Can't Buy A Thrill

Bit too crusty, very dadcore

Just doesn't click with me....

Walter White liked Steely Dan, and that should tell you everything you need to know. Technically brilliant, but very forgettable, bland and boring, they chose to create one of the great evils in the world in pursuit of money and glory. In a similar vein, Walter White was a teacher who made meth. This album is shit. Steely Dan are shit. I'm grudgingly giving it an extra star because 'Dirty Work' is a great song - it's a bit like if Hitler had painted the Mona Lisa, you can appreciate the painting but it's still a Hitler.

I was a fan, liked their music because it was a little different, but - now I just can't. Maybe because a few of their songs get so much airplay on the 'classic rock' stations, every time they come on - I switch the channel.

Dull

What can I say - it’s inoffensive American radio rock - AOR I think they used to call it. Is it bad - no - is it in any way exceptional - no.

2.5* Very average bar 2-3 songs. Almost like lift music.

Easy listening, nice to hear the ood songs

Dirty work, that's it.

Only good song was Do It Again

There’s a couple songs on here that are recognizable, the rest of it is shit. I’m so sick of 70s albums.

Not bad but not great boomer music

Do these smartypants only come in beige?

Was fine, sort of passed me by...

Unremarkable I’m afraid

Не особо. Очередное старье.

It was a decent album, but like it was just kinda there, was it influential at the time I’m not sure. Was it a good listen, yeah, am I gonna listen to it again, probably not.

Really not my thing. There was only 1 song I’d even consider listening to again.

3 plus

Better than Pretzel Logic, but still not my jam.

Know several of the songs but just not my genre.

I dunno man, sounds like your most boring grandparents favourite band.

Okay.

2-3/5

Ei tehnyt suurta vaikutusta.

Hade aldrig hört talas om och det fanns väl en anledning till det. Fanns inget som stack ut

hört om steely dan i film/tv, ska vara "pappamusik", jag är pappa, men nja. Först låten är bäst. Sen händer inte mycket. Rätt platt, enkelt. #1 Soft, melodiskt. #2 sådär. #3 lite roligare. Men det lyfter aldrig riktigt. Inget "extra". #4 bra, skönt sound #5 sådär #6 sådär #7 nja #8 ok #9 lite popig. #10 sådär

duktiga musiker och så... kul när keyboardisten tvunget skulle ha ett solo direkt efter gitarrsolot

goddamn steely dan

Bem meh

Easy listening, nothing too memorable for me though.

Meh. Just glad that my coworker Ryan is no longer doing this music challenge. I was explicitly told that if I rated Steely Dan poorly that we'd have words. Well, Ryan, I'm rating it poorly. But, I'll give it an extra star just for you.

While it's nice to finally know the origin of elevator music of the 80s and 90s, this album is a meh for me. It's becoming painfully obvious a straight white man wrote this list...

Neat sound, definitely older. Kinda vibey, but not really my thing.

Ok, bit boring

I guess this band have an interesting sound. It's not really like anything I've heard before, but it was also quite annoying and the songs felt quite lightweight and shallow. The first two tracks I didn't like it all. I enjoyed "Kings," despite it being a bit silly (no, I didn't research whether they intended for it to have any deeper meaning or not... and yes, I can see why some people would interpret it as some kind of critique of power structures or whatever. I'm not going to interpret that way. It's frivolous and silly). "Midnite Cruiser" is the best track on here. It's still not super deep or anything, but it's perfect for what it is: a fun, light hearted piece of pop cheese. Honestly, it's one of the most perfectly pitched examples of that I've ever seen. "Only a Fool Would Say That" was actually interesting thematically, but a little cynical for my tastes. At that point I was thinking I might give this album a 4. But then came "Reelin' In The Years," and when that chorus hit, I realised I'd heard it before, on the radio, and it was really annoying. Unfortunately, the album didn't get any better from there. I finished it thoroughly unimpressed and very annoyed. I sure hope "Midnite Cruiser" was the hit, but it was probably "Reelin' In The Years," because that's the one I heard on the radio. Favourite track: Midnite Cruiser

Funny, I Already knew most of the songs. But never actively listened to Steely Dan. The kind of music you neither like nor dislike. I just don't care about it.

