Can't Buy a Thrill

Steely Dan | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 7, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Mca Dist Corp
• ASIN: B000002PD7
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (90 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #201,848 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Do It Again

2. Dirty Work

3. Kings

4. Midnight Cruiser

5. Only a Fool Would Say That

6. Reelin' in the Years

7. Fire in the Hole

8. Brooklyn (Owes the Charmer Under Me)

9. Change of the Guard

10. Turn That Heartbeat Over Again

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Songwriters Walter Becker and Donald Fagen launched Steely Dan with a seductive, poker-faced 1972 debut as smoothly accessible in its music as it was elusive in its thematic concerns. The opening "Do It Again" snagged swift commercial success as one of the most mysterious pop hits in history, a sultry rock cha-cha that chronicled a series of harrowing catastrophes far removed from the reheated love songs and pro forma countercultural rebellion of the day. Though the core band boasted two formidable guitarists, Jeff Baxter and Denny Dias, it was the bloom of Fagen's keyboards and his reedy, smart-ass vocals that carried Thrill light years beyond modal, blues-based rock. That said, an enduring highlight remains the furious six-string fantasia of "Reelin' in the Years," spiked by Elliot Randall's downright historic solos, at once dour and giddy in its indictment of a poser, while "Dirty Work" (featuring short-lived, nominal lead singer David Palmer) offers a decidedly adult vignette of adultery. There isn't a weak track here, astonishing, considering how much growth future Dan albums would display. --Sam Sutherland

Product Description

For a band who considered themselves "anti-rock 'n' roll," Steely Dan had a big impact on the rock world from the get-go. This platinum 1972 debut soared to #17 and produced two of their signature hits, Do It Again and Reeling in the Years . This reissue features new liner notes and digital remastering by two highly qualified individuals-Donald Fagen and Walter Becker.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The First Album I ever Bought, January 28, 2003

By 

Tim Brough "author and music buff" (Springfield, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Can't Buy a Thrill (Audio CD)

I was a 12 year old with my allowance money burning a hole in my pocket when the alluring strains of "Do It Again" tempted me into buying this on sale for $2.99. (gasp..I'm so old...) Up till that date, my record collection consisted of some teen-pop stuff my mom had given me and some Beatles 45's that my Aunt gave me as hand me downs. Pardon me for waxing nostalgic, but I doubt if I could have possibly picked a finer record to introduce me to seventies rock and roll.

This was a band that took pride in their eccentricities, and still be musically forward enough that even my pre-teen brain could find a way to absorb the quirks. Songs like "Fire In The Hole" and "Kings" were enigmatic enough for me to understand the coolness of it all, and the still stunning guitar solos spiking "Reeling In The Years" satisfied my craving for loudness. Still, at whatever volume this was played at, "Can't Buy A Thrill" held a mysterous appeal that few other bands could match. Blues workouts, jazz influences, and a certain leering know-it-all rock and roll quality laid the groundwork for all the songs here.

"Can't Buy A Thrill" is a stunningly original album, and given where the Dan would eventually lead us, that says a lot.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jawdroppingly Brilliant -- What a First Album!, June 26, 2006

By 

Todd and In Charge (Miami, FL) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Can't Buy a Thrill (Audio CD)

Given the breadth, depth, and quality of the Fagen/Becker albums that followed, both collectively and individually, is it heretical to think that their first effort may actually be their best?

I had the pleasure of picking up the remastered disc, which restores the original artwork and liner notes, improves dramatically on the sonics of the MCA cheapie initial release from the late 80s, and has hilarious and insightful new notes from Becker and Fagen, and I have to say this album has grown and matured into an outright, certifiable classic.

Although the hits off the album ("Do it Again," "Reeling") remain as provocative, clever, and satisfying as ever, it's in the album tracks that this album really comes alive.

"Dirty Work," with its plaintive vocals and mournful harmonies, is memorable and touching. "Kings" has driving guitar and menacing lyrics. The off-kilter perspective of very early Fagen/Becker is evident in "Only a Fool Would Say That" and "Fire in the Hole."

Blazing, ringing guitar greets the listener with "Brooklyn" and "Change of the Guard," and the album closes with the lovely, harmonically perfect (and perfectly skewed) "Turn that Heartbeat Over Again."

Throughout, the album is anchored by Fagen's offbeat, angular, slightly atonal grand piano work, which suggests at times Thelonious Monk, at other times early Todd Rundgren. Match that with Becker's active bass, sterling guitar solos, and catchy, memorable melodies and lyrics, and you have one heck of an album.

Though they continued to develop, refine, and originate many more years of tremendous music-making, they didn't do too bad for a first effort. A bargain at this discount price and must-have for any music fan.

30 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Dawn Of The Dan, January 24, 2003

By 

Alan Caylow (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Can't Buy a Thrill (Audio CD)

1972's "Can't Buy A Thrill" was the debut album by Steely Dan, and it still remains one of their best. Although the core of the group has always been singer/keyboardist Donald Fagen & bassist/guitarist Walter Becker, they surrounded themselves on the first album with a proper band, including guitarists Denny Dias and Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, drummer/singer Jim Hodder, and singer David Palmer, giving "Can't Buy A Thrill" a more rocking feel to it than later albums. Every song here, from the instant Dan classics "Do It Again" & "Reelin' In The Years," to the equally-irresistable melodies of "Only A Fool Would Say That," "Change Of The Guard," "Brooklyn," and ALL the rest, is a brilliant composition, showing off the group's expert musical chops, lyrical acid wit, and the cool vocal stylings of Fagen (with guest cameos by Hodder and Palmer on "Midnite Cruiser" and "Dirty Work," respectively, as Fagen wasn't too confident about his singing voice just yet, though he needn't have worried!).Steely Dan would crank out several more outstanding albums in the years ahead, but they couldn't have asked for a better debut. "Can't Buy A Thrill" is a classic album all the way! There's no better place to start your Steely Dan collection than here. :-)