Steely Dan - 1975 - Katy Lied (2025 Remaster)

Steely Dan - 1975 - Katy Lied (2025 Remaster) (Flac)

Building from the jazz fusion foundation of Pretzel Logic, Steely Dan created an alluringly sophisticated album of jazzy pop with Katy Lied. With this record, Walter Becker and Donald Fagen began relying solely on studio musicians, which is evident from the immaculate sound of the album. Usually, such a studied recording method would drain the life out of each song, but that's not the case with Katy Lied, which actually benefits from the duo's perfectionist tendencies. Each song is given a glossy sheen, one that accentuates not only the stronger pop hooks, but also the precise technical skill of the professional musicians drafted to play the solos. Essentially, Katy Lied is a smoother version of Pretzel Logic, featuring the same cross-section of jazz-pop and blues-rock. The lack of innovations doesn't hurt the record, since the songs are uniformly brilliant. Less overtly cynical than previous Dan albums, the album still has its share of lyrical stingers, but what's really notable are the melodies, from the seductive jazzy soul of "Doctor Wu" and the lazy blues of "Chain Lightning" to the terse "Black Friday" and mock calypso of "Everyone's Gone to the Movies." It's another excellent record in one of the most distinguished rock & roll catalogs of the '70s. (AllMusic)

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Tim Buckley - Starsailor-The Anthology - 1966-1974 (2011)

Tim Buckley - Starsailor-The Anthology - 1966-1974 (2011) @320

Tim Buckley’s work was remarkable for its reach and range, with numerous stylistic shifts, including folk, sex-funk and a sort of vocal avant-garde jazz, during his eight year recording career, from his December 1966 debut to ‘Look At The Fool’, released in November 1974, seven months before his death from an accidental heroin overdose, aged 28.

As for his voice it was a dazzlingly flexible instrument, capable of octave leaps and the sort of daring normally expected of the free jazz giants. This best of charts this fearless artist’s progress from teen folkie to starsailing voyager at the forefront of the radically unusual. (Amazon)

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