•
Rating: "Can't Buy A Thrill" was an album decidedly against the grain for the times, as were its performers: Steely Dan with Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. Steely Dan did not go wild during concerts, quite the opposite. The more time passed, the more they were hated. Fagen was afraid to sing in public. Becker had a violence and grit that, at first glance, might seem like a statue, or a puppet, or the Barberini Faun, or anything that induced sleep, fatigue, laziness. But behind those shy, reserved, introverted, snobbish characters were hidden two absolute geniuses of light music. The best of the pop-rock scene. Or rather: pop/rock/jazz/fusion and the list goes on.
It all started when pianist and singer Donald Fagen and bassist Walter Becker recruited skilled musicians (Jeff Baxter, Denny Dias, Jim Hodder) and another singer (David Palmer). The latter was due to pressure from the record company, which did not consider Fagen's voice suitable for the audience. Never was a choice more wrong. Not because Palmer can't sing, but because it was discovered that the songs most loved by the public were those sung by Donald. In fact, his voice, so unusual, turned out to be tremendously fascinating. Steely Dan also had a great concern: to achieve the perfect sound. Despite the meticulous care taken during the recording phase, the duo rarely felt satisfied with the work. This is the case with Aja.
But let's get back to our album, the first: "Can't Buy A Thrill." After so many premises, the single "Do It Again" seems like an ordinary, albeit beautiful, pop song. Better will come with songs like "Kings," less soft, but losing nothing in elegance; "Midnight Cruiser," "Reelin' In The Years" (the album's second single), with Jeff "Skunk" Baxter's cheerful electric guitar riff and Fagen's hypnotic voice even when speaking; "Brooklyn (Ownes The Charmer Under Me);" with their choruses, carefree yet never banal, their arrangements, impeccable, precise, never mannered, never a second too long, and never a second less than necessary; with their magnificent and never disowned jazz influences. But most of all, you must listen to "Fire In The Hole" with its typically jazz piano intro, sung in a sublime, phenomenal, monstrous way; and "Turn That Heartbeat Over Again," where the voices blend perfectly to form one of the most beautiful pop-rock songs of all time.
But one could spend hours and hours talking about every single song and the reasons to listen to it a thousand times. Suffice it to say this album approaches perfection. It makes you realize how useless the "Skip" button on the radio is. Even the pieces not mentioned, in fact, have endless reasons to be heard. Rarely has a band succeeded in this endeavor, creating an album in which selecting a random track guarantees finding a masterpiece. Album recommended to all fans of pop (the good kind), rock, jazz, and fusion music.
But this is just a taste of what Steely Dan can do.
TRACKLIST (all tracks written by Becker/Fagen, with the singer in parentheses)
- Do It Again (Fagen)
- Dirty Work (Palmer)
- Kings (Fagen)
- Midnight Cruiser (Hodder)
- Only A Fool Would Say That (Fagen/Palmer)
- Reelin' In The Years (Fagen)
- Fire In The Hole (Palmer)
- Brooklyn (Palmer)
- Change Of The Guard (Palmer)
- Turn That Heartbeat Over Again (Fagen/Becker/Palmer)
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Do It Again (05:56)
In the morning you go gunning
For the man who stole your water
And you fire 'til he is done in
But they catch you at the border
And the mourners are all singing
As they drag you by your feet
But the hangman isn't hanging
And they put you on the street
Yeah, you go back, Jack, do it again
Wheel turnin' 'round and 'round
You go back, Jack, do it again
When you know she's no high climber
Then you find your only friend
In a room with your two-timer
And you're sure you're near the end
Then you love a little wild one
And she brings you only sorrow
All the time you know she's smiling
You'll be on your knees tomorrow
Yeah, you go back, Jack, do it again
Wheel turnin' 'round and 'round
You go back, Jack, do it again
Now you swear and kick and beg us
That you're not a gambling man
Then you find you're back in Vegas
With a handle in your hand
Your black cards can make you money
So you hide them when you're able
In the land of milk and honey
You must put them on the table
Yeah, you go back, Jack, do it again
