CAT IS IN COOL.

"E mo' cosa cazzo me invento adesso?!" sembra dire il nostro Donald Duck in copertina assorto con le mani in mano, sulla sedia nello studio che fu del nonno.
"Ecchecazzo...in 13 anni manco un'idea...ma come cazzo è possibile, socmèl" (tutti sanno delle origini modenesi del nostro che faceva Faggiano di cognome da cui il soprannome "Fagèn").
Niente da fare, imbroccato il celebre "Steely Dan Cool Sound" con il compagno di merende Walter Becker sul finire degli anni 70 e dopo il successo travolgente di "The Nightfly" dell'82 (!!) il nostro ebbe un piccolo sussulto con "kamakiriad" del '93, praticamente ignorato da tutti, perfino da lui stesso (celebre la sua conferenza stampa con il passamontagna e con la voce falsificata dalla vergogna) ma poi... nulla! A parte un paio di reunion col suo vecchio compare a firma Steely Dan (con la solita minestra), di lui si erano perse le tracce.
Cosa cazzo avrà fatto in questi 13 anni?!? Avrà rinnovato il suo stile? Si sarà sputtanato tutti soldi accumulati? Si sarà dato all'ippica? Avrà prodotto nuove leve? Ha forse fatto la furbata di Paul Simon che si è paraculato il sound di Eno per rinfrescare canzoni nate già vecchie e stanche?
MACCHEEE!!!
Il brizzolato Faggiano se ne esce con un disco...udite udite... PRATICAMENTE identico alle solite cose di sempre!!!
Se questo non è genio ditemi voi cos'è!!
Sentire questo "Morph the Chat" è come riascoltare un "The Night fly-down", ossia lo stesso disco ma senza la novità, il brio e l'originalità di allora (cazzo, parliamo di quasi 25 anni fa!!!). Non a caso "The NightFly" "dette il La" a quella orda di compilation lunge-jazz-cool-sticazz-style che tanto ebbero fortuna negli anni a seguire...e vabeh...tanto di cappello...ma quello che ci si chiede adesso è... E ADESSO?! EMBE'?!?! E QUINDI?!?! E soprattutto: MA PERCHE'?!?!
Insomma: COME SE NULLA FOSSE CAMBIATO.
Come se 25 anni di evoluzioni musicali non fossero serviti a un cazzo e il mondo fosse fermo a 25 anni fa.
Come se girassi ancora col mangianastri Geloso ascoltando musica frusciante dalle vecchie bobine o circolassi con la testa a cresta punk col pearcing al naso OGGI che son passati quasi vent'anni e il pearcing al naso ce l'ha pure il mio direttore di banca! Completamente A N A C R O N I S T I C O.

Brani mosci e soffusi col solito suono di Rodhes piano (ormai un must, come il brano "Morph The Cat") col ritmo funky-jazz-rock-fusion, con le solite chitarrine a ricamare col solito trafiletto jazzato ("H-Gang") e le solite doppie voci ben armonizzate ("What I do")...insomma...tutto perfettino ...tutto paurosamente già sentito... tutto prevedibile e scontato peggio di una corsa in bagno con la colite: sai sempre cosa ti aspetta un minuto dopo!!
Al 4° brano vorrei mollare tutto e fracassare lo stereo ma 1) mi rendo conto che lui non c'entra un cazzo, poveretto, in tutto ciò 2) sono lievemente masochista e bocconi così prelibati è da folli lasciarseli sfuggire!
Quando si arriva a "The Great Pagoda Of Fun" (giuro...non è una mia invenzione: si chiama proprio così!!) vorrei staccarmi le palle a morsi ma non ho nemmeno denti per piangere (?!).
Niente...
Pattume e prevedibilità a manetta... sound carino, per carità, ma le canzoni sono tutte brutalmente monotematiche e uguali a se stesse con un arrangiamento fatto con lo stesso stampino arrugginito dei biscotti di mia nonna Anaclea.
Il brano 7 titola "The Night Belongs To Mona" che dalle parti venete sembra un invito di buon auspicio per i fissati del soave "carpaccio femminile"... niente da fare.
CAZZO, so che mi ripeto e non vorrei farlo ma è la solita pippona trita e ritrita peggio di una grattachecca tritata col TurboGirmi a velocità 9.
Non se ne può più... metto il cd a volume 2 e mi leggo l'ultimo liberculo di Paulo Cohelo e lascio che gli ultimi due brani facciano il resto.
E infatti, nemmeno il tempo di leggere le 7 parole del titolo "Sono supino su un prato a fluttuar le esalazioni del mio Sè Interiore" che crollo addormentato secco sull'amaca del terrazzo.
Mi venissero a parlare di Dormiben, Sempersonn o Camomilloni vari  ...io il mio metodo naturale per dormire l'ho trovato eccome: due o tre brani di questo CD, scelti a random eee... risultati SICURI al 99% (l'1% è di quelli a cui 'sto disco piace per davvero - e non sto' scherzando).
Yeaaaaahwwwl...'nanotte gente!
                                  Your Lester.

