Nightfly

The Life of Steely Dan's Donald Fagen

De: Peter Jones

Narrado por: Michael Butler Murray

Donald Fagen will forever be associated with Steely Dan, the band he formed with Walter Becker and four other musicians in 1972.

The smooth radio-friendly veneer of the duo's songs made Steely Dan internationally popular and famous in the 1970s, but the polish glossed over the underlying layers of anger, disappointment, sleaze, and often downright weirdness lurking just beneath the surface. The elliptical lyrics—were—and continue to be-an endless source of fascination. What kind of person was capable of writing such songs?

Fagen has always kept his true self hidden behind walls of irony, confounding most journalistic enquiries with a mixture of obscurity and sarcasm. Nightfly cracks open the door to reveal the life behind the lyrics and traces Fagen's story from early family life in suburban New Jersey, to his first encounter with Walter Becker at Bard College, their long struggle for recognition as songwriters, and the formation of Steely Dan. The band's break-up in 1981, reformation in 1993, and Fagen's parallel solo career are covered in detail.

©2022 Peter Jones (P)2022 Tantor

The deets

It was a nice experience to get updated. Good to hear that he weathered the decades well.

Not even done yet

Peter Jones does a magnificent job of telling the story of one rock & rolls most unique outfits, Steely Dan as well as the life of Donald Fagen. I love the stories of the record making experiences as well as the glimpse into the world of Donald Fagen. This a must read for any hardcore fan or someone daring to get into something different musically. A+++

Great book

Lots of fun facts and details. Liked the timeline approach. Learned a lot I didn’t know

Eccentric. Great Detailed Story

Loved the details and story. Some happy with many says. Glad SD is still touring. Going to checkout all the stuff I missed.

Great read for Dan Fans

The story was both inspiring and poignant. I teared up at mention of the deaths. ThThe overall treatment of the subject matter was fair and honest in my opinion. I have loved Steely Dan for as long as I've lived almost, and at 60 years old I am just as in awe of their music as I was in the early 70s.

TV Babies Unite

Learned a lot about his connections to the rest of the rock world. Helm's Midnight Ramblers would have been amazing!

Inspired a deeper relisten to the SD catalog appreciated both lyrics and music on a new level.

If you like SD at all this book is for you.

behind the scenes

a behind the scenes look at some of my favorite music. the stories were great and narration not bad. except for a slight program glitch ever few minutes. a great insde look at steely dan

Didn’t want it to end

Very enjoyable trip through personal and musical details of their (about Donald but almost equal Walter info) past.
Takes some shine off their dedication to band members and engineers if that is possible
But it takes some flaws to see the world through those eyes

I love everything steely Dan

Audio was quite informative and easy to listen too. Learned many things about the band I never knew, like I always thought Walter played lead guitar throughout their history, he didn’t

Disappointing

I’m a big Fagen fan. I’m even bought 2 of those high priced tickets for a Beacon Theater show mentioned in the book. I’ve never read a book about him and there wasn’t a lot here I didn’t already know. Most of the book is really about Steely Dan not just Fagen. I don’t care for Michael Murray’s narration style. He reads it like a Casey Kasem long distance dedication story. Peter Jones unnecessarily interjects a lot of his political opinions. I read books to get away from all the political zealotry on line.