"If you're not into this, I question what you're doing". Spoken like a music producer with a wealth of knowledge.

Here we go. His solo work definitely is like Steely Dan, and that’s a good thing, but it also has its own unique layer. You’ll love it all.

Great album. My favorite song is "Maxine". A beautiful jazz/blues song. Think walking into a late 1950's jazz bar and there's Donald at his piano with a couple backup female singers, a stand up base player, a guitarist, a drummer quietly sweeping his brushes over his snare and of course a couple of horn players and one of course is a sax. A beautiful song from a master of his craft. Worth a listen...

This song captures the essence of wonder and hope during the IGY.

Every time I hear this song now my heart breaks for that idealistic little boy who believed so hard in both American exceptionalism and the willingness for the world to come together in intellectual, social, and political harmony.

Hit after hit...Donald can't help himself..it's in his DNA .Steely Dan is in his blood and thank God he keeps giving us samples of his genious.

Anthony Jackson, one of my favorite bass players, played on this track. I know he's had a lot of health problems recently so I hope he's doing ok.

Every song and recording on The Nightfly is a masterpiece. It's the Sistine Chapel of music. Maxine may be the best of them all. Just remarkable.

Aw man, I've been waiting for you to hit this album- it's a classic!

I wore this album out when I got it. I could almost picture myself living in a ritzy penthouse apartment filled with chrome and decorative glass overlooking the city's shimmering lights.

Yes I miss the age of the album as well. The flow one to the next, paced to enhance each piece, the cover art, the great liner notes. I learned a lot from those liner notes! ❤👍

"A just machine to make big decisions - Programmed by fellas with compassion and vision" - how prophetic a line written 40 years ago.

The groove is everything ❤❤❤❤❤

Donald Fagen and his Music bring me tears in my eyes. He is a genius. Normally I love only black or latin music. Greetings from Germany

Loved this song the first time I heard it

Great album, and one of the coolest album covers ever.

This being Donald's 1st. solo album IS a concept album. He wanted to take you on a nostalgic journey of what influenced him growing up in the late 50's and becoming a young man. You can hear his jazz influences and early Rock & Roll which of course leads to him meeting Walter Becker and joining a Rock band called Steely Dan. The rest as they say is history. Welcome back Sir.

This album "The Nightfly" was so underrated when it came out in 1982. I.G.Y. stands for International Geophysical Year (July 1,1957--December 31, 1958)This whole album is based on Donald Fagen's growing up in the 1950s.

Solid back beat you can get into the pocket with, melodic brass fill-ins, amazing hooks, gospel style backup harmony vocals, chord progressions that are unusual, those 9th/13th chords, this music will last forever...not to mention the lyrics. Yes DramaSydETV this is classic Steely Dan but then Walter Becker did some appearances on the album. Clearly though, the composition of Steely Dan was Fagen.

Just to get back to you after I said I loved that you get this… I’m an English harmony arranger/session singer etc. I’ve been into Steely Dan since I was 8 and I heard Do It Again in a taxi from LAX to ur first hotel in a six week trip to the States. My Dad is also harmony arranger, one of Britains finest. I learnt so much from Steely Dan about harmonies. I was brought up on the Four Freshman/the Hi-Lo’s, The Beach Boys etc but Steely Dan, with there Jazz structures gave me another dimension. My go to band when I’ve heard all the incredible things by people like Dirty Loops and Snarky Puppy etc. would love to watch more reactions from you.

Love this song. This album was released while I was in the business of selling home stereo equipment. So, there I was, able to play this album on some of the finest music reproduction equipment in the world, and it was glorious. Listening to this in the early eighties through McIntosh Amplifiers and B&W Speakers was an experience that still comes back to my memory's ears without effort, 4 decades later.

This is one of the songs that will be played at my funeral; it was simply too hard to pick which Steely Dan song, so I went with Donald Fagen’s sardonic enthusiasm for the future; such a PERFECT sounding song ❤ Saw him open for the Eagles about 5 weeks ago in Newark; he’s still going strong!

I like what you said bro, I agree. The greatness is still here. 'There's no dropoff here.'

Yeah, this could easily been on a Steely Dan album. I love the bass line in this.

What I love about your reaction is that you ABSOLUTELY get it. Huge Kudos

Love this solo album. I'm still on this Donald Fagan and Steely Dan journey. RIP Walter Becker. Sorely missed

'Under sea by rail, 90 minutes from New York to Paris'. Just wonderful, one of my top ten tracks. Like SD he switches the band around. Rick Derringer, Larry Carlton and Brecker Brothers feature.

My brother bought the NightFly and I fell in love with the whole Album.....all the songs are fabulous

Glad you are back with one my favourite albums the Nightfly bought it in 1982 most of my friends had this album it was something very special back then and still is its a masterpiece !

