Can't Buy a Thrill [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

Steely Dan

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 17, 1998)
• Original Release Date: 1972
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Mca
• ASIN: B00000DI0I
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (77 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,633 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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

Japanese only SHM-CD (Super High Material CD - playable on all CD players) paper sleeve pressing. Universal. 2008. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 37 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 500 REVIEWER)

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.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST HAVE CD!!, November 17, 2007

By	P. A. Panozzo "history enthusiast, avid reader" (Chicago, IL and NW IN area) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you are a Steely Dan fan or are completely (and sadly!) unacquainted with Steely Dan, this is a must have CD for your collection. This CD is, in my opinion, some of Donald Fagen and Walter Becker's best material. It has the salient hits Do it again and Reeling in the years but it also has the beautiful gems Dirty Work and Turn that Heartbeat over again. There are no weak songs on this CD. If you are just getting acquainted with Steely Dan, this is the best CD to start with. If you are already a fan of Steely Dan make room in your collection for this one. This CD delivers satisfaction! Other essential CDs would be Pretzel Logic, Katy Lied, Countdown To Ecstasy and The Royal Scam. These are core essential CDs for any Steely Dan collection!

17 of 17 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

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.