Board 8 > Rank the Tracks Week 38: Steely Dan's Can't Buy a Thrill (+ Moby's Play results)

(+) Yeah! (+)

Previous results can be seen here:
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Rank_the_Tracks

The rules:
1. Listen to the album in full
2. Rank every track on the album
3. For the results, there will be a curve at the top of each list; two additional points between #1 and #2, and one additional point for the next two ranks. This way, the songs that really stick out to someone get an edge that is not immediately negated by someone else putting it lower. In the case of Demon Days, someone's 15th track will get 1 point, 14th 2 points, 4th 12 points, 3rd 14 points, 2nd 16 points, and 1st 19 points. For albums with greater than 15 tracks, everything ranked below #15 will be given 0 points and the scale for the top 15 will be the same as a 15-track album. For albums with more than 20 tracks, you only have to list your top 15 (with 16-20, I still like having the average rank listed)
4. If you want to include comments for individual songs, I will compile them in the results
5. The results will be posted at the beginning of the next topic
6. The deadline to vote is Sunday, November 28 at 8:00 AM EST - though if you are for whatever reason listening to the album around that time, just say so in the topic and I can delay a bit
7. You can sign up to be added to the user cycle - the next person on the list will choose 3 albums which the other users will vote on for the next topic.
7a. To ensure people are being given an actual choice, the three nominated albums must be by different artists. You can otherwise stick to a similar sound or era.
7b. The tiebreaker for these polls will be whichever is listed first in the poll options - make sure to deliver the results in order of your own preference (which will hopefully have the added benefit of influencing people toward your first choice if they can't decide).

Steely Dan's Can't But a Thrill track list:
1. Do It Again
2. Dirty Work
3. Kings
4. Midnite Cruiser
5. Only a Fool Would Say That
6. Reelin' in the Years
7. Fire in the Hole
8. Brooklyn (Owes the Charmber Under Me)
9. Change of the Guard
10. Turn That Heartbeat Over Again

User Cycle:
11/28: MetalmindStats (Tear for Fears - The Hurting)
12/5: TheArkOfTurus (Rush - Moving Pictures)
12/12: Snake5555555555
12/19: Jesse_Custer
12/26: ZaziGuado
1/2: SpikeSetsFire
1/9: Johnbobb
1/16: VeryInsane
1/23: CasanovaZelos
1/30: Seanchan
2/6: Giggsalot
2/13: RyoCaliente
2/20: darkx
2/27: neonreaper
3/6: Great_Paul
3/13: jcgamer107
3/20: ChichiriMuyo
3/27: ChainLTTP
4/3: BlueCrystalTear

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Moby's Play results

The participants sorted by deviation from final results:
SpikeSetsFire (38)
CasanovaZelos (40)
Johnbobb (50)
Jesse_Custer (52)
Seanchan (52)
rwlh (66)
MetalmindStats (74)
Seginustemple (78)
HBJDubs (100)
Raetsel_Lapin (116)

General Album Comments

Jesse_Custer: I enjoyed this album back around the time it first come out, but its not an album I find myself caring to listen to these days.

Seanchan: Did a first listen of Play...wasn't digging it very much at all. I've heard somewhere around 3-5 of these songs even before this and I've just never been a fan.

I see it was nominated by the same person as Since I Left You. That makes a bunch of sense as the two albums feel like they orbit the same planet (in a manner of speaking).

CasanovaZelos: Moby's Play somehow feels more 90s to me than the Spice Girls. As in, I feel like Play is culturally stuck in its own era while Spice Girls at least survives as a significant reference point. I love late-90s popular electronic music but feel like I never hear it discussed.

ChainLTTP: Oh Play is for sure one of the most quintessentially 90s albums ever. It's got the electronica + millennium anxiety oozing out of it.

Johnbobb: This album was way better than I expected. Moby's one of those people I've always known existed, despite not knowing much of anything about him or by him aside from the fact that he looks like Dean Pelton from Community. So on a first listen, I mostly only recognized bits and pieces of his stuff, but I pretty thoroughly enjoyed all of it. The complete tonal shift about 2/3 of the way through threw me off a bit; it's not bad, just feels like an entire different album compared to the rest.

rwlh: The second half of the album feels like a completely different (and less enjoyable, for me) experience. Seven of the first eight songs make up my top eight, with only South Side landing in the bottom three. Some high highs for me - it's a solid top half - but there's also a lot of stuff I don't care about and find indistinguishable.

