#238: Can’t Buy A Thrill- Steely Dan

Listened to: MP3

Say what you will about Steely Dan (Lord knows Nick and I did back in our second day of reviewing), but they have good sources for things. Their name comes from a Borroughs book, and this album’s title comes from a Bob Dylan song. I really do want to like them, and maybe, just maybe, I will. Let’s see. So, without further ado, let’s give Steely Dan a second chance.
Let’s just get it out right off the bat: The Steely Dan songs you know are on this album (besides maybe Home At Last, but that‘s only if you‘re me, my guitarist, or those guys we played with that one night). “Do It Again” opens the album, and even if you’re not a huge fan (which I’m not) you’ve got to admit this is a good song. The pitch-shifting organ, the laid-back beat, he fact that it sounds like the instrumental break-down part of “Can’t You Hear Me Knockin’” by The Rolling Stones, and…god damn, is that a sitar? I think that every time I hear this. That’s kinda badass.

“Dirty Work” takes on a lilting quality, a really gentle vibe that feels like a track off of the Godspell soundtrack. “Kings” is where you start to get an idea of what makes Steely Dan good enjoyable. It’s not the laid-back vibe (which could at times put one to sleep) but those harmonies. They’re so rich, so serene, and have such a relaxed power behind them, you can’t help but find some minor appeal. “Midnite Cruiser” is a chill, nice enough track, as is “Only A Fool Would Say That”. Let’s face it, none of these songs are my cup of tea. I also can’t stand a track the rest of my band loves, the popular Steely Dan staple, “Reelin’ In The Years”.It’s all too relaxed and sterile for my tastes, but for relaxed and sterile music, I can’t deny it it’s quality. These are talented composers and musicians, just doing something I don’t enjoy.

“Fire In The Hole” is by far the most mellow track, and definitely lacking in the harmonies, and therefore the quality for me. “Brooklyn (Owes the Charmer Under Me)” takes on a bit more of a southern rock vibe (I did say a bit, not much) with the use of the slide guitar, which makes it a hair more enjoyable. Plus, once the harmonies come back in, I’m made a little bit of a happy camper. “Change of the Guard”’s mere organ sound makes it come off as cheesy, and I kinda hate the sound of the vocals. The guitar playing is enjoyable, and for what the music is, it’s quality. Just not my type of music.

The album ends on “Turn That Heartbeat Over Again” which is an enjoyable enough track, and a decent closer to what, to me, is a decent album. If you like Steely Dan’s style, it’s worth listening to. It is a great album for their kind of music. I wasn’t a fan, but it’s not like Pretzel Logic, which has no place on his list. This deserves to be on there (but much lower). It’s just not my dig.

-Mike

Next up, something that truly is my dig. #441: Tragic Kingdom by No Doubt.

#480: Faith- George Michael

Listened to: CD

I’ll be honest, I’ve listened to Faith by George Michael before. I know Faith. I love Faith. Every time I hear organ chords, anywhere, I hope I’ll hear “Well, I guess it would be nice if I could touch your body.” I’ll be honest, I think this album is criminally underrated. Sure, it’s considered to be one of the 500 greatest albums, but so was Steely Dan’s Pretzel Logic, and that crap piece ranked higher. Here, you have George Michael at his peak, and what might be the best pop album ever produced (Yeah, I get that everyone loved you, Thriller, but you just don’t do it for me. Does that mean I believe Faith should rank above Thriller? No. Just wish it had the praise and support that Thriller has).

Opening on one of the best songs (and first songs I learned) for the acoustic guitar, “Faith”, the album has this kick start that just says “I’m talented, sexy, and about to take you places you’ve never been.” Faith is, without a doubt, one of the best pop songs ever composed, and virtually inseparable from the video of him shaking his ass in those tattered jeans. But even sans sexy video, this song kicks serious ass.

Then we move to one of George’s finest ballads, the Electra complexity of “Father Figure”. “I will be your father figure. Put your tiny hand in mine, I will be the one to love you till the end of time.” (fun fact: Woody Allen’s wedding vows. Cheap shot, I’m sorry. Love you, Woody). “Father Figure showcases George’s softer side, but just when you think he’s all of a sudden a balladeer you can bring home to Mom, he brings in the saxophones and pleads that he “…wants your sex.”. Some people I talk to hate “I Want Your Sex Parts 1 & 2”, but I adore it. It’s like “What’d I Say” on aphrodisiacs. I can picture George Michael practically humping the mic stand while he performs this track.

