MEDIUM Vinyl Record
WEIGHT 2 x 200gr (clarity Vinyl) 45rpm UHQR Deluxe Box
CONDITION sealed
COVER AND BOX Box and Gatefold M mint
SERIALNUMBER Yes
LIMITED Yes, to 20000 copies
MISCELLANEOUS Stereo, Lyrics, Booklet
BOX AND COVER DAMAGES No, we take care about that
MUSICIAN HOMEPAGE --
Donald Fagen - acoustic piano, electric piano, synthesizer, lead vocals, background vocals
Walter Becker - bass, harmonica, background vocals
Denny Dias - guitar
Jeff "Skunk" Baxter - guitar, pedal steel guitar
Jim Hodder - drums, percussion, background vocals
Ray Brown - string bass (razor boy)
Ben Benay - acoustic guitar
Rick Derringer - slide guitar (show biz kids) (recorded at Caribou Ranch, Nederland, Colorado, courtesy of Columbia Records)
Victor Feldman - vibraphone, marimba, percussion
Ernie Watts - sax
Johnny Rotella - sax
Lanny Morgan - sax
Bill Perkins - sax
Sherlie Matthews - background vocals
Myrna Matthews - background vocals
Patricia Hall - background vocals
Royce Jones - background vocals
David Palmer - background vocals
James Rolleston - background vocals
Michael Fennelly - background vocals
bodhisattva - 5:18
razor boy - 3:11
the boston rag - 5:40
your gold teeth - 7:02
show biz kids - 5:26
my old school - 5:48
pearl of the quarter - 3:50
king of the world - 5:04
Steely Dan's second studio album, originally released in 1973 by ABC Records, was certified gold-selling by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling 500,000 copies in the U.S.
Founded by core members Walter Becker (bass) and Donald Fagen (vocals, keyboards), Steely Dan's popularity rose throughout the late 1970s on, and their seven albums throughout that period of time blended elements of jazz, rock, funk, R&B, and pop
Steely Dan created a sophisticated, distinctive sound with accessible melodic hooks, complex harmonies and time signatures, and a devotion to the recording studio
Becker and Fagen, with producer Gary Katz, gradually changed Steely Dan from a performing band to a studio project, hiring session musicians to record their compositions
The duo didn't perform live between 1974 and 1993
But their popularity nevertheless grew throughout the '70s as their albums became critical favorites and their singles became staples of Adult Oriented Radio and pop radio stations
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
It comprises uptempo, four-to-five-minute rock songs, which, apart from the bluesy vamps of "Bodhisattva" and "Show Biz Kids," are subtly textured and feature jazz-inspired interludes
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
Jim Hodder's drumming eschews rock music for pop and jazz grooves
Bop-style jazz soloing is set in the context of a pop song on "Bodhisattva"
Commenting on the album's style and production, Tom Hull says it is "clean, almost slick," with "no dissonance, no clutter," reminiscent of 1940s bop and "the overproduced early 60s pop rock"
Countdown to Ecstasy has lyrical themes similar to Can't Buy a Thrill
It explores topics such as drug abuse, class envy, and West Coast excess
"My Old School" is inspired by a drug bust involving Walter Becker and Donald Fagen at Bard College, "King of the World" explores a post-Nuclear holocaust United States, and "Show Biz Kids" satirizes contemporary Los Angeles lifestyles
RECORDING July 1973 at Caribou Ranch in Nederland, Colorado and The Village Recorder in West Los Angeles
ENGINEERING Roger Nichols
LABEL ABC
RE MASTERING Bernie Grundman
RE RELEASED 2022
AVERAGE RATING 5 Stars out of 5
PRESSING by Quality Record Pressings
MADE IN USA
STYLE Rock / Jazz Rock / Pop
AVAILABLE as long as inventory stock
