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| released = July 1973
| released = July 1973
| recorded =
| recorded =
| studio = *[[The Village Recorder|Village Recorder]], Los Angeles, California
| venue =
| studio = [[Caribou Ranch]] in [[Nederland, Colorado|Nederland]] and [[The Village Recorder]] in [[West Los Angeles]]
*[[Caribou Ranch]] [[Nederland, Colorado]]
| genre =
| genre =
*[[Rock music|Rock]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/countdown-to-ecstasy-190816/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121227000503/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/countdown-to-ecstasy-19730816 |url-status=dead |title=Countdown To Ecstasy|first1=David|last1=Logan|first2=David|last2=Logan|date=August 16, 1973|archive-date=December 27, 2012}}</ref>
*[[Rock music|Rock]]<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/countdown-to-ecstasy-190816/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121227000503/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/countdown-to-ecstasy-19730816 |url-status=dead |title=Countdown To Ecstasy|first1=David|last1=Logan|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=August 16, 1973|archive-date=December 27, 2012}}</ref>
*[[jazz rock]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://somethingelsereviews.com/2011/07/10/steely-dan-sunday-pearl-of-the-quarter-1973/ |title=Archived copy |access-date=2017-01-28 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719005236/http://somethingelsereviews.com/2011/07/10/steely-dan-sunday-pearl-of-the-quarter-1973/ |archive-date=July 19, 2011 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>
*[[jazz rock]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://somethingelsereviews.com/2011/07/10/steely-dan-sunday-pearl-of-the-quarter-1973/ |title=Steely Dan Sunday: "Pearl of the Quarter" (1973) |date=July 10, 2011 |access-date=2017-01-28 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719005236/http://somethingelsereviews.com/2011/07/10/steely-dan-sunday-pearl-of-the-quarter-1973/ |archive-date=July 19, 2011 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>
*[[Pop music|pop]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=INqNBMZ-g1sC&pg=PT96&dq|title=Steely Dan: Reelin' in the Years|first=Brian|last=Sweet|date=April 27, 2007|publisher=Omnibus|via=Google Books}}</ref>
*[[Pop music|pop]]<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=INqNBMZ-g1sC&pg=PT96|title=Steely Dan: Reelin' in the Years|first=Brian|last=Sweet|date=April 27, 2007|publisher=Omnibus|isbn=9781846098819 |via=Google Books}}</ref>
| length = 41:04
| length = 41:10
| label = [[ABC Records|ABC]]
| label = [[ABC Records|ABC]]
| producer = [[Gary Katz]]
| producer = [[Gary Katz]]
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| type = studio
| type = studio
| single1 = [[Show Biz Kids]]
| single1 = [[Show Biz Kids]]
| single1date = July 1973 <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://hitparade.ch/showitem.asp?interpret=Steely+Dan&titel=Show+Biz+Kids&cat=s|title=Steely Dan - Show Biz Kids|first=Steffen|last=Hung|website=hitparade.ch}}</ref>
| single1date = July 1973 <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://hitparade.ch/showitem.asp?interpret=Steely+Dan&titel=Show+Biz+Kids&cat=s|title=Steely Dan – Show Biz Kids|first=Steffen|last=Hung|website=hitparade.ch}}</ref>
| single2 = [[My Old School]]
| single2 = [[My Old School (song)|My Old School]]
| single2date = October 1973 <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://hitparade.ch/showitem.asp?interpret=Steely+Dan&titel=My+Old+School&cat=s|title=Steely Dan - My Old School|first=Steffen|last=Hung|website=hitparade.ch}}</ref>
| single2date = October 1973 <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://hitparade.ch/showitem.asp?interpret=Steely+Dan&titel=My+Old+School&cat=s|title=Steely Dan – My Old School|first=Steffen|last=Hung|website=hitparade.ch}}</ref>
}}
}}
}}
}}


'''''Countdown to Ecstasy''''' is the second studio album by the American [[rock music|rock]] band [[Steely Dan]], released in July 1973 by [[ABC Records]]. It was recorded at [[Caribou Ranch]] in [[Nederland, Colorado]], and at [[The Village Recorder]] in [[West Los Angeles]], [[California]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/countdown-to-ecstasy-mw0000191882/credits|title=Countdown to Ecstasy - Steely Dan &#124; Credits &#124; AllMusic|via=www.allmusic.com}}</ref> After the departure of vocalist [[David Palmer (vocalist)|David Palmer]], the group recorded the album with [[Donald Fagen]] singing lead on every song.{{sfn|Uslan|Clark|Solomon|1981|p=392}}
'''''Countdown to Ecstasy''''' is the second studio album by American [[rock music|rock]] band [[Steely Dan]], released in July 1973, by [[ABC Records]]. It was recorded at [[The Village (studio)|the Village Recorder]] in [[West Los Angeles]], California, except for [[Rick Derringer]]'s [[slide guitar]] part for "[[Show Biz Kids]]", which was recorded at [[Caribou Ranch]] in [[Nederland, Colorado|Nederland]], Colorado.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/countdown-to-ecstasy-mw0000191882/credits|title=Countdown to Ecstasy – Steely Dan &#124; Credits &#124; AllMusic|via=www.allmusic.com}}</ref> After the departure of vocalist [[David Palmer (vocalist)|David Palmer]] from Steely Dan, the group recorded the album with [[Donald Fagen]] singing lead on every track.{{sfn|Uslan|Clark|Solomon|1981|p=392}}


Although it was a critical success, the album failed to generate a [[hit single]], and consequently charted at only number 35 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]]. It was eventually certified [[RIAA certification|gold]] by the [[Recording Industry Association of America]] (RIAA) in 1978, having shipped 500,000 copies in the United States. Well-received upon its release, ''Countdown to Ecstasy'' received perfect scores from music critics in retrospective reviews.
Although the album was a critical success, it failed to generate a [[hit single]] in the United States, and consequently only charted at number 35 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' Top LPs & Tapes]] chart, though it was certified [[RIAA certification|Gold]] by the [[Recording Industry Association of America]] (RIAA) in 1978. The album has received perfect scores from music critics in numerous retrospective reviews.


