Advanced Search >
Help Me Search

Music

All-Time High (And Low) Scores
Best Of 2009
Best Of 2008
Best Of 2007
Best Of 2006
Best Of 2005
Best Of 2004
Best Of 2003
Best Of 2002
Best Of 2001
Best Of 2000

Upcoming &
Recent Releases

sort by namesort by score

70 AFI
65 Air
71 Alice In Chains
77 Amerie
85 The Antlers
75 Arctic Monkeys
68 As Tall As Lions
82 Atlas Sound
75 The Avett Brothers
67 Backstreet Boys
56 Bad Lieutenant
68 Devendra Banhart
72 Lou Barlow
88 Baroness
69 Basement Jaxx
81 David Bazan
72 Brendan Benson
72 The Big Pink
96 Big Star
46 Billy Talent
75 The Black Crowes
51 Black Mold
68 Blitzen Trapper
75 BLK JKS
77 A.A. Bondy
73 The Bottle Rockets
63 Box Elders
65 Boys Like Girls
76 Brand New
73 Tyondai Braxton
87 Brother Ali
70 Ian Brown
75 Michael Buble
78 Built To Spill
61 Colbie Caillat
79 Califone
68 Mariah Carey
84 Brandi Carlile
73 Julian Casablancas
83 Rosanne Cash
69 Castanets
65 The Cave Singers
84 Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
79 Vic Chesnutt
75 Choir Of Young Believers
81 Circulatory System
68 The Clean
84 The Clientele
71 Cobra Starship
85 Converge
71 Eric Copeland
80 Cymbals Eat Guitars
71 Datarock
59 Dead By Sunrise
76 Dead Man's Bones
88 Destroyer
63 The Dodos
77 Drive-By Truckers
66 Bob Dylan
44 The Entrance Band
67 Esser
69 Fanfarlo
63 Felix Da Housecat
68 Fink
78 The Flaming Lips
66 Flight Of The Conchords
79 Florence And The Machine
67 John Fogerty
83 Fuck Buttons
71 Nelly Furtado
47 Gary Go
68 Ghostface Killah
79 Girls
69 Gossip
62 David Gray
66 David Guetta
79 Richard Hawley
74 Mayer Hawthorne
66 Headlights
79 HEALTH
77 Joe Henry
66 Hockey
69 Whitney Houston
68 Imogen Heap
59 Jack Ingram
79 Islands
73 Jessie James
74 Jamie T
65 Jay-Z
51 Jet
69 Daniel Johnston
76 Karen O And The Kids
72 Toby Keith
69 Kid Cudi
65 Kings Of Convenience
62 Sean Kingston
64 KISS
76 Kris Kristofferson
68 KRS-One & Buckshot
76 La Roux
84 Miranda Lambert
72 Ledisi
75 Sondre Lerche
56 Juliette Lewis
82 Lightning Bolt
73 Little Dragon
44 Pixie Lott
73 Lyle Lovett
66 Lovvers
75 Baaba Maal
77 Madness
84 Madonna
85 Manic Street Preachers
62 Maps
55 Massive Attack
57 Matisyahu
67 Reba McEntire
66 Tim McGraw
65 Brian McKnight
79 Mew
77 Malcolm Middleton
77 Mika
68 Amy Millan
76 Mission Of Burma
76 Molina And Johnson
80 Monsters Of Folk
62 Morrissey
85 Mount Eerie
78 The Mountain Goats
62 Múm
72 Muse
66 Willie Nelson
78 Nirvana
97 Nirvana
72 Nisennenmondai
80 No Age
71 Noah And The Whale
75 Noisettes
79 Nudge
47 Dolores O'Riordan
74 Os Mutantes
73 Osso
81 Owen
76 Paramore
76 Pastels And Tenniscoats
51 Sean Paul
80 Pearl Jam
66 Jemina Pearl
72 Jack Penate
65 Phish
82 Pissed Jeans
61 Pitbull
79 A Place To Bury Strangers
66 Robert Pollard
79 Polvo
72 Porcupine Tree
80 Q-Tip
80 R.E.M.
89 Raekwon
69 Rain Machine
70 Ramona Falls
75 Dizzee Rascal
75 The Raveonettes
76 Jay Reatard
82 Reigning Sound
81 Rodrigo Y Gabriela
79 Russian Circles
69 Buffy Sainte-Marie
73 Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions
61 Sally Shapiro
78 Shudder To Think
70 Simian Mobile Disco
58 Simple Minds
72 Six Organs Of Admittance
69 Slaughterhouse
80 Slayer
61 The Slits
62 Mindy Smith
78 Soulsavers
77 Speech Debelle
58 Spiral Stairs
58 Squarepusher
55 Steel Panther
73 Sufjan Stevens
52 Rod Stewart
65 Joss Stone
75 George Strait
83 Barbra Streisand
76 A Sunny Day In Glasgow
74 Susanna And The Magical Orchestra
78 The Swell Season
76 David Sylvian
83 Taken By Trees
78 Tegan And Sara
68 The Temper Trap
72 Themselves
82 They Might Be Giants
67 Third Eye Blind
66 J Tillman
69 Times New Viking
57 Tokio Hotel
67 Trey Songz
71 The Twilight Sad
58 Carrie Underwood
56 The Used
68 Various Artists
70 Various Artists
74 Various Artists
77 The Very Best
71 Kurt Vile
67 Vivian Girls
71 Volcano Choir
76 Rufus Wainwright
59 Weezer
80 White Denim
76 Why?
83 Wild Beasts
80 Wildbirds & Peacedrums
59 Andrew W.K.
71 Patrick Wolf
67 Wolfmother
84 The xx
79 Yo La Tengo
83 Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band
51 Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson
59 Zero 7

