DONALD FAGEN

Donald Fagen: Nightfly Trilogy (MVI)

$59.98 CD

 Donald Fagen's unique artistry is celebrated with the NIGHTFLY TRILOGY, an unprecedented seven-disc box set spotlighting the Steely Dan co-founder's three acclaimed solo albums: The Nightfly, Kamakiriad and Morph The Cat. The box features CDs of each of the now-classic albums, plus a trio of groundbreaking Music Video Interactive (MVI) discs, one for each title. Rounding out the expansive set, which was produced in collaboration with Fagen, is a seventh bonus CD compiling ten audio rarities, including previously unreleased cuts. 

 MVI is a new DVD-based music format that, in addition to offering a complete album and all the features of an audio disc, delivers more video and interactive extras - there is also one-click capability to save digital music files onto any hard drive. Each Donald Fagen MVI disc is presented in Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 Surround Sound with bonus material in Advanced Resolution PCM Stereo (48kHz/24-bit). Also featured is the UrTone application, a new technology allowing the selection of any track or any portion of a track to be used as a ringtone. 

 “The songs on this album,” wrote Fagen about The Nightfly, his stellar 1982 solo debut - which lends its name to the box's title - “represent certain fantasies that might have been entertained by a young man growing up in the remote suburbs of a northeastern city during the late fifties and early sixties, i.e., one of my general height, weight and build.” In his original review of the LP for Rolling Stone, David Fricke similarly noted, “this album is about dreams… a world where all things are possible, even to a kid locked in his bedroom.” Its stand-out tracks include the hit “I.G.Y.,” “New Frontier,” “Green Flower Street” and the title track, a collective portrait of the late-night radio personalities Fagen heard on the airwaves while growing up. The MVI's bonus tracks include “Century's End,” a song composed for the film Bright Lights Big City, “True Companion,” written for the animated feature Heavy Metal, plus a live version of “Green Flower Street.” The disc also contains videos for “New Frontier” and “Century's End.” 

 Fagen's second solo outing, 1993's concept album Kamakiriad, was produced by his Steely Dan co-founder Walker Becker. Like The Nightfly, it was GRAMMY®-nominated for Album of the Year. The song cycle centers around a journey in a futuristic car, a Kamakiri Steam Power 10, and features stand-outs including “Trans-Island Skyway,” "Snowbound" (co-written with Becker) and the single “Tomorrow's Girls.” The MVI bonus tracks include the instrumentals "Shanghai Confidential" and "Blue Lou" as well as demo versions of "Confide In Me" and “Big Noise New York,” a song originally written for Spike Lee. The bonus videos present "Tomorrow's Girls" and “Snowbound.” 

 2006's Morph The Cat took home the GRAMMY for Best Surround Sound Album. Highlights include “Brite Nitegown,” “Security Joan” and the title track. MVI bonus tracks include previously unreleased live versions of “Hank's Pad” and “Viva Viva Rock 'N' Roll,” Fagen's cover of the Al Green song “Rhymes” and an interview originally aired on NPR's World Cafe program. 

 NIGHTFLY TRILOGY's bonus CD compiles ten of the additional audio selections from the MVI discs, including the previously unissued live takes on “Hank's Pad” and “Viva Viva Rock 'N' Roll.” 

Selection # 43325