Quell'ossuto e spigoloso dj che appare sulla copertina del disco fotografato alle 4.10 del mattino in un'angusta stanza di una stazione radio americana, se non mi ha salvato la vita, l'ha resa senza dubbio migliore.
All'epoca di questo maturo debutto, il sodalizio artistico con Walter Backer era finito. Fagen, uomo dal carattere non facile e poco incline a sposare le ragioni del music-biz, decide di chiudere in bellezza una fase della sua vita con "Il volo notturno". Ci vorrano ben undici anni per ascoltare un altro suo lavoro ("Kamakiriad" 1993) e circa venti per rivedere gli Steely Dan ("Two against Nature" 2000).
"The Nighfly" non sembra presentare novità eclatanti rispetto alle produzioni con il suo sodale Becker. La formula è quella che in tanti hanno tentato di ripetere, senza mai riuscire a raggiungere gli stessi esaltanti risultati (forse i Prefab Sprout sono quelli che si sono di più avvicinati): jazz, pop, blues, soul, che si fondono , dando vita a canzoni senza tempo. Ma in "Nightfly" vi è qualcosa in più, un fascino difficilmente spiegabile; una sorta di magia che tutto avvolge che forse è il segno della perfezione.
L'album è un "concept". E' un viaggio nella memoria dell'artista: l'America alla fine degli anni '50 vista attraverso gli occhi di un adolescente di periferia; un Paese con i suoi contrasti, con le sue angosce crescenti (la "guerra fredda"), ma anche con i suoi ingenui desideri e le fantasmagoriche promesse. Il "volo" non sarebbe completo, però, se non si spingesse tra le tante culture musicali presenti negli States, soprattutto in quella afro-americana, che nelle canzoni di Fagen coesistono armoniosamente.
Tutti e otto i brani andrebbero citati, a cominciare dalla cover "Ruby Baby", evergreen della premiata ditta Lieber & Stoller, che ti proietta nei fumosi nightclub dell'epoca, al singolo "New Frontier", blues elettrico ironico e ritmato, con un imbranato adolescente alla scoperta dell'altro sesso come protagonista. Ma è con la title track e con "Maxime" che Donald dà il meglio di sé.
In "Nightfly" ci racconta le fantasie di un intrattenitore radiofonico, quello della cover, innamorato del buon jazz e della notte. "Maxime" è una delle migliori ballad che siano mai state scritte, con l'apporto decisivo del sax di un giovane Michael Brecker. Ma nel disco non c'è solo Brecker: c'è Porcaro alla batteria, Marcus Miller al basso, Larry Carlton alla chitarra, Omortian e Philliganes che si alternano alle tastiere, solo per dire dei più famosi.
Tutto questo fa del primo disco solista di Fagen una pietra miliare non solo del pop anni '80, ma probabilmente dell'intera storia della musica leggera.
Elenco tracce testi e video
01 I.G.Y. (06:04)
Standing tough under stars and stripes
We can tell
This dream's in sight
You've got to admit it
At this point in time that it's clear
The future looks bright
On that train all graphite and glitter
Undersea by rail
Ninety minutes from New York to Paris
Well by seventy-six we'll be A.O.K.
What a beautiful world this will be
What a glorious time to be free
What a beautiful world this will be
What a glorious time to be free
Get your ticket to that wheel in space
While there's time
The fix is in
You'll be a witness to that game of chance in the sky
You know we've got to win
Here at home we'll play in the city
Powered by the sun
Perfect weather for a streamlined world
There'll be Spandex jackets one for everyone
What a beautiful world this will be
What a glorious time to be free
What a beautiful world this will be
What a glorious time to be free
On that train all graphite and glitter
Undersea by rail
Ninety minutes from New York to Paris
(More leisure for artists everywhere)
A just machine to make big decisions
Programmed by fellows with compassion and vision
We'll be clean when their work is done
We'll be eternally free yes and eternally young
What a beautiful world this'll be
What a glorious time to be free
What a beautiful world this'll be
What a glorious time to be free
03 Ruby Baby (05:39)
I got a girl and Ruby is her name
She don't love me, but I love her just the same
Ruby Baby how I want you
Like a ghost I'm gonna haunt you
Ruby Baby when will you be mine
Each time I see you baby my heart cries
I'm gonna steal you away from all those guys
From the sunny day I met you
Made a bet that I would get you
Ruby Baby when will you be mine
I got a girl and Ruby is her name
I'd give the world just to set her heart aflame
Got some lovin' money too
Gonna give it all to you
Ruby Baby when will you be mine
04 Maxine (03:49)
Some say that we're reckless
They say we're much too young
Tell us to stop before we've begun
We've got to hold out till graduation
Try to hang on Maxine
While the world is sleeping
We meet at Lincoln Mall
Talk about life the meaning of it all