== Musical style ==
==Musical style==
Like Steely Dan's 1972 debut album ''[[Can't Buy a Thrill]]'', ''Countdown to Ecstasy'' has a [[rock music|rock]] sound that exhibits a strong influence from [[jazz]].{{sfn|Valdez|2006|p=380}} It comprises uptempo, four-to-five-minute rock songs,<ref name="Logan"/> which, apart from the [[blues]]y [[vamp (music)|vamps]] of "Bodhisattva" and "Show Biz Kids", are subtly [[texture (music)|textured]] and feature jazz-inspired [[Break (music)|interlude]]s.<ref name="Erlewine"/> ''Countdown to Ecstasy'' was the only album written by Steely Dan for a live band. "[[My Old School]]" features reverent horns and aggressive piano riffs and guitar solos. "The Boston Rag" develops from a jazzy song to unrefined playing by the band, including a distorted guitar solo by Jeff "Skunk" Baxter.<ref name="Blashill"/> [[Jim Hodder (musician)|Jim Hodder]]'s drumming eschews rock music for [[pop music|pop]] and jazz [[groove (music)|grooves]].<ref name="Billboard">{{cite journal|date=July 14, 1973|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MQkEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA62|title=Billboard's Top Album Picks|journal=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|page=62|access-date=April 12, 2013}}</ref> [[Bop music|Bop]]-style jazz soloing is set in the context of a pop song on "Bodhisattva".{{sfn|Chapman|Clapton|2000|p=202}} Commenting on the album's style and production, [[Tom Hull (critic)|Tom Hull]] says it is "clean, almost slick", with "no [[Consonance and dissonance|dissonance]], no clutter", reminiscent of 1940s bop and "the [[overproduction (music)|overproduced]] early 60s [[pop rock]]".<ref name="Hull">{{cite magazine|last=Hull|first=Tom|author-link=Tom Hull (critic)|date=April 1975|url=http://tomhull.com/ocston/arch/rekord4.php|title=The Rekord Report: L'Objet Rèpris|magazine=Overdose|access-date=July 12, 2020|via=tomhull.com}}</ref>
Like Steely Dan's 1972 debut album ''[[Can't Buy a Thrill]]'', ''Countdown to Ecstasy'' has a [[rock music|rock]] sound that exhibits a strong influence from [[jazz]].{{sfn|Valdez|2006|p=380}} It comprises uptempo, four- to five-minute rock songs,<ref name="Logan"/> which, apart from the [[blues]]y [[vamp (music)|vamps]] of "Bodhisattva" and "[[Show Biz Kids]]", are subtly [[texture (music)|textured]] and feature jazz-inspired [[Break (music)|interlude]]s.<ref name="Erlewine"/> Commenting on the album's style and production, music critic [[Tom Hull (critic)|Tom Hull]] said it is "clean, almost slick", with "no [[Consonance and dissonance|dissonance]], no clutter", reminiscent of 1940s [[Bop music|bop]] and "the [[overproduction (music)|overproduced]] early 60s [[pop rock]]".<ref name="Hull">{{cite magazine|last=Hull|first=Tom|author-link=Tom Hull (critic)|date=April 1975|url=http://tomhull.com/ocston/arch/rekord4.php|title=The Rekord Report: L'Objet Rèpris|magazine=Overdose|access-date=July 12, 2020|via=tomhull.com}}</ref> ''Countdown to Ecstasy'' was the only Steely Dan album written and arranged for a live band.


Bop-style jazz soloing is set in the context of a pop song on "Bodhisattva".{{sfn|Chapman|Clapton|2000|p=202}} "The Boston Rag" develops from a jazzy song to unrefined playing by the band, including a distorted guitar solo by [[Jeff Baxter|Jeff "Skunk" Baxter]]. "[[My Old School (song)|My Old School]]" features reverent saxophones and aggressive piano riffs and guitar solos.<ref name="Blashill"/> [[Jim Hodder (musician)|Jim Hodder]]'s drumming on the album eschews rock music for [[pop music|pop]] and jazz [[groove (music)|grooves]].<ref name="Billboard">{{cite magazine|date=July 14, 1973|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MQkEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA62|title=Billboard's Top Album Picks|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|page=62|access-date=April 12, 2013}}</ref>
⚫
== Lyrics and themes ==
⚫
''Countdown to Ecstasy'' has lyrical themes similar to ''Can't Buy a Thrill''.<ref name="Logan"/> It explores topics such as drug abuse, [[class envy]], and [[West Coast (US)|West Coast]] excess.<ref name="Jones"/> "My Old School" is inspired by a drug bust involving [[Walter Becker]] and [[Donald Fagen]] at Bard College,<ref name="Blashill"/> "King of the World" explores a post-[[Nuclear holocaust]] United States, and "Show Biz Kids" satirizes contemporary Los Angeles lifestyles.<ref name="SR"/> Hull describes their lyrics as "a running paste together joke ... sufraintelligent, witty and slyly devious", citing as an example the following lyrics from "Show Biz Kids": "They got the booze they need / All that money can buy / They got the shapely bods / They got the Steely Dan T-shirt / And for the coup-de-gras / They're outrageous."<ref name="Hull"/> "Your Gold Teeth" follows a jaded female [[wikt:grifter|grifter]] who uses her attractiveness and cunning.{{sfn|Dimery|Lydon|2010|p=301}}


⚫
==Lyrics and themes==
⚫
According to [[Rob Sheffield]], Fagen and Becker's lyrics on the album portray America as "one big [[Las Vegas Valley|Las Vegas]], with gangsters and gurus hustling for souls to steal." He views it as the first in Steely Dan's trilogy of albums that, along with ''[[Pretzel Logic]]'' (1974) and ''[[Katy Lied]]'' (1975), showcase "a [[film noir]] tour of L.A.'s decadent losers, showbiz kids, and razor boys."{{sfn|Sheffield et al.|2004|p=789}} Erik Adams of ''[[The A.V. Club]]'' writes that the album is a "dossier of literate [[lowlife]]s, the type of character studies that say, 'Why yes, the name Steely Dan is an allusion to a dildo described in ''[[Naked Lunch]]''.' These characters hang around the corners of the entire Steely Dan discography, but they come into their own on ''Countdown to Ecstasy''".<ref>{{cite news|last=Adams|first=Erik|date=March 8, 2012|url=http://www.avclub.com/articles/steely-dan,70509/|title=Gateways to Geekery – Steely Dan|newspaper=[[The A.V. Club]]|location=Chicago|access-date=April 7, 2013}}</ref>
⚫
''Countdown to Ecstasy'' has similar lyrical themes to ''Can't Buy a Thrill''.<ref name="Logan"/> It explores topics such as drug abuse, [[class envy]], and [[West Coast (US)|West Coast]] excess.<ref name="Jones"/> "Your Gold Teeth" follows a jaded female [[wikt:grifter|grifter]] who uses her attractiveness and cunning to take advantage of others,{{sfn|Dimery|Lydon|2010|p=301}} "My Old School" was inspired by a drug bust involving [[Walter Becker]] and [[Donald Fagen]] while they were students at [[Bard College]],<ref name="Blashill"/> "King of the World" explores a post-[[nuclear holocaust]] United States, and "Show Biz Kids" satirizes contemporary Los Angeles lifestyles.<ref name="SR"/> Critic Tom Hull described the lyrics as "a running paste together joke [...] sufraintelligent, witty and slyly devious", citing as an example the following lyrics from "Show Biz Kids": "They got the booze they need / All that money can buy / They got the shapely bods / They got the Steely Dan T-shirt / And for the coup de grâce / They're outrageous."<ref name="Hull"/>


⚫
According to [[Rob Sheffield]], Becker and Fagen's lyrics on the album portray America as "one big [[Las Vegas Valley|Las Vegas]], with gangsters and gurus hustling for souls to steal." He views it as the first in a trilogy of Steely Dan albums that, along with ''[[Pretzel Logic]]'' (1974) and ''[[Katy Lied]]'' (1975), showcase "a [[film noir]] tour of L.A.'s decadent losers, showbiz kids, and razor boys."{{sfn|Sheffield et al.|2004|p=789}} Erik Adams of ''[[The A.V. Club]]'' called the album a "dossier of literate [[lowlife]]s, the type of character studies that say, 'Why yes, the name Steely Dan is an allusion to a dildo described in ''[[Naked Lunch]]''.' These characters hang around the corners of the entire Steely Dan discography, but they come into their own on ''Countdown to Ecstasy''".<ref>{{cite news|last=Adams|first=Erik|date=March 8, 2012|url=https://www.avclub.com/steely-dan-1798230349|title=Gateways to Geekery – Steely Dan|newspaper=[[The A.V. Club]]|location=Chicago|access-date=April 7, 2013}}</ref>
⚫
Other songs explore more spiritual concerns. The opening song "Bodhisattva" is a parody of the idea that the [[Anti-consumerism|disposal of one's possessions]] is a prerequisite to [[spiritual enlightenment]]. Its title refers to the [[Bodhisattva]], those of the belief that they have achieved spiritual perfection but remain in the material world to help others. Fagen summarized the song's message as "Lure of East. Hubris of hippies. Quick fix".{{sfn|Rubin|Melnick|2007|p=160}} "Razor Boy" is a bitter, ironic pop song with lyrics that subtly criticize complacency and materialism.<ref name="Kreilkamp"/> According to Ivan Kreilkamp of ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]'', "Steely Dan speaks to us from that 'cold and windy day' when the trappings of hipness and sexiness fall away to reveal a lonely figure waiting for a fix. 'Will you still have a song to sing when the razor boy comes and takes your fancy things away?' Fagen asks a generation stupefied by nostalgia and self-involvement".<ref name="Kreilkamp">{{cite journal|last=Kreilkamp|first=Ivan|date=February 1992|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yLVeu01ciK8C&pg=PT71|title=Steely Dan|journal=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]|location=New York|page=70|volume=7|issue=11|access-date=April 12, 2013}}</ref>


