Donald Fagen - Kamakiriad [1993] (2026) [SACD]
Label: Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab [UDSACD2250]
Genre: Jazz Rock
Quality: SACD (*iso) / DSD 64(2,8 MHz/1 Bit) 2.0; 5.0(4.0)
Bitrate: Lossless
Time: 00:50:34
Size: 2.03 GB
Buckle Up for a Thrilling Ride: Donald Fagen's Conceptual Kamakiriad Peers into the Future, Marks Long-Awaited Reunion with Steely Dan Cohort Walter Becker
Ostensibly an eight-song concept album based in the future, Kamakiriad loosely chronicles the journeys of a protagonist touring in his state-of-the-art roadster - a steam-driven Kamakiri equipped with its own vegetable garden and radio link with a then-unheard-of satellite navigation system. Imaginative, colorful, zany, and the personification of hipster cool, Kamakiriad engages with inescapably funky grooves and demands repeat listens by always seeming to reveal something new or nudge you to consider an alternative perspective.
Though it remains uncertain if Kamakiri requires seat belts, Mobile Fidelity's reissue intends to give you a joy ride. Buckle up as you pick up a few friends and depart on the "Trans-Island Skyway" and cruise through a locale in which couples succumb to external pressures in "Countermoon." Grab your shades and re-experience old romances in the safety of virtual reality on "Springtime." Don your parka as you skate around the ice in rented icecats in the chilly climes of "Snowbound," which offers a glimpse of brightness before fortunes fade in the topsy-turvy environs of "Tomorrow's Girls."
Catch a breath, then prepare for the warming sun and romantic infatuation of "Florida Room" before everything appears to shatter into a million pieces for our hero during "On the Dunes." Ah, but Kamakiriad trades more in optimism than cynicism. As our narrator heads off to Flytown, bleakness and loss fade amid the promise of "Teahouse on the Tracks." We're lifted up by finger-popping rhythms, front-line horns, and the chance to dance. Our spirit renewed, our purpose reinvigorated, our urge to live - really live - restored. What a rush.
A critical and commercial triumph, Kamakiriad helped spawn the first Steely Dan tour in almost 20 years and sparked the resumption of Fagen and Becker's partnership until the latter passed away in 2017. Most importantly, it represents a trip on which you'll want to embark again and again. Push "play" on this SACD reissue and let the fun begin.