MetalmindStats: I came into this series never even having heard of Moby, and now I'm leaving Play's week without really getting why it was (is?) such a big deal. I'm not sure any number of listens would shake my conviction that it's too bloated and disjointed to feel fully coherent, and not in a way that works for me. Excising the last third would at least have solved the former problem, though, and I think I would have liked the album in that case.

Seginustemple: Haven't listened in probably 15 years, I actually like it more now than as a kid. The emphasis on delta blues/gospel/spiritual samples adds a lot of character to the crisp electronic production (I gotta say his drums are always on point), in some ways Play feels like an end-of-the-century retrospective on popular music in the recording era. Maybe the energy fizzles in the second half but there's a solid core of danceable grooves and that closer is a gem. Sounds great on headphones.

ChainLTTP (responding to MetalmindStats): Play pretty much allowed electronica to become seen as an "intellectual" and emotional genre in the US mainstream (the Brits were already 5-10 years ahead of us with Aphex Twin et al). It seems crazy now but before it this was not a musical form taken as a serious art form by most.

MetalmindStats (responding to ChainLTTP): Thank you for the answer, but that wasn't really what I was talking about. I guess my point was more like, why is this album specifically the one that convinced Americans to take electronica seriously, etc? And maybe the answer to that really is as simple as an awful lot of people feeling differently about Play than I do, or perhaps I don't get it because I wasn't really there for it. Whatever the case, I also suspect my lack of knowledge of music theory let me down.

ChainLTTP: I would suggest reading Robert Christgau's review of it when it came out. Lots of interesting insights about how Moby effectively took the roots music that is in our collective DNA and brought it to life with the sounds of the millennium. It's good stuff.

Seanchan: I didn't really enjoy this album. Something about it just failed to connect with me, even the songs at the top of my list. I was kind of bored and disengaged. Oh well, on to the next week!

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Play track ranking

18. 7 (Track #10)
Score: 11 (Average Rank: 16/18)
Biggest Fan(s): Seginustemple (#10)
Biggest Detractor(s): Jesse_Custer, SpikeSetsFire, Johnbobb, CasanovaZelos, MetalmindStats (#18)

17. Down Slow (Track #12)
Score: 21 (Average Rank: 14.2/18)
Biggest Fan(s): Raetsel_Lapin (#10)
Biggest Detractor(s): SpikeSetsFire, Johnbobb, MetalmindStats (#17)

16. The Sky is Broken (Track #17)
Score: 43 (Average Rank: 12.1/18)
Biggest Fan(s): HBJDubs (#2)
Biggest Detractor(s): Seanchan (#18)

15. If Things Were Perfect (Track #13)
Score: 43 (Average Rank: 11.8/18)
Biggest Fan(s): Raetsel_Lapin (#4)
Biggest Detractor(s): Seanchan (#17)

14. Rushing (Track #6)
Score: 46 (Average Rank: 11.4/18)
Biggest Fan(s): rwlh (#5)
Biggest Detractor(s): Seginustemple (#16)

13. Guitar Flute & String (Track #16)
Score: 49 (Average Rank: 11.8/18)
Biggest Fan(s): Raetsel_Lapin (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): rwlh (#18)

12. Machete (Track #9)
Score: 56 (Average Rank: 11/18)
Biggest Fan(s): Seanchan (#2)
Biggest Detractor(s): Seginustemple (#18)

11. Everloving (Track #14)
Score: 60 (Average Rank: 10.2/18)
Biggest Fan(s): Raetsel_Lapin (#3)
Biggest Detractor(s): rwlh (#17)

10. South Side (Track #5)
Score: 69 (Average Rank: 9.2/18)
Biggest Fan(s): HBJDubs (#3)
Biggest Detractor(s): rwlh, MetalmindStats (#16)

9. Bodyrock (Track #7)
Score: 72 (Average Rank: 8.9/18)
Biggest Fan(s): Seanchan (#3)
Biggest Detractor(s): Raetsel_Lapin (#16)

8. My Weakness (Track #18)
Score: 75 (Average Rank: 8.5/18)
Biggest Fan(s): SpikeSetsFire, Seginustemple (#4)
Biggest Detractor(s): Seanchan (#13)

7. Inside (Track #15)
Score: 77 (Average Rank: 8.6/18)
Biggest Fan(s): Raetsel_Lapin (#2)
Biggest Detractor(s): Johnbobb (#15)