⚫
Some songs on the album explore more spiritual concerns. The opening song, "Bodhisattva", is a parody of the idea that the [[Anti-consumerism|disposal of one's possessions]] is a prerequisite to [[Enlightenment in Buddhism|enlightenment]]. Its title refers to [[Bodhisattva]], or people who are of the belief that they have achieved spiritual perfection, but remain in the material world to help others. Fagen summarized the song's message as: "Lure of East. Hubris of hippies. Quick fix".{{sfn|Rubin|Melnick|2007|p=160}} "Razor Boy", meanwhile, is a bitter, ironic pop song with lyrics that subtly criticize complacency and materialism.<ref name="Kreilkamp"/> According to Ivan Kreilkamp of ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]'', in the song "Steely Dan speaks to us from that 'cold and windy day' when the trappings of hipness and sexiness fall away to reveal a lonely figure waiting for a fix. 'Will you still have a song to sing when the razor boy comes and takes your fancy things away?' Fagen asks a generation stupefied by nostalgia and self-involvement".<ref name="Kreilkamp">{{cite journal|last=Kreilkamp|first=Ivan|date=February 1992|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yLVeu01ciK8C&pg=PT71|title=Steely Dan|journal=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]|location=New York|page=70|volume=7|issue=11|access-date=April 12, 2013}}</ref>
== Title and packaging ==
⚫
The album was titled as a joke about attempts to rationalize a state of spirituality.{{sfn|Rubin|Melnick|2007|p=160}} The original cover painting was by Fagen's then-girlfriend Dorothy White. At the insistence of [[ABC Records]] president Jay Lasker, however, several figures had to be added when he found the discrepancy between five band members and three figures on the cover unacceptable. The proofs for the album cover were later stolen during a dispute over the final layout.<ref>{{cite AV media notes|last1=Becker|first1=Walter|author-link1=Walter Becker|last2=Fagen|first2=Donald|author-link2=Donald Fagen|year=1998|title=Countdown to Ecstasy|publisher=[[MCA Records]]|id=MCAD-11887|type=CD reissue booklet}}</ref> The back cover features an orchid surrounded by the band and their recording equipment.<ref name="Hull"/>


== Marketing and sales ==
==Title and packaging==
⚫
The album's title was selected as a joke about attempts to rationalize a state of spirituality.{{sfn|Rubin|Melnick|2007|p=160}} The original cover painting was done by Fagen's then girlfriend, Dorothy White. The president of [[ABC Records]], Jay Lasker, disliked it and insisted it be re-drawn. The art proofs were subsequently stolen by Becker and Fagen during an argument over the final layout.<ref>{{cite AV media notes|last1=Becker|first1=Walter|author-link1=Walter Becker|last2=Fagen|first2=Donald|author-link2=Donald Fagen|year=1998|title=Countdown to Ecstasy|publisher=[[MCA Records]]|id=MCAD-11887|type=CD reissue booklet}}</ref>
⚫
''Countdown to Ecstasy'' was released in July 1973 by ABC Records in the United States and [[Probe Records]] in the United Kingdom. It was less commercially successful than ''Can't Buy a Thrill''.{{sfn|Heatley|Lester|Roberts|1998|p=50}} The album failed to generate a [[hit single]],<ref name="allmusicbio"/> and only charted at number 35 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]].{{sfn|Uslan|Clark|Solomon|1981|p=392}} Nonetheless, it spent 34 weeks on the chart,{{sfn|Heatley|Lester|Roberts|1998|p=50}} and was eventually certified [[RIAA certification|gold]], in 1978, by the [[Recording Industry Association of America]] (RIAA), having shipped 500,000 copies in the United States.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oQ0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA71|access-date=April 8, 2013|title=Flipping Through the Catalog|page=71|date=January 15, 2000|journal=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|last=Hay|first=Carla|volume=112|issue=3}}</ref>


== Critical reception and legacy ==
==Marketing and sales==
⚫
''Countdown to Ecstasy'' was released in July 1973 by ABC Records in the United States and [[Probe Records]] in the United Kingdom. It failed to generate a [[hit single]]<ref name="allmusicbio">{{cite web|last=Erlewine|first=Stephen Thomas|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/steely-dan-mn0000011707|title=Steely Dan|website=Allmusic|access-date=April 7, 2013}}</ref> and was less commercially successful than ''Can't Buy a Thrill'',{{sfn|Heatley|Lester|Roberts|1998|p=50}} only charting at number 35 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' Top LPs & Tape]] chart.{{sfn|Uslan|Clark|Solomon|1981|p=392}} Nonetheless, it spent 34 weeks on the chart{{sfn|Heatley|Lester|Roberts|1998|p=50}} and was certified [[RIAA certification|Gold]] by the [[Recording Industry Association of America]] (RIAA) in 1978, recognizing the shipment of 500,000 copies in the U.S.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oQ0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA71|access-date=April 8, 2013|title=Flipping Through the Catalog|page=71|date=January 15, 2000|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|last=Hay|first=Carla|volume=112|issue=3}}</ref>

==Critical reception==
{{Album ratings
{{Album ratings
| title = Retrospective professional reviews
| title = Retrospective professional reviews
Line 67: Line 69:
| rev6score = 3/5<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Graff|editor1-first=Gary|editor2-last=Durchholz|editor2-first=Daniel|title=MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide|publisher=Visible Ink Press|location=Farmington Hills, MI|year=1999|isbn=1-57859-061-2|chapter=Steely Dan|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781578590612}}</ref>
| rev6score = 3/5<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Graff|editor1-first=Gary|editor2-last=Durchholz|editor2-first=Daniel|title=MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide|publisher=Visible Ink Press|location=Farmington Hills, MI|year=1999|isbn=1-57859-061-2|chapter=Steely Dan|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781578590612}}</ref>
| rev7 = [[Music Story]]
| rev7 = [[Music Story]]
| rev7Score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="acclaimed"/>
| rev7Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{CN|date=December 2023}}
| rev8 = ''[[Rolling Stone]]''
| rev8 = ''[[Rolling Stone]]''
| rev8Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="Blashill"/>
| rev8Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="Blashill"/>
Line 73: Line 75:
| rev9Score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{sfn|Sheffield et al.|2004|p=778–89}}
| rev9Score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{sfn|Sheffield et al.|2004|p=778–89}}
| rev10 = ''[[Tom Hull (critic)|Tom Hull – on the Web]]''
| rev10 = ''[[Tom Hull (critic)|Tom Hull – on the Web]]''
| rev10Score = A–<ref>{{cite web|last=Hull|first=Tom|author-link=Tom Hull (critic)|date=n.d.|url=http://tomhull.com/ocston/nm/get_gl.php?n=Steely+Dan|title=Grade List: Steely Dan|website=Tom Hull – on the Web|access-date=November 23, 2020}}</ref>
| rev10Score = A−<ref>{{cite web|last=Hull|first=Tom|author-link=Tom Hull (critic)|date=n.d.|url=http://tomhull.com/ocston/nm/get_gl.php?n=Steely+Dan|title=Grade List: Steely Dan|website=Tom Hull – on the Web|access-date=November 23, 2020}}</ref>
}}
}}


