KATY LIED

If ever an album were to be considered 'quintessential Dan', then this'll be Katy Lied's legacy. Where Can't Buy a Thrill had all the good in the band and Countdown to Ecstasy had all the bad (what a range!), and Pretzel logic was the systematic concision, meshing, and condensing of both toward a more commercial product, then Katy Lied is the band's melting pot of all the influences. There's the blistering jazz rock on track one, the soothing, twisted guitar minimalism driven soft rock of track two, and the whole thing's at least got to be some of the most well-produced music in all of the 1970's. It's clear, clean, and definitely crystallized as to garner that mass appeal. The guitar's a little more prominent this time around, too. They've got a handle on diverse jamming, don't they? Even if half the songs sound very similar (more on account of the band's centralized vision than any serious lack of diversity), the funk of 'Daddy Don't Live In That' is quite the treat. It's as much a collection of influences as it's a sequel to Pretzel Logic, as well. They're still not branching out, instead taking the more commercial route. I've got no problem with that, some of the songs are amazing, but only in ways the band's tread before. The professional revolving door trade-off soloing is still exciting, but no longer so fresh. They've taken a closer step toward fancy elevator music, excellent fancy elevator music.

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