6. Find My Baby (Track #2)
Score: 80 (Average Rank: 9/18)
Biggest Fan(s): MetalmindStats (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): HBJDubs (#18)

5. Honey (Track #1)
Score: 94 (Average Rank: 7.3/18)
Biggest Fan(s): Seginustemple (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): Raetsel_Lapin (#18)

4. Run On (Track #11)
Score: 109 (Average Rank: 6/18)
Biggest Fan(s): Jesse_Custer (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): HBJDubs (#15)

3. Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad? (Track #4)
Score: 118 (Average Rank: 5/18)
Biggest Fan(s): Jesse_Custer, SpikeSetsFire, CasanovaZelos, MetalmindStats (#2)
Biggest Detractor(s): HBJDubs (#11)

2. Natural Blues (Track #8)
Score: 122 (Average Rank: 5.3/18)
Biggest Fan(s): Johnbobb, rwlh, Seanchan (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): Raetsel_Lapin, MetalmindStats, HBJDubs (#12)

1. Porcelain (Track #3)
Score: 125 (Average Rank: 4.7/18)
Biggest Fan(s): SpikeSetsFire, CasanovaZelos, HBJDubs (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): MetalmindStats (#9)

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Why I chose my albums:

• The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me - Brand New was a board 8 discovery for me, and one I instantly resonated with. I quickly consumed all they had to offer, and was forever blown away by their consistent quality, immersive lyricism, and catchy riffs, which transformed into harder and more experimental musical passages with each subsequent album. The Devil and God, however, was, and remains, Brand New's apex. A sprawling epic of brutally dark themes that wrestles with the very nature of the human soul, and as the title of the album implies, the aspects of good and evil that reside in each and every one of us, as life moves on and we continue to struggle and cope with anxiety, our beliefs, our love and romantic troubles, our effect on others, and ultimately, death, whether our own or tragically, someone else's. With, at times almost metallic playing from the band, this is a crushing, heavy, emotional album and one I resonate strongly with.
• Wildcard - Back in 2019, I was already well on my way to becoming a Miranda Lambert fan, but Wildcard, was, to me, her magnum opus. In just two years, this has become one of my most played albums ever, and I still haven't tired of it. One word I use to describe it: infectious. It's everything I adore in country music, but Lambert's trademark snark and swagger stands out as unique, and for lack of a better word, badass. With Lambert's confident singing backed by equal amounts of both raucous rock and stripped back atmospheric melancholy, I'm hooked either way on every word and note for the entire run time, whether singing along to the tongue-in-cheek murder ballad parody "Way Too Pretty for Prison", rocking out to the sexual, promiscuous, but self-analytical firecracker "Mess With My Head", or getting gently swept away in the relaxing and meditative "Settling Down". It's truly an album that I found to be more and more textured with every listen, and an album I have consistently turned to in times of trouble, as it embraces the chaos and serendipity of life in a way only Miranda Lambert can pull off so deftly.
• Deliverance - An album that changed my taste in metal and music forever. I first found this album through Guitar Hero: Metallica, which featured a contender for my favorite song of all time: the wonderful "Albatross", which enveloped me in a suite of nasty, sludgy riffs, blistering mini solos, and a fantastic vocal performance full of grit and vigor. I was hooked, and the rest of the album did not disappoint. It's surprisingly quite a spiritual and religious album, with many references to Jesus, and through the lyrics and heavy instrumentation portrays several portraits of broken men wrestling with their faith and trying to move on through bleak thoughts and evil temptation. It almost gives the same feeling to me as watching a horror film, and at times, the instrumentation can even be quite moody and eerie. Still, as bleak as it sounds, this album still manages to be quite entertaining, and I keep coming back to the beautifully sludgy sound over and over again.

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bump it again

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Is anyone even trying to a buy a thrill this week?

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Soon! This album actually has one of my all time favorite songs on it. People are probably busy with Thanksgiving.

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I'm planning to do it.
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CasanovaZelos posted...

Is anyone even trying to a buy a thrill this week?

I've already started myself, for what that's worth. In fact, I'd have reached my standard quota by now with more to come but for a couple near misses.

Also, as a minor heads-up for next week's topic, you omitted the first s in Tears for Fears.

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CasanovaZelos posted...

Is anyone even trying to a buy a thrill this week?

Yep, just a little behind schedule because of Thanksgiving week family stuff.

