CAN'T BUY A THRILL

Steely Dan are a unique jazz-rock combo who instead of blending hard rock with cutting-edge jazz instead combine the conventions of smooth jazz and soft rock, with their quirky, sardonic sense of humour and exceptional virtuosity saving the mixture from becoming overly saccharine or cheesy. Their debut album takes this model and crafts it into beautiful, haunting, sarcastic pop classics. Of particular note is Daniel Palmer's lead vocals on Brooklyn and Dirty Work. This is the most commercial of Steely Dan's albums, as well as being one of the least dark and least technically flashy with later albums providing a better showcase for the musicianship of Becker and Fagen and their gallows humour.