Morph the Cat

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Professional reviews
Morph the Cat

Studio album by Donald Fagen
Released	March 2006
Recorded	2004-05
Genre	Jazz-Rock
Label	Warner Bros. Records
Producer(s)	Donald Fagen
All Music Guide link Jazz Police link
Donald Fagen chronology
Kamakiriad (1993)	Morph the Cat (2006)

Morph the Cat is a 2006 album by Donald Fagen, his first since 1993. The nine-track album was released in the US on March 14, 2006. It was very well received by fans, but garnered mixed reviews in the press.

Additional musicians performing on the album include drummer Keith Carlock, guitarists Wayne Krantz, Jon Herington, and Hugh McCracken, clarinetist Lawrence Feldman, pianist Ted Baker and saxophonist Walt Weiskopf, among others.

The album, a rumination of death and old age, blends Fagen's patented storytelling and groove-oriented, backing vocal-laden style. H Gang is the lead single. It is available in digital format. The album was released as an audio CD, a vinyl record and a Special Edition CD/DVD. The DVD features versions of the album in Dolby Digital/DTS 5.1 playable on DVD-Video players and high-resolution stereo and surround tracks for DVD-Audio players. The 5.1 mix has won a 2006 Grammy Award for Best Surrond Sound Album. [1]

Fagen embarked on a twenty-date studio tour (with the Donald Fagen Band) which began March 1, 2006; nearly two weeks before the release of the album itself. Fagen performs songs from his latest album, his earlier solo work, as well as classic Steely Dan favorites. The tour is his first solo tour "since high school." The dates left out many areas along the USA's eastern seaboard and its south/southeast regions, leading some fans to correctly surmise that Fagen would join partner Walter Becker on a summer Steely Dan tour.

1 Track listing
2 Production
3 Charts
4 External links

[edit] Track listing

"Morph the Cat" – 6:49
"H Gang" – 5:15
"What I Do" – 6:01
"Brite Nitegown" – 7:16
"The Great Pagoda of Funn" – 7:39
"Security Joan" – 6:09
"The Night Belongs to Mona" – 4:18
"Mary Shut the Garden Door" – 6:29
"Morph the Cat (Reprise)" – 2:53
"Rhymes" (Bonus track, downloaded album only) – 4:21

[edit] Production

Producer: Donald Fagen
Tracking Engineer: Elliott Scheiner
Overdub/ProTools Engineers: Brian Montgomery, T.J. Doherty
Mix Engineer: Elliott Scheiner
Second Mix Engineer: Brian Montgomery
Assistant Engineers: Eddie Jackson, Jim Keller, Chad Lupo, Steve Mazur, Brian Montgomery, Matt Scheiner, Bryan Smith, Allan "A.T." Thomas
Piano Technicians: Sam Berd, Wayne Williams
Drum/Guitar Tech: Artie Smith
Music Copyist: Gary Blu
Mastering Engineer: Darcy Proper
Additional Mastering: Joseph M. Palmaccio
Mastering Assistant: Maria Triana
Management: Irving Azoff
Production Coordinators: Jill Dell'Abate, Cindy Osborne
Production Assistant: Mary Lou Arnold
Art Direction: Jeri Heiden
Design: Ryan Corey
Photography: Danny Clinch