Kamakiriad

Kamakiriad
Studio album by
Donald Fagen
ReleasedMay 25, 1993
Recorded1990–93
StudioRiver Sound, Clinton Recording Studios and The Hit Factory (New York City, New York)
Hyperbolic Sound (Maui, Hawaii)
GenreJazz-rock
Length50:31
LabelReprise
ProducerWalter Becker
Donald Fagen chronology
The Nightfly
(1982) 		Kamakiriad
(1993) 		Morph the Cat
(2006)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Robert Christgau(3-star Honorable Mention)(3-star Honorable Mention)(3-star Honorable Mention)[2]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]
Entertainment WeeklyB−[4]
The Great Rock Discography7/10[5]
Los Angeles Times[6]
NME[7]
Q[8]
Rolling Stone [9]
Uncut8/10[10]

Kamakiriad is the second solo album by Steely Dan artist Donald Fagen, released in 1993. It was his first collaboration with Steely Dan partner Walter Becker since 1986, on Rosie Vela's album Zazu. Becker played guitar and bass and produced the album. The album is a futuristic, optimistic eight-song cycle about the journey of the narrator in his high-tech car, the Kamakiri (Japanese for praying mantis). It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of the Year 1994.

Music videos were produced for "Tomorrow's Girls" (starring Rick Moranis) and "Snowbound" (using stop motion animation).[citation needed]

Fagen and Becker embarked on their first tour as Steely Dan since 1974 to support the album.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Donald Fagen, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Trans-Island Skyway" 6:30
2."Countermoon" 5:05
3."Springtime" 5:06
4."Snowbound"Walter Becker, Donald Fagen7:08
5."Tomorrow's Girls" 6:17
6."Florida Room"Libby Titus, Donald Fagen6:02
7."On the Dunes" 8:07
8."Teahouse on the Tracks" 6:09


Bonus tracks, from The Nightfly Trilogy MVI boxed set

No.TitleLength
9."Big Noise, New York"5:21
10."Confide in Me"4:15
11."Blue Lou"7:01
12."Shanghai Confidential"4:54

Personnel

  • Donald Fagen – vocals, keyboards, horn and rhythm arrangements
  • Paul Griffin – Hammond B3 organ
  • Craig Siegal – sampling, digital delay acquisition
  • Walter Becker – lead guitars, guitar solos, bass guitar
  • Georg Wadenius – guitars
  • Chris Parker – drums (1, 2, 6, 7)
  • Dennis McDermott – drums (4)
  • Leroy Clouden – percussion, drums (3, 5, 8)
  • Bashiri Johnson – percussion
  • Lou Marini – alto saxophone, clarinet, flute
  • Ronnie Cuber – baritone saxophone
  • Roger Rosenberg – baritone saxophone
  • Cornelius Bumpus – tenor saxophone, tenor sax solo (6, 7)
  • Illinois Elohainu – tenor saxophone (a fictive musician, actually Fagen himself plays a saxophone sample on the keyboard), tenor sax solo (2)
  • Lawrence Feldman – flute, tenor saxophone
  • David Tofani – flute, tenor saxophone
  • Birch Johnson – trombone, trombone solo (8)
  • Jim Pugh – trombone
  • Randy Brecker – trumpet, flugelhorn
  • Alan Rubin – trumpet, flugelhorn
  • Angela Clemmons-Patrick – backing vocals
  • Frank Floyd – backing vocals
  • Diane Garisto – backing vocals
  • Amy Helm – backing vocals
  • Mindy Jostyn – backing vocals
  • Brenda King – backing vocals
  • Curtis King – backing vocals
  • Jenni Muldaur – backing vocals
  • Catherine Russell – backing vocals
  • Dian Sorel – backing vocals
  • Fonzi Thornton – backing vocals

Production

  • Walter Becker – producer
  • Roger Nichols – chief engineer
  • Wayne Yurgelun – house engineer
  • David Michael Dill – engineer
  • Tom Fritze – engineer
  • Dave Russell – engineer
  • Tony Volante – engineer
  • Phil Burnett – second engineer, digital technician
  • Andy Grassi – second engineer
  • Troy Halderson – second engineer
  • Bob Mitchell – second engineer
  • John Neff – second engineer
  • Jay Ryan – second engineer
  • Craig Siegal – sample editing
  • Glenn Meadows – mastering at Masterfonics (Nashville, Tennessee)
  • Lisa Starr – production coordinator
  • Carol Bobolts – design
  • James Hamilton – photography
  • Marinella Terziotti – car photograph
  • Donald Fagen – liner notes
  • Tim White – liner notes

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for Kamakiriad
Chart (1993) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[11] 80
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[12] 23
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[13] 13
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[14] 24
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[15] 30
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[16] 10
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[17] 9
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[18] 27
UK Albums (OCC)[19] 3
US Billboard 200[20] 10

Year-end charts

1993 year-end chart performance for Kamakiriad
Chart (1993) Position
European Albums (European Top 100 Albums)[21] 99

References

  1. ^ "Allmusic review". Allmusic. All Media Guide. Retrieved 2011-06-15.
  2. ^ Robert Christgau review
  3. ^ Larkin, Colin (2002). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Virgin Books. ISBN 1-85227-923-0.
  4. ^ David Browne. Entertainment Weekly review May 28, 1993
  5. ^ Strong, Martin Charles (2002). "Steely Dan". The Great Rock Discography. The National Academies. ISBN 1-84195-312-1.
  6. ^ Los Angeles Times review
  7. ^ NME, 1993-05-29, p. 31
  8. ^ Q, July 1993, p. 86
  9. ^ "Rolling Stone Music | Album Reviews". Rollingstone.com. Retrieved 2011-06-15.[dead link‍]
  10. ^ Uncut, "How to buy Donald Fagen", Jaan Uhelszki, December 2012
  11. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  12. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0992". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  13. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Donald Fagen – Kamakiriad" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  14. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Donald Fagen – Kamakiriad" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  15. ^ "Charts.nz – Donald Fagen – Kamakiriad". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  16. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Donald Fagen – Kamakiriad". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  17. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Donald Fagen – Kamakiriad". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  18. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Donald Fagen – Kamakiriad". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  19. ^ "Donald Fagen | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  20. ^ "Donald Fagen Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  21. ^ "1993 Year-End Sales Charts - Eurochart Hot 100 Albums 1993" (PDF). Music & Media. December 18, 1993. p. 15. Retrieved April 20, 2022.