CAN'T BUY A THRILL

I got to listen to this album without knowing anything about Steely Dan. I had no expectations but saw the release year in the notes. It quickly captured my attention thanks to brilliant songwriting, smoking early 70's sound, Fagen's colourful voice and firmly rocking establishment. I had no clue that Steely Dan turned into a jazzier territory after their debut album. The sound engineering is fantastic and instruments are well balanced, guitars being raw and keyboards slightly on the jazz-rock side. Vocals and harmonies are actually better than one would expect on the debut album. My highlights are the Latin-beat driven first track, fantastic melody on "Dirty work", inspiring guitar solo on "Reelin' in the years" and the last three tracks that keep the listening attention high. Subsequent albums would get more sophisticated but this one is their warmest and perhaps most earnest record.