Countdown to Ecstasy

£2.88 pence. That's precisely what I paid for Countdown To Ecstasy by Steely Dan when I bought it as an import back in 1973. I've still got the old ABC Records vinyl. It sounded great then, and over forty years later, it sounds as fresh, invigorating and innovative as it did Way Back When. The music is beautifully produced, incisively arranged, and there's not a note out of place, without the music sounding sterile. I can't believe that any discerning music fan doesn't have this already. If not, correct that anomaly right now - music of this value has never been able to obtain as cheaply as it is right now. I bought mine for less than I paid for the original import vinyl...

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.

Cool, fun album for fans of Steely Dan - but perhaps not one for starters. I haven't heard the first album, Can't Buy a Thrill, yet, but compared to the following album, Pretzel Logic, Countdown... has a looser feel all around. The songs are, however, great all the same. Opinions may differ on some of the (lyrically) 'goofier' songs like "My Old School" and "Pearl of the Quarter", but "Boddhisatva" and "Boston Rag" are worth the money in any case.

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 these days.For me it just beats Can't Buy a Thrill into being my favourite SD album, as it is consistent throughout and never lessens its pace of pure jazz rock bliss. And essential music purchase.favourite tracks:BodhisattvaRazor BoyShow Biz Kids

Its Fagan & Becker. What's not to like?