Did a first listen today and this album was a breath of fresh air after the last two weeks. I recognized a few of the songs and was just generally enjoying the vibe of the album. Plus it's short and sweet at 10 songs and only ~40 minutes in length, which is an extra bonus in my book.

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1. Fire in the Hole
2. Reelin' in the Years
3. Do It Again
4. Only a Fool Would Say That
5. Turn That Heartbeat Over Again
6. Midnite Cruiser
7. Brooklyn (Owes the Charmber Under Me)
8. Change of the Guard
9. Kings
10. Dirty Work


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Well I'll tell you Steely Dan is one of America's finest bands, and all of their records are good. Can't Buy a Thrill isn't actually my favorite but it's probably their most widely known release, owing to a pair of radio-saturated singles (or trio if you include Dirty Work) that remain dad rock staples today. It's surprisingly well-formed for a debut, with a host of seasoned musicians punching in tasty solos over catchy 70's tv-show theme songwriting. It's not as jazzy or polished as their later records (The Dan's sound gradually progresses from beer at a jukebox to wine on a yacht) but the musicianship is apparent in the performance and arrangements. It's a classic for a reason. I think the only flaw is that 8/10 of the songs use a fade out ending. It's like they can't pick a chord to end on!

10. Brooklyn (Owes the Charmer Under Me) - It's a dip in energy late in the record, one of the two tracks sung by David Palmer and I think it shows why his more sensitive voice was ultimately not the right fit for this band, even if he turns in a capable performance. Jeff Baxter's lap steel solo is probably the sleepiest on the record, though he adds a lot of nice touches in the verses. There's still a solid core of a tune here but it's played so straight it doesn't stand out much on an album this good.

9. Fire in the Hole - The Vietnam protest song, or at least a song about draft-dodging. Fagen takes a rare piano solo with some angsty flare to prove he has some chops. But there's only a sketch of drum, bass, and lap steel guitar outside of that so the rest of the instrumental feels a little thin to me.

8. Midnite Cruiser - The only Steely Dan album track sung by *checks notes...* drummer Jim Hodder. He actually works on this one, his voice isn't too dissimilar from Fagen's and they all jump in on the chorus anyway. It's another nostalgic dive bar anthem, but far from the best one here.

7. Dirty Work - I'm just not into Palmer's soft vocals in the verses. But I dig the instrumental - that intro with the rhodes/guitar arpeggios and organ lead into the horn line is butter. And I'd be a fool to deny that the chorus is a groove. The random break for the sax solo is totally unnecessary though.

6. Kings - This one is catchy as heck. The crunchy guitar and stack of hype background singers give it a lot of energy, and the subtle addition of congas in the chorus keeps it moving (even if you don't think you notice, you notice). The liner notes cheekily include a 'no political significance' disclaimer under this track, which almost certainly means they were alluding to Nixon.

5. Turn That Heartbeat Over Again - Perhaps the strangest song of the bunch, there's a lot of silence as punctuation between sections so the mood feels very flexible. I really enjoy the way the vocals shift between speaker channels as the music shifts gears into the chorus. The 'solo' is almost played for comedy, as the tune suddenly gives way to a slowed down jugband section before switching back to a proggy interlude. The minor key twist at the very end is a nice touch to close on. "oh Michael, oh Jesus..."

4. Change of the Guard - Perfect simplicity right here, never stops rocking. Has my favorite 'na na na' section this side of a hey hey goodbye and the bluesy guitar solo is a whole jam unto itself. That's Jeff "Skunk" Baxter ripping it up, now he's a respected missile defense advisor to the Pentagon. How's that for a change of the guard!

3. Reelin' In The Years - One of those songs that's built to get more nostalgic every time you hear it. The vocal harmonies make this one shine, and that becomes a Dan trademark as Donald Fagen assumes lead vocal duties despite his lack of range. I'll always remember that Joe Satriani admitted he ripped off this song on his solo for "If I Could Fly" in a 2006 issue of Guitar Player magazine, and then later he successfully sued Coldplay for ripping off that same song. Sneaky bastard!

2. Only A Fool Would Say That - Plays as a cynical response to "Imagine", which was released a year earlier. It's never totally clear when Steely Dan is being sarcastic but I tend to read this one at face value. How smooth is that instrumental though? It's tightly written and the jazzy latin style is rendered so convincingly, it never sounds like a costume the band is putting on. Bonus points for ending the song neatly instead of fading out.

