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, Morph the Cat was described by Fagen as his "death album" in an interview with Fred Kaplan of The New York Times. 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 was released on CD and on a CD/DVD-Audio 2-disc package, with a 5.1 surround sound mix engineered by Elliot Scheiner. The surround recording won the Grammy Award for Best Surround Sound Album.
Track listing
Morph the cat - Donald Fagen - from album Morph the cat.
All songs written by Donald Fagen except where indicated.
- "Morph the Cat" â€" 6:49
- "H Gang" â€" 5:15
- "What I Do" â€" 6:01
- "Brite Nitegown" â€" 7:16
- "The Great Pagoda of Funn" â€" 7:39
- "Security Joan" â€" 6:09
- "The Night Belongs to Mona" â€" 4:18
- "Mary Shut the Garden Door" â€" 6:29
- "Morph the Cat (Reprise)" â€" 2:53
Bonus tracks, from The Nightfly Trilogy MVI Boxed Set
- "Rhymes" â€" 4:22 (Al Green, Mabon Hodges)
- "Hank's Pad" (Live) - 4:48 (Henry Mancini, Donald Fagen)
- "Viva Viva Rock 'N' Roll" (Live) - 2:42 (Chuck Berry)
Track credits
Morph the Cat
- Backing Vocals â€" Donald Fagen, Jerry Barnes, Michael Harvey
- Bass â€" Freddie Washington
- Drums â€" Keith Carlock
- Guitar â€" Frank Vignola, Hugh McCracken, Wayne Krantz
- Guitar [Solo] â€" Jon Herington
- Fender Rhodes â€" Donald Fagen
- Tenor Saxophone [Solo] â€" Walt Weiskopf
- Trumpet â€" Marvin Stamm
- Vibraphone â€" Phonus Quaver
H Gang
- Baritone Saxophone â€" Roger Rosenberg
- Bass â€" Freddie Washington
- Drums â€"Keith Carlock
- Guitar â€" Hugh McCracken, Wayne Krantz
- Guitar [Solo] â€" Jon Herington
- Percussion â€" Gordon Gottlieb
- Piano â€" Ted Baker
- Fender Rhodes, Backing Vocals â€" Donald Fagen
- Tenor Saxophone [Solo] â€" Walt Weiskopf
- Trombone â€" Mark Patterson
- Trumpet â€" Marvin Stamm
What I Do
- Backing Vocals â€" Amy Helm, Carolyn Leonhart, Cindy Mizelle, Donald Fagen
- Bass â€" Freddie Washington
- Drums â€" Keith Carlock
- Guitar â€" Hugh McCracken, Jon Herington, Ken Emerson, Wayne Krantz
- Harmonica [Solo] â€" Howard Levy
- Wurlitzer Electric Piano â€" Ted Baker
Brite Nitegown
- Alto Saxophone â€" Walt Weiskopf
- Baritone Saxophone â€" Roger Rosenberg
- Drums â€" Keith Carlock
- Guitar â€" Jon Herington
- Guitar [Solo] â€" Wayne Krantz
- Marimba â€" Phonus Quaver
- Percussion â€" Bashiri Johnson, Gordon Gottlieb
- Fender Rhodes, Backing Vocals â€" Donald Fagen
- Tenor Saxophone â€" Lawrence Feldman
- Trombone â€" Mark Patterson
- Trumpet â€" Marvin Stamm
The Great Pagoda of Funn
- Alto Saxophone â€" Walt Weiskopf
- Backing Vocals â€" Donald Fagen, Jerry Barnes
- Baritone Saxophone â€" Roger Rosenberg
- Bass â€" Freddie Washington
- Drums â€" Keith Carlock
- Guitar â€" Jon Herington
- Guitar [Solo] â€" Wayne Krantz
- Percussion â€" Joe Pasaro
- Piano â€" Ted Baker
- Tenor Saxophone â€" Lawrence Feldman
- Trombone â€" Mark Patterson
- Trumpet [Solo] â€" Marvin Stamm
- Vibraphone â€" Phonus Quaver
Security Joan
- Backing Vocals â€" Michael Harvey
- Bass â€" Freddie Washington
- Drums â€" Keith Carlock
- Guitar â€" Jon Herington, Wayne Krantz
- Guitar [Solo] â€" Ken Wessel
- Handclaps â€" Camille Meza, Candice Predham, Eddie Jackson, Jennifer Battista
- Organ, Piano, Backing Vocals â€" Donald Fagen
- Percussion â€" Gordon Gottlieb
- Wurlitzer Electric Piano â€" Ted Baker
The Night Belongs to Mona
- Acoustic Bass â€" Harlan Post, Jr.
- Bass â€" Freddie Washington
- Bass Clarinet â€" Roger Rosenberg
- Drums â€" Keith Carlock
- Flute â€" Lawrence Feldman
- Guitar â€" Jon Herington, Wayne Krantz
- Harmonica â€" Howard Levy
- Percussion â€" Gordon Gottlieb
- Piano, Backing Vocals â€" Donald Fagen
- Fender Rhodes â€" Ted Baker
- Tenor Saxophone â€" Walt Weiskopf
- Trombone â€" Mark Patterson
- Trumpet â€" Marvin Stamm
Mary Shut the Garden Door
- Backing Vocals â€" Carolyn Leonhart
- Bass â€" Freddie Washington
- Drums â€" Keith Carlock
- Flute â€" Illinois Elohainu
- Guitar â€" Jon Herington, Wayne Krantz
- Melodica [Solo], Backing Vocals â€" Donald Fagen
- Percussion â€" Gordon Gottlieb
- Fender Rhodes â€" Ted Baker
- Vibraphone â€" Phonus Quaver
Morph the Cat (Reprise)
- Backing Vocals â€" Jerry Barnes, Michael Harvey
- Bass â€" Freddie Washington
- Bass [Remedial] â€" Brian Montgomery
- Drums â€" Keith Carlock
- Guitar â€" Hugh McCracken, Wayne Krantz
- Guitar [Chorus Solo] â€" Jon Herington
- Guitar [Tag Solo] â€" Frank Vignola
- Fender Rhodes, Backing Vocals â€" Donald Fagen
- Tenor Saxophone â€" Walt Weiskopf
- Trumpet â€" Marvin Stamm
- Vibraphone â€" Phonus Quaver
- * 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
References
External links
- Donald Fagen interview in Sound on Sound - Article by Paul Tingen about the making of Morph The Cat
