Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Steely Dan
Label: Island Records
Release: 1972
Length: 40:39
Rating: 5/5
Steely Dan – a legendary name that’s still shorthand for studio perfection and a source of reverence for music gourmets all over the world. Two one-of-a-kind musicians and songwriters, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, with their unique blend of jazz, rock, funk and pop and an almost pathological obsession with production perfection, were always a step ahead of their time. Their compositions boasted an enviable level of technical polish, uncommon vocal charisma and a knack for creating hypnotic, timeless arrangements; in plain English, evergreen hits that are still a staple of classic rock radio stations today. Add a heaping helping of merciless yet witty lyrical sarcasm that ate its way into every pore of society. That already gets you part of the answer to why Steely Dan are still so highly regarded by all the music romantics out there.
The odd name of Fagen and Becker’s band, or rather project, since for their musical visions they always hired only the best session players while the two of them remained the central figures, has a much less romantic undertone. Steely Dan is nothing more and nothing less than a metaphor for a female sex toy, taken from the novel “Naked Lunch” by the American author William S. Burroughs.
This eccentric and highly intelligent musical duo had a distinctive sense of humor throughout their entire career. Their lyrics were full of endearing sarcasm and black humor. They often touched on dark themes like drugs, prostitution, organized crime, assorted portraits from the bottom rungs of American society and all the paradoxes inside human relationships. If we forget the unreachable and utterly one-of-a-kind Frank Zappa, who knew no limits when it came to mocking American society, Fagen and Becker, among American musicians and songwriters of the 1970s, were with their derisive social satire almost perfect outcasts. So it’s entirely fair to call them the perfect anti-heroes of the popular music scene of the day.
Besides excellent lyrics, they also had exceptional songwriting and instrumental chops. Along with a subtle feel for building complex, mostly jazz-flavored rhythmic structures and arrangements, they had a real talent for writing hits. With their incredible ear for creating and weaving perfect pop-rock arrangements into jazz-rock structures, they were among the first musicians to blur the lines between progressive rock, jazz fusion and pop. Their hits boasted an unusually high degree of complexity, arranging intelligence and production perfectionism. Everyone who, in the early ’70s, at the height of progressive and experimental music, missed pop rock for the brainy crowd suddenly found their own kind of heroes in Steely Dan.
“Can’t Buy a Thrill” (the album title is a pun on prostitution) was the first act of two inseparable musical foxes. Most bands are still finding their style on their debut and slowly refine themselves with later releases. Steely Dan weren’t your usual rock band, so the fact that they immediately made a masterpiece that sits at the very top of their whole discography is not exactly a huge surprise. Keyboardist and singer Fagen and bassist/occasional guitarist Becker, both already superbly skilled instrumentalists by then, hired a whole galaxy of top-tier session players for the recording. Let me single out the excellent singer David Palmer and guitar masters like Jeff “Skunk” Baxter (later of The Doobie Brothers), Denny Dias (later Wayne Shorter and Pete Christlieb) and Elliott Randall (later Asia, Richie Havens, John Lennon, Village People, etc).
Having stylistically different guitarists on board adds to the remarkable eclecticism of the individual riffs and solos. The two Steely bosses also lined up a strong jazzy horn section and erotic female backing vocal harmonies, which play a key role in building the hypnotic motifs. Some of these musicians stuck around with them for a few more years, but most eventually had to say goodbye. Fagen and Becker were always relentless in their studio hiring policy, tyrants even. They punished every mistake immediately, but it usually paid off handsomely in the end. They left nothing to chance. Every arrangement on the album was the product of careful, patient searching for the ideal sonic harmony. While Fagen contributed all the keyboard textures, Becker added funk-tinged bass lines. Fagen, who later became the lead singer, trades off on individual songs with the less sarcastic-sounding Palmer.
Every one of the ten songs on the album could contend for the title of pop-rock hit, even though only “Do It Again” and “Reelin’ In The Years” found worldwide radio success. Most of the tracks are built on complex but highly melodic, jazz-leaning arrangements, rounded out by juicy guitar passages and infectious hooks that won’t leave your ears anytime soon. The intelligent lyrics and charismatic vocals give the songs a certain bohemian charm, making it easy to picture scenes from New York’s streets and nightlife. It also helps that the album’s central lyrical theme is prostitution (which is evident from its title and cover too). All of it is topped off by an exceptionally lively production, or rather a vivid one, that was way ahead of its time.
Steely Dan’s musical perfectionism shines right from the opening jazz-rock Latin hit “Do It Again”. It instantly enchants with an incredibly pleasant yet complex central melody built on Caribbean percussion, Denny Dias’s electric sitar, juicy jazzy arrangements, potent guitar riffs and a funky rhythm line. Fagen’s poetic, sarcasm-tinged vocal adds even more spice to the lively atmosphere of a Latin bar. The technical orgasm comes courtesy of the excellent electric sitar solo, as well as the closing, psychedelic-tinged organ solo.
