Steely Dan has fully morphed into a studio-only operation at this phase --- the last tour of of the 70s ended in mid-1974, and Becker and Fagen had disbanded the permanent membership (except for themselves), opting instead for an alchemy of the best session players in Los Angeles. They also continued to sharpen their writing skills both lyrically and musically, adding even more acid wit and despicable characters to their songs.

The result of all these changes is Katy Lied --- possibly the group's most subversive album, and certainly one of the most striking and unique major artist releases of the decade. Even a major recording malfunction couldn't blunt the impact of this collection of songs.