{"id":8434,"date":"2013-01-01T23:00:50","date_gmt":"2013-01-02T06:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/?p=8434"},"modified":"2013-01-01T23:45:39","modified_gmt":"2013-01-02T06:45:39","slug":"donald-fagen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/2013\/01\/donald-fagen\/","title":{"rendered":"DONALD FAGEN"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/h1>\n

DONALD FAGEN<\/strong><\/h1>\n

The Steely Dan co-captain finds new freedom on his latest solo effort<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Russell Hall\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Two years ago Donald Fagen decided to wipe the slate clean. His first three solo albums\u20141982\u2019s The Nightfly<\/em>,\u00a01993\u2019s Kamakiriad<\/em> and 2006\u2019s Morph the Cat<\/em>\u2014had been tied together by unified themes, based on stages of Fagen\u2019s life. For his new record, Sunken Condos<\/em>, Fagen cast aside such constraints. \u201cThose first three albums, which appeared at roughly 10-year intervals, ended up being a trilogy more or less,\u201d he explains. \u201cI\u2019m done with that now. I felt freed up this time because the new songs didn\u2019t have to refer to earlier material.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fagen has earned the right to go in any direction he pleases. As co-founder of Steely Dan, his jazz-infused efforts with musical partner Walter Becker constitute some of the most sophisticated to scale the pop charts. The duo\u2019s decade-long run in the \u201970s and early \u201980s includes such hits as \u201cReelin\u2019 in the Years,\u201d \u201cRikki Don\u2019t Lose That Number,\u201d \u201cHey Nineteen\u201d and \u201cPeg.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 1981 Fagen and Becker disbanded and embarked on solo careers, but they reunited in 2000 with Two Against Nature<\/em>, which earned four Grammys. Three years later, Everything Must Go<\/em> was released to less fanfare\u2014but there have been no albums since. \u201cWalter and I haven\u2019t been able to come together on a bunch of songs lately,\u201d explains Fagen. \u201cBut we still talk about recording.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Sunken Condos<\/em>, Fagen recruited a team of ace musicians that included much of his touring band, including Michael Leonhart, who co-produced. Superior musicianship, intricate arrangements and insightful wit abound, all tethered to sharp funk grooves. With typical irony, Fagen chose an album title that contrasts\u00a0with the upbeat sound.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a play on a Debussy piece called \u2018The Sunken Cathedral,\u2019\u201d he says. Fagen revealed his thoughts on the new album, his creative process and his least favorite Steely Dan tune.<\/p>\n

\n

Did you have a concept in mind for\u00a0<\/strong>the new album?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not as much as with Kamakiriad<\/em>. There, I was truly following a concept. This time I tried to do the opposite. I was trying to write freestanding songs, and free myself from the autobiographical thing. Even when they all started having a certain character, I didn\u2019t try to match them up. But I do like to get 50 minutes of music that\u2019s a good blend. Once I had 50 minutes of music I felt was worth recording, I said, \u201cLet\u2019s do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Did you want a consistent style?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I wanted everything to have a good groove. Although it isn\u2019t dance music, I wanted the songs to have a dance feel. I like albums that have a top-end groove that makes my body feel good. When I arranged the songs, I purposely built that in, no matter what the subject matter was. Sometimes there\u2019s an irony you can achieve by balancing the groove and lyric, by creating tension between them. \u201cI\u2019m Not the Same Without You\u201d is a good example. That song sounds festive but the lyrics are pretty dark.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Did you give the players freedom?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I generally don\u2019t give the players instruction, initially. It\u2019s more about casting the right person, like a movie. I try to hire musicians who already know what to do. You risk stifling someone if you give too much direction. They get nervous and start thinking too much. You don\u2019t want to frighten anybody. Problems sometimes arise when people do six or seven takes, where they\u2019ve got most of it but you need a little more. People get tired. You have to know when to give them a break, even when they\u2019re saying, \u201cLet me do one more.\u201d You say, \u201cNo, just stop. Come over here and have some coffee.\u201d Then they\u2019ll go back and nail it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How do you know when to do that?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The biggest tip-off is when they start rushing, when they start getting ahead of the beat. That\u2019s what people do when they\u2019re tired, nervous or thinking too much. I can hear it immediately. They\u2019re not laid back anymore. It\u2019s a mechanical thing that your brain does. They\u2019re not in the groove.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Which is tougher to create, a solo or a Steely Dan album?<\/strong><\/p>\n