''Countdown to Ecstasy'' was met with positive reviews.<ref name="allmusicbio">{{cite web|last=Erlewine|first=Stephen Thomas|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/steely-dan-mn0000011707|title=Steely Dan|website=Allmusic|access-date=April 7, 2013}}</ref> Reviewing in August 1973 for ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', David Logan said that the album's musical formula, while not redundant, said that despite ordinary musicianship and occasionally absurd lyrics, Steely Dan's "control" of their basic rock format is "refreshing" and "bodes well for the group's longterm success."<ref name="Logan">{{cite journal|last=Logan |first=David |date=August 16, 1973 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/countdown-to-ecstasy-19730816 |title=Countdown To Ecstasy |journal=[[Rolling Stone]] |page=54 |location=New York |access-date=April 6, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121227000503/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/countdown-to-ecstasy-19730816 |archive-date=December 27, 2012 |url-status=live |df=mdy }}</ref> ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' complimented the "studio effect" of the dual guitar playing and found the "grandiloquent vocal blend" catchy.<ref name="Billboard"/> ''[[Stereo Review]]'' called it a "really excellent album" with "witty and tasteful" arrangements, "winning" performances, "high quality" songs, and a "potent and persuasive" mix of rock, jazz, and pop styles.<ref name="SR">{{cite journal|title=Special Merit|page=94|journal=[[Stereo Review]]|date=November 1973|volume=31|issue=5}}</ref> In ''[[Creem]]'', [[Robert Christgau]] observed "studio-perfect licks that crackle and buzz when you listen hard" and "invariably malicious" vocals that back the group's obscure lyrics.<ref name="Creem">{{cite magazine|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|date=December 1973|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/crm7312.php|title=The Christgau Consumer Guide|magazine=[[Creem]]|access-date=April 6, 2013}}</ref> He named ''Countdown to Ecstasy'' the ninth best album of 1973 in his year-end list for ''[[Newsday]]''.<ref>{{cite news|last=Christgau|first=Robert|date=January 13, 1974|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/news/nd740113.php|title=Returning With a Painful Top 30 List|newspaper=[[Newsday]]|access-date=April 6, 2013}}</ref> Hull, in a review published in ''Overdose'' in April 1975, said the album is "perhaps the most representative [and] certainly the best realized" of Steely Dan's confounding mix of smooth production quality and intellectual lyrical content. "The effect is strange, strangely comfortable, queasy almost", he explained, calling the band "a dangerous group, one that should be watched".<ref name="Hull"/>
Reviewing the album in August 1973 for ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', David Logan said that, while it might follow a "formula", the songs do not become "redundant or superfluous", and that, though the band's "playing is hardly unique and their singing is occasionally hampered by patently ridiculous lyrics, they exhibit a control of the basic rock format that is refreshing and that bodes well for the group's long-term success."<ref name="Logan">{{cite magazine|last=Logan |first=David |date=August 16, 1973 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/countdown-to-ecstasy-19730816 |title=Countdown To Ecstasy |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |page=54 |location=New York |access-date=April 6, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121227000503/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/countdown-to-ecstasy-19730816 |archive-date=December 27, 2012 |url-status=live |df=mdy }}</ref> ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' complimented the "studio effect" of the dual guitar playing and found the "grandiloquent vocal blend" catchy.<ref name="Billboard"/> ''[[Stereo Review]]'' called it a "really excellent album" with "witty and tasteful" arrangements, "winning" performances, "high quality" songs, and a "potent and persuasive" mix of rock, jazz, and pop styles.<ref name="SR">{{cite journal|title=Special Merit|page=94|journal=[[Stereo Review]]|date=November 1973|volume=31|issue=5}}</ref> In ''[[Creem]]'', [[Robert Christgau]] made reference to "studio-perfect licks that crackle and buzz when you listen hard" and "invariably malicious" vocals that back the group's obscure lyrics,<ref name="Creem">{{cite magazine|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|date=December 1973|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/crm7312.php|title=The Christgau Consumer Guide|magazine=[[Creem]]|access-date=April 6, 2013}}</ref> and he named ''Countdown to Ecstasy'' the ninth best album of 1973 in his year-end list for ''[[Newsday]]''.<ref>{{cite news|last=Christgau|first=Robert|date=January 13, 1974|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/news/nd740113.php|title=Returning With a Painful Top 30 List|newspaper=[[Newsday]]|access-date=April 6, 2013}}</ref> Tom Hull, in a review published in ''Overdose'' in April 1975, said the album is "perhaps the most representative, certainly the best realized," of Steely Dan's albums, as far as their "clean, almost slick" style is concerned, and called the overall effect "strange, strangely comfortable, queasy almost", and the band "a dangerous group, one that should be watched."<ref name="Hull"/>


