Katy Lied

by Steely Dan, Rick Derringer, Donald Fagen

Overview

One of the most pleasurable pop albums ever made, KATY LIED is also one of the weirdest. Steely Dan principals Walter Becker and Donald Fagen combined off-kilter but catchy song constructions with jazz motifs, killer guitar solos, and an almost avant-garde approach to lyric writing to create a series of unaccountably beautiful and lasting albums in the 1970s. Most Danophiles consider this 1975 album, the pair's fourth, to be their unlikely masterpiece. It contains none of Steely Dan's well-known hits, but in their place is something like a concept album. It's hard to tell from the actual lyrics: Lines like "Pull out your gold teeth/ And see how they roll" aren't designed to enlighten. But a few hints here and there -- along with the very adult mournfulness permeating the record -- tell the story. You can hear it in the rueful "Bad Sneakers," the wistfully perverse "Everyone's Gone to the Movies," and, closing things off, one of the most emotionally exhilarating tracks of the duo's now 25-year career, "Any World (That I'm Welcome To)."

Product Details

Release Date:	05/18/1999
Label:	Mca
UPC:	0008811191627
catalogNumber:	11916
Rank:	1715

Tracks

1. Black Friday
2. Bad Sneakers
3. Rose Darling
4. Daddy Don't Live In That New York City No More
5. Doctor Wu
6. Everyone's Gone to the Movies
7. Your Gold Teeth, Pt. 2
8. Chain Lightning
9. Any World (That I'm Welcome To)
10. Throw Back the Little Ones

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Steely Dan   Primary Artist
Rick Derringer   Guitar
Donald Fagen   Piano,Keyboards,Vocals
Michael McDonald   Vocals,Background Vocals
Larry Carlton   Guitar
Victor Feldman   Percussion,Keyboards,Vibes
Bill Perkins   Horn
Chuck Rainey   Bass
Elliott Randall   Guitar
Walter Becker   Bass,Guitar,Vocals
Hal Blaine   Drums
Wilton Felder   Bass
Jimmie Haskell   Horn
Myrna Matthews   Vocals,Background Vocals
Hugh McCracken   Guitar
Michael Omartian   Piano,Keyboards
David Paich   Piano,Keyboards
Jeff Porcaro   Drums,Dorophone
Dean Parks   Guitar
Carolyn Willis   Vocals,Background Vocals
Phil Woods   Alto,Horn,Vocals,Soloist
Denny Dias   Guitar
Sherlie Matthews   Vocals,Background Vocals

Technical Credits

Donald Fagen   Liner Notes
Jimmie Haskell   Arranger
Gary Katz   Producer,Audio Production
Roger Nichols   Engineer
Dorothy White   Cover Photo
Dinky Dawson   Sound Consultant
Kenta Hagiwara   Liner Notes

Editorial Reviews

Building from the jazz fusion foundation of Pretzel Logic, Steely Dan created an alluringly sophisticated album of jazzy pop with Katy Lied. With this record, Walter Becker and Donald Fagen began relying solely on studio musicians, which is evident from the immaculate sound of the album. Usually, such a studied recording method would drain the life out of each song, but that's not the case with Katy Lied, which actually benefits from the duo's perfectionist tendencies. Each song is given a glossy sheen, one that accentuates not only the stronger pop hooks, but also the precise technical skill of the professional musicians drafted to play the solos. Essentially, Katy Lied is a smoother version of Pretzel Logic, featuring the same cross-section of jazz-pop and blues-rock. The lack of innovations doesn't hurt the record, since the songs are uniformly brilliant. Less overtly cynical than previous Dan albums, the album still has its share of lyrical stingers, but what's really notable are the melodies, from the seductive jazzy soul of "Doctor Wu" and the lazy blues of "Chain Lightning" to the terse "Black Friday" and mock calypso of "Everyone's Gone to the Movies." It's another excellent record in one of the most distinguished rock & roll catalogs of the '70s.

All Music Guide - Stephen Thomas Erlewine