Steely Dan - Can't Buy A Thrill

180-gram vinyl

50th Anniversary Edition

"There is no doubt a brighter high-end here than on my old copy, but also the vinyl itself — 180g, dark and black, and pressed at Precision — is generally much quieter than any of the original copies I've had over the years. ... This new 2022 reissue of Thrill shines fine light on the little details of the recording. Listen closely for the cymbal crashes and related decay on 'Do It Again,' 'Reelin' In The Years,' and 'Dirty Work' for some quick examples. Said crashes, courtesy drummer Jim Hodder, are much more natural, realistic, and present on the new version than on my original copy. Additionally, Denny Dias' acoustic guitar strums on 'Dirty Work' sound more full-bodied and woody. Walter Becker's bass on 'Midnight Cruiser' is punchier than on my original LP, and the instruments and vocals on 'Only A Fool Would Say That' feel richer and rounder comparatively, especially the acoustic guitars. Donald Fagen's acoustic piano on 'Fire In The Hole' sounds very natural, rich, and open, complemented by those beautiful pedal-steel guitar lines by Jeff 'Skunk' Baxter. Then listen for that badass amplifier tone on the guitar solo during 'Change Of The Guard,' which never came through this strongly on the original edition I have." — Mark Smotroff, AnalogPlanet.com. Read the entire review here.

UMe is releasing seven titles — from the classic Steely Dan MCA Records catalog — on 33 1/3 RPM, 180-gram vinyl. Led by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, these albums — Can't Buy A Thrill, Countdown to Ecstasy, Pretzel Logic, Katy Lied, The Royal Scam, Aja and Gaucho — were released from 1972-1980. The vinyl series will kick off with Can't Buy A Thrill, now in its 50th anniversary year, with breakthrough hits "Do It Again," "Reelin' in the Years" and the recently viral "Dirty Work."

Lacquers for UMe's standard 180-gram versions were cut by Alex Abrash at his renowned AA Mastering studio from high-resolution digital files of Bernie Grundman's new masters and pressed at Precision.

Steely Dan's platinum-selling debut studio album Can't Buy A Thrill, released in November 1972, was a commercial success, peaking at No. 17 on the Billboard chart. It later appeared on many professional listings of the greatest albums, including Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000) and Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" (2003).

Side A

1. Do It Again

2. Dirty Work

3. Kings

4. Midnite Cruiser

5. Only A Fool Would Say That

Side B

1. Reelin' In The Years

2. Fire In The Hole

3. Brooklyn (Owes The Charmer Under Me)

4. Change Of The Guard

5. Turn That Heartbeat Over Again

Customer Reviews (4.75 Stars) 4 person(s) rated this product.

Better than expected! posted on 04/10/2023 5 Stars Reviewer: Randy G My first copy had a slight warp that affected the 1st track on both sides. I returned it and got the usual great service from Acoustic Sounds and had my replacement back in 2 weeks. I just played the entire LP and this copy is flat, very quiet, and sounds a lot better than I expected. In fact, it's a very respectable pressing. I'm sure the UHQR is significantly better, but for only $30, I'm very happy with this one and feel like it's a great value. I'm going for a couple of the SD UHQR's but I'm very satisfied with this 50th anniversary pressing of "Can't Buy A Thrill! Highly recommended!

90% of the UHQR, perhaps? Surprisingly good for a UMe vinyl release. posted on 04/06/2023 5 Stars Reviewer: Rudy Having had terrible luck with any vinyl that Universal has sold in the past couple of decades, I am happy to report that my pressing of this is dead quiet, flat, and not pressed off-center. As for the mastering, keep in mind that even though this was digitally sourced, the digital source was mastered by Bernie Grundman. While I'm sure the UHQR has the edge, to me I can't see paying $120 more for that extra few percent, and I don't have a bulky box cluttering my limited shelf space. No regrets buying this one!

Great to have this jewel back in print! posted on 11/03/2022 4 Stars Reviewer: Bill E. Got mine early (the 31st) played through both sides 3 times. Great sounding, even if from digital, although i'm sure the AP cuttings will blow this one away. I wanted this if for nothing else to compare as my original 1972 has been out of action since the 70s.Vinyl is very quite and overall sound is great, good low end, and a flat 180g pressing.

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