It’s not enough of anything for me to strongly feel any type of way about it. I grew up hearing the more popular tracks far too many times. I would like to please never hear Reelin’ In The Years again, thank you. Do It Again and Dirty Work are somehow still tolerable.

kinda borring, but not bad. Not really into it

Points for harmonies. A couple of familiar hits. Added a “new” song to a playlist. Angry lyrics don’t always match the friendly voice and music. Fans of Chicago will like the sound.

Too much 60/70's american rock in this compendium

not really listened to much of steely Dan before but I didn't hate it

Not my thing at all, decent musicianship but just doesn't do anything for me

Yeesh. Only liked the first two songs, Do it Again and Dirty Work, the rest is schmaltz. Reelin in the Years was the only other song I knew but it didn’t merit a like.

A few pretty good tracks on here. Not a lot I'd listen to again, but some of the hits are pretty solid

these are iconic songs (and most of them, thankfully, have radio edits) and they stand out and are fine, i suppose. steely dan is a jam band cosplay. they are dudes that say “groove” to describe what they are doing. they are boring as hell. neat-o, see you at jazz fest in new orleans. lets put on button up t-shirts with matching tabasco prints. yeehaw (i'm from connecticut)!

Fine, pretty middle of the road

MORE Steely Dan .. ? is this list rigged towards a certain demographic? Do I attempt to critique this ak I'm? It's probably another breakthrough concept album of semi all importance and stylistic brilliance that ... Anyway. I didn't know I could be found listening to a Steely Dan album TWICE in a year But there you go. It's very up and down. Some tracks "reeling the years" rock on. Other are easy listening but uninteresting. Doesn't really stand up well these days, to these ears. It sounded old to me in the 80s. Is this what pro and anti drug or prostitution messages were like back then? I'm not sure what the title is saying. Or the cover art. Something about self addressed envelopes making people happy. NO more Steely Dan please. Or beetles.

Tony Soprano happily singing along to Dirty Work is an abiding memory, said it all. As much as I love that song, in terms of poking Beelzebub in the burning ribs, I'd have to say to those about to cark it, go and listen to something else. David Palmer's weird presence on this record does give us Dirty Work, and the two smasheroo singles are great, but the rest is just more nurdling about like that last one I listened to, can't even remember its name. Death freaks and lacrosse fans; you've got better things to listen to as you turn off the night light.

A bit 'nothingy'. Apart from reeling in the years, I forgot it was on. The who came on afterwards and I was struck by the difference in energy, then boz scraggs which was soulful and funky. I have no such adjectives to describe this album besides, 'nothingy'. It's the best I can do, and I'm sorry to fans.

I scored another record down previously in the list for being too polished and too well constructed, and I think I shall have to do the same here. I initially scored this a 3 when I listened to it (for the first time ever) in my solo listen through, but I think it is only fair and consistent that I score it a 2 on a re-listen. It is all a bit boring at the end of the day. 2 / 5 stars.

Soulless.

Helpoksi ei tämänkään kepeän aikuisrockin kuuntelua ole tehty. Jokaista (heikkoa) hetkeä kohti, jolloin tulee ajatelleeksi, että "mmh, minähän voisin melkein tykätä tästä", LP tarjoaa ainakin kaksi hetkeä, jotka saavat kiemurtelemaan inhosta. Jos ajattelet toisin, olet väärässä. Mutta sallin kaksi tähteä, koska pari raitaa on tänään soinut päässäni.

Hou op zeg, met die gezapigheid van Steely Dan! Ik zou er serieus over na moeten denk wat ik erger zou vinden: Dit album nog een paar keer moeten luisteren of m'n neusharen met een waterpomptang laten verwijderen.

Pfoe, dat is een hoop Steely-Dan-gezapigheid in een paar dagen tijd.

At the start I was getting deep into my austin powers bag. MHMMMMMMMM do it again is saucy. It truly lives up to the album cover... the rest of this album though? Boringgggg. How far have we fallen if we are to have an album with one liked song on it be a 3? It's good music but it's not at the same time. Egad, it's so sad. I liked dirty work in spotify, but then unliked it because I realized that I only liked it because it's a "classic". Realistically it's meh. Only a fool would say that was also ok. 2 stars for the number of songs on this album I'll ever actively choose to play again.

