{"id":39602,"date":"2006-01-13T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2006-01-13T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/katy-lied-2\/"},"modified":"2006-01-13T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2006-01-13T00:00:00","slug":"katy-lied-2","status":"publish","type":"review","link":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/katy-lied-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Katy Lied"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Following the rather drab outing of Pretzel
\nLogic<\/i>, Walter Becker and Donald Fagen — the heart of Steely
\nDan — must have decided that something in their formula had to
\nchange. Yes, they were still in the mode where they were cranking
\nout an album a year — and seeing the kind of music they wrote,
\nbeing on that kind of musical assembly line didn’t seem to be the
\nbest thing for them.<\/p>\n

Yet the addition of studio musicians — hired guns,
\nif you will — seemed to be a spark that partially re-ignited the
\nfire of Steely Dan’s work. Their fourth outing, Katy Lied<\/i>,
\ncontains some tracks that have rightfully taken their place among
\nthe group’s best efforts of all time. Yet there is still a
\ntentativeness about other tracks, ending up in, at least, a
\ntentative step in the right direction.<\/p>\n

Granted, classic rock radio has threatened to beat
\nsome of these tracks to death, such as “Any World (That I’m Welcome
\nTo),” “Bad Sneakers” and “Doctor Wu,” yet despite the way that
\ncorporate radio has latched onto these tracks like leeches, there
\nis still something refreshing about hearing them. Maybe it’s the
\nfact that, when you’re sitting and listening to this album from
\nbeginning to end, you’re hearing these songs in their natural
\nenvironment, as it were. Maybe these tracks are just so strong that
\nthey can withstand the barrage of airplay they’ve been given.<\/p>\n

Yet other tracks, while getting some airplay to my
\nattention over the years, almost await re-discovery by the
\nlistener. “Black Friday” is one such animal, a track that captures
\nthe rock essence of Steely Dan more than any single of theirs since
\n“Reelin’ In The Years.” Despite the overriding cynicism of the
\nlyrics — a trait common to a lot of Steely Dan’s work — this
\njazz\/rock fusion is just a lot of fun to listen to.<\/p>\n

The same can be said for “Everyone’s Gone To The
\nMovies,” a track that makes me wonder if there was some kind of
\nhidden message in its lyrics. While this one may not get the kind
\nof attention that a lot of Steely Dan’s hits catalog gets, it’s
\nwell worth the time to really focus on. If there was one track off
\nof Katy Lied<\/i> that I’d argue is a prime candidate for “hidden
\ngem,” this one would be it.<\/p>\n

Yet Katy Lied<\/i> doesn’t seem to approach the
\nsame kind of confidence level that other discs such as Can’t Buy
\nA Thrill<\/i> or Countdown To Ecstasy<\/i> had. Any time a group
\ngoes back to repeat an earlier musical effort — in this case,
\n“Your Gold Teeth II” — it’s usually a red flag that flies up in my
\nmind. I will admit that this faster-tempoed take of the song works
\nwell, but I have to wonder why they even needed to do so in the
\nfirst place. Likewise, “Throw Back The Little Ones” just seems like
\na weak way to close the disc — admittedly, something that Steely
\nDan has had problems with on most, if not all, of their previous
\ndiscs.<\/p>\n

Still, Katy Lied<\/i>, despite a few weak moments,
\nis a step in the right direction for Steely Dan, and most
\ndefinitely was the disc that set the pace for the remainder of the
\nband’s career until their first retirement.<\/p>\n

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