Wheel turnin' 'round and 'round
You go back, Jack, do it again
02 Dirty Work (03:08)
Times are hard
You're afraid to pay the fee
So you find yourself somebody
Who can do the job for free
When you need a bit of lovin'
'Cause your man is out of town
That's the time you get me runnin'
And you know I'll be around
I'm a fool to do your dirty work, oh yeah
I don't wanna do your dirty work, no more
I'm a fool to do your dirty work, oh yeah
Light the candle
Put the lock upon the door
You have sent the maid home early
Like a thousand times before
Like the castle in its corner
In a medieval game
I foresee terrible trouble
And I stay here just the same
I'm a fool to do your dirty work, oh yeah
I don't wanna do your dirty work, no more
I'm a fool to do your dirty work, oh yeah
I'm a fool to do your dirty work, oh yeah
I don't wanna do your dirty work, no more
I'm a fool to do your dirty work, oh yeah
I don't wanna do your dirty work, no more
I'm a fool to do your dirty work, oh yeah
I don't wanna do your dirty work, no more
04 Midnite Cruiser (04:08)
Felonius my old friend
Step on in and let me shake your hand
So glad that youre here again
For one more time
Let your madness run with mine
Streets still unseen well find somehow
No time is better than now
Chorus:
Tell me where are you driving
Midnight cruiser
Where is your bounty
Of fortune and fame
I am another
Gentlemen loser
Drive me to harlem
Or somewhere the same
The world that we used to know
People tell me it dont turn no more
The places we used to go
Familiar faces that aint smilin like before
The time of our time has come and gone
I fear we been waiting too long
06 Reelin' in the Years (04:37)
Your everlasting summer and you can see it fading fast
So you grab a piece of something that you think is gonna last
Well, you wouldn't know a diamond if you held it in your hand
The things you think are precious I can't understand
Are you reelin' in the years
Stowin' away the time
Are you gatherin' up the tears
Have you had enough of mine
Are you reelin' in the years
Stowin' away the time
Are you gatherin' up the tears
Have you had enough of mine
You've been telling me you're a genius since you were seventeen
In all the time I've known you I still don't know what you mean
The weekend at the college didn't turn out like you planned
The things that pass for knowledge I can't understand
Are you reelin' in the years
Stowin' away the time
Are you gatherin' up the tears
Have you had enough of mine
Are you reelin' in the years
Stowin' away the time
Are you gatherin' up the tears
Have you had enough of mine
I've spent a lot of money and I've spent a lot of time
The trip we made to Hollywood is etched upon my mind
After all the things we've done and seen you find another man
The things you think are useless I can't understand
Are you reelin' in the years
Stowin' away the time
Are you gatherin' up the tears
Have you had enough of mine
Are you reelin' in the years
Stowin' away the time
Are you gatherin' up the tears
Have you had enough of mine
08 Brooklyn (Owes the Charmer Under Me) (04:21)
A race of angels
Bound with one another
A dish of dollars
Laid out for all to see
A tower room at Eden Rock
His golf at noon for free
Brooklyn owes the charmer
Under me
His lady's aching
To bring a body down
She daily preaches
On where she wants to be
An evening with a movie queen
A face we all have seen
Brooklyn owes the charmer
Under me
A case of aces
Done up loose for dealing
A piece of island cooling in the sea
The whole of time we gain or lose
And power enough to choose
Brooklyn owes the charmer
Under me
09 Change of the Guard (03:39)
If you listen you can hear it
It's the laughter in the street
It's the motion in the music
And the fire beneath your feet
All the signs are right this time
You don't have to try so very hard
If you live in this world
You're feelin' the change of the guard
All the cowboys and your neighbors
Can you swallow up your pride
Take your guns off it you're willin'
And you know we're on your side
If you wanna get through the years
It's high time you played your card
If you live in this world
You're feelin' the change of the guard
Loading comments slowly
Other reviews
By DanteCruciani
"Do It Again, a historic track of the band ... is a practically perfect song, captivating from the first listen."
"Get this album because it’s right from here that the long and fascinating story of Steely Dan began: a band with the ability to illuminate fragments of life."
