Morph the Cat

Morph the Cat
Studio album by Donald Fagen
Released	March 7, 2006 (2006-03-07)
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
Kamakiriad (1993) Morph the Cat (2006) Sunken Condos (2012)

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

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

• 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

• 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

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

1. "Reviews for Morph the Cat by Donald Fagen". Metacritic. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
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.
12. Kaplan, Fred (26 February 2006). "What Rhymes With Orange Alert?". New York Times. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
13. "Fagen Preps For 'Morph'". Billboard. 27 February 2006. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
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.
15. "Panasonic ELS Surround(R) Collaborator Honored with Emmy(R); Elliot Scheiner Wins for Outstanding Sound Mixing". BusinessWire. Retrieved 2 June 2016.

External links

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