Katy Lied—Steely Dan/Analogue Productions UHQR 45 RPM vinyl reissue

Well, here it is.

It's the UHQR remaster from Analogue Productions that Steely Dan fans have been waiting for but worried about. The worry? The original 1975 ABC Records recording, encoded with dbx, has never had the reputation of the band’s other great recordings like Aja and Gaucho. But this original analogue tape was going to the master remastering engineer Bernie Grundman, the same alchemist who gave us superb vinyl remasters on UHQR of Steely Dan’s Can’t Buy A Thrill, Countdown to Ecstasy, and Pretzel Logic.

The results of the original dbx encoding and the attempts to fix it in the mix (and at the dbx head office in Boston) led Donald Fagen and Walter Becker to be very disappointed in the whole exercise. Reports say they didn’t even want to hear the finished product. A shame because, while the recording may have been disappointing, the band’s fourth album is an outstanding album of inspiration, fabulous execution and wonderful, unique songs in the evolving Steely Dan fusion style.

This 2025 UHQR release is the same as the other UHQRs in my collection: a large box housing a gloriously produced Stoughton tip-on jacket, various information sheets, and two 45 rpm LPs pressed by QRP on Clarity Vinyl. The production values are mostly first-class. The UHQR arrived with flat, silent pressings and centred labels. However, the spindle holes were too small and needed resizing with a spindle grinding tool.

Katy Lied — Steely Dan's gold-selling fourth studio album.

Definitive reissue Ultra High Quality Record, the pinnacle of high-quality vinyl

45 RPM LP release limited to 20,000 numbered copies.

Mastered directly from the original master tape by Bernie Grundman.

Pressed at Quality Record Pressings using 200-gram Clarity Vinyl®

Tip-on, old-style gatefold double-pocket jackets with film lamination by Stoughton Printing.

P 1 Side A. Black Friday 2. Bad Sneakers
LP 1 Side B. Rose Darling 2. Daddy Don't Live In That New York City No More 3. Doctor Wu
LP 2 Side C. Everyone's Gone To The Movies 2. Your Gold Teeth II
LP 2 Side D. Chain Lightning 2. Any World (That I'm Welcome To) 3. Throw Back The Little Ones

Rather than general comments on sound like my regular reviews, I took this recording a song at a time. And report here. It yielded some interesting results. Keeping an open mind and with some hope, I began side A.

Reporting in my note form.

“Black Friday”

Punchy and timbrally satisfying but not the cleanest soundstage. Not murky, but no clarity like Grundmann’s Gaucho or Aja. Porcaro’s drums are better than the original, but still, his shuffle sound is substandard in comparison with his drum sound on other tracks.

“Bad Sneakers”

It has a more open sound than “Black Friday” and is at least as punchy. Clear vocals by Donald Fagen. McDonald’s backing vocals are very precise. Porcaro’s quiet rim shots are clear in the soundstage, as are Latin percussion touches,

“Rose Darling’

It had a wonderful opening and the best sound so far. Every nuance of Fagan’s whine is heard clearly. What an instrument he had when he was young. Vibrant and ringing—sounding every bit of it on “Rose Darling”. Porcaro’s rhythmic intent is clearer. Bass is a little shy compared to solid bass in “Bad Sneakers”. Dean Parks’ guitar, whether in counterpoint or solo, sounds direct and balanced in the soundstage.

“Daddy Don't Live in that New York City No More”

It is the same as “Bad Sneakers”…clear but not as vibrant and rhythmically consistent as “Rose Darling”. But what a great bridge. Some congestion when singing “No More”. Larry Carlton’s guitar licks under the opening are so interesting and clear. Fagan’s B3 pops in and out of the mix.

“Doctor Wu”

Phil Woods’ alto sax tone is amazing on his famous solo; even when noodling in the lower register, his sound is projected. The general sound is as emphatic as on “Rose Darling”. Fagan’s multi-tracking is simply perfect. Drums are excellent here, with subtlety and various dynamics. Unlike other tracks, no congestion on the gorgeous bridge.

“Everyone's Gone to the Movies”

Great vibes and tight drums…bass is solid and odd sax “waggling fingers” sound is kind of cool. Some very minor vocal congestion on the bridge. Great Latin percussion in the fade-out.

"Your Gold Teeth II"

Dynamic slam on the opening between Omartian’s powerful piano and Feldman’s vibes. Superb. Now, we’re talking! It is a beautiful, rhapsodic opening in style and sound from Omartian and Feldman. Every subtlety of the complex orchestration is clear. Wonderful. Yet, every bridge, when they let loose with the volume and energy, the tops of phrases congest ever so slightly. You could be forgiven for mistaking it for a frequency shout on a digital recording. A fabulous guitar solo (Denny Dias) with great arc and tone. Bass with Omartian’s left hand flawless in intonation and style.

“Chain Lightning”

It has a good, slow groove, but some energy is missing, much like the weaker spots on the UHQR Pretzel Logic. The guitar solo has a great tone (Derringer) but tops out at the highest notes of the phrase. It's nowhere near the dynamics of UHQR’s Aja, but we’re getting there.

“Any World”

It has a beautiful subtle opening, with good offbeat Hal Blaine drums (rims?) behind Fagan’s opening. The dynamics and energy are back, but so is the bridge congestion.

“Throw Back the Little Ones"

This track has more dynamic energy and Fagan’s great vocal with the amazing lyrics of this song. His whine and nuances are clearly in the soundstage, but I still hear that slight congestion when solo vocals get excited. But all is forgiven with the sound of Omartian’s monster left hand and Fagan’s subtetly on “Squeeze them”.

Conclusion

From the close-up of the tape box (photo above), it looks like Grundmann was working with a Dolby A/Original Mix tape. Note that the “DBX’ box is not ticked. It’s obvious to my ears that the two tapes were less than ideal, for whatever reason. Some of the congestion I mentioned could be tape degradation or could be dbx gremlins or a million other things. But the truth is this UHQR is a mixed bag following the original tape's good and bad.

Should you buy it? It ain’t cheap. It cost me CAD 300 when all was said and done. I wanted it after my Canadian original wore out its welcome a long time ago. So, I’m a happy Steely Dan fan. I’ve never heard a clean original Kendun pressing. Maybe that works for you. If so, you’re going to be USD 150 richer. If not, this is a good entry into the UHQR Steely Dan catalogue and is probably a buy.