(I got the) News | Issue 39
Steely Dan classic 'Katy Lied' gets vinyl reissue after 40 years
Remastered Steely Dan classic 'Katy Lied' to be released on high quality vinyl
Steely Dan’s fourth album, 1975’s Katy Lied will return to vinyl for the first time in more than 40 years on January 31, 2025, via Geffen/UMe, continuing the extensive reissue program of the band’s classic ABC and MCA Records catalog.
The series, which began in November 2022 with the group’s debut LP, Can’t Buy A Thrill, is being personally overseen by founding member Donald Fagen, and returns the group’s first seven records to vinyl, most of which haven’t been available since their original release.
The series will close out with 1976’s guitar-driven The Royal Scam (“Kid Charlemagne,” “The Fez”) in mid-2025.
‘Yacht Rock’: HBO Doc Shows How Bands Like Steely Dan, Christopher Cross and Toto Became Cool All Over Again
Ask any two music fans what qualifies as yacht rock, and an argument is sure to ensue.
Does Steely Dan count? (Absolutely.) What about Hall & Oates? (No, too East Coast.)
In the late 1970s and early ’80s, the term “yacht rock” was not yet a thing. But everyone knew the music of the Doobie Brothers, Toto and Christopher Cross — who swept the 1980 Grammys with his shimmering ballad “Sailing.”
Those acts topped the charts in an era when slick production, smooth melodies and expert chops ruled the radio waves alongside the country-tinged hits of the Eagles.
Steely Dan's Donald Fagen curses out the makers of a new documentary on Yacht Rock
The producers of HBO's new documentary movie "Yacht Rock: A DOCKumentary," were able to interview many of the key players of the 1970s/1980s yacht rock music genre. But when they contacted Donald Fagen, the surviving member of the group Steely Dan, to request his involvement, the phone call, the audio of which is actually played in the documentary, went like this:
Ranking the 5 Best Album-Closers by Steely Dan
Steely Dan only released nine albums during their fantastic run. Remember there was a 20-year break in there that slowed them down a bit. Nonetheless, their batting average was exceedingly high in terms of their success rate.
The Steely Dan Lyric About Ending a Marriage in a Hurry
Steely Dan rarely took a standard approach. That applied to their music, which they recorded in painstaking fashion with a variety of session players who were held to the high standards of Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. The pair also wrote lyrics that described unusual situations or threw the spotlight on unsavory characters.
💬 From the (always excellent) world of Expanding Dan
Rare audio: Becker and Fagen moonlighting as jazz radio DJs
In 1988, amid Steely Dan's hiatus, Walter Becker and Donald Fagen took over the airwaves of New York station WBAI to spin some favorite records—and tease a reunion album.
📷 The awesome Barney Hurley X account
Barney Hurley continues to feature great Steely Dan content on his must-see X account. There’s equally terrific non-steely Dan content as well!
Donald Fagen of Steely Dan at the Savoy Hotel, London, UK on their 1976 European promotional tour.
Have a GREAT day! 😎