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Rating: Life is composed of living and dead moments, capable of marking the existence of all of us like a wound that is impossible to completely heal. Experiences that are hard to endure, bitter to chew, but at the same time life lessons that serve each of us to grow. And then you realize that these are the life lessons that help you, over time, to knowingly reach a certain maturity.
For the record, Donald Fagen, the mind, voice, and keyboardist of Steely Dan, is one of many who keep this concept in mind: man is born, develops on all fronts facing the dangers that surround him, reaches true maturity, until, one day, he finds himself facing the other part of his self. A concept that is also at the base of this "Kamakiriad," a concept album that perfectly places itself at the center of the trilogy, between "The Nightfly" (birth, the '80s) and "Morph The Cat" (the confrontation with ourselves, 2006), and with the production of loyal friend Walter Becker.
Development, progress, a look towards the future. Yes, the future. This album is a journey through time, inside a special car, also called Kamakiri ("Trans-Island Skyway"). The continuation of the flight started exactly 11 years ago, but no longer a Night Flight. A flight towards the sky, among distant planets ("Countermoon"), blossoming trees before any Lake of Nostalgia ("Springtime"), snowy hills ("Snowbound"), a never too veiled hope of finally finding love ("Tomorrow's Girls"), while continuing to float in nothingness, passing Florida ("Florida Room") and even the desert ("On The Dunes"), before even deciding to stop and have tea somewhere in the neighborhood ("Teahouse On The Tracks"), and at the same time deciding whether to continue the journey towards the unknown.
The funky-jazz-pop-rock sound is slightly detached from that of "The Nightfly," but never boring. Keyboard effects that remain impressed in your head without boring (the same "Trans-Island Skyway"), trumpets that sneak in here and there ("Springtime", "Tomorrow's Girls"), phantom similar-blues influences ("Snowbound") and saxophones that can be engaging in their simplicity ("Florida Room").
All that wait of 11 years, in 1993, reserved many surprises, leading to a result that had amazed both positively and negatively. Many spoke of junk, few appreciated Fagen's work like in '82. But, in general, almost everyone was doubtful about his present and future capabilities. Not even he entirely understood the sense of this album (it is rumored that he attended a conference covering his face with a balaclava and disguising his voice out of shame). Yet the sense was there, and it still is.
"Kamakiriad" is an unjustly forgotten album, misunderstood, to be listened to again and re-evaluated. The same concoction as before? Who knows, and who cares. If it's well-made and not tasteless, it's acceptable. Even Springsteen might offer the same rock that characterizes him, but he's still capable of shooting some impressive cartridges.
Humans are humans, and they also make mistakes. But art is art, when it truly is. And this record is art, not a mistake. It may not be as impactful as "The Nightfly," but it is still proof that if a great musician hasn't lost his charisma and imagination, he is still capable of writing beautiful songs, as in the subsequent "Morph The Cat."
The traveler has reached his destination. Mission accomplished, Kamakiri.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Countermoon (05:05)
On a night like this
You look up at your lover
It's like you're in some old cartoon
Then you detect
The scent of faded roses
Up in the sky
There's that cruel countermoon
Could that be murder you see in her eyes
You try a long and desperate kiss
You can't escape it
That beam is sure to find you
[Chorus:]
On a night like this
The story is told
How the women get restless
And the men grow cold
Gotham shudders
There's a chill in the air
There's a countermoon
Lovers all beware
Hand in hand
You walk along the river
You stop to clutch and caress
A countermoonbeam
Comes sweeping off the water
She says "You're not my Jackie.
My Jackie was the best."
Spitewaves are threatening
The seaside hotels
It's nasty weather for July
Last night you loved her
Tonight you wonder why
[Chorus]
At every pay phone
There's somebody cryin'
All the streets are slick with tears
When you see that blue ray
There's a heartquake on the way
[Chorus]
03 Springtime (05:06)
Here at Laughing Pines
Where the party never ends
There's a spicy new attraction
On the Funway
You can scan yourself
For traces of old heartaches
The details of desire
Shimmering - shimmering
Yowie! - It's Connie Lee
At the wheel of her Shark-de-Ville
We're cruisin' at about a thousand miles an hour
But the car is standin' still
So good to hear that crazy laugh
To hear her whisper hold me tight
To learn to love all over again
On that warm wet April night
[Chorus:]
Swing out
To Lake Nostalgia
Route 5 to Laughing Pines
Get off at Funway West
Drive into Springtime
Drive into Springtime
Easter Break - '66
A shack on Cape Sincere
Mad Mona bakin' gospel candy
It was a radical year
We get a little silly
And fall into microspace
It's even better this time around
With Coltrane on the K.L.H.
