CAN'T BUY A THRILL

Steely Dan's debut album way back in 1972 with arguably their most stable line up!For a band famous for hiring and firing musicians...Can't Buy a Thrill has all the characteristics as to why this band would evolve to more jazz influenced rock, but in essence this first album set such a high standard for the band it was extremely hard for them to make anything of lower quality. These guys ( Walter Becker and Donald Fagen) are and were even back in 1972 perfectionists so much so they experienced plenty of attrition in terms of session players and guest musicians as alluded to above. The album kicks off with the hugely popular Do It Again, great funky groove, slick sultry vocals and a great chorus line. Dirty Work follows and is the typical kind of SD song that was to surface on many future albums, slightly off key vocals from Fagen, the jazz influences all present. Only A Fool Would Say that another great song with such clever lyrics, satirical would be an apt description. Reelin In The Years is arguably one of SD's most memorable singles and in many respects quite unlike most of their work. More kind of Rock and Roll, this song has so much nostalgia attached to the lyrics, it is I think for this reason so many people relate to it. Change Of The Guard is another fine song. I guess summing up Can't Buy A Thrill it is hard not giving it a five star rating because it is a milestone in rock, unique American progressive sounds that influenced so many other bands yet true to it's original form. Unique and of such high standard, it's only drawback is that follow up studio releases from Steely Dan were even better.