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.

Morph The Cat

EMAILPRINTby Donald Fagen

Donald Fagen reviews
83
8.4 User Score:

Album Info

Label: Reprise

Release Date: 14 March 2006

Discs: 1 disc

Genre(s): Rock

Summary

This is the Steely Dan vocalist's first solo disc in over a dozen years.

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

The Guardian

The album is imbued with a post-9/11 dread, which deters Fagen from recycling the nostalgia and Lynchian fantasy of his previous albums.

Read Full Review >
100

Uncut

Morph... sounds utterly of a piece with Aja. [Apr 2006, p.104]

90

Billboard

It is some of Fagen's finest work to date.

Read Full Review >
90

Village Voice

Fagen's triumph of rendering post–9-11 New York most recalls how perfectly Steely Dan caught LA on 1980's 'Gaucho.'

Read Full Review >
90

All Music Guide

More so than on Kamakiriad, or on the tight Everything Must Go, there is a sense of genuine band interplay on this record, which helps give it both consistency and heart -- something appropriate for an album that is Fagen's most personal song cycle since The Nightfly, and quite possibly his best album since then.

Read Full Review >
83

The Onion (A.V. Club)

There's something weirdly compelling about hearing Fagen settle into this particular rut, especially on a set of songs about growing old in an age of terror.

Read Full Review >
83

Entertainment Weekly

With its precisely calibrated funk grooves, exquisitely tasteful playing, and general air of blissed-out languor, Morph is firmly in the smoothed-out tradition of latter-day Dan discs like Gaucho. [17 Mar 2006, p.111]

80

musicOMH.com

Indeed, if you are looking for surprises then you won't find many. As well as stellar production, another Fagen trademark is his willingness, even necessity, for songs to run their natural course.

Read Full Review >
80

PopMatters

Despite the craft in this music--no, because of the craft in this music--most younger fans will run from Morph like it carried the very plague. No question, this album sounds uniform and rather overpleasant--engineered to a sheen of perfection.

Read Full Review >
75

Los Angeles Times

At his best he spins these tales with a mix of literary craft and jazzman's cool, animating his narratives with vivid and colorful language. [5 Mar 2006]

70

Q Magazine

Smart, sophisticated, noodly--what else would you expect? [Apr 2006, p.113]

70

Blender

The unhurried, full-retail rock arrangements are splashed with lite-R&B syncopations and snazzy-jazz harmonies. [Apr 2006, p.111]

70

Rolling Stone

Contains his catchiest, most immediate compositions in decades.

