Steely Dan – Katy Lied (45 RPM 200 Gram Clarity Vinyl)

Steely Dan moves into the studio

Katy Lied followed Steely Dan’s decision to stop touring. Donald Fagen and Walter Becker no longer had to organize their music around a permanently travelling band. They worked with changing studio personnel while retaining familiar collaborators such as Denny Dias. The fourth album was recorded between November 1974 and January 1975 at ABC Recording Studios in Los Angeles, produced by Gary Katz and engineered by Roger Nichols.

The credits reflect the new working method. Michael Omartian, Chuck Rainey, Wilton Felder, Dean Parks, Rick Derringer and others take different responsibilities. Michael McDonald supplies backing vocals on several selections. Becker and Fagen wrote all ten songs, but their realization depends on many individual contributions. Personnel could now be assembled around the needs of a particular piece, rather than the requirements of the road.

One saxophone solo, several guitar voices

“Doctor Wu” gives Phil Woods’s alto saxophone a prominent role. In his later account, Dias describes how technically difficult the subsequent mixing of that passage became. The recording history is complicated; musically, a useful starting point is the simpler question of how the solo belongs within the song. Where is it prepared, and how does its return alter the balance with the vocal?

Becker takes the guitar solo on “Bad Sneakers”, while Dias plays the featured part on “Your Gold Teeth II”. “Chain Lightning” brings Rick Derringer into focus. The album can therefore be followed as a sequence of distinct guitar personalities working inside the same songwriting world. Comparing these selections directs attention to phrasing, accompaniment and the amount of room each composition gives its featured instrument.

Jeff Porcaro works out the movement

Jeff Porcaro plays drums on nine of the ten tracks, with Hal Blaine taking over on “Any World (That I’m Welcome To)”. Porcaro was only twenty during the sessions. Accounts of “Your Gold Teeth II” describe him studying Dannie Richmond’s playing with Charles Mingus after Fagen lent him a record, helping him negotiate the changing rhythmic groupings. Even accomplished session players had to discover how a demanding part should move.

Listen to that selection with the drums as your guide rather than the solo voice. How do the transitions remain connected while the groupings change? “Black Friday” then offers a different rhythmic reference point. The songs arrive as completed pieces, but rehearsals, attempts and decisions lie behind them. Those specific details make the personnel worth exploring as working musicians, beyond a list of impressive names.

The UHQR and its complicated tape history

This is UHQR AUHQR 0012-45, listed in the shop as AUHQR 0012-45-1: two LPs at 45 RPM on 200-gram Clarity Vinyl, pressed by QRP. The publisher credits Bernie Grundman and the original master tape. A Stoughton tip-on gatefold, slipcase and accompanying notes complete the edition. The ten songs occupy four sides, with “Doctor Wu” closing the second.

Accounts of the dbx and Dolby problems differ. Dias describes unsuccessful mixes followed by another mix using Dolby; that does not support a simple claim that this reissue removes every historical recording problem. Michael discusses this exact UHQR in his video of 4 March 2025, explaining his increased appreciation of the album. That remains his personal assessment. The separate black 180-gram LP and the SACD follow different production routes and should not be treated as interchangeable with the UHQR.

You order from Michael 45 in Germany. We arrange the US import and dispatch from Hilden.

Also in another edition: Katy Lied

More by Steely Dan: Pretzel Logic

Artist page: All titles by Steely Dan

Customer question: Collecting UHQR records: limited editions of great albums

Series: UHQR – all 31 editions with pressing run and mastering

Musicians

Documented selection of participating musicians. Personnel may vary by track; this list does not claim to be complete.