What I admire about this album more than anything is the fluctuation of moods. He changes pace every track, and yet it doesn’t come out disjointed. “Faith” moves perfectly into “Father Figure”, which picks up great into “I Want Your Sex Parts 1 &2”. The morning after to that last track is “One More Try”. This gorgeous ballad that seems to just be waiting for an American Idol contestant to butcher it, translates brilliantly today. Take out the typical 80’s organ sounds, ad just listen to the vocals. Michael gives an anguish on this track that doesn’t tell you who he’s singing about, but almost makes you wish you ever felt what he must have felt to be this damaged.

And, as perfectly as ever, just as you and George Michael are sinking into sad memories, he cries out “Don’t bring me down!” at the start of “Hard Day”, a track that could as easily be a 90’s Bowie track, but in the hands of an even more soulful voice. Listen to those backing vocals, ranging from angelic highs to soul-shakingly low. This track could be for dancing or…well, the same thing you’d be using Track 3 for. I still don’t know who’s doing the “sweet little boy” part, but god damn if I don’t adore the hell out of it.

“Hand To Mouth”, at the beginning, sounds like a Cure song. And if it were a Cure song, I’d probably like the Cure a lot more. How do tracks like his not get airplay? Come on, has there been one track we’ve listened to so far today that hasn’t been a potential hit single? No. “Hand To Mouth” has that sexy whisper Michael made famous, but with lyrical turns Bob Dylan would be proud of. Yeah, this is a political track. “I believe in the gods of America. I believe in the land of the free. But no one told me that the gods believe in nothing, so with empty hands I pray.” Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that just happened.

“Look At Your Hands”, a great follow up to “Hand To Mouth” both on the play of the word hands, and the once again yin-yang mix of up and down songs. Listen to those saxs, that guitar, those drums, and try not to swing your head from side to side in glee. Michael let’s his vocals run wild on this track, and god bless him for it. Most artists would take so much instrumentation and do these R&B vocal wails, losing the melody in effect, and wrecking the song. But Michael keeps it in control, and the subdued mix of his vocals into the songs like it’s just another instrument make that tracks about the songs, not him.

The only time we don’t get that move from upbeat to downbeat is actually my least favorite track on the album, “Monkey”, but in his defense, if he had but the album’s last slow song “Kissing A Fool” in it’s place, and ended the album on this, it would have been so much less powerful. What is it with the Brits and monkeys? George here’s singing about them, Peter Gabriel wants to shock them, and everybody’s got something to hide except for Paul McCartney and his. I’m just confused. “Monkey” is not a terrible track, but it’s the first and only time on the album I feel less than 100% sincerity for Mr. Michael. Maybe it’s just me. It’s still a perfect piece to a perfect pop record, and apparently a huge hit in the 80‘s. So was cocaine. Just saying, maybe one helped the other a bit.

The finale is also one of the finest. So soft and beautiful, Michael talks about a feeling I’m sure we all know, being terrified to love someone because we’re too “messed up”. This could have been a Frank Sinatra track, and Michael would have done it justice if it was, but no, he wrote this. This man’s compositional range alone is mind-blowing, but his performance, his mix of flair and grace, perfectly documented on this track, ought to prove why this is a brilliant album.

Believe it or not, this album I as much about the conflict of the human spirit through life as it is about sex. He begins in lustful youth, decrying a lover for not having “Faith”, a faith he lacks in himself by the end, sure that his lover, whom he’d seduced throughout the album, is “Kissing A Fool”. Now, tell me that isn’t a perfect pop album. The emotion, the music, the variety, and the sheer beauty, I’ll take this over any album by the “King Of Pop” any day. I’d be furious if this didn’t make the list, and I’m still a little pissed it didn’t rank higher.

-Mike

Well, tomorrow (there’s a whole bunch, including this one posted in one day. Couldn’t get to a computer. Sorry folks) is #98: This Year’s Model by Elvis Costello. See you then.