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"Can't Buy A Thrill" fu un album decisamente controcorrente per i tempi che correvano, come lo furono i suoi esecutori: gli Steely Dan di Donald Fagen e Walter Becker. Gli Steely Dan non facevano pazzie nei concerti, anzi. Più il tempo passava più li odiavano. Fagen aveva paura di cantare in pubblico. Becker era di una violenza e di una grinta che a prima vista poteva sembrare una statua, o un pupazzo, o il fauno Barberini, o qualsiasi cosa che provocasse sonno, stanchezza, pigrizia. Ma, dietro quei caratteri così timidi, schivi, introversi, snob, si celavano due assoluti geni della musica leggera. I migliori del panorama pop-rock. O meglio: pop/rock/jazz/fusion e chi più ne ha più ne metta.
Tutto iniziò quando il pianista e cantante Donald Fagen e il bassista Walter Becker arruolarono abili strumentisti (Jeff Baxter, Denny Dias, Jim Hodder) e un altro cantante (David Palmer). Quest'ultimo sotto pressione della casa discografica, che non riteneva la voce di Fagen adatta al pubblico. Mai scelta fu più sbagliata. Non certo perché Palmer non sappia cantare, ma perché si scoprì che i brani più amati dal pubblico erano quelli cantati da Donald. Infatti, la sua voce, così anormale, risultava tremendamente affascinante. Gli Steely Dan avevano inoltre un grande cruccio: quello di ottenere il suono perfetto. Nonostante le maniacali cure in fase di registrazione, raramente il duo si sentì soddisfatto del lavoro. È il caso di Aja.
Ma torniamo al nostro album, il primo: "Can't Buy A Thrill". Dopo tante premesse il singolo "Do It Again" sembra un ordinaria, seppur bella, canzone pop. Il meglio arriverà con canzoni come "Kings", meno morbida, ma senza perdere niente in eleganza, "Midnight Cruiser", "Reelin' In The Years" (secondo singolo estratto dall'album), con il suo allegro riff di chitarra elettrica di Jeff "Skunk" Baxter e quella voce di Fagen che anche parlando ipnotizza, "Brooklyn (Ownes The Charmer Undre Me)"; con i loro cori, tanto spensierati quanto mai banali, i loro arrangiamenti, impeccabili, puntuali, mai manieristi, mai un secondo di troppo e mai un secondo in meno del necessario; con quelle loro magnifiche e mai rinnegate influenze Jazz. Ma soprattutto, bisogna ascoltare "Fire In The Hole" con il suo intro pianistico tipicamente jazz, cantata in maniera sublime, fenomenale, mostruosa; e "Turn That Hearbeat Over Again", in cui le voci si amalgamano perfettamente a formare una delle canzoni pop-rock più belle di tutti i tempi.
Ma si può stare ore ed ore a parlare di ogni singola canzone, e delle ragioni per cui ascoltarla mille volte. Basta dire che questo album sfiora la perfezione. Ti fa rendere conto di quanto sia inutile il tasto "Skip" della radio. Anche i pezzi non citati, infatti, avrebbero infiniti motivi per essere ascoltate. Quasi mai una band è riuscita in questa impresa, ovvero fare un album in cui pescando un brano a caso si è sicuri di trovare un capolavoro. Album consigliato a tutti i fan del pop (quello buono), del rock, del jazz e della musica fusion.
Ma questo è solo un assaggio di quello che possono fare gli Steely Dan.