1. Do It Again - "In the morning you go gunnin' for the man who stole your water" Steely Dan has so many songs involving gunplay and gambling it becomes a whole mythology, the theme of cyclical mistakes and indulgence is like their lyrical north star. The tune is full of flavor, congas/guiro set a mellow salsa mood and electric sitar/plastic organ solos send it to vibespace. An excellent song to drive to, it's too cool for its own good.
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TheArkOfTurus posted...

10. Dirty Work

Wtf

Can't Buy a Thrill is great but I think I'm more of an Aja guy. Steely Dan benefits from the added polish imo.

I can never decide between Royal Scam, Aja, and Gaucho. Their later period is such a goldmine
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My ranking:
Do It Again (#1434 all-time)
Reelin' in the Years
Dirty Work
Only a Fool Would Say That
Fire in the Hole
Midnite Cruiser
Change of the Guard
Kings
Brooklyn (Owes the Charmer Under Me)
Turn That Heartbeat Over Again

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Do It Again
Reelin' in the Years
Kings
Only a Fool Would Say That
Turn That Heartbeat Over Again
Change of the Guard
Dirty Work
Brooklyn (Owes the Charmer Under Me)
Midnite Cruiser
Fire in the Hole

This album was like opening a window in springtime. Glad I listened to it!

I've always considered Steely Dan the duo of Donald Fagen and the late Walter Becker (RIP) and didn't realize that they ever had other official members. (Please note that this is not a general album comment, so no need to put it in the recap - I liked every song here nonetheless. Also not gonna comment on each one this time - just the ones I feel the need to.)

1. Reelin' in the Years - In my mind, this is THE Steely Dan song. It's catchy in every single way. The musicianship is incredible and speaks to their talents.
2. Do It Again
3. Midnite Cruiser - "Gentleman Loser" is a great rhyme, and that guitar is awesome as heck. (I had thought this was Fagen too, but apparently not >_>)
4. Only a Fool Would Say That - Once I read that this song was indirectly calling Lennon a communist, it shot up my ranking. Like many of the other songs, it's catchy.
5. Change of the Guard
6. Turn That Heartbeat Over Again
7. Fire in the Hole
8. Dirty Work - A little redundant for a song that's just over 3 minutes long, but has a catchy beat. The vocal is sleepier than I'd like but it's still a good song.
9. Kings - I forgot about anything other than the chorus - featuring the actual "good King Richard" and the inactual "good King John" (must be sarcasm since the Royal Family disowned him) - by the end of "Midnite Cruiser." Shows you how unmemorable the verses are... possibly in relation to the other songs, too.
10. Brooklyn (Owes the Charmer Under Me) - This feels like an old school country ballad. It doesn't really gel with the rest of the album, and that's why it's down here.
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1. Do It Again
2. Reelin In The Years
3. Kings
4. Change Of The Guard
5. Dirty Work
6. Midnite Cruiser
7. Brooklyn (Owes The Charmer Under Me)
8. Fire In The Hole
9. Turn That Heartbeat Over Again
10. Only A Fool Would Say That

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1: Do It Again
2: Dirty Work
3: Reelin' In The Years
4: Kings
5: Only a Fool Would Say That
6: Fire in the Hole
7: Midnite Cruiser
8: Brooklyn (Owes the Charmer Under Me)
9: Turn That Heartbeat Over Again
10: Change of the Guard
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This might actually be the first week I have to miss, I just haven't had the time at all

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Do It Again
Reelin' in the Years
Only a Fool Would Say That
Change of the Guard
Brooklyn (Owes the Charmer Under Me)
Midnite Cruiser
Kings
Dirty Work
Turn That Heartbeat Over Again
Fire in the Hole


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1. Do It Again
2. Reelin' in the Years
3. Only a Fool Would Say That
4. Change of the Guard
5. Kings
6. Dirty Work
7. Fire in the Hole
8. Turn That Heartbeat Over Again
9. Brooklyn (Owes the Charmber Under Me)
10. Midnite Cruiser

This is an enjoyable, easy listening album with some fun riffs. Even the bottom song on the list aint that bad! I kind of put it in the same category as something like Rumours...but not quite as good.

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1. Reelin in the Years
2. Do It Again
3. Dirty Work
4. Midnite Cruiser
5. Turn That Heartbeat Over Again
6. Only a Fool Would Say That
7. Kings
8. Change of the Guard
9. Fire in the Hole
10. Brooklyn (Owes the Charmer Under Me)

In sum, creativity combined with cynicism never sounded quite so smooth, or something.

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