In ''[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies]]'' (1981), Christgau said that Steely Dan had achieved a "deceptively agreeable studio slickness" with Fagen's replacement of Palmer, who Christgau felt did not fit the group.<ref name="CG"/> Music journalist [[Paul Lester]] later viewed it as a progression from their debut album and wrote that "Becker and Fagen offered cruel critiques of the self-obsessed [[Me decade|'Me' decade]]", while their "blend of [[cool jazz]] and bebop, [[Brill Building]] song craft and rock was unparallelled at the time (only Britain's [[10cc]] were creating such intelligent pop in the early Seventies)."{{sfn|Heatley|Lester|Roberts|1998|p=50}} In his 1999 autobiography ''A Cure for Gravity'', British musician [[Joe Jackson (musician)|Joe Jackson]] described ''Countdown to Ecstasy'' as a musical revelation for him, that bridged the gap between "pure [[pop music|pop]]" and his jazz-rock and progressive influences, while furthering his attempts at songwriting.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fQe_eCmmqaUC&pg=PA138&dq|title=A Cure For Gravity: A Musical Pilgrimage|first=Joe|last=Jackson|date=October 9, 2007|publisher=Hachette Books|via=Google Books}}</ref> In ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]'' (2004), Rob Sheffield called ''Countdown to Ecstasy'' "a thoroughly amazing, hugely influential album" with "cold-blooded L.A. studio rock tricked out with jazz piano and tough guitar."{{sfn|Sheffield et al.|2004|p=778–89}} Pat Blashill later wrote in ''Rolling Stone'' that the "joy in these excellent songs" and in the band's playing revealed Steely Dan to be "human, not just brainy," "like good stretches of [[the Rolling Stones|the Stones]]' ''[[Exile on Main St.]]''"<ref name="Blashill">{{cite journal|last=Blashill |first=Pat |date=October 30, 2003 |issue=934 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/steelydan/albums/album/90998/review/5940553/countdown_to_ecstasy |title=Steely Dan: Countdown To Ecstasy |journal=Rolling Stone |location=New York |access-date=April 7, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071112074036/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/steelydan/albums/album/90998/review/5940553/countdown_to_ecstasy |archive-date=November 12, 2007 }}</ref> [[AllMusic]]'s [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] found ''Countdown to Ecstasy'' musically "riskier" than the band's debut album, and wrote that the songs are "rich with either musical or lyrical detail that their [[Album-oriented rock|album rock]] or [[art rock]] contemporaries couldn't hope to match."<ref name="Erlewine">{{cite web|last=Erlewine|first=Stephen Thomas|author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/countdown-to-ecstasy-mw0000191882|title=Countdown to Ecstasy – Steely Dan|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=April 7, 2013}}</ref> Chris Jones of [[BBC Music]] found Steely Dan's ideas to be "[[post-modern]]" and "erudite," and asserted that they were "setting a benchmark that few have ever matched."<ref name="Jones">{{cite web|last=Jones|first=Chris|date=January 4, 2008|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/3pjw|title=Review of Steely Dan – Countdown To Ecstasy|publisher=[[BBC Music]]|access-date=April 7, 2013}}</ref>
In ''[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies]]'' (1981), Christgau said that, thanks to Fagen's replacement of Palmer, who Christgau felt did not fit the group, Steely Dan was able to achieve a "deceptively agreeable studio slickness" on the album.<ref name="CG"/> [[Paul Lester]] described the album in an entry in ''The Encyclopedia of Albums'' (1998) as a progression from ''Can't Buy a Thrill'', and wrote that "Becker and Fagen offered cruel critiques of the self-obsessed [[Me decade|'Me' decade]]", while their "blend of [[cool jazz]] and bebop, [[Brill Building]] song craft and rock was unparallelled at the time (only Britain's [[10cc]] were creating such intelligent pop in the early Seventies)."{{sfn|Heatley|Lester|Roberts|1998|p=50}} In his 1999 autobiography ''A Cure for Gravity'', British musician [[Joe Jackson (musician)|Joe Jackson]] described ''Countdown to Ecstasy'' as a musical revelation for him that bridged the gap between "pure [[pop music|pop]]" and his jazz-rock and progressive influences and influenced his subsequent attempts at songwriting.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fQe_eCmmqaUC&pg=PA138|title=A Cure For Gravity: A Musical Pilgrimage|first=Joe|last=Jackson|date=October 9, 2007|publisher=Hachette Books|isbn=9780306817083 |via=Google Books}}</ref> Pat Blashill wrote in a review in ''Rolling Stone'' in 2003 that the "joy in these excellent songs" and in the band's playing revealed Steely Dan to be "human, not just brainy," "like good stretches of [[the Rolling Stones|the Stones]]' ''[[Exile on Main St.]]''"<ref name="Blashill">{{cite magazine|last=Blashill |first=Pat |date=October 30, 2003 |issue=934 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/steelydan/albums/album/90998/review/5940553/countdown_to_ecstasy |title=Steely Dan: Countdown To Ecstasy |magazine=Rolling Stone |location=New York |access-date=April 7, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071112074036/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/steelydan/albums/album/90998/review/5940553/countdown_to_ecstasy |archive-date=November 12, 2007 }}</ref> In ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]'' (2004), [[Rob Sheffield]] called the album "a thoroughly amazing, hugely influential album" with "cold-blooded L.A. studio rock tricked out with jazz piano and tough guitar."{{sfn|Sheffield et al.|2004|p=778–89}} [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] of [[AllMusic]] found ''Countdown to Ecstasy'' to be "riskier" musically than the band's debut album, and called the songs "rich with either musical or lyrical detail that [Steely Dan's] [[Album-oriented rock|album rock]] or [[art rock]] contemporaries couldn't hope to match."<ref name="Erlewine">{{cite web|last=Erlewine|first=Stephen Thomas|author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/countdown-to-ecstasy-mw0000191882|title=Countdown to Ecstasy – Steely Dan|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=April 7, 2013}}</ref> Chris Jones of [[BBC Music]] said the ideas on the album are "[[post-modern]]" and "erudite", and asserted that the band was "setting a benchmark that few have ever matched."<ref name="Jones">{{cite web|last=Jones|first=Chris|date=January 4, 2008|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/3pjw|title=Review of Steely Dan – Countdown To Ecstasy|publisher=[[BBC Music]]|access-date=April 7, 2013}}</ref>


''Countdown to Ecstasy'' has appeared on several professional listings of the greatest albums.<ref name="acclaimed">{{cite web|url=http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/album/A283.htm|title=Steely Dan - Countdown to Ecstasy|publisher=[[Acclaimed Music]]|access-date=July 12, 2020}}</ref> In 2000, it was voted number 307 in [[Colin Larkin]]'s ''[[All Time Top 1000 Albums]]''.<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book|title=[[All Time Top 1000 Albums]]|author=Colin Larkin|author-link=Colin Larkin|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=2000|edition=3rd|isbn=0-7535-0493-6|page=127}}</ref> Based on such rankings, the aggregate website [[Acclaimed Music]] lists it as the 662nd most acclaimed album in history and the 183rd most acclaimed from the 1970s.<ref name="acclaimed"/>
In 2000, ''Countdown to Ecstasy'' was voted number 307 in [[Colin Larkin]]'s book ''[[All Time Top 1000 Albums]]''.<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book|title=[[All Time Top 1000 Albums]]|author=Colin Larkin|author-link=Colin Larkin|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=2000|edition=3rd|isbn=0-7535-0493-6|page=127}}</ref> The album was also included in the book ''[[1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die]]''.{{sfn|Dimery|Lydon|2010|p=301}}

⚫
== Track listing ==


⚫
==Track listing==
{{Tracklist
{{Tracklist
| headline = Side one
| headline = Side one
Line 90: Line 91:
| length1 = 5:18
| length1 = 5:18
| title2 = Razor Boy
| title2 = Razor Boy
| length2 = 3:11
| length2 = 3:12
| title3 = The Boston Rag
| title3 = The Boston Rag
| length3 = 5:40
| length3 = 5:40
| title4 = Your Gold Teeth
| title4 = Your Gold Teeth
| length4 = 7:02
| length4 = 6:59
}}
}}
{{Tracklist
{{Tracklist
| headline = Side two
| headline = Side two
| title1 = [[Show Biz Kids]]
| title5 = [[Show Biz Kids]]
| length1 = 5:26
| length5 = 5:26
| title2 = [[My Old School]]
| title6 = [[My_Old_School_(song)|My Old School]]
| length2 = 5:48
| length6 = 5:46
| title3 = Pearl of the Quarter
| title7 = Pearl of the Quarter
| length3 = 3:50
| length7 = 3:51
| title4 = King of the World
| title8 = King of the World
| length4 = 5:04
| length8 = 5:00
| total_length = 41:04
| total_length = 41:10
}}
}}


== Personnel ==
==Personnel==
{{col-start}}
{{col-start}}
{{col-2}}
{{col-2}}

;Steely Dan
;Steely Dan
* [[Denny Dias]] – guitar
⚫
* [[Donald Fagen]] – [[piano|acoustic]] and [[electric piano]]s, synthesizer, lead and backing vocals
⚫
* [[Jeff Baxter|Jeff "Skunk" Baxter]] – guitar, [[pedal steel guitar]]
* [[Walter Becker]] – electric bass, harmonica, backing vocals
* [[Denny Dias]] – electric guitar, [[Audio mixing (recorded music)|mixing]]
* [[Walter Becker]] – [[electric bass guitar]], [[harmonica]], backing vocals
⚫
* [[Jeff Baxter|Jeff "Skunk" Baxter]] – electric and [[pedal steel guitar]]s
* [[Jim Hodder (musician)|Jim Hodder]] – drums, percussion, backing vocals
* [[Jim Hodder (musician)|Jim Hodder]] – drums, percussion, backing vocals
⚫
* [[Donald Fagen]] – [[piano]], [[electric piano]], [[synthesizer]], lead vocals, backing vocals


