Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Steely Dan
Label: Island Records
Released: 1975
Length: 35:25
Rating: 5/5
“Katy Lied” was the fourth album from the legendary jazz-rock project Steely Dan, cooked up by the inseparable pals Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. From the very start of their professional career, these two ranked among the most talented, enigmatic and downright charismatic musicians and songwriters in the history of popular music. They also became famous as extreme production perfectionists who always squeezed every last drop out of the studio technology available to them. It has to be said that they had a huge ally in the brilliant producer Gary Katz, who in his long collaboration with the sonically demanding duo made practically no mistakes.
With all that in mind, you can imagine the shock of these two production purists when, in the middle of recording “Katy Lied”, the DBX noise-reduction system suddenly collapsed. That unfortunate incident drove them so far that, once the album was finally recorded, they refused to listen to it. What’s more, they didn’t want to hear it for years , and on the back cover they even apologized for the “inferior sound quality”. All of this speaks pretty vividly to their pathological obsession with sonic perfection, but when I dig into the sound quality of “Katy Lied”, I can’t detect any imperfection whatsoever. To my ears the sound is on the same enviably high level as on the other Steely Dan albums, so their purism could justifiably be called almost grotesque.
“Katy Lied” marks an important turning point in Steely Dan’s career. After numerous disappointments on the live front, Fagen and Becker turned this legendary name into a purely studio project with legions of terrific session musicians. It would be pointless to list all these high-profile names, because the list is simply too long. Let me mention only those who have earned enviable respect over the years, especially in rock music, such as the then barely 20-year-old David Paich and Jeff Porcaro (who would later find worldwide fame as members of the melodic rock/pop attraction Toto), the returning Elliott Randall, highly regarded above all by Asia fans, and the famed guitarist/singer Rick Derringer. “Katy Lied” is also the first Steely Dan album featuring the well-known R&B singer Michael McDonald (later of The Doobie Brothers). Despite its fairly obvious sarcastic metaphor, the album’s title doesn’t, at least at first glance, refer to a two-faced girl named Katy, but to a meadow insect that’s a close relative of the cricket (the pet-name-like title comes from the English word katydid, which is what the creature is called).
Stylistically, “Katy Lied” doesn’t mark any noticeable departure from their trademark, highly refined and energetic mix of jazz, rock, R&B, soul and funk. The only noticeable difference is that the jazzy horn and keyboard arrangements got a bit more emphasis, but that’s far from saying the guitars were pushed into the background in the production in any way. With such a rich pick of as many as seven (!) different guitarists (Becker included), it was only natural that the album is packed with distinctive, varied solos, witty riffs and multi-part harmonies. Even the most deep-pocketed guitar nerds will be licking their lips. Jazz-fusion fans won’t have any complaints either, since the horn and keyboard arrangements are laid through the rock and R&B structures of the individual tracks in an exceptionally refined way. Fagen’s trademark vocal, often sarcastic but highly hypnotic, delivers the lyrics with a special charm, and this time too they’re bursting with black humor and satire aimed at the dark spots of American society.
As a whole, the album is remarkably consistent and in that way follows the legacy of their earlier output. Once again there isn’t a bad or boring moment on it, even though, unlike most Steely Dan albums, there’s no evergreen pop-rock hit that would hypnotize the listener on the spot and lodge itself in the ear canals with its chorus right away. The closest to that description are the opening “Black Friday”, a cheeky jazz rocker with a bouncy, almost boogie rhythm, a multi-voice chorus and venomously sarcastic pre-apocalyptic lyrical satire, and the charming “Bad Sneakers”. The latter boasts some excellent guitar solos and above all phenomenal singing from Fagen, whose star moment comes in the anthemic chorus. Right now I can’t think of any other band capable of working the words busted sneakers and pina colada into a main chorus in such a charmingly hypnotic and heartfelt way. “Rose Darling”, Fagen’s sexual fantasy built on R&B patterns, features a great guitar phrase and superb vocal harmonies.
