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THE REVIEW
That bony and angular DJ featured on the album cover, photographed at 4:10am in a cramped room of an American radio station, if he didn't save my life, undoubtedly made it better.
At the time of this mature debut, the artistic partnership with Walter Becker had ended. Fagen, a man with a difficult character and not inclined to embrace the reasons of the music-biz, decides to conclude a phase of his life in style with "The Nightfly". It would take a full eleven years to hear another of his works ("Kamakiriad" 1993) and about twenty to see Steely Dan again ("Two against Nature" 2000).
"The Nightfly" does not seem to present any striking novelties compared to the productions with his partner Becker. The formula is one that many have attempted to replicate, without ever achieving the same exhilarating results (perhaps Prefab Sprout came closest): jazz, pop, blues, soul, blending together to create timeless songs. But in "The Nightfly" there is something more, a charm that is hard to explain; a kind of magic that envelops everything, perhaps the sign of perfection.
The album is a "concept". It's a journey into the artist's memory: America at the end of the '50s seen through the eyes of a suburban teenager; a country with its contrasts, with its growing anxieties (the "Cold War"), but also with its naive desires and phantasmagorical promises. The "flight" would not be complete, however, if it did not venture into the many musical cultures present in the States, especially the Afro-American one, which in Fagen’s songs coexist harmoniously.
All eight tracks should be mentioned, starting with the cover "Ruby Baby", an evergreen from the esteemed Lieber & Stoller, which takes you back to the smoky nightclubs of the era, to the single "New Frontier", an ironic and rhythmic electric blues, with an awkward teenager discovering the opposite sex as the protagonist. But it's with the title track and with "Maxime" that Donald gives his best.
In "The Nightfly" he tells us about the fantasies of a radio host, the one on the cover, in love with good jazz and the night. "Maxime" is one of the best ballads ever written, with the decisive contribution of a young Michael Brecker's sax. But the album isn’t only about Brecker: there's Porcaro on drums, Marcus Miller on bass, Larry Carlton on guitar, Omortian and Philliganes alternating on keyboards, just to name the most famous.
All of this makes Fagen's first solo album a milestone not only of '80s pop but probably in the entire history of popular music.
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Summary by Bot
Donald Fagen's debut solo album, The Nightfly, is a rich blend of jazz, pop, blues, and soul, evoking 1950s America through a nostalgic concept. The album features stellar musicianship from noted artists like Michael Brecker and mixes memorable tracks such as 'New Frontier' and 'Maxime.' Praised as a milestone of 1980s pop and beyond, it carries a unique charm and artistic perfection unmatched by many. The Nightfly stands as a timeless classic marking an important chapter in Fagen's career.Tracklist Lyrics Videos
Donald Fagen
American singer, songwriter, and keyboardist; co-founder of Steely Dan. His acclaimed solo catalog includes The Nightfly (1982), Kamakiriad (1993), Morph the Cat (2006), and Sunken Condos (2012).10 Reviews
Other reviews
By Progressive86
The great and total novelty of The Nightfly is that it is the first album recorded entirely in digital, with a sound perhaps somewhat plastic, fake but extremely clean and pleasant.
Donald Fagen... manages to exemplarily narrate the nightlife, reconciling New York metropolitan stereotypes with the existentialism of a man alone in front of the night.