About the same. There\u2019s a bit more pressure making a Steely Dan record. I think both Walter and I feel there can\u2019t be any songs that fall below a certain level or below people\u2019s expectations. I don\u2019t feel that same pressure working on my own, although I suppose I do apply the same standards.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How does the songwriting differ?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s more variety in the subject matter when Walter and I work together. The songs are more journalistic, in the sense that because there are two people, they aren\u2019t as personal. When I\u2019m singing Steely Dan songs, I\u2019m taking on the roles of various kinds of characters. When I\u2019m writing by myself, those characters are closer in spirit to who I am.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Do you always write on acoustic piano?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Almost always. I rarely work on the road. Generally I write at home on a Yamaha upright. Right now I don\u2019t have a grand or even a baby grand. I prefer to work on uprights, and I\u2019m not sure why. I\u2019m an on-and-off smoker, and I like being able to put my cigarette on the piano and get a nice burn mark on it. I think there\u2019s something romantic about uprights.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When do you know you\u2019re onto something promising?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Something lights up in my brain. It has to do with originality. I feel like I\u2019m saying something that\u2019s maybe been said before, but not exactly in the same way. That\u2019s true of both the music and the lyrics. When there\u2019s something fresh about it,\u00a0that\u2019s when I know.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Which songs are most fun to perform?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The later Steely Dan stuff, more so than the earlier material. Walter and I had a better grasp of what we liked by then. We were just kids when we started. We learned how to write better, play better and arrange better as time went on. I like doing \u201cBabylon Sisters,\u201d and \u201cThe Caves of Altamira\u201d is fun to sing. And I love doing the 21st century stuff like \u201cGodwhacker\u201d and \u201cGaslighting Abbie.\u201d But I can\u2019t do them too much because audiences don\u2019t know them as well.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Do you think Steely Dan\u2019s hits have always been the best songs?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think it\u2019s been arbitrary, the songs that became hits. I like some of them. I\u2019m sort\u00a0of fed up with \u201cReelin\u2019 in the Years.\u201d But then again I think that\u2019s because it\u2019s not very sophisticated. It was kind of an early attempt to do what we do. I never had much to do with choosing the singles. That was the record company\u2019s prerogative. I tried to stay out of that.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Could a band like Steely Dan gain a commercial foothold today?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m not sure. We slipped in at a special time, when people were willing to play unusual music on pop radio. FM radio was really big then\u2014it was the alternative media\u2014and the disc jockeys could make up their own\u00a0programming lists. If something sounded novel, instead of banning it they\u2019d likely play it. It was a completely different scene. We were lucky in that regard.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Are you at a good place in your career?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been having a lot of fun the past couple of years. I really enjoy playing without worrying so much about whether the audience likes every tune. In the past there was that inner voice, saying, \u201cAh, they aren\u2019t going to like this one.\u201d Now I just don\u2019t care so much about that. I\u2019ve given up and surrendered. I\u2019m going to do what I like and hope some in the audience will like it, too.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DONALD FAGEN The Steely Dan co-captain finds new freedom on his latest solo effort By Russell Hall\u00a0 Two years ago Donald Fagen decided to wipe the slate clean. His first three solo albums\u20141982\u2019s The Nightfly,\u00a01993\u2019s Kamakiriad and 2006\u2019s Morph the Cat\u2014had been tied together by unified themes, based on stages of Fagen\u2019s life. For his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[23,3805],"tags":[5662,5664,5665,5475,999,5666,5663],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8434"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8434"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8434\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8478,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8434\/revisions\/8478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}