;Additional musicians
;Additional musicians
⚫
* [[Sherlie Matthews]] (5,6), Myrna Matthews (5,6), Patricia Hall (5,6), [[David Palmer (vocalist)|David Palmer]], [[Royce Jones]], James Rolleston, [[Michael Fennelly (musician)|Michael Fennelly]] – backing vocals
⚫
* [[Ray Brown (musician)|Ray Brown]] – string bass on "Razor Boy"
* [[Lanny Morgan]], [[Bill Perkins (saxophonist)|Bill Perkins]], [[Ernie Watts]], [[Johnny Rotella]] – saxophone (6)
⚫
* Ben Benay – [[steel-string acoustic guitar|acoustic guitar]]
* [[Rick Derringer]] – [[slide guitar]] on "Show Biz Kids" <small>(recorded at Caribou Ranch, [[Nederland, Colorado]], courtesy of [[Columbia Records]])</small>
* [[Victor Feldman]] – [[vibraphone]], [[marimba]], percussion
* [[Victor Feldman]] – [[vibraphone]], [[marimba]], percussion
⚫
* [[Ray Brown (musician)|Ray Brown]] – string bass (2)
* [[Ernie Watts]], [[Johnny Rotella]], [[Lanny Morgan]], [[Bill Perkins (saxophonist)|Bill Perkins]] – saxophones (6)
* [[Rick Derringer]] – [[slide guitar]] (5)
⚫
* [[Sherlie Matthews]] (6), Myrna Matthews (6), Patricia Hall (6), [[David Palmer (vocalist)|David Palmer]], James Rolleston, [[Michael Fennelly (musician)|Michael Fennelly]] – backing vocals
⚫
* Ben Benay – [[steel-string acoustic guitar|acoustic guitar]]
<ref>info from:http://www.broberg.pp.se/sd_ecstasy.htm</ref>
* [[Jimmie Haskell]] – horn arrangement (6)


{{col-2}}
{{col-2}}
; Production
;Production
* Producer: [[Gary Katz]]
* [[Gary Katz]] – producer
* Engineer: [[Roger Nichols (recording engineer)|Roger Nichols]]
* [[Roger Nichols (recording engineer)|Roger Nichols]] – engineer
* Assistant engineer: Miss Natalie
* Miss Natalie – assistant engineer
* Album design: Dotty of Hollywood
* Dotty of Hollywood – album design
* Photography: [[Ed Caraeff]]
* [[Ed Caraeff]] – photography


;Reissue
;Reissue
* Reissue producers: Walter Becker, Donald Fagen
* Walter Becker, Donald Fagen – producers
* Remastering engineer: Roger Nichols
* Roger Nichols – remastering engineer
* Reissue design: Red Herring Design, New York City
* Red Herring Design/NYC – design
* [[Daniel Levitin]] – consultant<ref>Info from [http://www.broberg.pp.se/sd_ecstasy.htm Countdown To Ecstasy] at ''broberg.pp.se''.</ref>
* Consultant: [[Daniel Levitin]]
{{col-end}}
{{col-end}}


== Charts ==
==Charts==
===Album===
⚫
;Album<ref name="BillboardAlbum">{{AllMusic |class=album |tab=charts-awards |id=r18941 |label=''Countdown to Ecstasy'' – Steely Dan > Charts &amp; Awards > Billboard Album |publisher=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |accessdate=October 27, 2004 |ref=BillboardAlbum}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
{| border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2 width="30%"
!align="left"|Year
!align="left"|Chart
!align="left"|Position <br /><small>(US [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]])</small>
|-
|-
|align="left"|1973
! scope="col"| Chart (1973)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|align="left"|Pop Albums
⚫
|-
|align="center"|35
⚫
|align="left"|US [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' Top LPs & Tape]]<ref name="BillboardAlbum">{{AllMusic |class=album |tab=charts-awards |id=r18941 |label=''Countdown to Ecstasy'' – Steely Dan > Charts &amp; Awards > Billboard Album |publisher=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |accessdate=October 27, 2004 |ref=BillboardAlbum}}</ref>
|35
|-
|-
|}
|}


===Singles===
⚫
;Singles<ref name="BillboardSingles">{{AllMusic |class=album |tab=charts-awards/billboard-single |id=r18941 |label=''Countdown to Ecstasy'' – Steely Dan > Charts &amp; Awards > Billboard Singles |publisher=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |accessdate=October 27, 2004 |ref=BillboardSingles}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
{| border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2 width="60%"
!align="left"|Year
! Year
!align="left"|Single
! Single
!align="left"|Label & number
! Catalogue number
! Peak<br />position
!align="left"|Position <br /><small>(US [[Billboard Hot 100|Hot 100]])</small>
! Chart
⚫
|-
|align="left"|1973
⚫
|align="left"|"My Old School" (B-side: "Pearl of the Quarter)
⚫
|align="left"|ABC 11396
|align="center"|63
|-
|-
|align="left"|1973
|1973
|align="left"|"Show Biz Kids" (B-side: "Razor Boy")
|style="text-align: left;" | "[[Show Biz Kids]]" (B-side: "Razor Boy")
|align="left"|ABC 11382
|ABC 11382
|61
|align="center"|61
⚫
|rowspan="2" | US [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]]<ref name="BillboardSingles">{{AllMusic |class=album |tab=charts-awards/billboard-single |id=r18941 |label=''Countdown to Ecstasy'' – Steely Dan > Charts &amp; Awards > Billboard Singles |publisher=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |accessdate=October 27, 2004 |ref=BillboardSingles}}</ref>
|-
|-
|1973
⚫
|style="text-align: left;" | "[[My Old School (song)|My Old School]]" (B-side: "Pearl of the Quarter")
⚫
|ABC 11396
|63
|}
|}


== References ==
==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
{{Reflist|2}}


== Bibliography ==
==Bibliography==
* {{cite book|last1=Chapman|first1=Richard|author-link=Richard Chapman (musician)|last2=Clapton|first2=Eric|author-link2=Eric Clapton|year=2000|title=Guitar: Music, History, Players|publisher=[[Dorling Kindersley]]|isbn=0789459639}}
* {{cite book|last1=Chapman|first1=Richard|author-link=Richard Chapman (musician)|last2=Clapton|first2=Eric|author-link2=Eric Clapton|year=2000|title=Guitar: Music, History, Players|publisher=[[Dorling Kindersley]]|isbn=0789459639}}
* {{cite book|last1=Dimery|first1=Robert|last2=Lydon|first2=Michael|date=March 23, 2010|title=1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die|publisher=Universe|isbn=978-0789320742}}
* {{cite book|last1=Dimery|first1=Robert|last2=Lydon|first2=Michael|date=March 23, 2010|title=1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die|publisher=Universe|isbn=978-0789320742}}
Line 188: Line 188:
* {{cite book|last=Valdez|first=Stephen K.|date=August 31, 2006|title=A History of Rock Music|publisher=Kendall Hunt Publishing Company|isbn=0757533795|edition=4th}}
* {{cite book|last=Valdez|first=Stephen K.|date=August 31, 2006|title=A History of Rock Music|publisher=Kendall Hunt Publishing Company|isbn=0757533795|edition=4th}}


