Library Rock's Backpages

Donald Fagen, Candid and Vulnerable

Wayne Robins, unpublished, May 1993

Author's note: This interview took place in Manhattan, May 19, 1993. Without his partner in crime Walter Becker to deflect questions, Fagen was more candid and vulnerable than I had ever heard him before, or since. Always meticulous musicians, the last Steely Dan album had been Gaucho, in 1980. Moving relatively quickly, Fagen released his first solo album, the acclaimed The Nightfly, in 1982. Here are excerpts from our conversation about Kamakiriad, his futuristic 1993 solo album about a journey in a Japanese automobile with a bioponic farm attached. Fagen also delves into the 11 year period between albums, of what people used to call "finding oneself," post-Steely Dan. The previously unpublished interview, conducted for a Newsday/New York Newsday feature story, has been edited for conciseness and clarity.

Total word count of piece: 1590

Subscribe

Becoming a member is easy. Membership gives you access to all the thousands of articles in the library.

Click here to go to Subscribe page.

Click here for academic and other group subscriptions.