a great jazz/rock song from the 1980s

[Lionel Mandrake]

The song title refers to a speech in which JFK said:

"We stand today on the edge of a New Frontier -— the frontier of the 1960s, the frontier of unknown opportunities and perils, the frontier of unfilled hopes and unfilled threats. ... Beyond that frontier are uncharted areas of science and space, unsolved problems of peace and war, unconquered problems of ignorance and prejudice, unanswered questions of poverty and surplus."

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. My dear Lionel Mandrake!

Ah, this is a great song.

I like the jazzy rhythms and the way the guitar bends the notes!

I also respect the fact that there's no fadeout at the end. The song finishes and you're not left wondering if there was something more that he might have done while it was fading.

Made these old bones want to get up and dance!

[Lionel Mandrake]

4. My dear CP,

Thanks for the K&R. I agree with everything you say.

[DODI]

2. Thank you!

Love that Larry Carlton!

[Lionel Mandrake]

3. Larry Carlton was lead guitar on this song,

but you already knew that.

For the other players, see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nightfly

[drmeow]

5. the entire album

is phenomenal - as is Kamakiriad.

I love the note: "The songs on this album represent certain fantasies that might have been entertained by a young man growing up in the remote suburbs of a northeastern city during the late fifties and early sixties, i.e., one of my general height, weigh and build. D.F."

[Lionel Mandrake]

6. Yes, that note displays a sense of humor.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

7. Thanks for that!

I was not familiar with that song.

The Steely Dan guys are very talented. I figured that out even though they were pretty much a studio band.

[Lionel Mandrake]

9. You're welcome.

This music is the most successful jazz/rock fusion I've heard. I haven't listened to Steely Dan; Wikipedia says it's a rock group (sans the fusion).

[Ryano42]

8. I remember first hearing this song after seeing the movie "Atomic Cafe"

Fagen perfectly captures the optimism contrasted with the sheer terror of the Cold War era.

I lived in Los Alamos, NM as a kid and to this day every time I go up there I think of this song or play it in my car...

[Lionel Mandrake]

10. Me too.

I'm not sure why I associate the song with the movie. There are various versions of the movie on YouTube. Was the song played in the movie? It wasn't in the version I watched yesterday. In any case, I found the movie very therapeutic after living through the era of "duck and cover".