Frequently Bought Together
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Listen to Samples and Buy MP3s
Songs from this album are available to purchase as MP3s. Click on "Buy MP3" or
view the MP3 Album.
|
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk
The only element of sophomore slump in Steely Dan's second album was the disappointing sales response upon its initial release in 1974. Musically, Countdown to Ecstasy is even stronger than the Dan's terrific debut, pushing the musical envelope with more complex jazz harmonies and intricate time signatures, and carrying their lyrics into even more shadowy realms peppered with sci-fi imagery and street-level slang. The songs are stunning, from the opening blast of "Boddhisattva", a Zen boogie fuelled by Denny Dias's and Jeff Baxter's angular, bopping guitars, to the post-nuclear apocalypse of "King of the World". In between, they deliver the one-two punch of "Show Biz Kids", with its perfect snapshot of affluent decadence, and "My Old School", in which college daze is remembered through a collision of staccato guitar and blazing horns. --Sam Sutherland
Product Description
CD Remastered By Fagen & Becker Themselves
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
26 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
It is indeed a fantastic record, taking the brilliant blueprint which was Can't Buy A Thrill, tightening it up and adding ingredient X - Donald Fagen's vocals - unconventional but right on the money for these songs. At this stage the Dan were still mining a rich seam of great tunes - the well would dry up around Katy Lied and for me they would come to rely overmuch on increasingly dry and sophisticated musicianship. Here the musical brilliance and the songs are in perfect balance. So too is the trademark cynical wit and the often-overlooked heart and soul - acid a-plenty in songs like Show Biz Kids, but Pearl of the Quarter (to name but one) is a beautiful song.
First heard this album when I was fourteen, 30 years ago. It still comes up as fresh now as the day I first heard it. If anything, it gets richer. No collection should be without one.
First heard this album when I was fourteen, 30 years ago. It still comes up as fresh now as the day I first heard it. If anything, it gets richer. No collection should be without one.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Audio CD
This album has a very raw energetic feel to it and even manages to surpass the (very high) standards set by Can't Buy a Thrill. You get the impression they enjoyed recording this one - just listen to the guitar-work on Bodhisatva, Boston Rag, My Old School and King of The World - this is musicianship of the highest order, not forgetting session man Rick Derringer's outstanding slide guitar performance on Show Biz Kids. Fagen produces his most flambuoyant keyboard playing on any Steely Dan album on Bodhisatva and Your Gold Teeth - check out Becker's bass-line on the same track too and Jim Hodder's drumming is excellent throughout. Its perhaps a shame Fagen and Becker broke up this line-up after Pretzel Logic. As with any Dan album, Countdown to Ecstasy has their trademark cynical lyrics, especially on tracks like Showbiz Kids and Razor Boy, whilst the obscure references in Your Gold Teeth keep you intrigued. This is an essential album for all Steely Dan fans, and a good introduction to the band's work for those yet to discover the Dan.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By A. ADAM
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Later Dan has its advocates - Ian MacDonald, for one, argues strongly for the merits of `Gaucho' in his very fine `The People's Music' - but I belong to the `first 3 albums are the best' fraternity. Unlike `Katy Lied', which, for me, marks the beginning of the Dan's decline, there's not one ounce of filler on this record. A much more cohesive affair than `Thrill', the Dan's second album benefits from having a singular vocalist and, unlike the slick, session-man concoctions of the later years, is greatly enhanced by being the product of a working band (+ illustrious guests). The record is packed with musical incident and variety: the vibes on `Razor Boy', the Rhodes workout on `Your Gold Teeth', slide guitar on `Show Biz Kids', synth on `King of the World', etc. The Dan make a virtue out of combining mordant lyrics with a jaunty `beat', the superb `Razor Boy' being a case in point. But top honours go to `King of the World'. Easily passed over at the back end of the album, this is surely one of the Dan's finest creations. Written from the point of view of a post-nuclear survivor, the lyrics are bleak, yet not without the customary wit - `Watch the sun go brown/Smoking cobalt cigarettes' - and the upbeat arrangement, oddly enough, works with rather than against the `story'. I find it all rather moving in an unsentimental kind of way.
Anyone thoroughly cheesed off with the Kaiser Chiefs/Arctic Monkeys/Scouting for Girls hegemony and U2/Coldplay-style corporate rock would do well to give this a spin. Not all 70's stuff involved sticking knives into Hammond organs or writing `meaningful' lyrics about goblins and the like.
Anyone thoroughly cheesed off with the Kaiser Chiefs/Arctic Monkeys/Scouting for Girls hegemony and U2/Coldplay-style corporate rock would do well to give this a spin. Not all 70's stuff involved sticking knives into Hammond organs or writing `meaningful' lyrics about goblins and the like.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 98 reviews
4.7 out of 5 stars
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Big Chrome Dildos
Hippie music at its very best just smoke the weed, relax(like you'd have a choice) and enjoy the music man!
Published 3 months ago by Gary Wishart
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Masterpiece
I had this as a record, so I already knew it was a great listen. Now I can play it in the car too. Highly recomended to anybody who likes lyrical music with a bit of bite.
Published 4 months ago by John Barclay
5.0 out of 5 stars
See how they roll
From the first exultant, fast-paced track Bodhisattva, with Jeff `Skunk` Baxter excelling himself on guitar - and what a truly great guitarist he was and is - we know this is no... Read more
Published 9 months ago by GlynLuke
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simply is THEIR BEST ALBUM
Being an avid listener to Steely Dan for sometime I was quite suprised this one had slipped by me. Little did I know that what began as a long car journey during a winters... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Eco Traveller
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ecstatic
One of the best CD's I've bought in a long time. Most tracks show some genuine musical innovation which is not to be confused with different for difference sake. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Brewstereo
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hello one and all, was it you I used to know?
Steely Dan's second album is so good it's almost ridiculous. Gone is the experimentation of `Can't Buy a Thrill'; this is a band that has now found what it wants to do and sets... Read more
Published on 31 Aug 2010 by A. Willard
5.0 out of 5 stars
Music Mastery
The genius of Steely Dan expresses itself in full force with Countdown to Ecstasy. Each song is composed with supreme detail and tightness that you just don't get from most music... Read more
Published on 17 July 2010 by Andrew Spong
5.0 out of 5 stars
Countdown
This is probably the first album where I heard the best of the Steely Dan sound. It was, and still remains an absolute classic. Read more
Published on 10 April 2010 by Korky's Dad
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Dan Classic
I was a late starter! It was 1978 when I bought my first Dan album - 'Royal Scam' - on the strength of me liking 'Haitian Divorce'. Read more
Published on 20 July 2009 by Rob Turner
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent service!
The item was ordered and delivered safely and speedily - what more can you want?!
Published on 7 Jun 2009 by Mrs. Lyn Thomas
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Listmania!
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
