Musical Recommendation

With proper acknowledgements to Craig at Reverent and Free, who periodically recommends something to his readers, I'm following his example. Donald Fagen has a new album out. Morph the Cat won't disappoint those (like me) who enjoyed Mr. Fagen's earlier solo efforts, The Nightfly and Kamakiriad. The musical style hasn't changed, really -- it's still pretty much jazz-pop. But there's no mistaking Fagen's lyrics: edgy and with a little whiff of the perverse. The, uh ... liner notes? jewel case notes? I dunno, what do you call the little booklet they tuck into the front of the jewel case, anyway? In any case, the accompanying text took me all the way back to 1973's Steely Dan debut Can't Buy a Thrill, with the one-sentence precis of each song at the head of the lyrics. "Mary Shut the Garden Door" is "explained," sort of, by "Paranoia blooms when a thuggish cult gains control of the government."

Best songs (so far): "Brite Nitegown" and "The Great Pagoda of Funn."