“Katy Lied” At 50

In the contemporary landscape, the music project has taken the place of the rock band. With the economy getting worse and streaming platforms eating up band revenue, it’s now more cost-effective to do it all yourself. But some digital alchemists have turned this bug into a feature, with artists like Jon Maus, King Krule, Have a Nice Life, Cindy Lee, and Mac DeMarco cooking up low-rent masterpieces in dirty bedrooms across the globe.

However, some artists got there first — namely, Steely Dan with Katy Lied, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2025.

A Turning Point

Prior to Katy Lied, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker were the jazz-headed songwriters of one of the most popular free-wheeling rock bands of the early ’70s. On Katy, they scrapped the rest of the band, shut themselves off in the studio, and hired out musicians on a song-by-song basis. This formula was perfected on Aja, an album so “perfectionist” that it would make Brian Wilson blush. But while it never captures the yacht-rock density of “Peg” or the loose 70s feel of an earlier track like “Reelin’ in the Years,” Katy Lied remains one of the best albums in the band’s discography.

Take, for instance, “Bad Sneakers.” Its lush, laid-back pre-chorus sung in harmony by Michael McDonald and depictions of sleazebags goes along with their later style, but the rocking guitar work of Walter Becker, the vibraphone, and the Eastern influence displays something way too weird and Zappa-esque for their later smooth releases.

Steely Dan Freaks Out

And let’s talk about the mustache man. Zappa was an influence Steely Dan talked about, but you can’t often hear it directly. Katy Lied is Steely Dan at their most Mothered-out. “Everyone’s Gone to the Movies” one-ups Dan’s tales of sleazeballs by creating a funny song about a guy who invites teenagers over to watch, um, “movies” with him. Compared to suburban lounge lizards who drink scotch whisky all night long, this is a little more biting. The song also features a killer marimba part, something not normal for any rock group other than one led by Zappa.

But it doesn’t stop there. The horn parts on “Throw Back the Little Ones,” arranged by session arranger Jimmie Haskell, “Throw Back the Little Ones” sound so much like something off of Hot Rats that you can almost imagine Fagen smirking behind sunglasses and saying, “Give us, like, some Zappa, you know man?”

Looking Forward

Though it’s an outlier in Dan’s discography, there are peeks into their “yachty” horizons. Arguably, the best cut on the album is the wistful “Dr. Wu.” Fagen’s piano chords are more jazz-ridden than ever. The chorus features meticulous overdubs of Fagen’s voice, laying a close harmony that sounds like it’s been doubled three or four times to create a choral effect. The rhythm section is air-tight, far from the loose rock and roll of a song like “Boddhisatva.” To top it all off, we get a one-off alto sax solo from battle-hardened studio vet Phil Woods.

And Woods is not the only notable guest. The “Chain Lightning” solo is handled by Rick Derringer. Larry Carlton — who would later play their most famous guitar solo — makes his first appearance on a Dan track on “Daddy Don’t Live in That New York City No More,” Chuck Rainey handles bass on select tracks, and we even get a showing from Wilton Felder, the guy who played the bassline for “I Want You Back” by The Jackson 5.

Katy Lied is a tough album to place, but that’s hardly a bad thing. It’s a transitional album with the best of them. Celebrate it turning 50 by spinning it today and commenting on your favorite tracks below.

-Christian Flynn

Photo: Getty Images