Steely Dan's Katy Lied: The Recording History, The Best Sounding ABC Pressing, and...The Future

[@davidpruitt952]

Side A is Absolutely Perfect!! -Black Friday -Bad Sneakers -Daddy Don’t Live in New York City no More -Doctor WU “INCREDIBLE” Like you said, the the ABC Label AM (3) circled. Is what I have!!

[@Universityofvinyl]

Love hearing this. Enjoy!

[@roberthurley1685]

I worked in a small recording studio is the late 70's, we used dbx and, when the settings are correct ... it was fantastic at reducing tape hiss. That said, Katy Lied is my all-time favorite Dan album and I can't wait for the re-master. Your video's are really getting real good real fast - great work.

[@Universityofvinyl]

Thanks, appreciate your feedback 👍🏻

[@SafeAndSoundTXAudioExcursion]

Nice details Tim. It was Michael Omartian (Omar-tee-in) who was in A&R for ABC/Dunhill at the time. He produced some big 80’s pop artists and became big in the early stages of Christian Contemporary Music in the 80’s with his wife, Stormie.

[@Universityofvinyl]

Thanks David! 👍🏻

[@simonblack301]

Excellent history of the album! I really enjoy your deep dives! Keep up the great content!

[@staggerlee6794]

Thanks for this!! Katy Lied is my favourite album of theirs and I can't tell you how distraught I was when I heard that the UHQR wasn't going to be released until well into 2024 However, hearing about the issues with the original tapes has made realize that waiting a little longer might mean we get the best possible pressing .🤞

[@R3TR0R4V3]

Same here brother! I was absolutely pissed when I learned Aja was coming out next ...Like wait a minute Chad, you guys went in the proper order this whole time, but now you're going jumble things up and push Katy Lied & The Royal Scam clear to the back of the list? WTF?!? Not Cool! Those were the 2 albums I was looking forward to the most! TRS is my favorite, but I'm dying to hear what they did with Katy Lied too, and how they handle the whole dbx SQ debacle. Really hope they best the OG and don't pull another Pretzel Logic UHQR shitshow on us. 😬 Oh well, guess time will tell.. If they need extra time to get it 110% right, then I hope they do. 👍

[@staggerlee6794]

@@R3TR0R4V3I got the Aja UHQR and don't get me wrong it sounds sweet but I could easily have waited until 2024 for it, because the copies I already own are pretty good. And Gaucho UHQR coming out before Katy and TRS is adding insult to injury. I love you, Chad but you are killing me. 😆

[@R3TR0R4V3]

@@staggerlee6794 My thoughts exactly. My OG AB-1006 Aja still sounds phenomenal, perhaps even rivaling the UHQR on certain songs, but yeah, I could've waited too and would've much preferred having KL & TRS, like the normal running order is. Tim had a great point though, it probably boils down to $$$. Aja & Gaucho will probably sell better than the latter two, plus wanting to cash in on the holiday season. I mean, I get it, but that still sucks for us. Lol

[@staggerlee6794]

@@R3TR0R4V3 😆 For sure. My complaints are purely selfish ones.

[@buzzhughes2889]

Love the context photos of LA. Great touch! More videos like this please. Let’s talk about more good records.

[@peggyrannick7812]

Thank you for your informative presentation, so well edited!

[@thevinylbeadollsweetheart7356]

Great video. I will keep an eye out for this pressing.

[@progrocktommyscorner]

Enjoyed your review on this album. Love this album. Have a great week.

[@Universityofvinyl]

Thank you! You too!

