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"… It's right from here that the wheel of the machine started to turn, my friend, that the journey began…"
The first thing to do is trace and make that juicy dividing line shine, which I believe marks, between the first two works of our beloved ones, and that epochal album that was "Pretzel Logic." Until 1973, in fact, the beloved ones in question did not consist of that brilliant duo that a few years later would bring forth a bunch of near-perfect works, namely the mild Dr. Becker and the chic Mr. Fagen. During their early days, until their second album, Steely Dan was indeed a group of five or six elements altogether, as history would have it, and their historical producer Gary Katz. When he caught Donald and Walter loafing around the streets of New York at the dawn of the '70s, he cleaned them up nicely and took them to the city of angels, intending to extract the great musical talents he sensed.
That's exactly why he pushed them to form a real band, composed particularly of guitarists Danny Dias and Jeff Baxter, Jim Hodder's tasty drums, and David Palmer on vocals. It's important to mention all this because despite the presence of some of these musicians in albums even after the first two, the change in the music of Steely Dan that occurred with "Pretzel Logic" is evident. The difference wasn't in the haircut of the bony and edgy Fagen (as impeccably defined by Socrates), but the transition from an excellent pop-rock with soul and blues shades to “new” music that managed to squeeze and meld a multitude of musical elements nearly perfectly, aiming for high-class melodic structures. It's from this difference that lovers of Steely Dan-second manner must start to approach the first period. The songs were already written solely by Fagen and Becker, but the two hadn't yet found their final path; the "fierce" and impeccable dictatorship over cultured pop and the best musicians of the time would arrive precisely with "Pretzel Logic," with "Katy Lied," and with those other 2-3 magnificent subsequent albums.
The Steely Dan of "Can't Buy a Thrill" (1972) might not be "magnificentia" to the nth degree, but Fagen's voice - alas! - is already there on full display, and some tracks are indisputably pearls. Uff! Finally, we've arrived, here we are: "Do It Again," a historic track of the band and the opening track of the album, is a practically perfect song, captivating from the first listen. A sort of almost hypnotic folk-pop that smells of "Easy Rider" and Arizona stoned with soft voodoo, the structure isn't as intricate as a "Through with Buzz" or a "Bad Sneakers," but it flawlessly combines the background percussion and the leading melody, the piano riffs and Mr. Donald's voice, the wheel of the machine turning on the dusty asphalt and the intriguing and magical aroma of the United States at the start of the '70s. As simple as it is grand. Fagen and Becker make it clear right off the bat: high-level pop-rock music (featuring two solos, one on guitar and one on keyboards, each more beautiful than the other) and a catchy chorus as doesn't always get heard. These are, and will indisputably be, Steely Dan: music more or less accessible to everyone, but of high class. Yes sir…
Another characteristic of the album is the presence of a certain American folk-rock style Crosby-Stills-Nash-Young, just listen to tracks like "Dirty Work" and "Brooklyn…" which unmistakably smell of "Déjà vu" (in every sense!); also, the nod to the "sugary" chorus in the still enjoyable "Midnight Cruisers" and "Reelin' in the Years" (single released along with Do It Again) isn't missing. All this well explains the concept just expressed: excellent music, at times personal and innovative, but at times hesitant to take off on its own; even the alternating between Fagen and Palmer for the lead vocals of various tracks probably gives a certain sense of disorientation. In all this, perhaps lies the not full maturity of Fagen and Becker, in this album as in the next "Countdown to Ecstasy." But I also mentioned "pearls"; well, there are some: all sung by the good old "Lester the Nightfly," we mention the simply perfect "Only A Fool Would Say That"; the soft-soul of "Fire in the Hole"; the splendid "Turn That Heartbeat Over Again," which closes the album with its perfect vocal blends, and that with its pop inventions and unexpected time changes already smells of the future compositional genius of the duo.
"… You go back Jack do it again / Wheel turnin' 'round and 'round / You go back Jack do it again…"
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. With night flights and not…
Tracklist Lyrics and Samples
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
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Other reviews
By pana
"Behind those shy, reserved, introverted, snobbish characters were hidden two absolute geniuses of light music."
"This album approaches perfection ... selecting a random track guarantees finding a masterpiece."
