Hardcore Dan fans such as myself will find Nightfly a quick read. It’s comprehensive, and contains lots of interesting info. While I recommend the book, I have a few minor quibbles:
In Chapter 3, Jones writes: Since neither one of them [Fagen or Becker] could read or write music, it would be [Michael] Omartian’s job to prepare the charts”. How could they have attended music school without this ability? I’m not saying they didn’t, but it’s a subject worth exploring. Then, in chapter 7, Jones writes that Donald “always carried blank music manuscript paper with him.” Huh? Again, I’m not saying this isn’t true, but an explanation of how/why this skill evolved would have been interesting. Maybe Jones was curious about this too, and wasn’t able to get more info.
I’m stunned that Jones completely missed a reference in “Everyone’s Gone to the Movies”. I clearly remember watching 16mm films in school in the 1960s. 8mm technology was cheaper in all respects. So the line “I know you’re used to sixteen or more; sorry we only have eight” always made perfect, obvious sense to me. Jones is slightly older than I, so we went through school at the same time. I guess he wasn’t paying attention to movie technology, or maybe his school couldn’t afford a projector.
The book’s introduction includes a quote from a Rolling Stone reporter which describes Fagen’s face in unflattering terms. Fagen obviously didn’t design his own face. In my opinion, including this quote was unnecessary, uninteresting, and in poor taste.
Jones frequently provides his own subjective observations about Fagen’s music. As with any music reviewer, this is his right. But a person’s reaction to any piece of music is highly influenced by many factors independent of the music itself. In my view, a reference book such as this one should stay as objective as possible. Statements such as “Reviews were generally favorable”, and/or specific quotes typical of the consensus would be better. To his credit, Jones also included many of these more objective facts.
I’m guessing Jones is not a pop musician. He doesn’t have to be, of course. But any professional rock/pop musician will tell you that the underlying groove of EW&F’s “September” is 8th-notes – not 16th-notes. “Use Me” is indeed a 16th-note-groove song, so Jones got that one right. I realize I'm being a little like Nomad from Star Trek here. Sorry.
I read somewhere that Donald & Walter used to sit around watching crappy old movies and laughing at them. I was disappointed that Jones didn’t include this tidbit. I wouldn’t call it an omission. But I think it’s worth including, based on a personal experience:
Years ago (probably around 1979), I was watching daytime TV and happened upon an old crappy movie. It was a musical. Very stagey. Looked like it was made in the forties, MAYBE early 1950s.
They had a musical number about "When Josie Comes Home". A few dozen people were standing on the stage singing about how much they loved Josie and how wonderful it will be to see her again. They were all wearing cheap pastel yellows, pinks, and orange costumes. This went on for a minute or two, then Josie appears. She's the only one wearing any shade of blue. The whole thing was kind of surreal and unintentionally hilarious.
Darn it, I didn't write down the name of the movie. I've spent a few hours trying to find it on Google, but no luck. It's definitely not a well-known musical. It was really, really boring and really, really bad.
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