Steely Dan / Countdown to Ecstasy
Artist Steely Dan
Album Title: Countdown to Ecstasy
Album Cover:
Primary Genre Rock: Soft Rock
Format CD
Released 00/00/1973
Label MCA Records, Inc.
Catalog No MCAD-11887
Bar Code No 0 08811 18872 6
Packaging Jewelcase
Tracks
1. Bodhisattva (5:18)
(Donald Fagen/Walter Becker/(P) 1973 Geffen Records)
2. Razor Boy (3:11)
(Donald Fagen/Walter Becker/(P) 1973 UMG Recordings, Inc.)
3. The Boston Rag (5:39)
(Donald Fagen/Walter Becker/(P) 1973 UMG Recordings, Inc.)
4. Your Gold Teeth (6:59)
(Donald Fagen/Walter Becker/(P) 1973 UMG Recordings, Inc.)
5. Show Biz Kids (5:26)
(Donald Fagen/Walter Becker/(P) 1973 UMG Recordings, Inc.)
6. My Old School (5:46)
(Donald Fagen/Walter Becker/(P) 1973 Geffen Records)
7. Pearl of the Quarter (3:51)
(Donald Fagen/Walter Becker/(P) 1973 UMG Recordings, Inc.)
8. King of the World (5:00)
(Donald Fagen/Walter Becker/(P) 1973 UMG Recordings, Inc.)
Date Acquired 09/29/2009
Acquired from Amazon
Purchase Price 7.97
Reviews
All Music Guide Review:

Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine Can't Buy a Thrill became an unexpected hit, and as a response, Donald Fagen became the group's full-time lead vocalist, and he and Walter Becker acted like Steely Dan was a rock & roll band for the group's second album, Countdown to Ecstasy. The loud guitars and pronounced backbeat of "Bodhisattva," "Show Biz Kids," and "My Old School" camouflage the fact that Countdown is a riskier album, musically speaking, than its predecessor. Each of its eight songs have sophisticated, jazz-inflected interludes, and apart from the bluesy vamps "Bodhisattva" and "Show Biz Kids," which sound like they were written for the stage, the songs are subtly textured. "Razor Boy," with its murmuring marimbas, and the hard-bop tribute "Your Gold Teeth" reveal Becker and Fagen's jazz roots, while the country-flavored "Pearl of the Quarter" and the ominous, skittering "King of the World" are both overlooked gems. Countdown to Ecstasy is the only time Steely Dan played it relatively straight, and its eight songs are rich with either musical or lyrical detail that their album-rock or art-rock contemporaries couldn't hope to match.
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