UNIQUELY ECLECTIC!😜😁😳🤔😎 Snapping my fingers!!!!!🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 Having FUN WITH SMOOTH JAZZ!🧐😘😙🥰😎

WELCOME BACK!!!!!!!! And you stepped up to the plate with a sure HOME RUN... My goodness, this is a masterfully produced record. His song "MAXINE" is the tastiest slice of JAZZ on the entire record.. as always the harmonies of backup vocals so close you couldn't slide a piece of paper between them.. the SAX SOLO takes it to another level..thus album is a masterpiece of musicianship, attention to every detail, all expertly put together for our pleasure... YOU'VE BEEN MISSED, good Sir...am looking forward to your special way of viewing music, and I can relate. PEACE!!!

Good to hear from you, thanks for covering this one!

I am so glad you’re back and doing the solo work.

QUALITY MUSIC

Great reaction again. Donald wrote this album when Walter was going through a terrible heroin addiction and just couldn't perform. In the last album "Gaucho" was Walter's drug dealer. In that song he refers to Walter being too wasted to perform "try again tomorrow" hoping he wouldn't be so wasted the next day so he could rehearse. Walter did finally get clean.

Awesomeness. Hook city...love it. Backing vocals are just amazing. New year, new you! . I would love to watch the full album reactions. I'm from the old school too. The moody Blues albums are definite front to back albums. "Days Of Future Past", "In Search Of The LOst Chord", "Every Good Boy Deserves Favour", "To Our Children's Children's Children" and "Question Of Balance" are the tops ones. Great reaction. Thank you!

thx for doing this one. I had forgotten about this album. I was a kid when it came out. My folks would play this album when we would go for family drives into the canadian rocky mountains. Super nostalgic. Cheer mate

I hope some serious difficult / challenging items are much better now. I'm really enjoying your SD/DF journey. That journey has been one of my favorite discover journeys from the time I first heard SD in the early 70s. Your review of songs from "Everything Must Go" made me appreciate some of those songs even more! Thank you! Excellent musical insights, including listening to an album in its entirety! Nightfly is a desert island album for sure for me! When you hear some tunes on this you'll hear some nostalgic sounds that even rang with Mel Torme who has performed more than one of the tunes from this album.

The Nightfly, Kamakiriad, Morph the Cat and Sunken Condos are four fantastic and sonically perfect albums by Donald. Some of his best jazzy, funky and beautiful work. All of these albums could be listened to front to back but you do what’s best for you. You’ve been through a lot my friend, this music will put your mind at ease. Thought you would like to see the personnel on the song since you mentioned the back up vocals featuring Valerie Simpson no less, and the Brecker Brothers, among others, on horns. Oh yeah, and Jeff Porcaro. Per Wikipedia: Donald Fagen - vocals, synthesizer, synth-harmonica Greg Phillinganes - electric piano Rob Mounsey - synthesizer, horn arrangement Anthony Jackson - bass Hugh McCracken - guitar James Gadson - drums Jeff Porcaro - additional drums Roger Nichols - drum/percussion programming Starz Vanderlocket - percussion Randy Brecker - trumpet Dave Tofani - alto saxophone Michael Brecker - tenor saxophone Ronnie Cuber - baritone saxophone Dave Bargeron - trombone Valerie Simpson, Zack Sanders, Frank Floyd, Gordon Grody - backing

Hope you’re well and best wishes for a healthy and prosperous New Year.

Almost missed this one! 😘 Glad I didn't... Thanks for the life update too. We've seen the bits and pieces that you've shared, but dude... when you list it all together, you've had a lot in the last 12-24 months. Glad you're still sharing with us. Growing up, wasn't big into SD or DF... but instantly recognized this tune!

You made a good point about "not being hip to this." In my opinion, a lot of writers are more based on 18th-century tonality, key-based. The most sophisticated writers add jazz chords (denser than triads) and jazz scales. I simply think there are a lot of writers out there who can't write like Fagen. He's a musical genius.

Good to see you!

As you may know, song writing & musicianship are two different animals that are sometimes fused. A good ear will tell us the harmony of both.

Hope you're doing well health wise and wishing a speedy recovery. Peace, stay safe. PS: The Nightfly ' is a great record, I think you're goin to enjoy this.

so enjoy your observations and educating us on all this ! thank you

Very nicely done reaction and I appreciate your take on the background vocals and calling out lazy song writers. (My words not yours). The complexity of Donald Fagen’s chord work and harmonies somehow create a simple and unforgettable sound that leaves a permanent impression on you. Love this stuff. Take Care

Thank you for the reaction. I enjoy your videos ..good to see you. Wishing you all the best in the coming year.

Donald hope you stay healthy and have a great New Year peace.

This is one amazing album. It has a nice retro feel. Great reaction.

