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Sept. 6, 2006 Fresh off the success of 1993’s Kamikiriad (fresh for him, that is) Donald Fagen is back with a new CD, “Morph the Cat.” The CD is another jazz-pop fusion creation loaded with enigmatic concepts and lyricism that is a trademark of his previous solo works. Evident in the music is the “Steely Dan sound” that skyrocketed he and long-time collaborator Walter Becker to fame. Though the new CD has some rather impressive musicianship, it pales in comparison to the four-time Grammy-winning Two Against Nature, and Kamikiriad, which contained the Grammy-nominated single “Snowbound.” Morph is more blues centered, as the material deals with Fagen’s post-911 angst, middle age and death. Not as bouncy as “Kamikiriad,” it still has its outstanding moments—including the title song, which will probably earn Fagen another Grammy nomination. Fagen has always been someone who borders on pure genius and overzealous eccentricity. Sticking with tradition, this time around Fagen feeds us “What I Do,” and “Brite Night Gown.” The former is, as Fagen words it, “A conversation with some younger version of myself and the ghost of Ray Charles,” while the latter is a three-act reference to the Devil as defined by W.C. Fields. Missing are Becker’s standout guitar riffs. Here, the workload is handled by guitarists Wayne Krantz, Jon Herington, and Hugh McCracken, none of whom can carry Becker’s guitar pick. Fagen compensates adequately on most of the songs, with bouncy keyboard wizardry, but this is not your dad’s Steely Dan. Both Kamikiriad and 1981’s The Nightfly are superior efforts. While better than most, this CD makes me wonder if Fagen is again overworked, despite his having appeared on but four albums in 13 years. (Steely Dan Live In America, Everything Must Go, Kamikiriad, and Becker’s 1994 release 11 Tracks of Whack. With My Name Is Earl on summer hiatus and The Office in reruns, NBC gave its viewers their weekly comedy fix with the made for TV movie, Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Diff’rent Strokes. The no-name cast delivers so many clichés and such laughable dialogue, that it should be re-titled The Unintentionally Funny Story of Diff’rent Strokes. Bridges, Coleman and Plato starred with patriarchal figure Conrad Bain in the hit seventies comedy. Bridges and Coleman played adopted siblings Arnold and Willis, who reside in a lavish home with their benefactor, Philip Drummond (Bain) and his daughter, Kimberly (Plato). After the shows run, the three young cast members experienced growing pains not uncommon among Hollywood child stars: Bridges became addicted to crack, then was arrested and tried on charges of attempted murder. Coleman wound up bankrupt after being ripped off by his parents, during which time he learned that Hollywood has no roles for twentysomething, undersized actors. Plato, however, was the most tragic case of all. After Strokes went off the air, she had a dozen movie and television appearances, none of which brought the sort of recognition the role of Kimberly Drummond had. The twenty-four year old fought a long battle with drugs and public ridicule after a botched liquor store hold-up, she died at age 35, on May 8, 1999. Her death was determined to be a suicide by overdose. This schlock makes Purple Rain look like Mystic River. It features a even funnier—and tragically so—in-story interviews with Todd Bridges and Gary Coleman. Lucky for Plato that she isn’t around to see this mess, for she would no doubt die of shame. Chappelle’s Show: The Lost Episodes should have remained lost. The few skits strung together that compromise season 3 (three episodes), can’t compare to the sharp, thought provoking writing of the first two seasons. Moreover, Dave is not at the scene of this crime and hosting duties are left to Donell Rawlings (“Ashy Larry”) and the underrated Charlie Murphy. Despite signing a deal with Comedy Central worth $50 million over two years, Chappelle halted production of the show. Rumors circulated that Chappelle had some sort of psychological meltdown. Chappelle left the country for several weeks and went to Africa to do some soul-searching. This, after a dispute with network brass and long-time pal and show co-creator, Neal Brennan. Season 3 DVDs are already on sale, but it isn’t likely they will match the success of the first two—the two top-selling comedy DVDs of all-time. While some of the skits elicit a chuckle, there is little of the laugh-out-loud guffaws of the first two seasons. Even Chappelle junkies will have a hard time getting into this. ------------ About the author: Timothy N. Stelly, Sr. is a 46-year old poet, novelist and aspiring screenwriter who resides in northern California with his three youngest children--Lawrence, Kimberly and Dante. He is a member of various writer's groups and has three novels in print, his most recent, "Like A Straight-Up Sucka," is available at www.lulu.com. website: http://stellbreadO@tripod.com Email: stellbread@yahoo.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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