20th January 2023 Listened in the day before driving to London to the Young Gun Silver Fox gig. Funny that this is the second steely Dan album since hearing the blues kitchen chat about him at the end of last year. Comfortable of forgettable country folk. 2.5 if I could.

Not for me. Cheesy af

If I had a bunch of cocaine, Ludes and brandy to go with this record, I would have enjoyed it a lot more than I did. There are 3 great songs surrounded by a couple OK ones immersed in some nonsense. This guy could have just put Aja on the list and walked the hell away from Steely Dan.

just when you think it's safe and to listen to it hits you with some 70s harmonised singing.

Steely Dan sucks off dogs

Some decent tunes, but it’s a few days since I listened and I can’t remember which ones, so not that great.

1972. Reelin' In The Years, Dirty Work

Ok background music

Music for people who like white bread sandwiches, consider mayonnaise spicy and view mac and cheese as exotic international cuisine. I give this 2/5 old crackly speakers playing this at an inoffensive volume at an empty mid-western Greyhound bus stop.

"Dirty Work" is fine song. But I really do not like Steely Dan.

Much better than I expected...

Eeeh it was okay

bit muso for me and doesn't do much

😕

Mum ok suppose

Soft rock nonsense. Consigned to 1970s & 80s Radio2 where it belongs.

Initial reaction, "Oh why bother? Who wrote this stupid list?" After the album, "If this was my lift music, it wouldn't be so bad to live another floor up."

Nice

kind of blurred into the other 70s stuff, but listenable

What y'all need is some of dem easy-listening classics!

Just find these so dull. Very appropriately named to be fair. 2/5

Reconheci a primeira e segue com folk

Slow start, and album grew on me with Reelin' in the years. Solid, but the odd track aside, unlikely to revisit

technically flawless but with a little soul

Yacht rock. Some cool guitar licks and harmonies but this is the kind of rock I hated growing up.

Cada una de las canciones de este disco podría ser la sintonía de cabecera de alguna serie de televisión de los ochenta. Lo único mínimamente interesante que tiene es el solo de piano de Fire In The Hole.

Meh

Only heard it once yesterday. I liked the soft rock or classic rock feel. It was good to have been introduced to Steely Dan.

Chill tracks, lots of instruments. 2 classics on this album. A-Team Face phone ring.

MOR soft rock. Meh. 2/5.

There were some nice solos, but the lyrics took me out of it. The sound is nice, but it gets monotonous. Reeling In the Years is one of my least favorite songs of all time, so that takes off a whole star.

This album sounds typically like something out of the early 70s by way of soft/psych rock. A perfectly ok listen. The album cover is next level crazy though. Best: Reelin' in the Years Worst: Brooklyn (Owes the Charmer Under Me) 2.5 stars

Oh god. Ok let's see. Two songs in and this is not SO bad, but could do without the sax. Ok yeah this has a bit of a classic rock opera sound to it. I dunno. I'm very ready for this album to finish.

In jedem Anfang wohnt ein Zauber inne; so auch hier. Kaum beginnt eines dieser flockig groovigen Stücke, freu ich mich aufs Neue ehe mir später auffällt, dass ich dem Rest gar nicht mehr aufmerksam zugehört habe, als würde mir jedes Mal die Euphorie für den Buchumschlag in einer einzigen Stichflamme aufgehen und für den Buchinhalt bleibt kein Gran mehr über. Verkohlte 2.4

Dirty work

I know a lot of people really dig Steely Dan's groove. I am not one of those. There's nothing inherently wrong with this album -- I just don't like it. 2 stars.

No, Steely Dan, you can't buy a thrill, but I wish you fucking could, because this has all the excitement of a developing flu. Somehow, every flavour of instrument comes together to form a great big slog of greywater. Am I being too harsh? Probably. But the album cover was promising, the average rating was promising, and the genres listed were promising, and this album was just a thousand broken promises.