TRACKLIST (tutti i brani scritti da Becker/Fagen, tra parentesi il cantante)
- Do It Again (Fagen)
- Dirty Work (Palmer)
- Kings (Fagen)
- Midnight Cruiser (Hodder)
- Only A Fool Would Say That (Fagen/Palmer)
- Reelin' In The Years (Fagen)
- Fire In The Hole (Palmer)
- Brooklyn (Palmer)
- Change Of The Guard (Palmer)
- Turn That Heartbeat Over Again (Fagen/Becker/Palmer)
Elenco tracce testi e samples
01 Do It Again (05:56)
In the morning you go gunning
For the man who stole your water
And you fire 'til he is done in
But they catch you at the border
And the mourners are all singing
As they drag you by your feet
But the hangman isn't hanging
And they put you on the street
Yeah, you go back, Jack, do it again
Wheel turnin' 'round and 'round
You go back, Jack, do it again
When you know she's no high climber
Then you find your only friend
In a room with your two-timer
And you're sure you're near the end
Then you love a little wild one
And she brings you only sorrow
All the time you know she's smiling
You'll be on your knees tomorrow
Yeah, you go back, Jack, do it again
Wheel turnin' 'round and 'round
You go back, Jack, do it again
Now you swear and kick and beg us
That you're not a gambling man
Then you find you're back in Vegas
With a handle in your hand
Your black cards can make you money
So you hide them when you're able
In the land of milk and honey
You must put them on the table
Yeah, you go back, Jack, do it again
Wheel turnin' 'round and 'round
You go back, Jack, do it again
02 Dirty Work (03:08)
Times are hard
You're afraid to pay the fee
So you find yourself somebody
Who can do the job for free
When you need a bit of lovin'
'Cause your man is out of town
That's the time you get me runnin'
And you know I'll be around
I'm a fool to do your dirty work, oh yeah
I don't wanna do your dirty work, no more
I'm a fool to do your dirty work, oh yeah
Light the candle
Put the lock upon the door
You have sent the maid home early
Like a thousand times before
Like the castle in its corner
In a medieval game
I foresee terrible trouble
And I stay here just the same
I'm a fool to do your dirty work, oh yeah
I don't wanna do your dirty work, no more
I'm a fool to do your dirty work, oh yeah
I'm a fool to do your dirty work, oh yeah
I don't wanna do your dirty work, no more
I'm a fool to do your dirty work, oh yeah
I don't wanna do your dirty work, no more
I'm a fool to do your dirty work, oh yeah
I don't wanna do your dirty work, no more
04 Midnite Cruiser (04:08)
Felonius my old friend
Step on in and let me shake your hand
So glad that youre here again
For one more time
Let your madness run with mine
Streets still unseen well find somehow
No time is better than now
Chorus:
Tell me where are you driving
Midnight cruiser
Where is your bounty
Of fortune and fame
I am another
Gentlemen loser
Drive me to harlem
Or somewhere the same
The world that we used to know
People tell me it dont turn no more
The places we used to go
Familiar faces that aint smilin like before
The time of our time has come and gone
I fear we been waiting too long
06 Reelin' in the Years (04:37)
Your everlasting summer and you can see it fading fast
So you grab a piece of something that you think is gonna last
Well, you wouldn't know a diamond if you held it in your hand
The things you think are precious I can't understand
Are you reelin' in the years
Stowin' away the time
Are you gatherin' up the tears
Have you had enough of mine
Are you reelin' in the years
Stowin' away the time
Are you gatherin' up the tears
Have you had enough of mine
You've been telling me you're a genius since you were seventeen
In all the time I've known you I still don't know what you mean
The weekend at the college didn't turn out like you planned
The things that pass for knowledge I can't understand
Are you reelin' in the years
Stowin' away the time
Are you gatherin' up the tears
Have you had enough of mine
Are you reelin' in the years
Stowin' away the time
Are you gatherin' up the tears
Have you had enough of mine
I've spent a lot of money and I've spent a lot of time
The trip we made to Hollywood is etched upon my mind
After all the things we've done and seen you find another man
The things you think are useless I can't understand
Are you reelin' in the years
Stowin' away the time
Are you gatherin' up the tears
Have you had enough of mine
Are you reelin' in the years
Stowin' away the time
Are you gatherin' up the tears
Have you had enough of mine
08 Brooklyn (Owes the Charmer Under Me) (04:21)
A race of angels
Bound with one another
A dish of dollars
Laid out for all to see
A tower room at Eden Rock
His golf at noon for free
Brooklyn owes the charmer
Under me
His lady's aching
To bring a body down
She daily preaches
On where she wants to be
An evening with a movie queen
A face we all have seen
Brooklyn owes the charmer
Under me
A case of aces
Done up loose for dealing
A piece of island cooling in the sea
The whole of time we gain or lose
And power enough to choose
Brooklyn owes the charmer
Under me
09 Change of the Guard (03:39)
If you listen you can hear it
It's the laughter in the street
It's the motion in the music
And the fire beneath your feet
All the signs are right this time
You don't have to try so very hard
If you live in this world
You're feelin' the change of the guard
All the cowboys and your neighbors
Can you swallow up your pride
Take your guns off it you're willin'
And you know we're on your side
If you wanna get through the years
It's high time you played your card
If you live in this world
You're feelin' the change of the guard
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Altre recensioni
Di DanteCruciani
«Do it again» è una canzone praticamente perfetta, e rapisce al primo ascolto.
Procuratevi questo disco, perché è proprio da qui che è iniziata la lunga e affascinante storia degli Steely Dan.
