Album Review: Can't Buy a Thrill

Steely Dan - Can't Buy a Thrill (1972)

If you're in the know - and if you can brook a little shmaltz with your sublime jazz-rock sensibilities - Steely Dan is a primo band. CBaT is their first album and features a bit more of the "pop" end of the pop-jazz-rock spectrum, seemingly allowing jazz flourishes to pepper the album rather than anchor it. It also features a different lead vocalist on some of the songs - allmusic tells me it's David Palmer - who's just a bit too bland. His tracks - and the last three tracks on the album, for that matter - delve into early '70s soft-rock territory that lacks bite and fails to keep me engaged, evoking the worst of grim dental associations*.

* - In the interest of full disclosure, that is a DFW quote from IJ.

That's a rather negative start to a review of a good album, but it's only fair to warn a rock-raised prospective listener that a first spin of a Steely Dan album can inspire a sort of "Ugh, soft rock!" gag reflex. It's key to get past that. The first two thirds of this album contain plenty of the intricate melodies, catchy phrases, acerbic wit, multi-genres and face-melting virtuosity that serve as the signature SD sound in future, more adventurous albums. There are two huge hits on this disc, the Latin-tinged "Do It Again" and the pop-perfect "Reelin' in the Years." Both, in addition to being plain fantastic tunes, feature exquisite guitar/sitar (!!) work/solos, well worth the price of admission. ("Kings" features another one of these Guitar-Hero-impossible lead breakouts, a favorite of friend and air-guitarist extraordinaire Jesse "El Guapo" Goldberg). Those highlights accentuate an album full - aside from the aforementioned forays into overly soft-rock - of interesting, memorable music with numerous moving parts that coalesce. There's better Steely Dan to come, imho, but this is a platinum disc that matches its popularity with craftsmanship / skill; it's well worth a spin and could serve as a good intro to the band before getting into their more jazzed out excursions of the '70s.

Status: Recommended (solid)
Nyet's Fave: "Reelin' in the Years"