Comments on: uReview: Steely Dan “Can’t Buy A Thrill”

By: Ignatius J. Reilly

Ignatius J. Reilly — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:12:47 +0000

Steely Dan is punk as fuck.

Even now…

By: Steely Dan “Do It Again” « Rock God Cred

Steely Dan “Do It Again” « Rock God Cred — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 12:30:28 +0000

[...] Click here to go to TRS to check Steely Dan’s “Do It Again” [...]

By: W. Stacy

W. Stacy — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 16:37:35 +0000

I agree with what Marco posted. Steely Dan was more like a collaboration than a band. Maybe you could compare them to Zappa in the way that he also employed highly skilled musicians to play his music just as he heard it in his head.

I don’t know who the Steely Dan of the 00s would be. I don’t like to think in those terms but hopefully if there is someone out there writing and recording music with the same level of originality, cleverness, depth, virtuosity, etc that they would sound like something completely different from anything heard before. It’s like when I heard someone say the High Llamas were the new Beach Boys—they sounded just like them (listen to the instrumentals by the Llamas and PS era Beach Boys).

Whether or not you find it enjoyable (and it’s #3 in my SD catalog), when put into context of the year it was released (1972) you will definitely conclude that it was ahead of it’s time.

Peace

By: mark

mark — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 21:12:40 +0000

The Dan…
I believe that there needs to be a clear understanding here: this is a different sort of band… following the experimentation in the 60′s with the studio as a quintessential environment for the sculpting of music, the Dan, I believe, took this a step further. Fagan and Becker perceived the studio as if it were a musical instrument itself. They were, in part, composers or directors. It may be a mistake to consider the studio musicians as a dilution of “their” music… rather, I suggest, consider the studio musicians as well as the technology as an extension of their musicianship, their craft. Although the lyrics on this album are almost as thin as paper, the music, the sound, is rich, layered, textured… almost a tapestry of sorts. The Dan continues their experimentation, rife with artistic tension and its accompanied difficulties, through their album Aja… or almost through this remarkable album… with numerous high points throughout. This is the springboard for an approach to music that removed it from the public performance and placed it firmly in the studio; however, unlike many groups in the 70′s, the Dan perceived the studio differently – not as a means of filling up the sound or achieving some sort of homogeneous pop sound, but as a process that was inherently artistic (provided it remain under their (Becker and Fagan) control).

I rater this album 8 out of 10.

You may not appreciate the Dan, but it is exploring new territory here. Listen to all of the crap on the pop charts today and then return to Cant Buy a Thrill. No comparison.

(ciao! from Italy)
–”Marco”

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 20:30:38 +0000

Great songs by really fine musicians. A friend of mine back in college (early 80s) summed ‘em up best: “Great cocaine-sniffing music.”

By: Steely Dan “Do It Again” « Rock God Cred

Steely Dan “Do It Again” « Rock God Cred — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 11:58:42 +0000

[...] Click here to go to TRS to check Steely Dan “Do It Again” [...]

By: philspector

philspector — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 11:07:29 +0000

I think that the Steely Dan of the 00s are FIELDMUSIC and their spin-off projects SCHOOL OF LANGUAGE and THE WEEK THAT WAS

By: cody

cody — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 06:52:25 +0000

Do It again, and Only a Fool Would Say that are tremendous songs. Here’s a question posed by fellow blog Aquarium Drunkard, “Who is the Steely Dan of the ’00s?”

By: dk

dk — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 22:57:55 +0000

Quite simply one of the best debuts ever produced. This one stands out in their catalog because Donald Fagen wasn’t totally comfortable with his voice yet, so the group enlisted blue-eyed soul singer David Palmer on a handful of tracks. Crazy to me, because Fagan’s vocals are one of the best things about the group. But that said, this is an excellent album – soulful, offbeat, and showing just a hint of the dark places that their music would go. It’s also more organic rock & roll with little of the constructed-in-the-studio sound that dominates their later albums…

Five thumbs up!!!!!

By: Skip

Skip — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 13:34:21 +0000

This record is great and I wasn’t even born when then made it. (b. 1980) “Dirty Work” = fuckin’ classic