The title track from Donald Fagen’s acclaimed 1982 album The Nightfly may not have been quite as road-tested as “New Frontier,” but it has appeared in the setlist from his 2006 tour and the tour with the Nightflyers.
The version on 2021’s The Nightfly Live, taken from a 2019 show at the Beacon Theatre, is as predictably competent as you would expect from this version of the Steely Dan band. Don’t take this assessment as a negative. The song, my least favorite from the original album, is still a gem.
Donald Fagen sounds inspired, and the backing vocals are equally passionate. The 2006 recording of the song featured a Wayne Krantz solo, which was distinctive yet appropriate. The The Nightfly Live version seems closer to the Larry Carlton feel of the original.
This latest update could have benefitted from the extended saxophone solo provided by Walt Weiskopf, but if you didn’t know better, with its Jim Beard piano flourishes and Connor Kennedy lead guitar runs, you’d think this was the definitive live version.
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