Can't Buy A Thrill Elizabethtown KY

Can't Buy A Thrill

Steely Dan

MCA Records, 1972

REVIEW BY: Jeff Clutterbuck

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 09/22/2005

Being back at college usually means one thing to a student; youdon't have time to do much of anything. For me, that includes theopportunity to really listen to music, although somehow I find thetime. Usually, I'm not in the mood of proper frame of mind to checkout something experimental (though I am giving jazz a shot thisyear -- expect a Miles Davis review soon). So when perusing throughmy library, the first instinct is to pick something accessible.Enter Can't Buy A Thrill.

Lord knows that Steely Dan has been at the top of my list forbands I've tried to like. After giving Aja and Two Against Nature a few spins, things didn't change. Bothof those albums were too sterile, too perfect. Luckily, I thenheard Thrill, the debut album from Steely Dan.

The sound of Thrill is decidedly different from Dan's later albums.Instead of the smooth, jazz/rock stylings of Fagen and Becker, thelistener gets a pop/rock effort. Don't be fooled, though; there issome damn good pop to be found. "Do It Again" features one of thegreat opening percussion beats of '70s rock; it gets in your headand refuses to leave. "Dirty Work" and "Midnight Cruiser" are theunderrated gems of the album. Check out the gorgeous harmonies onthe former and the powerful, driving refrain on the latter.

Of course, the other massive hit would be "Reelin' In TheYears." This may be blasphemy, but whenever this track comes on, Iskip it. Maybe it's the massive amount of overplaying it hasreceived throughout the years, but there is just something aboutthe track that doesn't appeal to me. On some level, it doesn't rockas hard as it should. It has the same problem as The Eagles "LifeIn The Fast Lane;" one keeps expecting it to just take off, and itdoesn't.