One hit wonder plane surfer straight rock music.

Incredibly bland

Tak to je opäť niečo, čo vlezie jedným uchom dnu a druhým vylezie von. Nič, čo by ma zaujalo...

Just absolutely not my type of music. Felt like I need to be in a stables on a farm chewing wheat to fully appreciate this.

This is my 3rd Steely Dan album, how on earth they make it at all in the 1001 albums is completely beyond me. They are talented but it's bland and safe

Not for me. 1/5

niepodobasa - ustalone wspólnie po 30min odebrali - termin do ortopedy za pół roku

Not really my thing.

Not for me which disappoints as for first time hearing an album by Steely Dan which are held in high regards by some. Liked the opening track which is a big tune from then, but sorry, the on, it was very middle of the road and beige. Struggled to get through it. 1/5.

Nope honestly two songs are worth listening to and then the rest is painful and boring

too hippie for me,too much of the za

Not for me

With that name and cover, that's not the music I was expecting - how harmlessly competent

Early 70's middle-of-the-road vanilla rock I heard nothing exceptional here, just lots of bland Not for me

Yo que sé, too much, muy psicodélico para mi.

wasn't really my vibe

It really is as bad as I always think Steely Dan sounds like. For pluses, its easy to ignore, and backlash to stuff like this gave us punk

Not for me, didn’t finish

The band that named themselves after a steam-powered dildo. Honestly, I'd rather spend 40 minutes being dry-rogered by a strap-on steaming hot dildo than to ever have to listen to this pompous FM radio rock ever again. Absolutely excruciating.

I don’t know why I have such an aversion to this band and this style of music. Maybe it feels too 70s in a bad way? I just simply don’t want to hear this ever again. 1/5

In the immortal words of Deputy Garcia, “Isn’t Steely Dan just elevator music for cocaine dealers?”

No

Just don’t get Steely Dan at all

So boring. Just generic and bleh. 1/5 stars.

vampires.

They describe their sound as "adjusted and refined to take into account the new musical environment in which we found ourselves operating, and also to reflect our belated understanding of the aesthetic shortcomings of some of our less-than-accessible, more doggedly surrealist effort." I'll settle for "boring and pretentious."

I don’t want to ‘do that again’

Not on Amazon Music.

Not many goodies

First time listening to this band. Not my cup of tea qto be honest but I listened anyways. 2/10 I might try again through my headphones later

I’m never going to have time for this.

Definitely can't buy a thrill with this album!

Second Steely Dan album, can safely say not my thing

What the hell is going on with the cover art for this, I'm in two minds as to whether it's just base level awful or it's brilliantly captured the unsettling pain of this album. I'm going for the first one because the picture isn't dull. I apparently picked up on some prog bits I liked on the previous steely Dan album we had but they weren't on show here. I recognised the first track which was okay but it just got worse from there.

i like the beat but I did not like the beginning and the end was weird. i dont like the second song it is boring. i dont like this song but the beat is pretty good i do not recomend this album.

I don't like this song its not something I don't listen to this type of music and its not a song the second song I also don't like it its not a song I would listen too the third song I also don't like its not a song I like to listen too

the first song was alr the lyrics were fine ig and yeah it was okay the second song is better than the first song bc like the background music was good. the last song is okay its actually not that bad

Meaningless music for Boomers to put on in the background of their party to yell-talk at each other over.

Fuck rating albums. Just let me listen.

Shit

A little less flighty in this one but I still don't understand the fascination. 1.5 stars

didnt listen

I'm a dad, but not a dad-rock dad. Still, wise enough to never say never, pop-cultured enough to say NOT TODAY.

Wow. This album has really made me rethink my negative feelings towards this band. Perhaps third time's a charm. And this album certainly has plenty of charms. More rocking than subsequent releases. The hooks are bigger. The emotional air has not been expelled from every pore. Is it possible to back to basics on album #1. Ah...no...f*#k that. And f*#k Steely Dan. Do It Again earns one star and I hate them even more for luring me in. The album is like year one of a plague. There was still time to get it under control. But we as a culture were too weak to resist. Give me three 80s era Billy Joel album instead of this...on second thought maybe don't give me the BJ albums but cause I don't really want those either. But you get me meaning.

