Why Was I Not Imformed?
Donald Fagen has a new CD/DVD combo out: "Morph the Cat" (see the sidebar for an Amazon link). There are very few artists whose output is required to be acquired and Donald Fagen is one of them. Steely Dan, of which Fagen is a third, is also a necessary buy but, strangely, Walter Becker's solo output is not to my taste. On the other hand, Fagen's "Kamakiriad" is quite possibly one of the best discs of all time - top 20 if not top 10. On Steely Dan's "Alive in America" live disc there is a version Becker's "Book of Liars" which is, simply, superb. Yet when I listened to the original on "11 Tracks of Whack," I was not knocked out.
I also finally ordered the CD of Roy Orbison's all-star "Black & White Night" which is a staple of PBS pledge week programming. What can I say? It's the Ooby Dooby man at his best surrounded by the likes of Bonnie Raitt, T Bone Burnett, J.D. Souther and Bruce Springsteen. I think I can honestly say my musical tastes are eclectic.