Morph the Cat

Morph the Cat
Morph the Cat
Studio album by Donald Fagen
Released	March 7, 2006
Recorded	2004–05
Studio	Avatar Studios (New York City) ; Clinton Recording Studios (New York City) ; Sear Sound (New York City) ; Sugar Sound (Kauai)
Genre	Jazz-rock, jazz-funk
Length	52:49
Label	Reprise
Producer	Donald Fagen
Donald Fagen chronology

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	83/100^[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[2]
The A.V. Club	B+^[3]
Entertainment Weekly	B+^[4]
The Guardian	^[5]
The Independent	^[6]
Los Angeles Times	^[7]
Q	^[8]
Rolling Stone	^[9]
Uncut	^[10]
USA Today	^[11]

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,^[1] Morph the Cat was described by Fagen as his "death album" in an interview with Fred Kaplan of The New York Times.^[12] 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.^[13]^[14] The surround recording won the Grammy Award for Best Surround Sound Album.^[15]

Track listing[edit]

All songs written by Donald Fagen.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Morph the Cat"	6:49
2.	"H Gang"	5:15
3.	"What I Do"	6:01
4.	"Brite Nitegown"	7:16
5.	"The Great Pagoda of Funn"	7:39
6.	"Security Joan"	6:09
7.	"The Night Belongs to Mona"	4:18
8.	"Mary Shut the Garden Door"	6:29
9.	"Morph the Cat (Reprise)"	2:53

Personnel[edit]

Donald Fagen – lead vocals, backing vocals, Fender Rhodes (1, 2, 4, 9), acoustic piano (6, 7), organ (6), melodica (8)
Ted Baker – acoustic piano (2, 5), Wurlitzer electric piano (3, 6), Fender Rhodes (7, 8)
Hugh McCracken – guitars (1–3, 9)
Wayne Krantz – guitars (1–3, 6–9), guitar solo (4, 5)
Frank Vignola – guitars (1), guitar tag solo (9)
Jon Herington – guitar solo (1, 2, 9), guitars (3–8), guitar chorus solo (9)
Ken Emerson – guitars (3)
Freddie Washington – bass (1–3, 5–9)
Harlan Post, Jr. – acoustic bass (7)
Brian Montgomery – remedial bass (9)
Keith Carlock – drums (1–3, 5–9)
Phonus Quaver – vibraphone (1, 5, 8, 9), marimba (1, 4, 9)
Gordon Gottlieb – percussion (2, 4, 6, 7)
Bashiri Johnson – percussion (4)
Joe Pasaro – percussion (5)
Jennifer Battista, Eddie Jackson, Camille Meza and Candice Predham – handclaps (6)
Walt Weiskopf – tenor saxophone (1, 2, 7, 9), tenor sax solo (1, 2), alto saxophone (4, 5)
Roger Rosenberg – baritone saxophone (2, 4, 5), bass clarinet (7)
Lawrence Feldman – clarinet (2), tenor saxophone (4, 5), flute (7)
Illinois Elohainu – flutes (8)
Mark Patterson – trombone (4, 5, 7)
Marvin Stamm – trumpet (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9), trumpet solo (5)
Howard Levy – harmonica (3, 7), harmonica solo (3)
Jerry Barnes – backing vocals (1, 5, 9)
Michael Harvey – backing vocals (1, 6, 9)
Amy Helm – backing vocals (3)
Carolyn Leonhart – backing vocals (3, 8)
Cindy Mizelle – backing vocals (3)

* 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[edit]

Donald Fagen – producer
Elliot Scheiner – tracking engineer, mix engineer
T.J. Doherty – overdub engineer, Pro Tools engineer
Brian Montgomery – overdub engineer, Pro Tools engineer, assistant engineer, second mix engineer
Eddie Jackson – assistant engineer
Jim Keller – assistant engineer
Chad Lupo – assistant engineer
Steve Mazur – assistant engineer
Matt Scheiner – assistant engineer
Bryan Smith – assistant engineer
Allan Thomas – assistant engineer
Darcy Proper – mastering at Sony Mastering (New York, NY)
Maria Triana – mastering assistant
Joseph M. Palmaccio – additional mastering
Sam Berd – piano technician
Wayne Williams – piano technician
Artie Smith – guitar technician, drum technician
Gary Blu – music copyist
Irving Azoff – management
Jill Dell'Abate – production coordinator
Cindy Osborne – production coordinator
Mary Lou Arnold – production assistant
Jeri Heiden – art direction
Ryan Corey – design
Danny Clinch – photography

Charts[edit]

Album

Year	Chart	Position
2006	The Billboard 200	26
2006	Top Internet Albums	26
2006	UK Top 40	35

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
2006	"H Gang"	Smooth Jazz Songs	29