Read Full Review >
60

Mojo

The joy of Steely Dan's early albums was that their superior playing, production and craftsmanship was vibrantly energetic, spiced with rollercoaster twists and turns, and deeply sardonic lyrics... Fagen now lacks those vital extra elements, leaving just craftsmanship with no spark. [Apr 2006, p.104]

58

E! Online

Ultimately, it's hard to shake the feeling that something is missing.

Read Full Review >
58

Stylus Magazine

Morph the Cat is too complacent, too enamored with its own lacquered contours.

Read Full Review >

What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 8.4 (out of 10) based on 40 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Jason K gave it a10:
Unquestionably my favorite album in several years, it combines unparalleled musical craft with some of the most current and vital lyrics penned post 9-11. If you are lucky enough to own a decent turntable get the vinyl version. It's my "watch their jaw drop" album when I'm proving how much better records sound than CD's. This album grew and grew on me after repeated listens and if you've forgotten what great music and stunning production sounds like with all the lo-fi minimalist garbage floating around this will be the antidote. Well done Donald.

steven j gave it a9:
ive been listening to fegan and becker for about 4 years, and ive heard just about every thing they've done, but this album shows donald fegans true talent in that it allows him to go his own way and bring in his more serious side. i feel that what he has truely wanted to do in his music has been limited by the likes of walter becker and in this album, now thats he's gone solo i think we can enjoy his superior tastes without beckers immaturity. dont get me wrong i love their duo, but that stuff has its place, i only gave this album a 90 because i didnt understand or like "mary shut the garden door", but the rest of the tracks are magnificent. I love you Donnie

Chris L gave it a9:
Mack, it seems this is not the music for you. Move on my young friend. But consider this: for 25 years I was neither here nor there about the SD song Josie. But then I got a kick-ass stereo and started to listen to a lot of jazz. On my return to SD, everything made sense. If you don't get the melodies and harmonies on Morph, you've either got a lot of listening ahead or you're just not calibrated for this kind of music. But pay attention because a lot of discerning ears and minds are spot on with praise here. Most songwriters will never write anything like The Great Pagoda of Funn. And Fagen is a songwriter first and foremost. He's held back his drummer here, Keith Carlock, intentionally. You should see him live. Wayne Krantz does his usual fab guitar work. And of course, like everything SD/DF/WB has released this takes multiple listens - perhaps years - to fully sink in and be appreciated.

Pete E gave it a10:
Another work of genius by a true musical genius !!

Doug C gave it a10:
Very Manhattan sound and subject matter. Great little humorous touches, too. Superb arranging, spare on solos, but tuneful and catchy throughout.

Neil D gave it an8:
To me, Fagen's music has become more subtle over the years, and it isn't really fair to compare it to early Steely Dan work. I find multiple listenings to Fagen's new stuff leading to a deepr appreciation of his gifts . It gets inside you after awhile. To those who criticize it as "elevator music," "smooth jazz,:" I could understand that point were it not for the incredible musicianship, lyrics, and song craftmanship. Fagen is a perfectionist, and if his music seems over produced, it is only so in context of "hip" now being defined as less production. That wasn't always the case. Believe me, Fagen and Becker's music will stand the test of time more thant 99% of current indie bands. At my age, 50, I now like Frank Sinatra and swing. Who would have thunk? So young hipsters, some of you need a little seasoning before getting the Steely Dan thing. Don't get off the elevator just yet.

John L gave it an8:
This isn't "The Nightfly", but it's far better than his second solo outing, and much better than the last Steely Dan actually(though probably not up their with Two Against Nature). About half a great album, and the half that's not great, it certainly very good.

Read more user comments >

Popular on CBS sites: SEC Football | NFL | Video Game Cheats | iPhone | Video Game Reviews | Notebooks | Antivirus Software

About CBS Interactive | Jobs | Advertise

© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use