[Chorus]
It's you and me honey, in a crowded booth
At the Smokehouse in the Sand
I'm dragging out some bad old gag
When you touch my hand
At 4 a.m. we go out of this place
You look absurdly sweet
We hike downtown to Avenue A
Like we own the street
[Chorus]
04 Snowbound (07:08)
Chorus:
Snowbound
Let's sleep in today
Wake me up
When the wolves come out to play
Heat up
These white nights
We're gonna turn this town
Into a city of lights
At Nervous Time
We roll downtown
We've got scenes to crash
We're gonna trick and trash
We're gonna find some fun
We hit the street
With visors down
With our thermasuits
Sealed up tight
We can beat the freeze
And get saved tonight
Let's stop off at the Metroplex
That little dancer's got some style
Yes she's the one I'll be waiting for
At the stage door
Chorus
We take the tube
To Club Hi Ho
It's about deadspace
It's a marketplace
And a party house too
Something new
From Charlie Tokyo
It's a kind of pyramid
With a human heart
Beating in an ion grid
A critic grabs us
And says without a smile
The work seduces us with light
Eviva laughs and we step out
Into the blue-white night
Chorus
We sail our icecats on the frozen river
Some loser fires off a flare, amen
For seven seconds it's like Christmas day
And then it's dark again
And then it's dark again
Chorus (2x)
05 Tomorrow's Girls (06:17)
Our town is just like any other
Good citizens at work and play
Normal folks doin' business in the normal way
This morning was like any other
Mommies kissing daddies goodbye
Then the milkman screamed
And pointed up at the sky
Chorus:
From Sheilus to the reefs of Kizmar
From Stargate and the Outer Worlds
They're speeding towards our sun
They're on a party run
Here come Tomorrow's Girls
Tomorrow's Girls
You see them on the grass at lunch hour
Soaking up the vertical rays
In their summer dresses
A little smile can really make your day
Their kisses feel like real kisses
And when they cry they cry real tears
But what's left in your arms
When the static clears
[Chorus:]
They're landing on the Jersey beaches
Their engines make the white sand swirl
The heat is so intense
Earth men have no defense
Against Tomorrow's Girls
In the cool of the evening
In the last light of the triple sun
I wait by the go-tree
When the day's busy work is done
Soon the warm night breezes
Start rolling in off the sea
Yes, at lantern time
That's when you come to me
Come to me
Our home is just like any other
We're grillin' burgers on the back lawn
Some time goes by
We fall asleep with the TV on
I dream about a laughing angel
Then the laugh becomes a furious whine
Look out fellas
It's shredding time
[Chorus:]
They're mixing with the population
A virus wearing pumps and pearls
Lord help the lonely guys
Hooked by those hungry eyes
Here come Tomorrow's Girls
Tomorrow's Girls
[Chorus:]
From Sheilus to the reefs of Kizmar
From Stargate and the Outer Worlds
They're speeding towards our sun
They're on a party run
Here come Tomorrow's Girls
Tomorrow's Girls
06 Florida Room (06:02)
Start on Key Plantain
Walk a tropical mile
You'll see a house
In the Spanish style
There's a room in back
With a view of the sea
Where she sits and dreams
Does she dream of me
When summer's gone
I get ready
To make that Carribee run
I've got to have
Some time in the sun
[Chorus:]
When the cold wind comes
I go where the dahlias bloom
I keep drifting back
To your Florida room
She's dressed too warm
For this latitude
We go out to lunch
With some Jamaican dude
Then the sunshower breaks
We come in out of the rain
But in her Florida room
There's a hurricane
While the city freezes over
We'll be strollin' down the shore
Can she bring me back
To life once more
[Chorus]
When summer's gone
I get ready
To make that Carribee run
I've got to have
Some time in the sun
[Chorus]
07 On the Dunes (08:07)
Drive along the sea
Far from the city's twitch and smoke
To a misty beach
That's where my life became a joke
On the dunes
On the dunes
(Became a joke on the dunes)
Where rents are high
And seabirds cry
On the dunes
As you spoke you must have known
It was a kind of homicide
I stood and watched my happiness
Drift outwards with the tide
On the dunes
On the dunes
(Homicide on the dunes)
It wasn't fair
It's brutal there
On the dunes
Pretty boats
Sweeping along the shore
In the faltering light
Pretty women
With their lovers by their side
It's like an awful dream
I have most every night
In the summer all the swells
Join in the search for sun and sand
For me it's just a joyless place
Where this loneliness began
On the dunes
On the dunes
(Loneliness on the dunes)
I'm pretty tough
But the wind is rough
On the dunes
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