#168 Steely Dan, 'Can’t Buy a Thrill' (1972)

Previously #240

Core members, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker had been creating music together since 1967 after randomly meeting at a cafe. They would spend the next few years performing and writing songs for other artists, including ‘I Mean To Shine,’ for Barbra Streisand. One of their early incarnations included Chevy Chase on drums (yes, the comedic actor from the ‘Vacation films). Producer, Gary Katz, who had hired the duo to do the writing for other artists, decided one day that their compositions were too complex for other artists to record, and so suggested getting a band together and recording themselves. They assembled a band, including the great Jeff “Skunk” Baxter on guitar later a member of The Doobie Brothers). Also brought in was vocalist, David Palmer, as Fagen suffered from stage fright and often would be unable to perform his songs live.

The result was this, their debut record, a collection of some of the best Jazz/Rock songs. Really well written and performed by an incredibly tight band. Fagen would handle solo vocal duties on 4 of the tracks and share vocals with Palmer on 3 of them, while Palmer took the lead on 2 tracks. Drummer, Jim Hodder sang on ‘Midnight Cruiser.’ Two of Fagen’s four songs were the singles, ‘Do It Again’ and ‘Reelin’ In The Years,’ the later starting off (and continues throughout) with a ripping solo by session player, Elliot Randall, and in fact, was rated by Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page as his favourite guitar solo of all time. That’s quite an endorsement. The song peaked at #11 on the Billboard Charts. ‘Do It Again’ charted at #6, making it their second highest chart for a single. ‘Dirty Work,’ another great song from the record features Palmer. The album is tight, with some of the best musicianship money can buy. A great collection of easy-listening songs. It’s a real treat to listen to Walter Becker’s piano playing, especially on ‘Fire In The Hole,’ and his interplay with the guitarists.

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