Steely Dan - Album By Album - Countdown To Ecstasy

(from the While the poor people sleepin' - All the stars come out at night department)

Next up is Countdown To Ecstasy.  Again - this review is a bit on the terse side.  Sorry about that.

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Okay - since I'm behind - let me catch up with Countdown To Ecstasy.

This is my favorite Steely Dan album - bar none. From the kickoff of Bodhisattva to the last note of King Of The World, this album is a complete stunner - and quite the leap forward from Can't Buy A Thrill: longer songs (8 vs 10 in 40 minutes), more adventurous arrangements, and the sense of being a real band bound together through touring.

Highlights are the spooky guitar solo break in The Boston Rag, the "you are there" feel of My Old School, and the map-like descriptions of Pearl Of The Quarter - but I also find a lot to love in the spiritual cynicism of Bodhisattva, the dissolute lifestyle in Razor Boy, the slight atonal blast for every roulade Cathy Berberian can't sing in Your Gold Teeth and the amazing loop of Show Biz Kids. (Sorry - I love that loop!)

And then there's King Of The World.

I had never realized how beautiful and clever the lyrics in King Of The World are until I heard this version from Joe Jackson:

I then went digging through my album collection, found the Steely Dan version and went "How the heck did I miss this?"

A high-water mark for the Dan - and one that - for me - in some ways - they never quite equaled.

Cheers,
Paul