Can't Buy a Thrill  

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Can't Buy a Thrill is the first album by Steely Dan. Originally released in 1972, the album was a huge success. It went gold, and then platinum, peaking at #17 on the charts. In 2003, the album was ranked number 238 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Two songs were left out from the album and released as a single ("Dallas" and "Sail the Waterway"), but to date they have not been released on CD.

The album was originally released in two-channel Stereo and also in a special four-channel Quadrophonic mix. There are some significant musical differences between the two mixes, such as extra lead guitar fills in the Quad mix of "Reelin' in the Years".

The album cover features a line of prostitutes standing in a red light district waiting for clients, an image which was chosen because of its relevance to the album title. The cover was banned in Franco's Spain and was replaced with a photograph of the band playing in concert. The title is taken from a lyric in the Bob Dylan song "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry" on Highway 61 Revisited. Becker and Fagen themselves commented on the album art in their liner notes to the reissued The Royal Scam, saying the aforementioned album possessed "the most hideous album cover of the seventies, bar none (excepting perhaps Can't Buy a Thrill)."

Track listing

All songs by Becker and Fagen.

Side one

1. "Do It Again" – 5:56
   • Solos by Denny Dias and Donald Fagen
   • Vocal by Donald Fagen
2. "Dirty Work" – 3:08
   • Sax solo by Jerome Richardson
   • Vocal by David Palmer
3. "Kings" – 3:45
   • Solo by Elliot Randall
   • Vocal by Donald Fagen
4. "Midnite Cruiser" – 4:08
   • Solo by Jeff Baxter
   • Vocal by Jim Hodder
5. "Only a Fool Would Say That" – 2:57
   • Solo by Jeff Baxter
   • Vocal by Donald Fagen and David Palmer

Side two

6. "Reelin' in the Years" – 4:37
   • Lead guitar by Elliot Randall
   • Vocal by Donald Fagen
7. "Fire in the Hole" – 3:28
   • Steel guitar by Jeff Baxter
   • Vocal by Donald Fagen
8. "Brooklyn (Owes the Charmer Under Me)" – 4:21
   • Steel guitar by Jeff Baxter
   • Vocal by David Palmer
9. "Change of the Guard" – 3:39
   • Solo by Jeff Baxter
   • Vocals by Donald Fagen and David Palmer
10. "Turn That Heartbeat Over Again" – 4:58
    • Vocal by Donald Fagen, Walter Becker and David Palmer

Personnel

Steely Dan

• 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 - flugelhorn
• Jim Hodder - drums, percussion, vocals (lead vocal on "Midnite Cruiser")
• Victor Feldman - percussion
• David Palmer - vocals (lead vocals on "Brooklyn" and "Dirty Work")
• Venetta Fields - background vocals on "Brooklyn" and "Kings"
• Clydie King - background vocals on "Brooklyn" and "Kings"
• Sherlie Matthews - background vocals on "Brooklyn" and "Kings"

Production

• Producer: Gary Katz
• Engineer: Roger Nichols
• Assistant engineer: Tim Weston
• Cover Design: Robert Lockart

Reissue

• Reissue producers: Walter Becker, Donald Fagen
• Remastering: Roger Nichols
• Art direction: Vartan
• Liner notes: Walter Becker, Tristan Fabriani, Donald Fagen
• Reissue design: Red Herring Design, New York City
• Consultant: Daniel Levitin

Track listing

All songs by Becker and Fagen

1. "Do It Again" – 5:56
2. "Dirty Work" – 3:08
3. "Kings" – 3:45
4. "Midnight Cruiser" – 4:08
5. "Only a Fool Would Say That" – 2:57
6. "Reelin' In the Years" – 4:37
7. "Fire in the Hole" – 3:28
8. "Brooklyn (Owes the Charmer Under Me)" – 4:21
9. "Change of the Guard" – 3:39
10. "Turn That Heartbeat Over Again" – 4:58