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Product details
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Track Listings
| 1. Bodhisattva |
| 2. Razor Boy |
| 3. The Boston Rag |
| 4. Your Gold Teeth |
| 5. Show Biz Kids |
| 6. My Old School |
| 7. Pearl Of The Quarter |
| 8. King Of The World |
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
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
Review
Now renowned more as studio-based boffins, following the release of their first album, Can't Buy A Thrill, in 1973 the newly-minted Steely Dan found themselves forced to tour. This forced them to create the follow-up on the hoof. While the band expressed a certain disappointment with the results (and certainly the commercial gains fell way short of the predecessor), Countdown... remains a jewel in their very large artistic crown. A more jazzy affair than Can't buy..., the album built on the duo of Walter Becker and Donald Fagen's ability to combine cynicism with wit, intelligence and some great hooks, all bolstered by the best players around. Still composed of a core of Jim Hodder (drums), Jeff 'Skunk' Baxter (lead guitar) and Denny Dias (rhythm guitar), the duo demoted David Palmer to backing vocals and handed the mic to Donald for perpetuity. It was a wise move.
These tales of drug abuse ("Boston Rag"), class envy ("Your Gold Teeth"), and post-nuclear devastation ("King Of The World") needed the distinctive, weary tones of Fagen to propel them. While opener, "Bodhisattva" may have been a live staple designed for soloing, the band's chops were now fearsome enough to elevate it beyond mere jamming. What's more in "Pearl Of The Quarter" the pair showed that with little more than nuance they could paint a rich picture indeed (it's the tale of a midddle class boy chasing forbidden fruit).
Add to this the usual array of talent drafted in to fill any gaps ie; Rick Derringer's fearsome slide on "Showbiz Kids". With the latter the Dan also forged their fearsome reputation as social commentators as they finally turned their gaze towards the excesses of the West Coast, while reserving no mercy for even themselves ('they got the Steely Dan t-shirts').
Post-modern before the term was coined, erudite, musically literate and still unbelievably cool; Steely Dan by this point were setting a benchmark that few have ever matched. --Chris Jones
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
25 of 25 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.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
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.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
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.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
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 3 months ago by Eco Traveller
"...I Detect The El Supremo..."
*** THIS REVIEW IS FOR THE 2008 and 2011 JAPAN-ONLY SHM-CD REISSUES ***
In truth - I can't be rational about Steely Dan. Read more
In truth - I can't be rational about Steely Dan. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mark Barry, Reckless Records, London
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 10 months ago by Brewstereo
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 21 months ago by A. Willard
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 22 months ago by Andrew Spong
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
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
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
Better than the drug.....
I must confess to begin that this is one of my all time top ten albums but I will try and be objective....yeh right! Read more
Published on 26 Jan 2009 by R. H. Ozzie
Utterly essential
This, the second Steely Dan album, is utterly essential - about as good as rock music gets. More than 35 years old, and still box fresh. Read more
Published on 1 Aug 2008 by M. G. Wilson
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