== External links ==
==External links==
* {{Discogs master|type=album|16898}}
* {{Discogs master|type=album|16898}}
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=guR30Wq5Wd0C&pg=PT91&dq=%22Neither+was+Kenny+Vance%22&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=4 "Steely Dan: Reelin' in the Years"] (Chapter on ''Countdown to Ecstasy'') at [[Google Books]]
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=guR30Wq5Wd0C&pg=PT91&dq=%22Neither+was+Kenny+Vance%22&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=4 "Steely Dan: Reelin' in the Years"] (Chapter on ''Countdown to Ecstasy'') at [[Google Books]]
* [http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/staff_top_10/top-ten-obscure-steely-dan-lyrics.htm "Top Ten Obscure Steely Dan Lyrics"] by [[Stylus Magazine]]
* [http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/staff_top_10/top-ten-obscure-steely-dan-lyrics.htm "Top Ten Obscure Steely Dan Lyrics"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012153644/http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/staff_top_10/top-ten-obscure-steely-dan-lyrics.htm |date=October 12, 2007 }} by [[Stylus Magazine]]


{{Steely Dan}}
{{Steely Dan}}
Line 201: Line 201:
[[Category:ABC Records albums]]
[[Category:ABC Records albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Gary Katz]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Gary Katz]]
[[Category:Albums recorded at the Village (studio)]]

Latest revision as of 20:48, 13 November 2024

Countdown to Ecstasy
Studio album by
Steely Dan
ReleasedJuly 1973
Studio
Genre
Length41:10
LabelABC
ProducerGary Katz
Steely Dan chronology
Can't Buy a Thrill
(1972) 		Countdown to Ecstasy
(1973) 		Pretzel Logic
(1974)
Singles from Countdown to Ecstasy
  1. "Show Biz Kids"
    Released: July 1973 [4]
  2. "My Old School"
    Released: October 1973 [5]

Countdown to Ecstasy is the second studio album by American rock band Steely Dan, released in July 1973, by ABC Records. It was recorded at the Village Recorder in West Los Angeles, California, except for Rick Derringer's slide guitar part for "Show Biz Kids", which was recorded at Caribou Ranch in Nederland, Colorado.[6] After the departure of vocalist David Palmer from Steely Dan, the group recorded the album with Donald Fagen singing lead on every track.[7]

Although the album was a critical success, it failed to generate a hit single in the United States, and consequently only charted at number 35 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart, though it was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1978. The album has received perfect scores from music critics in numerous retrospective reviews.

Musical style

[edit]

Like Steely Dan's 1972 debut album Can't Buy a Thrill, Countdown to Ecstasy has a rock sound that exhibits a strong influence from jazz.[8] It comprises uptempo, four- to five-minute rock songs,[9] which, apart from the bluesy vamps of "Bodhisattva" and "Show Biz Kids", are subtly textured and feature jazz-inspired interludes.[10] Commenting on the album's style and production, music critic Tom Hull said it is "clean, almost slick", with "no dissonance, no clutter", reminiscent of 1940s bop and "the overproduced early 60s pop rock".[11] Countdown to Ecstasy was the only Steely Dan album written and arranged for a live band.

Bop-style jazz soloing is set in the context of a pop song on "Bodhisattva".[12] "The Boston Rag" develops from a jazzy song to unrefined playing by the band, including a distorted guitar solo by Jeff "Skunk" Baxter. "My Old School" features reverent saxophones and aggressive piano riffs and guitar solos.[13] Jim Hodder's drumming on the album eschews rock music for pop and jazz grooves.[14]

Lyrics and themes

[edit]

Countdown to Ecstasy has similar lyrical themes to Can't Buy a Thrill.[9] It explores topics such as drug abuse, class envy, and West Coast excess.[15] "Your Gold Teeth" follows a jaded female grifter who uses her attractiveness and cunning to take advantage of others,[16] "My Old School" was inspired by a drug bust involving Walter Becker and Donald Fagen while they were students at Bard College,[13] "King of the World" explores a post-nuclear holocaust United States, and "Show Biz Kids" satirizes contemporary Los Angeles lifestyles.[17] Critic Tom Hull described the lyrics as "a running paste together joke [...] sufraintelligent, witty and slyly devious", citing as an example the following lyrics from "Show Biz Kids": "They got the booze they need / All that money can buy / They got the shapely bods / They got the Steely Dan T-shirt / And for the coup de grâce / They're outrageous."[11]

According to Rob Sheffield, Becker and Fagen's lyrics on the album portray America as "one big Las Vegas, with gangsters and gurus hustling for souls to steal." He views it as the first in a trilogy of Steely Dan albums that, along with Pretzel Logic (1974) and Katy Lied (1975), showcase "a film noir tour of L.A.'s decadent losers, showbiz kids, and razor boys."[18] Erik Adams of The A.V. Club called the album a "dossier of literate lowlifes, the type of character studies that say, 'Why yes, the name Steely Dan is an allusion to a dildo described in Naked Lunch.' These characters hang around the corners of the entire Steely Dan discography, but they come into their own on Countdown to Ecstasy".[19]

Some songs on the album explore more spiritual concerns. The opening song, "Bodhisattva", is a parody of the idea that the disposal of one's possessions is a prerequisite to enlightenment. Its title refers to Bodhisattva, or people who are of the belief that they have achieved spiritual perfection, but remain in the material world to help others. Fagen summarized the song's message as: "Lure of East. Hubris of hippies. Quick fix".[20] "Razor Boy", meanwhile, is a bitter, ironic pop song with lyrics that subtly criticize complacency and materialism.[21] According to Ivan Kreilkamp of Spin, in the song "Steely Dan speaks to us from that 'cold and windy day' when the trappings of hipness and sexiness fall away to reveal a lonely figure waiting for a fix. 'Will you still have a song to sing when the razor boy comes and takes your fancy things away?' Fagen asks a generation stupefied by nostalgia and self-involvement".[21]

Title and packaging

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The album's title was selected as a joke about attempts to rationalize a state of spirituality.[20] The original cover painting was done by Fagen's then girlfriend, Dorothy White. The president of ABC Records, Jay Lasker, disliked it and insisted it be re-drawn. The art proofs were subsequently stolen by Becker and Fagen during an argument over the final layout.[22]

Marketing and sales

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Countdown to Ecstasy was released in July 1973 by ABC Records in the United States and Probe Records in the United Kingdom. It failed to generate a hit single[23] and was less commercially successful than Can't Buy a Thrill,[24] only charting at number 35 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart.[7] Nonetheless, it spent 34 weeks on the chart[24] and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1978, recognizing the shipment of 500,000 copies in the U.S.[25]

Critical reception

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Retrospective professional reviews
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[10]
Chicago Tribune[26]
Christgau's Record GuideA[27]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[28]
The Great Rock Discography8/10[29]
MusicHound Rock3/5[30]
Music Story[citation needed]
Rolling Stone[13]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[31]
Tom Hull – on the WebA−[32]

