STEELY DAN Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Analogue Productions are the label to take on the task of producing high-end editions of Steely Dan's albums, given their obsessive approach to remastering, pressing and every single minute detail of the production process. After all, this was the band who popularised such an approach in the studio. Katy Lied was the fourth album from Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, and it's as sensational as any Dan album from the rollicking romp of 'Black Friday' to the slinky boogie of 'Daddy Don't Live In That New York City No More'. This Super Audio CD version is surely the true audiophile's choice, free of any sonic interference and with every speck of sound rendered in crystal clear quality, just how the Dan would want it.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


Did Steely Dan go Bisto on us and save the best for last? Maybe, just maybe. While Pretzel Logic didn't mark the end of all things The Dan, it was the final album to feature the full lineup - Walter Becker, Donald Fagen, Denny Dias, Jim Hodder, and Jeff 'Skunk' Baxter (prior to the latter joining The Doobie Brothers). It was also the last to be released while the group were actively touring, and as such can be seen as something of a swan song. Perhaps Magnus Opus is a more appropriate turn of phrase. Critically acclaimed at the time, the record sees the jazz rockers opt to tone down the instrumentals that had cost them radio play with preceding LP, Countdown to Ecstasy, and instead focus on shorter, more direct and certainly catchier tunes. That's not to mean throwaway, mind, with praise lauded on the release at the time, when it was reissued in the late 1980s and remastered a decade or so later. Back again, it still has the same impact.

Review: Steely Dan's fourth studio album 'Katy Lied' was their 1975 standout moment, capturing a moment in time when the band had gained plenty of traction, and had already ridden the wave of fame for a good time. As a result, their music had grown in creativity and grandeur, expanding outwards from a mere prog rock outfit into a studio project, necessitating a steady stream of session musicians, highest-fidelity gear and lots of money. As ever, infectious guitar hooks and R&B funk structures make up most tracks here, making this an early party rock album if we've ever heard one. Katy may be a love interest or a sumptuous muse - but the title also alludes to a katydid, a species of insect related to grasshoppers or crickets.

Review: Steely Dan's Katy Lied, released in 1975, marks a pivotal point in the band's trajectory. Known for their meticulous approach to recording and their increasingly complex fusion of rock and jazz, the album sits at the crossroads of their evolution, representing both the height of their creative powers and the growing dissatisfaction of Walter Becker and Donald Fagen with their work. This album sees Steely Dan's transition from a traditional rock band to a more sophisticated, jazz-inflected studio project. The departure of guitarist Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, and their decision to stop touring, freed Becker and Fagen to focus entirely on studio work. Without the need to accommodate a touring lineup, Katy Lied became a playground for an array of top-tier session musicians, including drummer Jeff Porcaro and vocalist Michael McDonald, who would go on to define yacht rock's lush sound. The album's opening track, 'Black Friday', encapsulates Steely Dan's knack for blending lyrical wit with biting social commentary. It's a jaunty rock tune about apocalyptic scenarios and cashing in on chaos, with Fagen's sly delivery making it unclear whether he's advocating rebellion or simply observing it with a smirk. This tension between cool detachment and grim humor runs throughout Katy Lied, lending the album its disorienting charm. Tracks like 'Bad Sneakers' and 'Doctor Wu' mix cryptic narratives with immaculate musicianship. 'Doctor Wu', one of Steely Dan's most beloved tracks, balances between a love triangle and drug addiction with a saxophone solo from jazz great Phil Woods that ties the song's knot of ambiguity into a gorgeous, bittersweet bow. While Katy Lied features some of Steely Dan's most intricate compositions, it also hints at the moral ambiguity that would become a hallmark of their later albums. Katy Lied holds up as one of Steely Dan's most interesting records, a liminal album that bridges the gap between the rockier early years and the slick perfectionism of later efforts like Aja and Gaucho. It captures Becker and Fagen still in the process of refining their vision, grappling with the frustrations of the studio, but channeling that tension into songs that remain sharp, enigmatic and unflinchingly human.

