Countdown to Ecstasy is the second album by rock group Steely Dan, released in July 1973. The album was written and recorded in rushed sessions between live concerts and produced two Billboard Hot 100 hits, "Show Biz Kids" and "My Old School," which have continued to be popular both on radio and in concert. Despite not being the huge hit that their previous album Can't Buy a Thrill was, lead vocalist Donald Fagen reportedly declared Countdown to Ecstasy his favorite Steely Dan album.
The album was originally released in two-channel
stereo and also in a special four-channel
quadrophonic mix. There are some significant
musical differences between the two mixes.
The song "My Old School" was reportedly inspired by an incident
during some of the band members' college attendance.
In its March 24, 2006
edition, Entertainment
Weekly details a return trip to Bard College
in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York
by Donald Fagen, in
which he describes a raid by sheriff's deputies in May 1969.
Fagen, Steely Dan bandmate
Walter
Becker, and some 50 other students were arrested. Charges were
dropped, but the harassment was the origin of the grudge alluded to
in "My Old School." Fagen was reportedly so upset with the school
being complicit with the arrests that he refused to attend
graduation. The same article speculates that a Bard professor's
wife,
Rikki Ducornet, was the
inspiration for "Rikki Don't Lose That Number."
A live version of the song "Bodhisattva" was used as the B-side for
both of the band's 1980 singles, "
Hey
Nineteen" and "Babylon Sisters."
Both "Bodhisattva" and "My Old School" are playable tracks in the
video game
Rock Band 2.
Track listing
All songs written by Becker and Fagen.
Side one
- "Bodhisattva" – 5:19
- "Razor Boy" – 3:11
- "The Boston Rag" – 5:40
- "Your Gold Teeth" – 7:02
Side two
- "Show Biz Kids" – 5:25
- "My Old School" – 5:47
- "Pearl of the Quarter" – 3:50
- "King of the World" – 5:04
Personnel
Steely Dan
- Donald Fagen - piano, electric piano,
synthesizer, vocals
- Walter Becker - electric bass, harmonica, vocals
- Ray Brown - string bass on
"Razor Boy"
- Denny Dias - guitar, Stereo Mixmaster General
- Jeff "Skunk" Baxter - guitar,
pedal steel guitar
- Ben Benay - acoustic guitar
- Rick Derringer - slide guitar on "Show Biz Kids"
- Jim Hodder - drums, percussion, vocals
- Victor Feldman - vibes, marimba,
percussion
- Ernie Watts - saxophone
- Johnny Rotella - saxophone
- Lanny Morgan - saxophone
- Bill Perkins -
saxophone
- Sherlie Matthews - background
vocals
- Myrna Matthews - background vocals
- Patricia Hall - background vocals
- David Palmer -
background vocals
- Royce Jones - background vocals
- James Rolleston - background vocals
- Michael Fennelly - background
vocals
- Jake Richardson - cowbell
Production
- Producer: Gary Katz
- Engineer: Roger
Nichols
- Assistant engineer - Miss Natalie
- Album design: Dotty of Hollywood
- Photography: Ed Caraeff
Reissue
- Reissue Producers: Walter Becker, Donald Fagen
- Remastering engineer: Roger Nichols
- Reissue design: Red Herring Design, New York City
- Consultant: Daniel Levitin
Charts
Album
| Year |
Chart |
Position |
| 1973 |
Pop Albums |
35 |
|
Pop Singles
| Year |
Single |
Label & number |
Position |
| 1973 |
"My Old School" (B-side: "Pearl Of The
Quarter) |
ABC 11396 |
63 |
| 1973 |
"Show Biz Kids" (B-side: "Razor
Boy") |
ABC 11382 |
61 |
|
References
External links
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