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b "Reviews for Morph the Cat by Donald Fagen". Metacritic. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Morph the Cat – Donald Fagen". AllMusic. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
^ Murray, Noel (March 29, 2006). "Donald Fagen: Morph The Cat". The A.V. Club. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
^ Sinclair, Tom (March 13, 2006). "Morph the Cat". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on September 8, 2017. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
^ Walters, John L. (March 10, 2006). "Donald Fagen, Morph the Cat". The Guardian. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
^ Gill, Andy (February 24, 2006). "Album: Donald Fagen". The Independent. Archived from the original on December 2, 2009. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
^ Cromelin, Richard (March 5, 2006). "The inspired and the familiar". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
^ "Donald Fagen: Morph the Cat". Q (237): 113. April 2006.
^ Walters, Barry (March 6, 2006). "Donald Fagen: Morph the Cat". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 8, 2007. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
^ "Donald Fagen: Morph the Cat". Uncut (107): 104. April 2006.
^ Gundersen, Edna (March 6, 2006). "Donald Fagen: Morph the Cat". USA Today. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
^ Kaplan, Fred (26 February 2006). "What Rhymes With Orange Alert?". New York Times. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
^ "Fagen Preps For 'Morph'". Billboard. 27 February 2006. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
^ "Morph The Cat: Donald Fagen Solo Album Set for Reprise Records Release on March 7; Tour Dates Announced; Panasonic ELS Surround Is Presenting Sponsor". Marketwired. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
^ "Panasonic ELS Surround(R) Collaborator Honored with Emmy(R); Elliot Scheiner Wins for Outstanding Sound Mixing". BusinessWire. Retrieved 2 June 2016.

External links[edit]

Donald Fagen interview in Sound on Sound – article by Paul Tingen, about the making of Morph The Cat, August 2006

[metacritic-1] "Reviews for Morph the Cat by Donald Fagen". Metacritic. Retrieved November 2, 2012.

[AllMusic-2] Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Morph the Cat – Donald Fagen". AllMusic. Retrieved November 2, 2012.

[3] Murray, Noel (March 29, 2006). "Donald Fagen: Morph The Cat". The A.V. Club. Retrieved September 8, 2017.

[4] Sinclair, Tom (March 13, 2006). "Morph the Cat". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on September 8, 2017. Retrieved November 2, 2012.

[5] Walters, John L. (March 10, 2006). "Donald Fagen, Morph the Cat". The Guardian. Retrieved September 8, 2017.

[6] Gill, Andy (February 24, 2006). "Album: Donald Fagen". The Independent. Archived from the original on December 2, 2009. Retrieved September 8, 2017.

[7] Cromelin, Richard (March 5, 2006). "The inspired and the familiar". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 8, 2017.

[8] "Donald Fagen: Morph the Cat". Q (237): 113. April 2006.

[9] Walters, Barry (March 6, 2006). "Donald Fagen: Morph the Cat". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 8, 2007. Retrieved September 8, 2017.

[10] "Donald Fagen: Morph the Cat". Uncut (107): 104. April 2006.

[11] Gundersen, Edna (March 6, 2006). "Donald Fagen: Morph the Cat". USA Today. Retrieved September 8, 2017.

[Kaplan-12] Kaplan, Fred (26 February 2006). "What Rhymes With Orange Alert?". New York Times. Retrieved 1 June 2016.

[Fagen_Preps-13] "Fagen Preps For 'Morph'". Billboard. 27 February 2006. Retrieved 2 June 2016.

[Marketwired-14] "Morph The Cat: Donald Fagen Solo Album Set for Reprise Records Release on March 7; Tour Dates Announced; Panasonic ELS Surround Is Presenting Sponsor". Marketwired. Retrieved 2 June 2016.

[Panasonic-15] "Panasonic ELS Surround(R) Collaborator Honored with Emmy(R); Elliot Scheiner Wins for Outstanding Sound Mixing". BusinessWire. Retrieved 2 June 2016.

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v t e Donald Fagen
Studio albums	The Nightfly (1982) Kamakiriad (1993) Morph the Cat (2006) Sunken Condos (2012)
Singles	"I.G.Y. (What a Beautiful World)" "New Frontier" "Ruby Baby" "Snowbound"
Other songs	"Slinky Thing"
Related articles	Steely Dan Walter Becker The New York Rock and Soul Revue Live at the Beacon The Dukes of September Gary Katz Roger Nichols

v t e Grammy Award for Best Immersive Audio Album
2000s	Genius Loves Company – Al Schmitt, Robert Hadley & Doug Sax, John Burk, Phil Ramone & Herbert Walf (2004) Brothers In Arms - 20th Anniversary Edition – Chuck Ainlay, Bob Ludwig, Chuck Ainlay & Mark Knopfler (2005) Morph The Cat – Elliot Scheiner, Darcy Proper & Donald Fagen (2006) Love – Paul Hicks, Tim Young, George Martin & Giles Martin (2007) Mussorgsky: Pictures At An Exhibition; Night On Bald Mountain; Prelude To Khovanshchina – Michael Bishop & Robert Woods (2008) Transmigration – Michael Bishop & Elaine Martone (2009)
2010s	Britten's Orchestra – Keith O. Johnson & David Frost (2010) Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs – Elliot Scheiner, Bob Ludwig, Bill Levenson & Elliot Scheiner (2011) Modern Cool – Jim Anderson, Darcy Proper & Michael Friedman (2012) Live Kisses – Al Schmitt & Tommy LiPuma (2013) Beyoncé – Elliot Scheiner, Tom Coyne & Beyoncé (2014) Amused To Death – James Guthrie & Joel Plante (2015) Dutilleux: Sur le Même Accord; Les Citations; Mystères de l'Instant & Timbres, Espace, Mouvement – Alexander Lipay & Dmitriy Lipay (2016) Early Americans – Jim Anderson/Darcy Proper/Jim Anderson & Jane Ira Bloom (2017) Eye in the Sky – Alan Parsons, Dave Donnelly & P.J. Olsson (2018) Lux – Morten Lindberg (2019)
2020s	Soundtrack of the American Soldier – Jim R. Keene & the United States Army Field Band (2020) Alicia – Alicia Keys (2021) Divine Tides – Stewart Copeland & Ricky Kej (2022) The Diary of Alicia Keys – Alicia Keys (2023)