good songs but Fagan doesn't seem to know when to end them, an issue I had with some of the Kamikariad tracks too. Both Steely Dan albums had some lengthy tracks too but not as many.

ah, but the sax solo at the end of "west of hollywood" on "two against nature" is worth the price of admission.

Yes, yes! I like to call it Meander The Cat!

"The Great Pagoda Of Funn" is anything but.

Two Against Nature and Everything Must Go aren't as good as their first run of albums, but they're still excellent endeavors. "Gaslighting Abbie" is in my top 3 Steely Dan songs, and "Blues Beach" should have been a big radio hit.

I agree that the last two Dan albums and Donald's last couple of efforts all sound too much alike. There should be more musical variety (different instrumentation, rhythms, tempos) from song-to-song and certainly from album-to-album. Don't get me wrong; I love the sound, but I expect more from someone as creative as Fagen.

Jim

Indeed! But the Fagan solo tracks don't seem to have much going on during those long codas.

Love them ALL. Bring on the codas. Bring on the "samey" instrumentation. Fagen's farts are more musical than most of what "artists" consider unleashing to the public.

Same here.

The albums sound great but the music is dull.

I wonder if, like all his previous albums, there will be a DVD Audio version

I NEVER mix the two groups together. The "Two Against Nature" reincarnation has nothing to do with the group on ABC Records. As for Donald solo, they're similiar, but I enjoy them all (in order: Morph, Nightfly, Kamakiriad).

UPDATE!

http://www.sonicscoop.com/2011/07/26/se ... ainsbourg/

So it should be out...sometime!



Looking forward to some new Fagen...eventually.

First off, I consider The Nightfly to be a better album than most of the Steely Dan records. For me, it basically is a traditional Steely Dan record because of the amount of session players used.

What started happening around the time of Kamakiriad was that Donald began using more of a core group of musicians. That continued with Two Against Nature, EMG and the Morph The Cat solo album. The other change: Walter Becker as the blues lead guitar player.

I really feel these changes have hurt the music. That and Gary Katz not serving as a secondary, objective ear. I think this explains why the arrangements tend to wander, etc. Too much improvising and not enough structure. Before the arrangements had to be written out to a T because of the expense of hiring session musicians.

According to Amazon, the new album is entitled "Sunken Condos" and is due on 10/16/2012:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008O9V4C2/?tag=imwan-20

i'm in!

I'm in, too, of course. A shame this was not ready in time for him to want to do a track from it on this regrettable Dukes of September tour. Might have kept me from nodding off.