Day 37: Dirty Work

Can’t Buy a Thrill by Steely Dan.

So many great tunes on this album but that sweet tenor voice of David Palmer is the only Steely Dan album to include Palmer as lead vocalist. Donald Fagen was not comfortable singing lead in the early days and recruited Palmer to sing on this track and lead vocals in concert. Producer Gary Katz convinced Fagen to sing lead vocals on all future projects. I think that is why this track stands out to me. I probably didn’t recognize it as a Steely Dan track when I first heard it.

In 2014, Palmer filed suit claiming he was owed royalties from the song as an original member of the band. The album cover art was also banned in some countries. In the liner notes for Steely Dan’s fifth studio album The Royal Scam, Becker and Fagan give their commentary on the cover:

…before long we find ourselves staring into the maw of the most hideous album cover of the seventies, bar none (excepting perhaps Can’t Buy A Thrill).

Liner notes from The Royal Scam