Steely Dan will make it’s classic fourth studio album, Katy Lied, available on vinyl for the first time in more than 40 years. The reissue of the 1975 album is scheduled to be released on January 31, 2025.
Videos by American Songwriter
The LP’s release is part of a campaign that will see Steely Dan’s first seven studio effort return to vinyl. The initiative, which is being overseen by frontman Donald Fagen, began in November 2022 with the rerelease of Steely Dan’s 1972 debut, Can’t Buy a Thrill.
A limited-edition 45-rpm version of Katy Lied pressed on 200-gram ultra-high-quality vinyl will be released by the Analogue Productions label. The company also will release a Super Audio CD version of the record. Universal Music will release a standard 180-gram edition of Katy Lied, which plays at 33-and-1/3 rpm. The various versions of the reissue can be pre-ordered now.
More About Katy Lied
Katy Lied was released in March 1975, saw Steely Dan’s delver deeper into jazz influences, combined with pop, rock, and blues. It was the band’s first album recorded after Fagen and co-founder Walter Becker decided to stop touring and continue on as a studio entity, which led to the departure of guitarist Jeff “Skunk” Baxter and drummer Jim Hodder.
From then on, the duo utilized various studio musicians on their albums. Katy Lied also was the first of several Steely Dan albums to feature Michael McDonald on backing vocals on select tracks.
Other noteworthy musicians who contributed to the album included guitarists Rick Derringer, Dean Parks, Hugh McCracken, and Larry Carlton; keyboardist David Paich; and drummers Jeff Porcaro and Hal Blaine. Paich and Porcaro went on to co-found Toto a few years later.
Katy Lied peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard 200. It also featured one charting single, “Black Friday,” which reached No. 37 on the Billboard Hot 100. Among the other memorable tunes on the album were “Bad Sneakers” and “Doctor Wu.”
Katy Lied went on to be certified platinum by the RIAA in 1993 for sales of more than 1 million copies in the U.S.
More About the Steely Dan Vinyl Reissue Campaign
The other Steely Dan albums that previously were released as part of the vinyl reissue campaign are Countdown to Ecstasy (1973), Pretzel Logic (1974), Aja (1977), and Gaucho (1980). The series will wrap up in mid-2025 with the release of The Royal Scam (1976).
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.