Can't Give A Fuck.

Наверное настроение не под такую музыку, вообще не зашло

Not a Steely Dan fan. Never have been, never will be. However, I do like "Dirty Work".

I can't stand for yacht rock. For me it's just mid 70's music for people who say that after the 70's music is dead Dropped.

I was hip to Steely Dan, listening to this made me realize I do not like Steely Dan

All sounds the same. Not for me.

No thanks

Steely Dan reminds me of my love life. Dull, disappointing and depressing to think about. Fuck Steely Dan!

Ploddy, pedestrian rock. No redeeming features whatsoever.

awful

I definitely didn’t enjoy this album, it just felt like everything of the same and it’s really not my type of music, I wouldn’t recommend.

No Thrills Here I was listening to this album, and only listening to this album, literally doing nothing else, and I forgot that I was listening. That's how ignorable and background these songs are. I almost gave it 1 star, but that last song ruined any good credit this album was holding on to. Zero stars Yeah, I don't like Steely Dan and this did nothing to win me over. When am I gonna get something actually interesting? Inxs? Beck? Kanye? Fugazi? Quicksand? Goldie? Faith No More? A Tribe Called Quest? Kylie?

Nous revoilà plongés dans les méandres de cette liste biblique, ce totem de bon (et parfois de très mauvais) goût qu'est le "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die". Parfois, on en ressort grandi, ébloui par une pépite insoupçonnée. D'autres fois, on en sort avec l'envie furieuse de se faire greffer de nouvelles oreilles, ou de postuler pour un job de gardien de phare en Antarctique, histoire d'être sûr de ne plus jamais croiser une chaîne hi-fi. Aujourd'hui, c'est la deuxième catégorie qui nous occupe. Et le coupable s'appelle Steely Dan. Encore eux. Souvenez-vous, il n'y a pas si longtemps, je m'étais coltiné leur album "Aja". Une expérience étrange. Je n'avais pas été transporté, loin de là, mais j'avais dû, la mort dans l'âme, reconnaître une forme de génie. Un génie froid, clinique, désincarné. Une musique de chirurgien, une production d'orfèvre maniaque qui polissait chaque note jusqu'à en effacer la moindre trace de vie. C'était beau comme une équation mathématique, impressionnant comme une prouesse technique, mais aussi chaleureux qu'une poignée de main avec un cyborg. Alors, quand j'ai vu que la liste me renvoyait dans leurs pattes, mais cette fois avec leur tout premier album, "Can't Buy A Thrill", une lueur d'espoir a pointé le bout de son nez. La genèse ! Le point de départ ! J'allais peut-être y trouver la sève, l'énergie brute, le truc moins calculé, moins cérébral qui manquait tant à "Aja". J'allais peut-être, enfin, comprendre le pourquoi du comment de ce groupe. Quelle erreur. Quelle monumentale, abyssale, colossale erreur. J'ai 55 balais. J'ai passé ma vie le nez dans les bacs à vinyles, j'ai usé des kilomètres de bande magnétique à la radio, j'ai vu des modes naître et mourir, j'ai défendu des artistes indéfendables et j'ai descendu en flammes des vaches sacrées. Je pensais avoir une certaine endurance. Je pensais pouvoir tout encaisser. Il m'a fallu trois putains de tentatives pour arriver au bout de ce disque. Trois. La première fois, j'ai tenu jusqu'au quatrième morceau avant de sentir une anesthésie générale s'emparer de mon corps. Mes paupières pesaient une tonne, mon cerveau s'était mis en veille, et j'avais l'impression d'écouter la bande-son d'un séminaire d'entreprise sur l'optimisation des process en milieu tertiaire. La deuxième fois, je me suis mieux préparé. Café noir, fenêtres ouvertes, volume à onze. Peine perdue. Au bout de vingt minutes, je fixais le mur en me demandant si la peinture séchait plus vite que le rythme de leurs morceaux. C'est propre, c'est pro, c'est joué à la perfection. Chaque note est à sa place. Chaque harmonie est calculée. Et c'est précisément ça, le problème. C'est une musique qui a peur de se salir, qui refuse de transpirer, qui porte des gants blancs pour ne pas laisser d'empreintes. On est en 1972, merde ! Bowie sort "Ziggy Stardust", Lou Reed nous balance "Transformer", T. Rex est au sommet de son glam décadent, et pendant ce temps-là, en Californie, des mecs surdoués mais visiblement sous anxiolytiques nous enregistrent la bande-son parfaite pour une salle d'attente de dentiste de luxe. On imagine les mecs en studio, le regard vide, le cheveu propre, jouant des partitions d'une complexité folle mais avec l'âme d'un expert-comptable qui boucle ses bilans. Alors oui, pour être tout à fait honnête, il y a deux ou trois moments où on se dit "tiens, il se passe quelque chose". "Do It Again" et son rythme chaloupé, presque exotique, sort un peu du lot. "Reelin' in the Years" a un solo de guitare qui a le mérite de réveiller. Ce sont deux oasis. Deux petites gourdes d'eau fraîche au milieu du désert de Gobi de l'ennui. Mais elles ne suffisent pas à étancher la soif d'un mec qui cherche le frisson, la fameuse décharge, ce fameux "effet kisscool" qui fait qu'un album reste gravé. Ici, l'effet est plutôt celui d'un somnifère. La troisième écoute fut un calvaire, un chemin de croix discographique. Je l'ai subie, comme on subit une punition. Chaque morceau me semblait durer une éternité. Je n'y ai trouvé aucune passion, aucune urgence, aucune folie. Juste une maîtrise technique absolue au service de... rien. Du vide. Un vide impeccablement arrangé, mais un vide quand même. Alors, la question qui tue : mais que fout ce disque dans la liste des "1001 albums à écouter avant de mourir" ? Pour mourir d'ennui, peut-être ? Est-ce un test ? Une épreuve pour voir si on est capable de supporter le pire pour mieux apprécier le meilleur ? Si c'est le cas, alors mission accomplie. Je suis dur, je suis acerbe, mais je suis surtout déçu. Déçu d'avoir perdu mon temps avec une musique si anémique, si dépourvue de tripes. C'est une musique de tête, pour des gens qui aiment analyser les structures harmoniques complexes en sirotant un vin blanc hors de prix. Moi, je suis un mec de coeur, de bide, de sueur. Et sur ce disque, il n'y a rien de tout ça. C'est un disque que je ne conseille à personne, et le verdict est sans appel car il est le reflet de mon expérience, de ma douleur. Note finale : 1/5 Et je crois que je suis encore généreux. Allez, au suivant, en espérant tomber sur un truc qui saigne un peu. N'importe quoi, mais un truc vivant. S'il vous plaît.