*)nonsomministrarealdisottodei30anni- seguireattentamenteleavvertenzeeledosiconsigliatenellaconfezione-tenereallalargaglidalleorecchieamantidimusicaoriginaleemaiscontataedalledonneinavanzatostatodigravidanza.

 

Elenco tracce testi e video

01   Morph the Cat (06:49)

High above Manhattan town
What floats and has a shape like that
Fans like us who watch the skies
We know it's Morph the Cat

Gliding like a big blue cloud
From Tomkins Square to Upper Broadway
Beyond the park to Sugar Hill
Stops a minute for a latte

He oozes down the heating duct
Swims like seaweed down the hall
He briefly digs your wiggy pad
And seeps out through the wall

It's kind of like an arctic mindbath
Cool and sweet and slightly rough
Liquid light on New York City
Like Christmas without the chintzy stuff

What exactly does he want
This Rabelaisian puff of smoke
To make you feel all warm and cozy
Like you heard a good joke

Like you heard an Arlen tune
Or you bought yourself a crazy hat
Like you had a Mango Cooler
Ooh - Morph the Cat

He's all the talk in shops and schoolyards
Sultan Place - the Automat
Players playin' in da Bronx
Respects to Morph the Cat

It's kind of like an arctic mindbath
Cool and sweet and slightly rough
Liquid light on New York City
Like Christmas without the chintzy stuff

So rich is his charisma
You can almost hear it sing
He skims the roofs
And bells begin to ring

Chinese cashiers can feel it now
Grand old gals at evening mass
Young racketeers
And teenage models
Laughing on the grass

Blessed Yankees have an ally
When this feline comes to bat
Bringing joy to old Manhattan
All watch the skies for Morph the Cat

02   H Gang (05:15)

I hear Denise is back on the outside
That' she's got a wicked plan
She's callin' in the Gong sisters again
To form the ultimate five chord band

For eight months now in that freaking cell
She's been knockin' ideas around
Now she's good and ready to make a big noise
Right here in her own hometown

Here comes the H-Gang
Slammin' into Hinktown
Oh, you better get off the stage, boys
'Cause they'll be looking for a showdown

On a moonless night they started off
On a bus called Happy Day
To bring their vision to cities and towns
Across the U.S.A.

And in every club and hall they played
The crowd knew every word
Even today folks are talkin' about
The incredible sounds they heard

Here comes the H-Gang
Turn on the floodlights
Get off the stage son
Unless you're ready for a kickfight

Whatever happened to the H-Gang
Some say they were the best
I heard they broke up, Denise got hitched
And she's living in the Midwest

There's a film that's in production
The working title, ''Song of Desire''
'Bout an orphan girl with this crazy red hair
And a voice and a dream and a soul on fire

Here comes the H-Gang
Slammin' into Hinktown
Oh, you better get off the stage, boys
'Cause they'll be looking for a showdown

Here comes the H-Gang
Turn on the floodlights
Get off the stage son
Unless you're ready for a kickfight

Here comes the H-Gang
Slammin' into Hinktown
Oh, you better get off the stage, boys
Unless you're looking for a showdown

03   What I Do (06:01)

04   Brite Nitegown (07:16)

I dreamed I had a fever
I was pushin one-oh-three
My mom’s all upset - cryin’ by my bedside
Everybody’s prayin’ for me
I hear a scratchin at the window
I somehow twist myself around
I realize I’m eyes to eyes
With the fella in the Brite Nitegown

Brite Nitegown
Brite Nitegown
You can’t fight with the fella
In the Brite Nitegown

The eagle flys on Friday
My baby wants to bash
I hit the ATM - and march down the street
With a roll of party cash
Right then a couple lit-up brothers
They gently put me on the ground
They do the steal and leave me to deal
With the fella in the Brite Nitegown

Brite Nitegown
Brite Nitegown
You can’t fight with the fella
In the Brite Nitegown

Ten milligrams of Chronax
Will whip you back through time
Past Hebrew kings - and furry things
To the birth of humankind
I shared in all of nature’s secrets
But when I finally came around
I’m sittin’ on the rug gettin’ a victory hug
From the fella in the brite Brite Nitegown


Brite Nitegown
Brite Nitegown
You can’t fight with the fella
In the Brite Nitegown

05   The Great Pagoda of Funn (07:37)

The stars are bright tonight
The air is sweet
Though summer's over now
There's a strange new music in the street