The seductive power ballad “Dirty Work”, fronted by Palmer’s melancholic vocal, is the next evergreen treat. Extra female backing harmonies in the mighty, hypnotic chorus effortlessly send shivers down your spine, while juicy organ, sax and guitar passages wander through the background.
Next up is the no less exquisite jazz rocker “Kings”, whose lyrics aim at the “good old days” when you still knew who drank and who paid. The superb backing vocal harmonies are propped up by juicy guitar passages throughout. The chorus rips your pants off, and the closing organ solo is especially impressive, delivering an interesting, medieval-flavored motif. The guitar solos in between blow away even the most demanding technical perfectionists.
The majestic “Midnight Cruiser” is another timeless jazz-pop rock classic. This treat is adorned with exceptional jazz arrangements, a string of excellent guitar solos, the sarcastic vocal of drummer Jim Hodder and a killer chorus with infectious vocal harmonies that just refuse to leave the tips of your ears.
On “Only a Fool Would Say That”, where elements of jazz, rock and Latin music mix again over relaxed rhythms, the lyrical sarcasm reaches its peak, as it’s a mischievous reckoning with youthful idealism and all the failed attempts to change the world.
On an album where every track is excellent, the timeless jazz pop rock hit “Reelin’ In the Years” is without a doubt one of the front-runners for the champion’s title. Here their songwriting and instrumental perfectionism reaches royal proportions. Besides the seductive, ultra-melodic chorus and juicy jazz arrangements, it’s above all Randall’s phenomenal guitar solo that blows your head off. Perhaps the best measure of its excellence is that Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin) said it was his favorite guitar solo of all time. “Reelin’ In the Years” is one of their best works and, after all these years, it never stops thrilling.
The run of superb tracks continues with the mocking “Fire in the Hole”. In terms of ambience, they head back into a smoky bar with an old piano. Fagen’s sarcastic vocal shines most here, laid over the jazz arrangements of his piano. Steely Dan casually work in a string of excellent solos that will satisfy even the most demanding snobs.
On the charming ballad “Brooklyn (Owes the Charmer Under Me)”, whose lyrics paint tragicomic pictures of the American social underbelly, we get a witty central guitar riff plus excellent singing and backing vocal harmonies from Palmer. In passing, there’s even room for a witty country motif built on choice guitar harmonies.
The phenomenal, somewhat more hard-rock-flavored “Change of the Guard” is built on bouncy rhythms, a mocking vocal and superb guitar passages. Here too, it’s the excellent central melody with vivid vocal harmonies that impresses most, though you can’t overlook the breathtaking guitar work either. The way Steely Dan turn a seemingly simple melody into a complex masterpiece was always astonishing.
The closing snack “Turn That Heartbeat Over Again”, which sketches a sarcastic picture of the plight of Latin American immigrants, is the incarnation of first-rate Steely Dan jazz-rock-funk fusion. The mocking chorus rides on funky rhythms and witty arrangements the whole way. This composition is a prime example of what we’d usually call progressive pop rock today.
“Can’t Buy a Thrill” is one of the best albums in the history of popular music, made at a time when pop was still the yardstick for compositional and technical polish and walked hand in hand with prog rock. On an album with such remarkable consistency in quality, there isn’t a single weak moment. Like most studio creations of the unbreakable Fagen-Becker duo, it’s impossible to pin down in any clearly defined genre. You can file it as jazz rock, intellectual pop rock, progressive rock, progressive pop; the options are endless. For an album that I can say without hesitation is a first-rate example of songwriting and production perfection, that matters least of all. Fagen and Becker would go on to make a good number of excellent albums in the years that followed. Of course, they’d also make a few unforgivable mistakes in their career, but those are almost negligible next to the wins. “Can’t Buy a Thrill” remains one of their brightest jewels.
Lineup
Donald Fagen – piano, electric piano, plastic organ, vocals
Walter Becker – electric bass, vocals
Jeff Skunk Baxter – guitar, pedal steel guitar
Denny Dias – guitar, electric sitar
Elliott Randall – guitar
Jerome Richardson – tenor saxophone
Snooky Young – horn
Jim Hodder – drums, percussion, vocals
Victor Feldman – percussion
David Palmer – vocals
Venetta Fields – backing vocals on Brooklyn and Kings
Clydie King – backing vocals on Brooklyn and Kings
Sherlie Matthews – backing vocals on Brooklyn and Kings
Production
Gary Katz
Track list
1. Do It Again
2. Dirty Work
3. Kings
4. Midnight Cruiser
5. Only a Fool Would Say That
6. Reelin’ In the Years
7. Fire in the Hole
8. Brooklyn (Owes the Charmer Under Me)
9. Change of the Guard
10. Turn That Heartbeat Over Again