Great analyses and reaction sir thanks, Donald Fagen is a master arranger and musical mind, something not many seem to mention on Steely Dan/Fagen reactions is the horn arrangements throughout their work are incredible.

Hey I don't remember the actual IGY event but my understanding is that it was a group of Scientists who held a Symposium I think over in Denmark or one of the Scandinavian countries Their hypothesis seemed to be 'Better Living through Science!' What a beautiful world 🌎🌍 this will be.......! He references Frank Herbert in this song!(Just Machine to make big decisions!) I've read that DF said that the Album is from the perspective of a Teenage boy growing up in the Post War Levit Town like Suburbs...... Perhaps longing for the coming of age- as in Maxine: One day we'll wake up make love 💖 but till then Try to hang on ..... Maxine! The wistfulness of this genius! Yes!

You make an interesting point...... Donald Fagan's solo work sounds like Steely Dan. In my opinion Walter Becker's solo work does not sound like Steely Dan. Of course Walter's singing voice is completely different than Donalds so that certainly has some bearing on the sound. I have owned the "Nightfly" since it was released in 1982. It has some tasty tracks on it. I can only hope that you take a deeper dive into this classic album. Thanks for your reaction. Take care.

I know, some of us would appreciate the long video version of a whole album. Us old school 70's & 80's kids would do the same with Vinyl Albums, Cassettes, CD's at home, in the car, where ever. Put the whole thing on and listen to how the songs morphed together into one long listening experience. I still get the DejaVu of knowing exactly what song was coming next, or what beat, lyrics were coming after the end of one song, leading into the next......

Heard This Frist On Thr Weather Channel In The 80's

One of the first full digital recordings. I remember hearing it in a record store in NYC and being enraptured by the sound quality. I bought it immediately. Not surprising that it sounds like Steely Dan: It has Fagen's voice, Gary Katz's production, and the same cream of the crop session players as on most Steely Dan albums.

Yes, no drop off. Could've just been the next Steely Dan album. Beautiful jazzy chord progressions (pantonal as Fagen would call it, meaning you can't find the key it's in...it's all over). Beautiful stuff, unlike anyone else. You have to listen to it several times to pick up everything going on.

Dramasyde, you are so right, about the hook, the chorus, about not remembering all the lyrics,.as I've gotten older, have forgotten a lot of them, even songs, I've forgotten,,until I hear them in a movie, or show, had totally forgotten Vehicle by Ides Of March, til I heard it in the movie Focus, and look how long ago that movie was, but yet still how long before it that the song had come out,..and in that case forgotten who the band was, but in fairness use to get them mixed up with Blood Sweat and Tears anyway,..but I've also noticed, even in my memory absence, once I hear, or remember the chorus, more times than not, the lyrics come flowing back,..like when I went to see first Guardians of The Galaxy, and Redbone was playing, , remembered the group, and in the theater started to my own shock, started singing right along,...lyrics just flowing to me like a spigot had been opened,..and yess, hearing this is like hearing SD, but the smoothness, the harmonies still in abundance, and the richness,..so glad to see you back,.Godspeed, safe travels, and long life, and health to you and family,..

JUST PERFECTION, great reaction has always with THEIR MUSIC,THIS ALBUM FOR ME IS WELL, YOU SAID IT ALL

Fagan is amazing! His solo work has all the stuff you love about the Dan. This album is his most famous solo work. But please don't sleep on Kamakiriad, Morph the Cat and Sunken Condos!

Great reaction! Glad to see you back at it! Fagen's music sounds like Steely Dan, this is true and it's why you will probably love most of his albums. Sunken Condos, from 2012, is arguably better then the last 2 SD albums

Looking forward to your reaction to "Green Flower Street"

Steely Dan were in a genre of one, so is Donald Fagen.

The whole album is stellar. Try "Gaslighting Abbie" from the Two Against Nature album released in 2000.

🥰

If you think this is wonderful, wait until you get to Donald's second solo album, Kamakiriad. It's even better! The Nightfly is so so good!

TRY DONALD FAGEN THE GOODBYE LOOK.

Check out new frontier by Donald.

Check out the band stain and play the video it's been a while it's righteous check it out. The song is called it's been a while.

sucks you couldn't react to the rest of the album, it's my favorite out of ALL of Fagan and Becker's music :( KZfaq can go kick rocks with their shitty copyright algorithms

There is not one bad song on that album.

Glad you're ok. Can you be a Patriots fan and a Yankees fan? No.

Hey D. After listening to SD and DF's solo work for decaded, it's clear that Donald is the heavy lifter of writing between he and Becker(RIP). I'm not discounting Beckers influence or contribution entirely. Just saying that the DNA points to Fagen being the dad. You'll love Maxine, and WJAZ, D.

Produced by Becker