[@j.f.5531]

Hello, from Portugal! Thanks for this kind of discussion about a Steely Dan record. I got the very same version that you have shown, although instead of a circled 8 it has a 1 on both sides, and the apparent and unmistakable ( in my opinion it´s not a 7) AM above. It sounds very good indeed and i have a Thorens 160S with a Shure V15 type III, original, on a Pierre Lurné arm, suported by a Sugden 21 Signature ( class A). I like very much the sound that you produce in the video and i hear it through an iFi dac idsd Neo linkd to the Sugden. I think that your speakers Boston Acoustics A 200s sound very good to my taste, too. Thanks a lot for your information. You hit the right spot when you talk about all those differences in records and pressings and so. I´m waiting for the comparison between the og version and this one, promised by Michaellord9745

[@Universityofvinyl]

Nice to hear from someone in Portugal and I like the sound of your set-up (Love Thorens!)

[@matthewtapley2765]

Fascinating as usual! Bravo 👏🏻

[@Universityofvinyl]

Thanks again!

[@larsman9169]

The insect is a katydid, a member of the grasshopper family..

[@HandsomeCat-we2dq]

Donald and Walter are also insects, humanoid form insects, also related to Katydids.

[@michaellord9745]

Interesting video on Katy Lied which for me has always been the "red headed step-child" of all the Steely Dan albums from the run of Can't But A Thrill thru Gaucho. Not saying that it's a bad records by any means, but it's the album I have always visited the least - well, until now! So I have two pressings of Katy Lied, the original ABC black label and the yellow/orange ABC repress that is up for discussion here. While watching this video I went and pulled the repress and sure enough KENDUN is stamped in the dead wax. This I was not aware of until I looked. Now past history tells me that if you have KENDUN in the dead you are going to have a record with top notch mastering and sound. Other fine sounding records mastered at Kendun Recording that immediately spring to my mind are the Fleetwood Mac: Fleetwood Mac OG, the Heart: Dreamboat Annie OG and the Grateful Dead: Terrapin Station, amongst others. Let's see if I can thicken the plot, or mystery! Here's a breakdown of what I see when I examine my Katy Lied repress: JACKET COVER: "Steely Dan" printed in black ink on the front cover on the repress vs. in white on the OG - does it mean anything? Why did that happen? LABEL: 1.) When comparing my label to yours (freeze frame @ 19:20) I can plainly see that the printed "KATY LIED" with STEELY DAN underneath is in a much larger and bolder font than yours. Clearly at least two different batches of labels were printed up for this Kendun repress. 2.) Side A (left side of spindle hole): SIDE A with STEREO underneath and (right side of spindle hole): ABCD-846 with (ABCD-846-A) underneath. Side B (left side of spindle hole): SIDE B with STEREO underneath and (right side of spindle hole): ABCD-846 with (ABCD-846-B) underneath. 3.) PRODUCED BY GATY KATZ underneath track listing and song credits on both sides of the label (different fonts and bolding than on yours). DEAD WAX: 1.) Side A stamped: KENDUN-B SIde B stamped: KENDUN-A 2.) Side A etched: (counterclockwise) x circled, then A, then ABCD-846-A, then 3 circled with a CS over the circling with what looks to be a large '7' or 'M' to the immediate right of the CS over the circled 3. (I will touch on this in a moment). Side B etched: (counterclockwise) 5 or S, then ABCD-846-3 RE-3, then KA, then 4 circled with a CS over then circling with what looks to be a large '7' or 'M' to the immediate right of the CS over the circled 4. Now, freezing your video at 17:20 to the "AM" over the circled 8 - this looks very similar to "CS" over the circled 3 and 4 (different sides) on my copy, is that a 'M' or is it a '7' ? I can see how on your copy it can easily be mistaken as an 'M' where on my copy it's kind of halfway between an 'M' or a '7' but if it is an 'M' why is the right side so elongated? I think it's meant to be a large '7' on both but we may never know for sure. Is your brain even more scrambled on this repress than it was before? I have to assume that the fact that it was remastered at Kendun Recordings is what is most relevant here. I will do a side-by-side comparison with my black label OG against this yellow label repress if I can detect a noticeable difference between the two.