Reviewing the album in August 1973 for Rolling Stone, David Logan said that, while it might follow a "formula", the songs do not become "redundant or superfluous", and that, though the band's "playing is hardly unique and their singing is occasionally hampered by patently ridiculous lyrics, they exhibit a control of the basic rock format that is refreshing and that bodes well for the group's long-term success."[9] Billboard complimented the "studio effect" of the dual guitar playing and found the "grandiloquent vocal blend" catchy.[14] Stereo Review called it a "really excellent album" with "witty and tasteful" arrangements, "winning" performances, "high quality" songs, and a "potent and persuasive" mix of rock, jazz, and pop styles.[17] In Creem, Robert Christgau made reference to "studio-perfect licks that crackle and buzz when you listen hard" and "invariably malicious" vocals that back the group's obscure lyrics,[33] and he named Countdown to Ecstasy the ninth best album of 1973 in his year-end list for Newsday.[34] Tom Hull, in a review published in Overdose in April 1975, said the album is "perhaps the most representative, certainly the best realized," of Steely Dan's albums, as far as their "clean, almost slick" style is concerned, and called the overall effect "strange, strangely comfortable, queasy almost", and the band "a dangerous group, one that should be watched."[11]

In Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Christgau said that, thanks to Fagen's replacement of Palmer, who Christgau felt did not fit the group, Steely Dan was able to achieve a "deceptively agreeable studio slickness" on the album.[27] Paul Lester described the album in an entry in The Encyclopedia of Albums (1998) as a progression from Can't Buy a Thrill, and wrote that "Becker and Fagen offered cruel critiques of the self-obsessed 'Me' decade", while their "blend of cool jazz and bebop, Brill Building song craft and rock was unparallelled at the time (only Britain's 10cc were creating such intelligent pop in the early Seventies)."[24] In his 1999 autobiography A Cure for Gravity, British musician Joe Jackson described Countdown to Ecstasy as a musical revelation for him that bridged the gap between "pure pop" and his jazz-rock and progressive influences and influenced his subsequent attempts at songwriting.[35] Pat Blashill wrote in a review in Rolling Stone in 2003 that the "joy in these excellent songs" and in the band's playing revealed Steely Dan to be "human, not just brainy," "like good stretches of the Stones' Exile on Main St."[13] In The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), Rob Sheffield called the album "a thoroughly amazing, hugely influential album" with "cold-blooded L.A. studio rock tricked out with jazz piano and tough guitar."[31] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic found Countdown to Ecstasy to be "riskier" musically than the band's debut album, and called the songs "rich with either musical or lyrical detail that [Steely Dan's] album rock or art rock contemporaries couldn't hope to match."[10] Chris Jones of BBC Music said the ideas on the album are "post-modern" and "erudite", and asserted that the band was "setting a benchmark that few have ever matched."[15]

In 2000, Countdown to Ecstasy was voted number 307 in Colin Larkin's book All Time Top 1000 Albums.[36] The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[16]

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Bodhisattva"5:18
2."Razor Boy"3:12
3."The Boston Rag"5:40
4."Your Gold Teeth"6:59
Side two
No.TitleLength
5."Show Biz Kids"5:26
6."My Old School"5:46
7."Pearl of the Quarter"3:51
8."King of the World"5:00
Total length:41:10

Personnel

[edit]

Charts

[edit]

Album

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Chart (1973) Peak
position
US Billboard Top LPs & Tape[38] 35

Singles

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Year Single Catalogue number Peak
position 		Chart
1973 "Show Biz Kids" (B-side: "Razor Boy") ABC 11382 61 US Billboard Hot 100[39]
1973 "My Old School" (B-side: "Pearl of the Quarter") ABC 11396 63

References

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  1. ^ Logan, David (August 16, 1973). "Countdown To Ecstasy". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 27, 2012.
  2. ^ "Steely Dan Sunday: "Pearl of the Quarter" (1973)". July 10, 2011. Archived from the original on July 19, 2011. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  3. ^ Sweet, Brian (April 27, 2007). Steely Dan: Reelin' in the Years. Omnibus. ISBN 9781846098819 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ Hung, Steffen. "Steely Dan – Show Biz Kids". hitparade.ch.
  5. ^ Hung, Steffen. "Steely Dan – My Old School". hitparade.ch.
  6. ^ "Countdown to Ecstasy – Steely Dan | Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  7. ^ a b Uslan, Clark & Solomon 1981, p. 392.
  8. ^ Valdez 2006, p. 380.
  9. ^ a b c Logan, David (August 16, 1973). "Countdown To Ecstasy". Rolling Stone. New York. p. 54. Archived from the original on December 27, 2012. Retrieved April 6, 2013.
  10. ^ a b c Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Countdown to Ecstasy – Steely Dan". AllMusic. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
  11. ^ a b c Hull, Tom (April 1975). "The Rekord Report: L'Objet Rèpris". Overdose. Retrieved July 12, 2020 – via tomhull.com.
  12. ^ Chapman & Clapton 2000, p. 202.
  13. ^ a b c d Blashill, Pat (October 30, 2003). "Steely Dan: Countdown To Ecstasy". Rolling Stone. No. 934. New York. Archived from the original on November 12, 2007. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
  14. ^ a b "Billboard's Top Album Picks". Billboard. July 14, 1973. p. 62. Retrieved April 12, 2013.
  15. ^ a b Jones, Chris (January 4, 2008). "Review of Steely Dan – Countdown To Ecstasy". BBC Music. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
  16. ^ a b Dimery & Lydon 2010, p. 301.
  17. ^ a b "Special Merit". Stereo Review. 31 (5): 94. November 1973.
  18. ^ Sheffield et al. 2004, p. 789.
  19. ^ Adams, Erik (March 8, 2012). "Gateways to Geekery – Steely Dan". The A.V. Club. Chicago. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
  20. ^ a b Rubin & Melnick 2007, p. 160.
  21. ^ a b Kreilkamp, Ivan (February 1992). "Steely Dan". Spin. 7 (11). New York: 70. Retrieved April 12, 2013.
  22. ^ Becker, Walter; Fagen, Donald (1998). Countdown to Ecstasy (CD reissue booklet). MCA Records. MCAD-11887.
  23. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Steely Dan". Allmusic. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
  24. ^ a b c Heatley, Lester & Roberts 1998, p. 50.
  25. ^ Hay, Carla (January 15, 2000). "Flipping Through the Catalog". Billboard. Vol. 112, no. 3. p. 71. Retrieved April 8, 2013.
  26. ^ Kot, Greg (August 16, 1992). "Thrills, Scams and Nightflys". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
  27. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: S". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 9, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  28. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
  29. ^ Strong, Martin Charles (2002). "Steely Dan". The Great Rock Discography. The National Academies. ISBN 1-84195-312-1.
  30. ^ Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel, eds. (1999). "Steely Dan". MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
  31. ^ a b Sheffield et al. 2004, p. 778–89.
  32. ^ Hull, Tom (n.d.). "Grade List: Steely Dan". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  33. ^ Christgau, Robert (December 1973). "The Christgau Consumer Guide". Creem. Retrieved April 6, 2013.
  34. ^ Christgau, Robert (January 13, 1974). "Returning With a Painful Top 30 List". Newsday. Retrieved April 6, 2013.
  35. ^ Jackson, Joe (October 9, 2007). A Cure For Gravity: A Musical Pilgrimage. Hachette Books. ISBN 9780306817083 – via Google Books.
  36. ^ Colin Larkin (2000). All Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd ed.). Virgin Books. p. 127. ISBN 0-7535-0493-6.
  37. ^ Info from Countdown To Ecstasy at broberg.pp.se.
  38. ^ Countdown to Ecstasy – Steely Dan > Charts & Awards > Billboard Album at AllMusic. Retrieved October 27, 2004.
  39. ^ Countdown to Ecstasy – Steely Dan > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles at AllMusic. Retrieved October 27, 2004.

Bibliography

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