You and I
Know the world can't be like this
It's our love that makes it shine

Girl
Whatever trouble waits outside these doors
We're safe inside thsi house of light
We make up our own storyline

Around the neighborhood
They stare and grin
As if they live their lives
Just to help maintain the state we're in
But when we fight
Then those hungry wolves close in
We're one thoughtless word away

From poison skies
And severed heads
And pain and lies
So follow me
I'll hold you tight
And we'll build a life together
In the great pagoda of funn

This magic soon will fade
Without a doubt
We'll have to work my love
Just to keep the flame from going out
Cause if we fail
Then these walls will fall away
And we'll fin we're in the realm

Of psycho-moms
And dying stars
And dirty bombs
Please follow me
And hold me tight
Yes we'll build a world together
In the great pagoda of funn

06   Security Joan (06:09)

Well, I guess I needed a miracle
If I was gonna make my flight
I had to get to gate C13
And it was still way out of sight

Something in my carry-on bag
Tipped off the x-ray machine
'Cause then an angel straight from heaven
Asked me to "step behind that screen"
And when I felt the wand sweep over me
You know I never felt so clean

Well, girl you won't find my name on your list
Honey you know I ain't no terrorist
Confiscate my shoes, my cellphone
You know I love, love, love you
Security Joan

I hung out at the Starbucks
'Til just around boarding time
Then I strolled on back to the checkpoint
Just one thing on my mind

She flashed that crooked smile and said
"Well, I believe you missed your flight"
I said, "There's been a minor change of plan
And I'll be stayin' for one more night"
I could tell from the way she looked at me
Everything was gonna be all right

Well, girl you won't find my name on your list
Honey you know I ain't no terrorist
Confiscate my shoes, my cellphone
You know I love, love, love you
Security Joan

Search me now

Well, girl you won't find my name on your list
Honey you know I ain't no terrorist
Confiscate my shoes, my cellphone
You know I love, love, love you
Security Joan

Hey, now

07   The Night Belongs to Mona (04:14)

Mona's become a child of the night
When she goes out
It's only for bare necessities
She says she's had it up to here with light
While the city sleeps
That's when she comes alive

Yes, the night belongs to Mona
When she's dancing all alone
Forty floors above the city
CDs spinnin'
AC hummin'
Feelin' pretty

Sometimes she'll call at some unholy hour
She wants to talk
All of this grim and funny stuff
Then she'll go all quiet in her Chelsea tower
And that's when we wait
To see how the story ends

'Cause the night belongs to Mona
When she's dancing all alone
Forty floors above the city
CDs spinnin'
AC hummin'
Feelin' pretty

Was it the fire downtown
That turned her world around
Was it some guy or lots of different things
We all wonder where she's gone
That sunny girl we used to know
Now every night we get the Mona show

Maybe it's good that she's above it all
Things don't seem as dark
When you're already dressed in black
We try not to see the writing on the wall
What happens tomorrow

When the moonrays
Get so bright
When she rises
Towards the starlight
Miles above
The city's heat
Will she fall hard
Or float softly to the street

Tonight the night belongs to Mona
When she's dancing all alone
Forty floors above the city
CDs spinnin'
AC hummin'
Feelin' pretty

08   Mary Shut the Garden Door (06:27)

They came in under the radar
When our backs were turned around
In a fleet of Lincoln Town Cars
They rolled into our town
Confounded all six senses
Like an opiate in the brain
Mary shut the garden door
Looks a lot like rain

Mary shut the garden door
Mary shut the garden door

We pounded Rachel's radio
For reports about the bridge
There was nothing on but static
Nothing in the fridge
We lay there listening to the wind
Whistling through the pines
When we heard the engines idling
Saw the headlights through the blinds

Mary shut the garden door
Mary shut the garden door

Rough dreams
Those voices in the kitchen
I woke up
And sensed the new condition
They won
Storms raged
Things changed
Forever

So if you ever see an automaton
In a midprice luxury car
Better roll the sidewalks up
Switch on your lucky star
'Cause this zombie does impressions
But not really to amuse
This ballad is for lovers
With something left to lose

Mary shut the garden door
Mary shut the garden door

09   Morph the Cat (reprise) (02:51)

10   Rhymes (04:21)

Carico i commenti...  con calma

Altre recensioni

Di  Socrates

 I brani rivelano la loro personalità non di semplici epigoni, tutte le loro delicate sfumature, quegli incredibili aromi che solo il nostro sa donare con una maestria ed un'eleganza pari solo alla parsimonia.

 Morph The Cat è il terzo pannello di un trittico che testimonia la dedizione al dettaglio di Fagen, paragonabile a un pittore fiammingo.