[@Universityofvinyl]

Hi Michael, appreciate your findings! OK, first....there wasn't a Black label ABC in the US but there was one in the UK; are you in the UK? Check that label, I'm almost positive you have a UK Pressing. I double checked both sides of my '75 repress and it's definitely AM although this reminds me to order a new magnifying glass! Cheers, Tim

[@Universityofvinyl]

And..Agreed on KENDUN, great masterings! All of the ABC US pressings have KENDUN in the dead wax, the later MCAs do not

[@michaellord9745]

@@Universityofvinyl You are correct: My black label pressing was out of the U.K. Interesting that I have had it for decades and never noticed that!

[@michaellord9745]

@@Universityofvinyl Well, perhaps then I have a third repress variant of the Kendun mastering because mine doesn't have AM etched in the dead wax (or whatever it is). I looked at mine closely with a magnifying glass and it definitely has a 'CS' and then something that looks like a 'M' similar to yours, or a '7'. Maybe what's most important is the KENDUN stamp and the etching: ABCD-846-3 RE-3? This is a real mystery though!

[@Universityofvinyl]

@@michaellord9745 sounds like you have a Columbia Santa Maria

[@bacarandii]

This is fascinating to me -- thanks. "Katy Lied" is probably the one I love most, though the somewhat muffled sound quality (noticeable immediately on the fade-up on "Black Friday" -- the song never quite seems to arrive!) has always mystified me. I didn't know the DBX story -- but it reminds me of Nick Lowe's experience as producer of Graham Parker's "Stick to Me," when tape shedding caused them to scrap the mix and re-record the whole thing in about a week. It also sounds "veiled." In addition to an early ABC pressing of "KL" (with the yellow/orange "target" label, not the black one), I have a 1975 Canadian pressing on the dreaded RCA Dynaflex vinyl (as noted at the bottom of the label). I'm gonna have to go back and take another listen to that one... but my original Dynaflex copy of "Nilsson Schmilsson" actually sounds fantastic.

[@ncfab4fan]

Since Acoustic Sounds doesn't charge for preordered UHQRs until shipped, my vote is that having Aja come out this Fall is for a cash flow as this was the largest preorder in the remaining Steely Dan titles. Of course this also gives Chad and Bernie time to tweak Katy Lied until they are satisfied that they have the best sound possible.

[@TheAgeOfAnalog]

I think I might have just scored one of these at my store last week. I need to dig it out and check.

[@Diesel0807]

Jeff Porcaros drumming on this is soo good you can hear tne jim gordon influennce a lot on this disc

[@jeremt]

Very insightful video! Really looking forward to the uhqr and new digital release this march, praying they dug into the 24 tracks or something but who knows. Curious if some form of machine learning tools would help, but not sure if Fagen would be cool with synthetically created audio

[@bopmodalfree5035]

I read a biography of Steely Dan back in the 90s, and I distinctly remember what it said about Katy Lied and how the sound was compromised. What the book reported is that an intern spilled coffee on the master tapes, making them unusable, and that everything from that point was done from a backup copy that had been made. Fagan was so distraught, as there had been beautiful sound, especially from the Bosendorfer piano.

[@jasonarsenault3791]

Incredible knowledge base Tim. Definitely a university level course 😉

[@MrEjw3]

Thanks for all the great videos so far; I've been watching for a year or so and just now subscribed. My friends and I played this album to death and it remains a favorite to this day. Those ABC LPS were not great, as I can remember some that were coff center and warped. But the clarity was something I always enjoyed, due Iguess to "VERY EXPENSIVE German microphones". Anyway, interesting to hear about the noise reduction issue, like many, I can't say I ever noticed. In an ideal world, I would be able to afford the UHQR disc's, but will probable settle for the standard releases (it can only be an improvement! I do have the Citizen st and the remastered cd. Have you heard it and what do you think. Looking forward to more; especially enjoy your love for XTC ! Take care, Eric White, Pittsburgh

[@Universityofvinyl]

Hi Eric, thanks for subbing - appreciated! I used to have the Citizen CD Box back in the day and thought they sounded very good. Long live XTC!

