Kamakiriad
Encyclopedia
Kamakiriad is the second solo album by Steely Dan
singer Donald Fagen
, released in 1993
. It was his first collaboration since 1980 with Steely Dan partner Walter Becker
, who produced the album. The album is a futuristic optimistic 8 song-cycle about the journey of the narrator in his high-tech car, the Kamakiri (Japanese for praying mantis). It was nominated for a Best Album Grammy Award
.
The album follows a lengthy writer's block
for Fagen; the songs are based on personal observations about middle age (as 1982's The Nightfly
is lyrically described as fantasies of Fagen's youth and 2006's Morph the Cat
ruminations of old age and death).
Music video
s were produced for "Tomorrow's Girls" (starring Rick Moranis
) and "Snowbound
" (using stop motion animation).
Fagen and Becker would embark on their first tour as Steely Dan since 1974 to support the album, leading gradually to a permanent reunion.
Singles
:
Steely Dan
Steely Dan is an American rock band; its core members are Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. The band's popularity peaked in the late 1970s, with the release of seven albums blending elements of jazz, rock, funk, R&B, and pop...
singer Donald Fagen
Donald Fagen
Donald Jay Fagen is an American musician and songwriter, best known as the co-founder, lead singer, and the principal songwriter of the rock band Steely Dan ....
, released in 1993
1993 in music
This is a summary of significant events in music in 1993.-January–February:*January 8 – The U.S. Postal Service issues an Elvis Presley stamp. The design was voted on in February 1992....
. It was his first collaboration since 1980 with Steely Dan partner Walter Becker
Walter Becker
Walter Carl Becker is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the co-founder, guitarist, bassist and a co-writer of Steely Dan.-Career:...
, who produced the album. The album is a futuristic optimistic 8 song-cycle about the journey of the narrator in his high-tech car, the Kamakiri (Japanese for praying mantis). It was nominated for a Best Album Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
.
The album follows a lengthy writer's block
Writer's block
Writer's block is a condition, primarily associated with writing as a profession, in which an author loses the ability to produce new work. The condition varies widely in intensity. It can be trivial, a temporary difficulty in dealing with the task at hand. At the other extreme, some "blocked"...
for Fagen; the songs are based on personal observations about middle age (as 1982's The Nightfly
The Nightfly
The Nightfly is the first solo album by Steely Dan co-founder Donald Fagen, released in 1982. It was one of the first fully digital recordings of popular music...
is lyrically described as fantasies of Fagen's youth and 2006's Morph the Cat
Morph the Cat
Morph the Cat is a Grammy Award-winning 2006 album by Donald Fagen, his first solo release since 1993. The nine-track album was released in the US on March 14, 2006....
ruminations of old age and death).
Music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s were produced for "Tomorrow's Girls" (starring Rick Moranis
Rick Moranis
Frederick Allan "Rick" Moranis is a Canadian comedian, actor, musician, and a magician. Moranis came to prominence in the late 1970s on the sketch comedy show Second City Television, and later appeared in several Hollywood films including Strange Brew; Ghostbusters; Spaceballs; Little Shop of...
) and "Snowbound
Snowbound (song)
"Snowbound" is the fourth track from Donald Fagen's second solo album Kamakiriad.-Background:"Snowbound" continues the concept story as laid out in Kamakiriad, a journey in a dream car set in a futuristic time. The song focuses on a city with chronically bad weather, and poor icy road conditions...
" (using stop motion animation).
Fagen and Becker would embark on their first tour as Steely Dan since 1974 to support the album, leading gradually to a permanent reunion.
Track listing
- "Trans-Island Skyway" (Fagen) – 6:30
- "Countermoon" (Fagen) – 5:05
- "Springtime" (Fagen) – 5:06
- "SnowboundSnowbound (song)"Snowbound" is the fourth track from Donald Fagen's second solo album Kamakiriad.-Background:"Snowbound" continues the concept story as laid out in Kamakiriad, a journey in a dream car set in a futuristic time. The song focuses on a city with chronically bad weather, and poor icy road conditions...
" (Walter BeckerWalter BeckerWalter Carl Becker is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the co-founder, guitarist, bassist and a co-writer of Steely Dan.-Career:...
, Fagen) – 7:08 - "Tomorrow's Girls" (Fagen) – 6:17
- "Florida Room" (Fagen, Libby TitusLibby TitusLibby Titus is a singer, songwriter, actress and concert producer. Although she released several solo albums in the 1970s and '80s, she is best known as the co-writer, with Eric Kaz, of "Love Has No Pride", a song recorded by many artists including Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt and Jane Monheit.She...
) – 6:02 - "On the Dunes" (Fagen) – 8:07
- "Teahouse on the Tracks" (Fagen) – 6:09
Bonus tracks, from The Nightfly Trilogy MVI Boxed Set
- "Big Noise, New York" - 5:21
- "Confide In Me" - 4:15
- "Blue Lou" - 7:01
- "Shanghai Confidential" - 4:54
Personnel
- Donald FagenDonald FagenDonald Jay Fagen is an American musician and songwriter, best known as the co-founder, lead singer, and the principal songwriter of the rock band Steely Dan ....
- keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Walter BeckerWalter BeckerWalter Carl Becker is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the co-founder, guitarist, bassist and a co-writer of Steely Dan.-Career:...
- bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Randy BreckerRandy BreckerRandal "Randy" Brecker is an American trumpeter and flugelhornist. He is a highly sought after performer in the genres of jazz, rock, and R&B, and has performed or recorded with Stanley Turrentine, Billy Cobham, Bruce Springsteen, Lou Reed, Sandip Burman, Charles Mingus, Blood, Sweat & Tears,...
- trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, flugelhornFlugelhornThe flugelhorn is a brass instrument resembling a trumpet but with a wider, conical bore. Some consider it to be a member of the saxhorn family developed by Adolphe Sax ; however, other historians assert that it derives from the valve bugle designed by Michael Saurle , Munich 1832 , thus... - Cornelius BumpusCornelius BumpusCornelius Bumpus was an American woodwind, keyboard player and vocalist from Santa Cruz, California.He began his career playing alto saxophone at ten for the school band and by 12 was playing at Luso-American dances...
- tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble... - Angela Clemmons-Patrick - background vocals
- Leroy Clouden - percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Ronnie CuberRonnie CuberRonnie Cuber is a jazz saxophonist. He has also played in Latin, pop, rock and blues sessions. In addition to his primary instrument, baritone sax, he has also played tenor sax, soprano sax and flute, the latter on an album by Eddie Palmieri. As a leader, Cuber is known for hard bop and Latin jazz...
- baritone saxophoneBaritone saxophoneThe baritone saxophone, often called "bari sax" , is one of the largest and lowest pitched members of the saxophone family. It was invented by Adolphe Sax. The baritone is distinguished from smaller sizes of saxophone by the extra loop near its mouthpiece... - Illinois Elohainu - tenor saxophone (a fictive musician, actually Fagen himself plays a saxophone sample on the keyboard)
- Lawrence Feldman - flute, tenor saxophone
- Frank "Harmonica Frank" Floyd - background vocals
- Diane Garisto - background vocals
- Paul GriffinPaul GriffinPaul Griffin may refer to:* Paul Griffin * Paul Griffin * Paul Griffin * Paul Griffin...
- Hammond organHammond organThe Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard... - Amy Helm - background vocals
- Bashiri Johnson - percussion
- Birch Johnson - tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
- Mindy Joslyn - background vocals
- Brenda King - background vocals
- Curtis King - background vocals
- Lou MariniLou MariniLou Marini, Jr. is an American saxophonist, arranger and composer. He is noted for his work in the jazz, rock, blues and soul music traditions.-Early life and range of musical experience:...
- clarinetClarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
, flute, alto saxophoneAlto saxophoneThe alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions... - Dennis McDermott - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Jenni Muldaur - background vocals
- Christopher Parker - drums
- Angela Clemmon Patrick - background vocals
- Jim PughJim PughJim Pugh is a former professional tennis player from the United States. A doubles specialist, he won three Grand Slam men's doubles titles and five Grand Slam mixed doubles titles . Pugh reached the World No...
- trombone - Tim Ries - tenor saxophone
- Roger Rosenberg - baritone saxophone
- Alan Rubin - trumpet, flugelhorn
- Catherine RussellCatherine RussellCatherine Russell is a British stage, television and screen actress.-Personal:Catherine Russell is the daughter of actor Nicholas Smith and his wife Mary. She is married to film producer Richard Holmes and they have two children, Sam and Poppy...
- background vocals - Dian Sorel - background vocals
- Fonzi ThorntonFonzi ThorntonFonzi Thornton, is an American singer, song writer/producer, stage performer and radio personality.Thornton has provided background vocals on albums by artists which include Aretha Franklin, Luther Vandross, Diana Ross, Ray Charles, Chic, Sheena Easton, Mariah Carey, David Bowie, Michael Jackson,...
- background vocals - David Tofani - flute, tenor saxophone
- Georg WadeniusGeorg WadeniusGeorg "Jojje" Wadenius, born May 4, 1945, in Stockholm, Sweden, is a guitarist, bassist, singer and composer who made a name for himself during the 1970s and 80s as a studio and session guitarist/bassist, as well as releasing a popular series of albums of children's songs in Sweden.After appearing...
- guitar
Production
- Producer: Walter Becker
- Engineers: Phil Burnett, David Michael Dill, Tom Fritze, Andy Grassi, Troy Halderson, Bob Mitchel, John Neff, Roger Nichols, Dave Russell, Jay A. Ryan, Tony Volante, Wayne Yurgelun
- Mastering: Scott Hull, Glenn Meadows
- Sample editing: Craig Siegal
- Digital technician: Phil Burnett
- Digital delay: Craig Siegal
- Horn arrangements: Donald Fagen
- Rhythm arrangements: Donald Fagen
- Design: Carol Bobolts
- Photography: James Hamilton
- Liner notes: Donald Fagen, Tim White
Charts
Album| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | The Billboard 200 | 10 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | "Tomorrow's Girls" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 20 |
Trivia
Inside the cover is written this explanation of this concept albumConcept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
:
- "Kamakiriad is an album of eight related songs. The literal action takes place a few years in the future, near the millennium. In the first song, "Trans-Island Skyway," the narrator tells us he is about to embark on a journey in his new dream-car, a custom-tooled Kamakiri. It's built for the new century: steam-driven, with a self-contained vegetable garden and a radio link with the Tripstar routing satellite. The next six songs describe his adventures along the way. In the last song, "Teahouse On The Tracks," the narrator lands in dismal Flytown where he must decide whether to bail out or to rally and continue moving into the unknown."