Morph the Cat
2006 studio album by Donald Fagen
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Morph the Cat is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Donald Fagen. Released on March 7, 2006, to generally positive reviews from critics,[1] Morph the Cat was described by Fagen as his "death album" in an interview with Fred Kaplan of The New York Times.[12] Musicians on the album include drummer Keith Carlock, saxophonist Walt Weiskopf, bassist Freddie Washington, and guitarists Frank Vignola, Jon Herington, Wayne Krantz, and Hugh McCracken.
ReleasedMarch 7, 2006
Recorded2004–05
StudiosAvatar Studios (New York City)
Clinton Recording Studios (New York City)
Sear Sound (New York City)
Sugar Sound (Kauai)
Clinton Recording Studios (New York City)
Sear Sound (New York City)
Sugar Sound (Kauai)
| Morph the Cat | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 7, 2006 | |||
| Recorded | 2004–05 | |||
| Studios | Avatar Studios (New York City) Clinton Recording Studios (New York City) Sear Sound (New York City) Sugar Sound (Kauai) | |||
| Genres | ||||
| Length | 52:49 | |||
| Label | Reprise | |||
| Producer | Donald Fagen | |||
| Donald Fagen chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 83/100[1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| The A.V. Club | B+[3] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+[4] |
| The Guardian | [5] |
| The Independent |  [6] |
| Los Angeles Times | [7] |
| Q | [8] |
| Rolling Stone | [9] |
| Uncut | [10] |
| USA Today | [11] |
The album has distinct political overtones. Fagen said that "Mary Shut the Garden Door", which depicts a frightening alien invasion, was inspired by the 2004 Republican National Convention in Manhattan and contains allusions to those then in power in the United States.[13]
Morph the Cat was released on CD and on a CD/DVD-Audio 2-disc package, with a 5.1 surround sound mix engineered by Elliot Scheiner.[14][15] The surround recording won the Grammy Award for Best Surround Sound Album.[16]
Track listing
All songs written by Donald Fagen.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Morph the Cat" | 6:49 |
| 2. | "H Gang" | 5:15 |
| 3. | "What I Do" | 6:01 |
| 4. | "Brite Nitegown" | 7:16 |
| 5. | "The Great Pagoda of Funn" | 7:39 |
| 6. | "Security Joan" | 6:09 |
| 7. | "The Night Belongs to Mona" | 4:18 |
| 8. | "Mary Shut the Garden Door" | 6:29 |
| 9. | "Morph the Cat (Reprise)" | 2:53 |
Personnel
- Donald Fagen – lead vocals, backing vocals, Fender Rhodes (1, 2, 4, 9), acoustic piano (6, 7), organ (6), melodica (8)
- Ted Baker – acoustic piano (2, 5), Wurlitzer electric piano (3, 6), Fender Rhodes (7, 8)
- Hugh McCracken – guitars (1–3, 9)
- Wayne Krantz – guitars (1–3, 6–9), guitar solo (4, 5)
- Frank Vignola – guitars (1), guitar tag solo (9)
- Jon Herington – guitar solo (1, 2, 9), guitars (3–8), guitar chorus solo (9)
- Ken Emerson – guitars (3)
- Ken Wessel – guitar solo (6)
- Freddie Washington – bass (1–3, 5–9)
- Harlan Post Jr. – acoustic bass (7)
- Brian Montgomery – remedial bass (9)
- Keith Carlock – drums (1–3, 5–9)
- Phonus Quaver – vibraphone (1, 5, 8, 9), marimba (1, 4, 9)
- Gordon Gottlieb – percussion (2, 4, 6, 7)
- Bashiri Johnson – percussion (4)
- Joe Pasaro – percussion (5)
- Jennifer Battista, Eddie Jackson, Camille Meza and Candice Predham – handclaps (6)
- Walt Weiskopf – tenor saxophone (1, 2, 7, 9), tenor sax solo (1, 2), alto saxophone (4, 5)
- Roger Rosenberg – baritone saxophone (2, 4, 5), bass clarinet (7)
- Lawrence Feldman – clarinet (2), tenor saxophone (4, 5), flute (7)
- Illinois Elohainu – flutes (8)
- Mark Patterson – trombone (4, 5, 7)
- Marvin Stamm – trumpet (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9), trumpet solo (5)
- Howard Levy – harmonica (3, 7), harmonica solo (3)
- Jerry Barnes – backing vocals (1, 5, 9)
- Michael Harvey – backing vocals (1, 6, 9)
- Amy Helm – backing vocals (3)
- Carolyn Leonhart – backing vocals (3, 8)
- Cindy Mizelle – backing vocals (3)
- * Harlan Post Jr., Phonus Quaver and Illinois Elohainu are pseudonyms for Fagen himself when he plays an instrument sample patch on a synthesizer trying to replicate the actual instrument.
Production
- Donald Fagen – producer
- Elliot Scheiner – tracking engineer, mix engineer
- T.J. Doherty – overdub engineer, Pro Tools engineer
- Brian Montgomery – overdub engineer, Pro Tools engineer, assistant engineer, second mix engineer
- Eddie Jackson – assistant engineer
- Jim Keller – assistant engineer
- Chad Lupo – assistant engineer
- Steve Mazur – assistant engineer
- Matt Scheiner – assistant engineer
- Bryan Smith – assistant engineer
- Allan Thomas – assistant engineer
- Darcy Proper – mastering at Sony Mastering (New York, NY)
- Maria Triana – mastering assistant
- Joseph M. Palmaccio – additional mastering
- Sam Berd – piano technician
- Wayne Williams – piano technician
- Artie Smith – guitar technician, drum technician
- Gary Blu – music copyist
- Irving Azoff – management
- Jill Dell'Abate – production coordinator
- Cindy Osborne – production coordinator
- Mary Lou Arnold – production assistant
- Jeri Heiden – art direction
- Ryan Corey – design
- Danny Clinch – photography
Charts
| Chart (2006) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[17] | 53 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[18] | 68 |
| Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[19] | 44 |
| Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[20] | 39 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[21] | 23 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[22] | 25 |
| French Albums (SNEP)[23] | 145 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[24] | 53 |
| Irish Albums (IRMA)[25] | 55 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI)[26] | 28 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon)[27] | 24 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[28] | 8 |
| Scottish Albums (Official Charts)[29] | 33 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[30] | 9 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[31] | 27 |
| UK Albums (Official Charts)[32] | 35 |
| US Billboard 200[33] | 26 |
| US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[34] | 8 |
| US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[35] | 5 |