[@BradVinylRush]

Great video Tim (aka Steely Dan guru!). I’m a big fan of Steely Dan as well but Katy Lied is not one of my favorites but I’m curious about the MoFi edition. Do you have any thoughts/opinion and what’s the word around the campfire on that one? I’m definitely curious as well to see what Bernie can do with it on the UHQR

[@Universityofvinyl]

Hi Brad, scan the comments on this vid, the main opinion from many is thumbs down on the Mofi plus ridiculously overpriced. Better SQ on the ABC Kenduns

[@BradVinylRush]

@@Universityofvinyl thanks Tim. I figured as much and am pretty happy with my OG KENDUN pressing myself. Hoping for the best on the UHQR - glad to hear you’ll be picking up a copy and I’ll be looking forward to your review

[@nickgodalin6487]

Did anyone notice at the very beginning that the announcer at The Record Plant studio in Los Angeles in 1974 introducing SD was named....Richard Kimble?? aka....The Fugitive? No one can ever replace the great David Janssen, including Harrison Ford. 👍

[@hi-fidelityrecords]

Great Video!

[@Universityofvinyl]

Thanks!

[@TheAgeOfAnalog]

So, mine is the Kendun AM pressing you showed last. Sounds pretty good to me.

[@jimbrock1441]

This is also a favourite of mine and I am waiting for the new Grundman SACD to be released hopefully next year. I bought the MoFi Japanese pressing (MFSL 1-007) from Discogs hoping that it would be an improvement on my ABC original. It is not. It is only quieter.

[@spearsmullen4514]

Nice job! What speakers are those?

[@Universityofvinyl]

Boston Acoustics A200s

[@nicholas6823]

You are right. I have an MCA 1980 reissue and it has a flat sound, as you say likely from a 2nd or 3rd gen tape. I do also hear odd things going on in the higher frequencies on it too. Hunting for a better version and that is likely the UHQR.

[@rixvspinner]

DBX influenced the outcome of Katy Lied unfortunitally. It's such a great album and I can only imagine the frustration Donald, Walter, Gary and Roger must have dealt with due to this company DBX using ABC and Steely Dan as ginea pigs for their new noise filtering hardware. Wasn't it Roger that pulled the DBX out but it was too late. Back in the day, if you were a band known for making great sounding albums, companies like DBX targeted them and their labels. Too bad some just don't know how to test something out first or at least record in parallel, with and without DBX in this case. They would have been glad they did. I have an OG German white label ABC Records pressing which actually sounds pretty good.I'm pretty sure this is the reason their very next record was called The Royal Scam. It should have been called DBX Lied. Good video Tim. I'm not sure Bernie can do much with what he has to work with and Pretzel Logic is an indicator Katy LIed might be ok but not worth buying to replace an OG,

[@Universityofvinyl]

We will see next month!

[@ChristopherJanisch-cc5nc]

Kendun. Now I know why that’s in the runouts on so many on my records. Thought I’d heard of most of the studios.

[@mccarthyd6603]

Great video as usual👍 With all these shoot outs with the overpriced, overhyped UHQR and MOFI and now Rhino reissues....it is great to see someone holding the fort on OG pressings and runouts and deadwax matrix info and comparisons 👍💥💯 The album cover...in my opinion...is classic and total Steely Dan...A Praying Mantis always eats the male after mating...that angle is from the male POV as "Katy" is coming back for revenge after hooking up... classic 😂 Keep up the great work on your channel👍

[@Universityofvinyl]

Thanks much 👍🏻

[@mccarthyd6603]

@@DaleRC75 Nope....my interpretation is correct and makes more sense and is a WAAAAAY better story....sorry Dale👍

[@SafeAndSoundTXAudioExcursion]

Any opinions on the MFSL of Katy Lied? It was a very early Stan Ricker MFSL release (#007).

[@simonblack301]

I have the MSFL if you ever want to borrow it for a shoot out!