Try to make sense of the suburban sprawl
Try to hang on Maxine
Mexico City is like another world
Nice this year they say
You'll be my senorita
In jeans and pearls
But first let's get off this highway
We'll move up to Manhattan
And fill the place with friends
Drive to the coast and drive right back again
One day we'll wake up, make love but 'til then
Try to hang on Maxine
05 New Frontier (06:21)
Yes we're gonna have a wingding
A summer smoker underground
It's just a dugout that my dad built
In case the reds decide to push the button down
We've got provisions and lots of beer
The key word is survival on the new frontier
Introduce me to that big blonde
She's got a touch of Tuesday Weld
She's wearing Ambush and a French twist
She's got us wild and she can tell
She loves to limbo, that much is clear
She's got the right dynamic for the new frontier
Well I can't wait till I move to the city
Till I finally make up my mind
To learn design and study overseas
Have you got a steady boyfriend
Cause honey I've been watching you
I hear you're mad about Brubeck
I like your eyes I like him too
He's an artist, a pioneer
We've got to have some music on the new frontier
Well I can't wait till I move to the city
Till I finally make up my mind
To learn design and study overseas
Let's pretend that it's the real thing
And stay together all night long
And when I really get to know you
We'll open up the doors and climb into the dawn
Confess your passion, your secret fear
Prepare to meet the challenge of the new frontier
06 The Nightfly (05:46)
I'm Lester the Nightfly
Hello Baton Rouge
Won't you turn your radio down
Respect the seven second delay we use
So you say there's a race
Of men in the trees
You're for tough legislation
Thanks for calling
I wait all night for calls like these
An independent station
WJAZ
With jazz and conversation
From the foot of Mt. Belzoni
Sweet music
Tonight the night is mine
Late line till the sun comes through the skylight
I've got plenty of java
And Chesterfield Kings
But I feel like crying
I wish I had a heart like ice
Heart like ice
If you want your honey
To look super swell
You must spring for that little blue jar
Patton's Kiss And Tell
Kiss And Tell
An independent station
WJAZ
With jazz and conversation
From the foot of Mt. Belzoni
Sweet music
Tonight the night is mine
Late line till the sun comes through the skylight
You'd never believe it
But once there was a time
When love was in my life
I sometimes wonder
What happened to that flame
The answer's still the same
It was you you it was you
Tonight you're still on my mind
An independent station
WJAZ
With jazz and conversation
From the foot of Mt. Belzoni
Sweet music
Tonight the night is mine
Late line till the sun comes through the skylight
07 The Goodbye Look (04:50)
The surf was easy on the day I came to stay
On this quiet island in the bay
I remember a line of women all in white
The laughter and the steel bands at night
Now the Americans are gone exept for two
The embassy's been hard to reach
There's been talk and lately a bit of action after dark
Behind the big casino on the beach
The rules are changed
It's not the same
It's all new players in a whole new ball game
Last night I dreamed of an old lover dressed in gray
I've had this fever now since yesterday
Wake up darling they're knocking the Colonel's standing in the sun
With his stupid face the glasses and the gun
I know what happens
I read the book
I believe I just got the goodbye look
Won't you pour me a Cuban breeze Gretchen
I know a fellow with a motor launch for hire
A skinny man with two-tone shoes
Cause tonight they're arranging a small reception just for me
Behind the big casino by the sea
I know what happens
I read the book
I believe I just got the goodbye look
08 Walk Between Raindrops (02:38)
A shadow crossed the blue Miami sky
As we hit the causeway by the big hotel
We fought
Now I can't remember why
After all the words were said and tears were gone
We vowed we'd never say goodbye
When we kissed we could hear the sound of thunder
As we watched the regulars rush the big hotels
We kissed again as the showers swept the Florida shore
You opened your umbrella
But we walked between the raindrops back to your door
In my dreams I can hear the sound of thunder
I can see the causeway by the big hotels
That happy day we'll find each other on that Florida shore
You'll open your umbrella
And we'll walk between the raindrops back to your door...
Carico i commenti... con calma
Altre recensioni
Di Progressive86
Donald Fagen riesce a raccontare in modo esemplare la vita notturna, conciliando stereotipi newyorkesi con l'esistenzialismo dell'uomo solo.
La grande novità di The Nightfly è quella di essere il primo album registrato completamente in digitale, con un suono pulito e gradevole.
