Count Down to Ecstasy [Original recording remastered]

Track Listings

1. Bodhisattva

2. Razor Boy

3. Boston Rag

4. Your Gold Teeth

5. Show Biz Kids

6. My Old School

7. Pearl Of The Quarter

8. King Of The World

Tracks:

Bodhisattva
Razor Boy
The Boston Rag
Your Gold Teeth
Show Biz Kids
My Old School
Pearl Of The Quarter
King Of The World

Amazon.com essential recording

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 fueled by Denny Dias's and Jeff Baxter's angular, bopping guitars, to the postnuclear 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

Customer Reviews:

Your Introduction to Steely Dan..........2007-06-12

...should be with this album. My dad gave me this album as one of my first tapes when I was younger. The music is so brilliant, one can throw the tape in and just let it continuously play. This is exactly what an album should be like. I only got the cd because the tape eventually burnt out.

my 2nd favorite steely dan album........2007-03-26

spent most of my teen years in the 70's, and always enjoyed hearing steely dan on the radio, but, for some reason, i neglected their albums. that changed when my favorite magazine, "mojo," ran a feature in their august 1995 issue, listing the 100 greatest albums ever made. steely dan's "countdown to ecstasy" was listed at number 13! i had no idea that they were so highly regarded. promptly I went out and bought a bunch of steely dan albums. "can't buy a thrill" is my favorite, but "countdown to ecstasy," is hot on its heels. the sheer craft with which this band puts together albums is a cause for admiration. they construct albums like jane austen constructs novels, with consummate expertise. "my old school," is the standout track for me on this recording, but everything here is fresh and inventive, with jazz shadings and plenty of guitar wizardry on display. a classic album for sure.

Ecstasy!.......2007-03-01

Finally got this album recently, and was knocked out by it. I already knew the famous tunes (Bodhisattva, My Old School, Show Biz Kids), but was unprepared for the excellence of "King of the World", "Boston Rag" or "Your Gold Teeth." Great production: clean and crisp, but never fussy. For someone who was originally so unsure of his vocal abilities that he brought in another singer for the first album, Fagen finally comes alive as a great soul vocalist on "Countdown."

Still the Best!.......2007-02-23

This album is not only the best Steely Dan album ever, but one of the best albums by anybody ever. One of my all-time favorites, particularly "Bodhisattva" which had me ROFL in a Zen-like way back in 1973 and still knocks me out. Love it, love it, love it.

For those with ears, a brilliant album.......2006-09-02

Becker and Fagan state in the liner notes that this music was written specifically with these personnel in mind, and to me, this makes a huge difference-- Steely Dan was still a BAND at this point, and there is an organic sense of unity to this album that all the hot-licks- spewing studio A-list hotshots could never re-create. Also, there is a much more varied stylistic palette. I just bought this on cd having not owned it since getting rid of all my vinyl 15 years ago. I mostly listen to Jazz these days, and was astonished when I first unwrapped the cd and played it. What a feast of musical riches! By comparison, I find the suceeding albums progressively increasing in blandness (except for Royal Scam, which somehow managed to temporarily buck the trend) as Fagan and Becker embraced a sort of homogenized yuppie cocktail music with quirky lyrics, faultlessly executed, but totally lacking in humanity or heart. Yes, the chord changes are "jazz-y", but Aja ain't Jazz-- it's way too processed and overly groomed. There's no spontaneity-- it's dead on arrival and there's a distinct hollowness underlying the chops that for me, makes it ultimately very empty. "Countdown" predated this cynical descent into the pop-fusion-lite vortex. It's a terrific album that still sounds fresh and richly musical. Check it out!

Average customer rating:

Remastered and better than the Mobile Fidelity GOLD CD
New Lineup But Still Great! Too Bad about the Sound Though!

Countdown to Ecstasy
Steely Dan
Manufacturer: Universal Japan
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

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Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
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ASIN: B00004S8BC
Release Date: 2006-10-31

Tracks:

Bodhisattva
Razor Boy
Boston Rag
Your Gold Teeth
Show Biz Kids
My Old School
Pearl of the Quarter
King of the World

Album Description

Limirted edition Japanese reissue of the 1973 album. Featuring the original artwork reproduced in a miniature LP sleeve.2000 release.

Album Details

Japanese Version featuring an LP Style Slipcase for Initial Pressing. Digitally Remastered

Customer Reviews:

Remastered and better than the Mobile Fidelity GOLD CD.......2007-05-21

This is a "remastered" mini lp [contrary to the other reviewer's comment of this not being a remaster] and sounds way better than the MFSL Gold CD which is a bit dull in comparison. Sound is very personal and my audio setup loves the sound of this mini lp and other 6 Steely Dan albums and finds it way better in resolution & dynamics. Have the Aja and Gaucho MFSL CDs as well but those do not sound as rich as these remasters!

New Lineup But Still Great! Too Bad about the Sound Though!.......2006-10-17

Did Steely Dan ever really release a bad album? Although each album had its own little idiosyncracy and in this case, the second effort, we get a little less rock and roll than in their brilliant debut album and even a little country music too! Where the debut album had that brilliant guitar track "Reelin' In the Years", we also get excellent guitar playing on the opening track here "Bodhisattva" which also happens to be my favourite track from this album. Another great guitar track is "My Old School" with a very tasty guitar solo on offer.

This second album represents a slight change in the musical direction of the Dan in a number of ways. The first obvious one is the lower dependence upon rock and a greater focus on what would eventually become their recognisable trademark of jazz-rock-pop on future albums.

The second change is the departure of David Palmer from the band which is unfortunate given the decision to let Donald Fagen take on all the vocal duties. Palmer's voice is sublime and his work on the previous album was exceptional.

Why the 4 stars you may ask? Well it's nothing to do with the quality of the content with regards the brilliant songwriting and musicianship but although the mini-lp sleeve replica is very well done and includes the lyrics of all the tracks in both English and Japanese with typically humorous liner notes written in 1998 by Fagen and Becker themselves, the disc isn't remastered and so the volume levels and overall clarity of the disc is not exactly what you'd expect given the high quality sound engineering technology that is currently out there.

The good thing is that the original production quality of which the Dan has always been renowned for as being close to perfection means that the sound quality is still quite good. Still, it would have been nice given the high price of this version of the album if the powers that be had invested in a remastering from the best possible masters in the vault.

If the slightly less than optimal un-remastered sound and the expensive price doesn't deter you, this comes recommended.