Steely Dan fans have waited a long time for a major reissue program of the seven albums that they released before they broke up after Gaucho in 1980. There has also not been any major box set reissues of the group’s music that included any substantial amount of previously unreleased material. This new reissue series is varied, uneven, and not complete as of this writing.
Four albums have been reissued so far and not in chronological order. Those albums are their first three albums—Can’t Buy A Thrill (1972), Countdown to Ecstasy (1973), Pretzel Logic (1974)—and their sixth album Aja (1977). For some reason, their fourth and fifth albums—Katy Lied (1975) and The Royal Scam (1976)—have not been reissued yet. The last album is Gaucho (1980). It’s odd that Aja was released in this reissue series before Katy Lied and The Royal Scam. Perhaps the record company wanted to get Aja out before the holiday gift buying season. The other three albums will be released either later this year or more likely early next year.
These albums are individually available in two very different formats: as a bespoke audiophile box set or as reissues that recreate the original album packages. The box-set reissues are cut from the original analog masters, are 45 RPM 180 or 200 gram, clear, Clarity vinyl releases, and cost $150. They are available as two-record sets from Analog Productions, numbered and limited to 20,000 (Aja is 30,000) copies. They also include some bonus notes and related audiophile inserts. The single-album releases are $30, at 33 RPM, but are cut from digital files. For this review, we will only cover the digital releases.
Can’t Buy A Thrill was Steely Dan’s debut album and it was a hit right out of the box. The songs “Do It Again” and “Reelin’ in the Years” were chart monsters. The rest of the album was filled with meticulously arranged jazz and soul-flavored pop-rock, played by the original six-man lineup and a handful of studio pros. The album was produced by Gary Katz and engineered by Roger Nicols, who would both man the board for the group for years and be an integral part of its sound and success.
Unlike on subsequent albums, the lead vocals were shared by Donald Fagen, Walter Becker, drummer Jim Hodder, and singer David Palmer. The rest of the core lineup included two guitarists: Denny Diaz and Jeff Baxter. The music was slick, yet edgy LA.pop-rock, played by jazzbos who knew their way around a recording studio but who, most importantly, could write great songs. Lyrically, the group cast a jaundiced eye at the denim-clad sleaze of ’70s culture, while also attacking politicians and the like, and was clearly not averse to partaking in the fruits and libations of the Me Decade. Thankfully, they mostly played it for laughs, with an ironic and knowing wink to their hipster brethren.
As great as this album was recording-wise, the original albums were marred by poor quality vinyl pressings by the long defunct ABC Records (with Gaucho released on MCA and fairing no better), a problem that would dog the group for years with only slight improvement along the way.
Can’t Buy A Thrill is not really an audiophile record. This new reissue sounds a little flat and dull and often lacks dynamic range, but considering it is digitally mastered, is not bad. The original gatefold package is duplicated with a polyvinyl sleeve, but does not include period labels.
Countdown To Ecstasy was a major departure from the group’s debut. Singer David Palmer departed and the music was not nearly as accessible and pop-oriented. It is here where the band deliciously and with no reservations wrote songs of even edgier jazz and rock. Obviously, the massive success of the Dan’s debut freed them to fully pursue their ambitious musical vision. Although “My Old School” had some of the accessible feel of the hits from Can’t Buy A Thrill, the album was filled with hipster explorations of the dark underworld of ’70s drug culture, with almost poetic undertones that suggested an unsettling science fiction futurism.
“Bodhisattva” is an unlikely album opener and the entire record is only eight songs, but eight songs of depth and ambition that stretch out in surprising ways. There is a self-aware irony in “Show Biz Kids” with lines like: “They got the shapely bodies/They got the Steely Dan T-Shirt/And for the coup de grace/They’re outrageous,” and “Show business kids making movies of themselves/You know they don’t give a fuck about anybody else.”
Listening to this album in 2023 alerts one to how humorless and toothless today’s pop music is and makes one realize part of the problem is a lack of bands and any artists who bring a wide array of styles and talents to create a truly unique and visionary sound.
Again, the sound isn’t all that great and like Can’t Buy Thrill, Countdown To Ecstasy is not really an audiophile release, but one where many different and unique sounds are brought together to create music with light and shadows, along with shades of gray and gaudy colors. The original custom inner sleeve with lyrics is duplicated, but not period labels.
Pretzel Logic is an album that some Steely Dan fans love and others feel is about the group’s weakest. It is the group’s most overtly jazz-inspired album and is particularly inspired by older forms of jazz. “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number,” a huge hit, partly begins with the rhythm-section opening of the title track of jazz pianist Horace Silver’s 1964 album Song For My Father. “East St. Louis Toodle-Oo” is an instrumental cover of the 1927 Duke Ellington song.
These songs are not really jazz-flavored rock or pop, like much of their other jazzier music, but are instead respectful homages to pre-rock jazz. The title cut is the most Dan-ish thing here in words and music and to some degree prefigures The Royal Scam, two years off. There are some other good moments, but the album seems like it doesn’t quite deliver as much as other albums or have the weight of the jazz music Becker and Fagen so love and obviously understand and respect. Again, the sound is a little dull, but the original was not really an album of contrasting dynamics. The album package is a gatefold with an inner sleeve made of die-cut paper and again no period labels.
As stated before, this series for now skips Katy Lied (1975) and The Royal Scam (1976). Those two albums, for many are two of the group’s best albums and set the stage for the group’s mammoth Aja (1977). Aja is a defining album of ’70s rock and pop and is an audiophile’s dream. The album is sprawling, meticulously recorded and arranged, and features a large cast of supporting musicians integral to bringing to life Becker and Fagen’s ambitious musical vision.
The album did have its detractors. Some felt it was a cold, sterile exercise in studio excess that had nothing to do with rock ‘n’ roll. Regardless, the album’s majestic elegance and superior musicianship has made it a classic that has only become more mythical with age. It has been a go-to album for testing sound systems since its release, remains the height of ’70s album-making, and reflected the slick LA studio dominance of the period.
The sound here is not bad, but still not quite up to analog standards. The gatefold package and the ABC label are duplicated, but for some reason it does not include the original custom sleeve that had the lyrics and most importantly the listing of all the players who were so important to the success of the album. Instead, it has a die-cut paper sleeve.
Even given the shortcomings of these reissues, Dan fans who want to upgrade their battered old vinyl copies will want to add these albums to their collection. It’s a shame more affordable analog-cut albums weren’t available, but in the world of Steely Dan, paradoxes are just part of the game.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
Can’t Buy A Thrill
B+
Countdown to Ecstasy
B+
Pretzel Logic
B
Aja
A
