Editing Steely Dan (section)

=== ''Pretzel Logic'' and ''Katy Lied'' (1974–1976) ===
[[File:The Doobie Brothers - Jeff Skunk Baxter.jpg|thumb|Guitarist Jeff "Skunk" Baxter left Steely Dan in 1974 when they ceased performing live and began working in the studio exclusively.]]
''[[Pretzel Logic]]'' was released in February 1974. A diverse set, it includes the group's most successful single, "[[Rikki Don't Lose That Number]]" (No. 4 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]]), and a rendition of [[Duke Ellington]] and [[James "Bubber" Miley]]'s "[[East St. Louis Toodle-Oo]]".

During the previous album's tour, the band had added vocalist-percussionist [[Royce Jones]], vocalist-keyboardist [[Michael McDonald (musician)|Michael McDonald]], and session drummer [[Jeff Porcaro]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.steelydan.com/timelinebio.html |title=Timeline Bio &#124; Official Steely Dan |website=steelydan.com |date=October 11, 2006 |access-date=October 15, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316064606/http://www.steelydan.com/timelinebio.html |archive-date=March 16, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Porcaro played the sole drum track on one song, "Night By Night" on ''Pretzel Logic'' ([[Jim Gordon (musician)|Jim Gordon]] played drums on all the remaining tracks, and he and Porcaro both played on "Parker's Band"), reflecting Steely Dan's increasing reliance on session musicians (including [[Dean Parks]] and [[Rick Derringer]]). Jeff Porcaro and ''[[Katy Lied]]'' pianist [[David Paich]] would go on to form [[Toto (band)|Toto]]. Striving for perfection, Becker and Fagen sometimes asked musicians to record as many as forty takes of each track.<ref name="steely">[[Q Magazine]], No 103 April 1995. "Hasn't he grown", written by [[Andy Gill (writer)|Andy Gill]], pages 41–3 published by [[EMAP Metro]]</ref> ''Pretzel Logic'' was the first Steely Dan album to feature Walter Becker on guitar. "Once I met [session musician] [[Chuck Rainey]]", he explained, "I felt there really was no need for me to be bringing my bass guitar to the studio anymore".<ref name=steely />

A rift began growing between Becker and Fagen and Steely Dan's other members (particularly Baxter and Hodder), who wanted to tour. Becker and Fagen disliked constant touring and wanted to concentrate solely on writing and recording. The other members gradually left the band, discouraged by this and by their diminishing roles in the studio.  However, Dias remained with the group until 1980's ''[[Gaucho (album)|Gaucho]]'' and Michael McDonald contributed vocals until the group's twenty-year hiatus after ''Gaucho''. Baxter and McDonald went on to join [[The Doobie Brothers]]. Steely Dan's last tour performance was on July 5, 1974, a concert at the [[Santa Monica Civic Auditorium]] in California.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.steelydan.com/faq.html|title=Steely Dan official FAQ: The Later Steely Dan Years|access-date=March 22, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111227080833/http://steelydan.com/faq.html|archive-date=December 27, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Becker and Fagen recruited a diverse group of session players for ''[[Katy Lied]]'' (1975), including Porcaro, Paich, and McDonald, as well as guitarist [[Elliott Randall]], jazz saxophonist [[Phil Woods]], saxophonist/bassist [[Wilton Felder]], percussionist/vibraphonist/keyboardist [[Victor Feldman]], keyboardist (and later producer) [[Michael Omartian]], and guitarist [[Larry Carlton]]—Dias, Becker, and Fagen being Steely Dan's only original members. The album went gold on the strength of "Black Friday" and "[[Bad Sneakers]]", but the band members were dissatisfied with the album's sound (compromised by a faulty [[Dbx (noise reduction)|DBX]] noise reduction system).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.steelydan.com/dennys3.html|title=Katy and The Gremlin|website=www.steelydan.com|access-date=August 18, 2018|first=Denny|last=Dias|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171130233030/http://www.steelydan.com/dennys3.html|archive-date=November 30, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> ''Katy Lied'' also included "Doctor Wu" and "Chain Lightning".