The solid “Daddy Don’t Live in That New York City Anymore”, with its sarcastic lyrics about the less appealing social sights of New York, vividly shows off their contrasting blend of rhythmic simplicity and complexity. Handclap rhythm patterns repeat in the background, cut through by dynamic drum fills and a great closing guitar solo. The enigmatic “Doctor Wu” is one of the album’s best moments. The lyrics deal with the mysterious, slightly frustrated Doctor Wu and his strange obsession with a (probably imaginary) girl named Katy (the one from the album title). Fagen “narrates” it all in his typical, theatrical manner, with no shortage of bewilderment and a pinch of sarcasm in his voice. This excellent creation already hints at their later, more jazzy direction, since the production puts refined jazz arrangements front and center. I’m thinking mainly of the witty horn and piano solos.
“Everyone’s Gone to the Movies” is a romantically seasoned jazz-Latin pop rocker, distinguished by an excellent multi-voice chorus, playful saxophone passages and Caribbean rhythms. On it, the legendary duo and their studio collaborators demonstrate a great feel for combining the rhythmic elements of jazz and world music. The lyrics, which touch on pedophilia, are full of black humor. “Your Gold Teeth, Pt. 2” is a superb specimen of jazz fusion. Although it’s a conceptual sequel to “Your Gold Teeth” from the album “Countdown to Ecstasy” (1973), it’s a musically completely different song. Witty jazz arrangements on piano and horns are backed by striking vocal harmonies and eclectic rhythmic patterns. Fagen once again proves himself a true vocal chameleon, effortlessly shifting from sharp sarcasm to deeply sensual melancholy.
The relatively atypical “Chain Lightning” is built on dramatic R&B, blues and soul notes, with plenty of admirable guitar solo feats too. The excellent jazz pop rocker “Any World That I’m Welcomed To” is yet another of the album’s best moments. Hypnotic harmonies in the chorus are backed by juicy keyboard passages. The lyrics are atypically dreamy and idealistic, telling of someone who has royally screwed up in life and rediscovers the child within. That’s probably why the excellent closing jazz-rock-fusion burlesque “Throw Back the Little Ones”, where Fagen’s venomous vocal sarcasm even occasionally channels Roger Waters, comes off as all the more nihilistic. The surreal lyrics, some of the rhythmic experiments and the horn arrangements would be worthy of Frank Zappa himself, which is surely the best compliment I can pay this composition.
Despite the nasty studio mishap that seriously rattled the good mood of the steely duo, “Katy Lied” is an excellent transitional album that opened a new chapter in the story of this legendary studio project. No matter how much Fagen and Becker fret over the “sonic imperfection”, they can’t deny what most fans think: this is one of their most important albums, with flawless musical content and an advanced use of the studio technology of the day. The reason “Katy Lied” usually isn’t as highly rated as most Steely Dan albums of the ’70s probably lies in the fact that it has no instantly hypnotic pop-rock anthems in the vein of “Reelin’ in the Years”, “Dirty Work” or “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number”, which indirectly led to somewhat more limited radio play for this album. But everyone who doesn’t look for just pop hits in their music and above all appreciates highly eclectic arrangements and instrumental breadth will more than enjoy yet another incarnation of musical and production perfection, made to the signature Steely Dan recipe.
Lineup
Donald Fagen – piano, keyboards, vocals
Walter Becker – bass guitar, guitar, vocals
Michael Omartian – piano, keyboards
David Paich – piano, keyboards
Wilton Felder – bass guitar
Chuck Rainey – bass guitar
Denny Dias – guitar
Larry Carlton – guitar
Rick Derringer – guitar
Hugh McCracken – guitar
Dean Parks – guitar
Elliott Randall – guitar
Jimmie Haskell – horn
Bill Perkins – horn
Phil Woods – saxophone, vocals
Hal Blaine – drums
Jeff Porcaro – drums, dorophone
Myrna Matthews – vocals, backing vocals
Sherlie Matthews – vocals, backing vocals
Michael McDonald – vocals, backing vocals
Carolyn Willis – vocals, backing vocals
Production
Gary Katz
Track list
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 II
8. Chain Lightning
9. Any World (That I’m Welcome To)
10. Throw Back The Little Ones
