1972 · Behind the Songs
A song about going back to what hurts you.
“Do It Again” was Steely Dan’s first hit, and it set the template: a groove you can’t resist carrying a story you might not want to hear. Released in 1972 on Can’t Buy a Thrill, the song moves like a Latin-tinged shuffle while Fagen sings about a man who keeps returning to the habits that ruin him. The title is both an invitation and a warning.
The electric sitar solo — played by Denny Dias — gave the record its exotic shimmer, but the real hook is the rhythm. It just keeps going, circling back on itself like the behavior it describes. More than fifty years later, the song still sounds like the smartest record on the radio, which is exactly what Steely Dan always intended.