[@SafeAndSoundTXAudioExcursion]

@@simonblack301 thank you! I have access to one and was considering to see if the store would provide it. Just a matter of fitting it into my schedule :)

[@Universityofvinyl]

Most people say it’s not great and has similar deficiencies as the other pressings forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/katy-lied-mfsl-vinyl-anybody-have-this.229864/

[@vinylrules4838]

I was surprised it was not talked about.

[@spearsmullen4514]

My MFSL (purchased new. I got it when it came out cause the ABC sounded poor) has swishing and toy cymbals. The whole thing sounds disembodied. I know there is phasing on Chain Lightning and Daddy Dont Live but there is some kind of phase shifting on some other tracks. I would love to hear one properly mixed from the multitrack, but I guess that would require a time machine.

[@themaven4054]

Have two copies...one has the "AM" in the dead wax, the other doesn't . But both have Gary Katz listed at the bottom below the credits. But the difference there is the printing is smaller on one copy than the other! ( that being the non AM one). Also, the fonts are different. Also, is there a way to figure out where it was stamped?

[@Universityofvinyl]

According to Discogs, for this particular pressing the Pressing Plant ID is missing and unkown.

[@jbvinyl]

Do you have any info on the mofi pressing,did they use the same master

[@Universityofvinyl]

Check out the many comments here

[@jmiguelsimpkins]

Wilton Felder of the Crusaders played bass on this album as well as Chuck Rainey.

[@Universityofvinyl]

Thank you 👍🏻

[@peggyrannick7812]

Jeff Fabulous Porcaro ❤️

[@jamescurcio4852]

I have an 1980 Reissue of Katy Lied on MCA Label that sounds pretty good.

[@ChristopherJanisch-cc5nc]

And I have a question for the whole: On the jacket it mentions “lovely swirls” on the vinyl. I’ve owned the ABC pressing since it was released and have never seen anything on the vinyl other than grooves. Anybody?

[@75SakoHunter]

Thanks for this video. I found a really clean ABC one today at AJ’s here in Fort Fun. Gray Katz’s name is below the credits and there is a “CP” above a 1 or 2 circled. Any idea of which pressing it is?

[@Universityofvinyl]

Probably a Pittman pressing - www.discogs.com/release/4534070-Steely-Dan-Katy-Lied

[@75SakoHunter]

Thank you!

[@jameshogg11]

Any info on the best UK pressings? The US ones aren't easy to find over here

[@Universityofvinyl]

1st black label

[@gregrupert9613]

Well today I found one of those 1975 pressings with Katz’s name on the label below the writer credits. Can’t wait to run it through the cleaner and play it. Thanks for the recommendation although I think the word is getting out the darn thing cost $35.

[@gregrupert9613]

Upon closer review it is a 1975 reissue with the Katz name below to song credits but it is a CSM pressing, but the etchings don’t match anything on DISCOGS. More weirdness

[@Universityofvinyl]

🤷🏻‍♂️ hopefully sounds decent….

[@gregrupert9613]

@@Universityofvinyl I think it sounds pretty darn good, Playing on a Denon DP45 with a Grace F9 and Sound Smith stylus

[@kenzuercher7497]

You know, If The Beatles materials can be remixed, go back to the original 24 track tape and remix it! No doubt the sales will be much higher than using the DBX encoded/decoded master that we already have. I have the full set of vinyls that I bought when they were released and the Citizen Steely Dan CD box set. It's going to have to have some magic to get me to buy a third version of the same stuff.The whole mysterious Gaucho version one debacle would have given us some good material and a reason to buy some new 40+ year old songs.

[@Relias]

I can hear the flatness of the cymbals but everything else is good, the snare the tom and bass drum sound excellent, and i have an original pitman pressing with "Kendun". Overall an enjoyable listen.

[@Universityofvinyl]

Thanks for sharing!

