Morph the Cat

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.

Morph the Cat
Studio album by
Donald Fagen
ReleasedMarch 7, 2006 (2006-03-07)
Recorded2004-05
StudioAvatar Studios (New York City)
Clinton Recording Studios (New York City)
Sear Sound (New York City)
Sugar Sound (Kauai)
GenreJazz-rock, jazz-funk
Length52:49
LabelReprise
ProducerDonald Fagen
Donald Fagen chronology
Kamakiriad
(1993)		 Morph the Cat
(2006)		 Sunken Condos
(2012)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic83/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The A.V. ClubB+[3]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[4]
The Guardian[5]
The Independent[6]
Los Angeles Times[7]
Q[8]
Rolling Stone[9]
Uncut[10]
USA Today[11]

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.[13][14] The surround recording won the Grammy Award for Best Surround Sound Album.[15]

Track listing

All songs written by Donald Fagen.

No.TitleLength
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 (2, 4, 9), piano (6-7), organ (6), melodica (8)
  • 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)
  • Frank Vignola - Guitar (1), guitar tag solo (9)
  • Hugh McCracken - Guitar (1-3, 9)
  • Wayne Krantz - Guitar (1-3, 6-9), guitar solo (4-5)
  • Jon Herington - Guitar (3-8), guitar solo (2, 9), guitar chorus solo (9)
  • Ken Emerson - Guitar (3)
  • Freddie Washington - Bass (1-3, 5-9)
  • Brian Montgomery - Remedial bass (9)
  • Harlan Post, Jr. - Acoustic bass (7)
  • Keith Carlock - Drums
  • Ted Baker - Piano (2), Wurlitzer Electric Piano (3, 6), Fender Rhodes (7, 8)
  • Walt Weiskopf - Tenor saxophone (1-2, 7, 9)
  • Lawrence Feldman - Tenor saxophone (4-5)
  • Roger Rosenberg - Baritone saxophone (2, 4, 5), bass clarinet (7)
  • Marvin Stamm - Trumpet (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9)
  • Mark Patterson - Trombone (4, 5, 7)
  • Lawrence Feldman - Flute (7)
  • Illinois Elohainu - Flute (8)
  • Howard Levy - Harmonica (3, 7)
  • Phonus Quaver - Marimba (4), vibraphone (1, 5, 8, 9)
  • Gordon Gottlieb - Percussion (2, 4, 6, 7)
  • Bashiri Johnson - Percussion (4)
  • Joe Pasaro - Percussion (5)
  • Camille Meza, Candice Predham, Eddie Jackson, Jennifer Battista - Handclaps (6)
* 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
  • Producer: Donald Fagen
  • Tracking Engineer: Elliot 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

Charts

Album

Year Chart Position
2006 The Billboard 200 26
2006 Top Internet Albums 26
2006 UK Top 40 35

Singles

Year Single Chart Position
2006 "H Gang" Smooth Jazz Songs 29

References
  1. "Reviews for Morph the Cat by Donald Fagen". Metacritic. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
  2. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Morph the Cat – Donald Fagen". AllMusic. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
  3. Murray, Noel (March 29, 2006). "Donald Fagen: Morph The Cat". The A.V. Club. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
  4. Sinclair, Tom (March 13, 2006). "Morph the Cat". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on September 8, 2017. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
  5. Walters, John L. (March 10, 2006). "Donald Fagen, Morph the Cat". The Guardian. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
  6. Gill, Andy (February 24, 2006). "Album: Donald Fagen". The Independent. Archived from the original on December 2, 2009. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
  7. Cromelin, Richard (March 5, 2006). "The inspired and the familiar". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
  8. "Donald Fagen: Morph the Cat". Q (237): 113. April 2006.
  9. Walters, Barry (March 6, 2006). "Donald Fagen: Morph the Cat". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 8, 2007. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
  10. "Donald Fagen: Morph the Cat". Uncut (107): 104. April 2006.
  11. Gundersen, Edna (March 6, 2006). "Donald Fagen: Morph the Cat". USA Today. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
  12. Kaplan, Fred (26 February 2006). "What Rhymes With Orange Alert?". New York Times. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  13. "Fagen Preps For 'Morph'". Billboard. 27 February 2006. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  14. "Morph The Cat: Donald Fagen Solo Album Set for Reprise Records Release on March 7; Tour Dates Announced; Panasonic ELS Surround Is Presenting Sponsor". Marketwired. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  15. "Panasonic ELS Surround(R) Collaborator Honored with Emmy(R); Elliot Scheiner Wins for Outstanding Sound Mixing". BusinessWire. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
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