Review: Greatest Hits Live by Steely Dan is a compilation of performances from their 1974 'All American Tour' and their 1993 reunion tour. Curated by Get Yer Vinyl Out, the album brings plenty of fine live renditions of their biggest hits, all meticulously restored and professionally remastered. Housed in a deluxe gatefold, the release includes extensive liner notes and rare artist photos, while the tracks are sourced from live FM radio broadcasts at the University of California, Irvine (March 10, 1974), The Record Plant in Sausalito (March 20, 1974) and Riverport Amphitheater in Maryland Heights (September 1, 1993).

Review: Originally released in 1980, this limited audiophile vinyl 2xLP box set from Analogue Productions offers a superb listening experience of a masterpiece of jazz-rock fusion. The remastered audio is crystal clear, revealing every nuance of the band's intricate arrangements and Donald Fagen's wry lyrics. From the opening strains of 'Hey Nineteen' to the lush harmonies of 'Time Out of Mind,' this is a sonic journey that will transport you to another time and place. Whether you're a longtime fan or a new listener, this box set is a must-have.

Review: An end-of-year reissue campaign makes for a nice retrospective of the best works of American rockers Steely Dan, formed in part by this reissue of their seventh studio album, Gaucho. A monumental effort in ensemble recording, Becker and Fagen exploited the labour-power of over 42 different session musicians and supporting cast members for. this feat, notably exceeding the budget advanced to them by MCA. With a greater focus on rhythmic progression and atmospherics than songwriting compared to their earlier works, it made sense for the group to lay down just seven tracks, with the likes of 'Hey Nineteen' and 'Glamour Profession' standing out as luminaries of their ever-so-yachty corner.

Review: Steely Dan are the kind of band where everyone has their favourite album, with a fanbase who might well get a little heated debating which phase of the band is superior. But when it comes down to it, everyone will agree Aja is their masterpiece, where that exacting studio process and the elevated songwriting hit some magical sweet spot that yielded the semi-mythical perfect album. The grooves are so slinky as 'Black Cow' opens the record up, they spring with joy out of 'Peg' and they lock down heavy on 'Josie', and there's so much more in between. This faithful reproduction from Analogue Productions is a limited audiophile edition for a band who were made for audiophiles.

Review: The enduring appeal of Steely Dan never fades with time, and why should it? Donald Fagen and Walter Becker's relentless pursuit of perfection and blue-eyed soul gifted us a whole heap of stunning albums, and their fiercely devoted fanbase would fight tooth and nail over which one gets the top spot. Our money would be on Aja though, given its enduring influence, its rich extended life through a whole host of sampling and the quite simply flawless run of songs, composition, production and beyond. It's one of the greatest albums out there, and you'd do well to grab a copy if you don't own it already.

Review: Did Steely Dan go Bisto on us and save the best for last? Maybe, just maybe. While Pretzel Logic didn't mark the end of all things The Dan, it was the final album to feature the full lineup - Walter Becker, Donald Fagen, Denny Dias, Jim Hodder, and Jeff 'Skunk' Baxter (prior to the latter joining The Doobie Brothers). It was also the last to be released while the group were actively touring, and as such can be seen as something of a swan song. Perhaps Magnus Opus is a more appropriate turn of phrase. Critically acclaimed at the time, the record sees the jazz rockers opt to tone down the instrumentals that had cost them radio play with preceding LP, Countdown to Ecstasy, and instead focus on shorter, more direct and certainly catchier tunes. That's not to mean throwaway, mind, with praise lauded on the release at the time, when it was reissued in the late 1980s and remastered a decade or so later. Back again, it still has the same impact.

Review: Every Steely Dan album is a world within itself - part of a broader galaxy of planets that share the same energy source, but ultimately unique and never interchangeable. Can't Buy A Thrill was the very beginning of Donald Fagen and Walter Becker's revered project, fabled for its exacting studio prowess and ruthless commitment to perfection. There's immediacy to the likes of stone-cold pop classics 'Do It Again' and 'Reelin' In The Years', but this is still sublime and subversive music from a band who flew out of the gate fully realised. Now the album has been given a shiny fresh pressing so if you don't own it already, this is the time.