Katy Lied [Original recording remastered]

Steely Dan | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 18, 1999)
• Original Release Date: 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Mca
• ASIN: B00000IPAB
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (116 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #948 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #51 in Music > Pop > Soft Rock

Editorial Reviews

Yet another big success for Becker and Fagen. This was their first album recorded with a different studio band tailored for each tune. The album reached #13, Black Friday broke the Top 40 and typically enigmatic tunes like Doctor Wu and Bad Sneakers became instant 'Dan fan favorites. The band remastered this reissue themselves and added new notes to the original liners, lyrics and graphics!

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

90 of 94 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars One Of the Best Albums Ever Recorded July 27, 2003

By Mark D Burgh

Format:Audio CD

By 1975, Steely Dan had abandoned touring and reconvened in L.A. to wring songs of confusion, loss, mayhem, and strange lust out of a new Bosendorfer and some ace studio musicians. The cryptic lyrics of such songs as "Dr Wu," and "Rose Darling" shimmer as in a dream amongst the syncopation and searing guitar work (just who is Snake Mary?). Although these are all rock songs, they are arranged and played in a jazz idiom for the backing tracks, giving Steely Dan their unique soundworld.

Walter Becker and Donald Fagan's talents begin to bloom here. Freed from the grind of touring that wore down so many bands with potential, they could concentrate on their neurotic perfectionism and create recorded music that is both clear and deep.

This reissue sparkles, the musical layers in relief, the sneer and terror in Donald Fagan's voice ringing over the snap and smear of Michael Omartian's dynamic pianism. Donald Fagan and David Paitch contribute keyboards of various types throughout, always to good effect. Larry Carlton, Denny Dias, Rick Derringer, Dean Parks, Hugh McCracken, and Walter Becker contribute the excellent guitar work.

The album begins with an ominous song of dread, "Black Friday," whose existance might alone justify the invention of the electric piano, if that invention might need to be justified.

The big Bosendorfer powers the next cut, the classic "Bad Sneakers," a tale of exile and aimlessness in the big city. Michael McDonald's back-up vocals of "Goin' insane" give the song some bluesy atmosphers, while the nearly whimsical guiter solo over some nice piano chops belies the seriousness of the song's existential dilemma.

And of course, certainly one of the 10 best Steely Dan songs, "Dr. Wu," a Miami Beach epic of the love jones and Asian physicians. Once again the piano strikes like a bell, and Porcarco's minimal percussion on the verse ticks like a bomb. Fagan's lament for his lost and future love murders me still, as it killed me back in 1977. Phil Woods takes this song into the stratosphere with an alto saxophone solo few could match; consider how well this solo works in the context of the music and the lyrics compared to the clumsliness with which most solos intrude on other songs.

Katy Lied, indeed. Like a fresh morning breeze on a summer day that carries the portent of pain and a lonely night. In short, a masterpiece.

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Katy Did September 28, 2006

By Ren

Format:Audio CD

Not telling you anything you don't already know, but this memory surfaces everytime I see the cover of or play any of the songs on Katy Lied. When this album came out, my high school science class was dabbling in entomology (bugs) so I paid attention to the seemingly inscrutable cover art of Katy Lied. Well, as we all know, it's a Katydid... just another sardonic Becker-Fagen play on words. But the knowledge that Katy did, gives an extra punch to Fagen's 'I was half-way crucified' lyric. Dr. Wu is their best song ever.

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars You're Not a true Dan Fan without this one September 13, 2002

By Mark R. Van Wagenen

Format:Audio CD

"Katy Lied" is the best album Steely Dan did, improving even on "Pretzel Logic". Why? This album plays to the band's strengths: Donald Fagen's incredible piano playing and the songwriting. They were at their best with edgy, cynical and clever lyrics and that is in abundance here. Throw in some other well-known names like guitarist Rick Derringer and vocalist Michael McDonald here and it add even more. The leadoff track, "Black Friday" is a brutal tale about a guy who causes financial panic and flees to Australia to "feed all the kangaroos". Great guitar work make this an excellent leadoff track and a minor Top 40 hit. "Bad Sneakers", an FM staple, is funky and mellow; listen for McDonald's distinctive background vocals (you also hear him on "Any World That I'm Welcome To"). "Daddy Don't Live in that New York City No More", a story about a broken-down wiseguy, is another number with clever, subtle lyrics (you get the lyrics on the Dan's remastered CDs, which can be very helpful). "Doctor Wu" is the album's tour-de-force, with beautiful piano and a haunting alto sax solo by Phil Woods; this might be THE track that best defines the band. "Everyone's Gone to the Movies" is a close second to "Doctor Wu"; the lyrics about a neighborhood weirdo with his movie projector are absolutely irresistable and classic Dan (many have tried, and failed, to adequately parlay similar worldviews into artistic success). Piano fans will like "Your Gold Teeth II", a completely different tune than its namesake on "Countdown to Ecstacy". "Chain Lightning" is maybe the album's coolest track and has more toughness in the lyrics. The aforementioned "Any World", another FM staple, is a great tale of loneliness and searching for a place that is elusive. "Throw Back the Little Ones" is hard to figure out, but you gotta love the refrain: "Throw back the little ones and pan-fry the big ones; use poise, tact and reason and gently squeeze them". This is one of my very favorite CDs.