KATY LIED

'Katy Lied' is the fourth studio album by Steely Dan and the first one in the discography following Donald Fagen and Walter Becker's decision to stop touring and continue as a studio act with various guest musicians, a decision which had led to the departure of previous band members Jeff "Skunk" Baxter on guitars and Jim Hodder on the drums, playing on all three previous LPs of the Dan. And while this is an excellent album per se, released in March of 1975, it is also quite divisive and slightly transitional in terms of the final effect, the quality of the recordings, and the overall dissatisfaction of the two band leaders with their creation, infamously refusing to hear the final mixes. And yet amidst all this, with 'Katy Lied' being a classic Steely Dan record, is an intelligent and ardently crafted piece of work that combines the typical pop rock sensibility to writing with jazz instrumentation, elevated by the stellar production and rather identifiable vocals of Donald Fagen, delivering some smart, witty and often cocky lyrics.

Perhaps it seems like there is no more that experimentation, a play with techniques, but a more consolidated, focused and well-conceived sound. And with a perfect side one, absolutely iconic and flawless, featuring classics like 'Bad Sneakers' and 'Doctor Wu', we have the much more inconsistent side two, with the swingy joyous tones of 'Everyone's Gone to the Movies', and the swirling 'Your Gold Teeth II', alongside the quite forgettable 'Chain Lightning'. This is a pleasant, perfectly enjoyable and smart album (yes, also snobbish on certain occasions) that serves as an underrated and transitional entry from the Steely Dan universe.