*clenching my fists, teeth and ass* Iwillnotchamgemypfpiwillnotchangemypfpiwillnotchangemypfpiwillnotchangemypfpiwillnotchangemypfp I will not-

7/31/23: It was 50 years ago this month, July 1973, Steely Dan would release their second album Countdown to Ecstasy. Wow... another landmark album that I didn't think I'd ever get to, but here we are. I've dug this record for at least 25 years going back to my college days. I think the first song I knew from it was 'My Old School' of which I must have seen concert footage on VH-1 (probably taken from The Midnight Special) at some point. So I begun collecting Dan CDs, and got this one specifically because it had 'My Old School' and the album opener 'Bodhisattva' (which my friend Jason turned me on to), and it became a staple in my player. Of the eight songs on this album, no less than six are excellent... even the other two songs are not throwaways by any means. 'Bodhisattva' starts off with a bangin' hard guitar riff, and turns into this slick jazz-rock number that dabbles a little in Fusion territory... look out! The next two songs I don't think are too well known but I love them both--'Razor Boy' has some biting lyrics about upper class wannabees, with this sort of bossa-nova style back-beat, and is super mellow; 'The Boston Rag' has some awesome guitar work... not sure if that's Skunk Baxter or Denny Dias but they make that guitar growl on that track. 'Show-Biz Kids' is controversial for the use of the word 'fuck' (oooooh!) but it, or perhaps 'Pearl of the Quarter', is probably the weakest track on the album-- I've heard that they were toying with releasing this as a single, but repeating the phrase 'Lost Wages' over and over again does not seem like Top 40 material. Interestingly, Rick Derringer, of all people, plays slide guitar on this track... personally, I think his talents are wasted here. Anyway, side two starts with another banger, somewhat similar to the murky (in a good way) sound of 'Do It Again' from the first record: 'Your Gold Teeth'. This track is nearly seven minutes long due to the extended keyboard and guitar solos and jamming... such a cool song, and great lyrics too. I already mentioned 'My Old School' whose lyrics remind me a bit of 'Reelin' In the Years' with the post-College blues as a theme... definitely a rocker, with great horns a-boppin' (I'm including the Special version as a YT clip at the end, which is a treat to watch), awesome guitar solos... love the 'WHOA NOOO's at the beginning of each chorus. Probably second weakest track is 'Pearl of the Quarter' which doesn't have much of a melody, and those 'vous-les-vous's at the end of every verse are so dorky. But the band (such that it is... as already Fagen and Becker were making changes, dumping vocalist Palmer after the first record... by the late-70s the Dan was just a duo with (highly talented) session musicians, essentially) redeems itself, and then some, with the whopper of an album closer 'King of the World'. One might confuse the keyboards in this song with a game show theme... no kidding, it reminds me of The Price is Right in some parts. But that is an integral part of the song, as it follows the same jazzy path as 'Your Gold Teeth' and 'Bodhisattva'... man it's a perfect album-ender. Since I won't get to them (or if I do, it won't likely be in this format), the next three following albums are all weak sisters to this record-- all good records, well-produced, but there's nothing really daring on 'dangerous' on those records. But 1977's Aja is so very different... literally sounds like a different band only four years later, but no less excellent. If I had to make the desert island choice between the two records I'd still go with Countdown, but might try to sneak Aja on board the sinking ship. Steely Dan's last album prior to the twenty-year absence, Gaucho, is no slouch either, as long as you approve of drum-machines (which fit with what they were doing in 1980). Back to Countdown, if you've not heard this, and you're reading this blog, stop what you are doing and go listen to it now. A moral imperative. A+