[@jimdistad7459]

Those issues are the reason I don't currently have a copy of that record anymore I have All the rest of the catalog

[@paulmalbeuf9213]

What is the best song to listen to for the cymbal issue that you mentioned

[@Universityofvinyl]

There are many cymbal crashes on Dr. Wu - they all sound washed out, unnatural decay, etc.

[@robbiedetroitstigermanviny8883]

Was Steely Dan really named after a Vibrator?

[@Universityofvinyl]

Yep - taken from the book ‘Naked Lunch’

[@robbiedetroitstigermanviny8883]

@@Universityofvinyl I thought maybe Chevy Chase might of gave it to them. Donald, Walter and Chevy was in that band called Leather Canary at Bard College

[@festersuncle6298]

AMC Gremlin X and a Fotomat.....70's anyone?

[@brianmedeiros6845]

This is very interesting especially the AM in the dead wax? You got me interested in these UHQR editions. You always give 110%. You would of been a great school teacher one that everyone enjoys. These conversations really make my day or night it’s 230am here at work Lol Thank You

[@Universityofvinyl]

Thanks Brian ✌🏻

[@al2813]

I have the AM and yesterday I scored a NM CSM and I thought the CSM sounded better. Thing is the AM is a VG stretched and the CSM is close to NM. So maybe I cannot compare. I will try to do a through clean of the AM and compare again…

[@Universityofvinyl]

Interested to hear..

[@al2813]

@@Universityofvinyl Thanks for the great video! By complete co-incidence I bought the CSM last Sunday and then when comparing to my other copies, I noticed the AM one and posted a question on SH forum asking what AM is standing for....

[@al2813]

after a good clean today (A couple opf months ago I started using a new two stage manual and ultrasonic cleaning routine that works very well), I can confirm the AM pressing is indeed better. Quite a revelation.

[@jikenj]

AM = alternate mix?

[@Claytone-Records]

Katy lied, yes Katy did.

[@nickgodalin6487]

It's actually pronounced O-MARSHEN.

[@kincaidparsons2565]

This is fascinating, what are the odds of these original multitracks being remastered and put on spotify by the band why wouldnn't Fagen want that? And for us fans what is the best way to get these original multitracks like is it possible someone will put them on youtube I guess I'm not sure I understand who is doing this and when

[@kincaidparsons2565]

Basically I just want to know how I can listen to the album in the form that most closely resembles what it should have been, and whether we still have to wait for this UHQR and if it's possible UHqR willl ever be put on youtube or spotify

[@Universityofvinyl]

Bernie Grundman is remastering the album for Vinyl and SACD. His vinyl release will be the UHQR double 45 rpm which should sound excellent...but not sure if we will ever see a remixed version as he is reportedly going to be working from the original master tape which has all of the original dbx issues baked in. A Digital file of his mastering is then sent to Geffen/UME so that the 33 RPM vinyl version can be produced. I'm not sure if these then eventually find their way to Spotify, etc.

[@robbiecox]

I don't believe they wouldn't go back and do a complete mix again from the masters. Paul is dead! Long live Billy Shears.

[@rixvspinner]

It's too bad DBX approached ABC, Gary Katz and Donald sure would have liked to not deal with all this. Roger Nichols of course perhaps the most frustrated. DBX competition was Dolby. Katy Lied, a great album otherwise was plaqued with their issues with this new company DBX (noise filtering, dynamics, compression-never a good thing). This album was name Katy Lied then their next record was called The Royal Scam. This DBX really pissed off some people. I was lucky to see Steely Dan's Two Against Nature tour in 2000 in Toronto.

[@Universityofvinyl]

Thanks - I also saw the 2vN tour in Düsseldorf- loved it! Went on to see them several times at the Beacon in NYC.

[@carljung9230]

what nonsense not to remix the album!

[@audiotomb]

The MFSL recording sounds worse than the original - smile eq - flat sounding

[@ergloo6660]

Totally agree

[@Universityofvinyl]

Seems to be the consensus as well as ridiculously overpriced