Can’t Buy a Thrill
Steely Dan
Nominated by Cecilia Smart

What a surprise. I thought I didn’t like Steely Dan but I was tapping my foot all the way home listening to Can’t Buy a Thrill.

It was a longer journey than usual, because I was coming home from the Soho Walk In Centre after getting a burn checked and dressed properly (see below for burns advice). It turned out my brush with a red-hot loaf tin on Sunday hadn’t done too much damage after all. What price home-baked bread?

Back to the record, a strong debut released in 1972. It includes some tracks I really recognised – Rolling in the Years, Do it Again, and Midnight Cruiser – and some interesting ones I didn’t know, like Kings – ‘We seen the last of Good King Richard’ – about a drug dealer who pretended he was a royal.

It’s very catchy, almost poppy, and then a little bit mysterious and complex when you start to listen to the lyrics.

From Change of the Guard:
‘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 ‘

Maybe I’ve grown into them and their jazz-rock-funk sound. I was always amused by the source of the band’s name though – I’ll let you find that out for yourselves.

Burns advice: Always seek medical advice for burns, whatever size, according to the lovely nurse I saw. It’s hard to tell how serious they are and self-treatment can leave you feeling sore for longer, or worse. See a nurse and they’ll put on a special dressing, which can stay in place for 7 days.

And I would recommend the Soho Walk In Centre – it’s close, friendly and the wait was just an hour.

#Ichallengems