Ok

Not for me. Really dull and uninteresting.

Again, more meh...

Um dos álbuns mais irritantes que eu já ouvi Fav tracks: Do It Again Least fav track: Reelin' In The Years

Eww. I’ve never liked Steely Dan but I thought I’d give the album a fair listen. The musicianship is far better than the singing or the lyrics. Too bad such fine musicians put out such boring music.

Steely Dan sucks

Gefällt mir nicht.

They're like some of the worst pop rock combined with some of the worst of jazz

I have heared this album, it's nice, and I like it.

DNF- got kind of bored???

I swear every other song on this album had bongos in it.

Hate steely dan

Vähän liian nasevaa leikkisää musiikkia

LoL fuck Steely Dan! Minus 5 stars!

EFFING HATE STEALY DAN. WON'T LISTEN!

God I hate steely Dan.

This is the best Steely Dan record. And it still sucks.

Meh. I tend to like music like this, but the album just couldn’t keep my attention. Maybe one day I’ll revisit it.

Bang average 70’s.

No. Just no. It's Diet Eagles, and they were awful as well. File under insipid.

70

Possibly the worst band of all time

Nothing grabbed me - finished the album without even realising!

can't stand Steely Dan

quite all right, nice for chill music (pero?)

Never really got into Steely Dan before this. Very catchy band. Very solid album, not a bad song on the record. 9/10.

Super great!

Awful.

Sounds good