Music Banter - View Single Post - Any Major Dude Will Tell You: A Dizzying Travel Through the Steely Dan Discography

OctaneHugo · 05-08-2010, 06:43 AM

Countdown to Ecstasy
1973
Best Album

Do not be alarmed that Steely Dan "peaked early", because that's not true. See, Steely Dan never peaked. They're about as consistent as the sunrise, so they never experienced a huge drop in quality or have a "Best String of Albums", as so many artists before them do. That string is 1972-1980, the original run, and then 2000-2003, covering the two albums released this century. Not surprising: Fa‎gen and Becker were perfectionists, recording individual parts thousands of times until they got exactly the take they wanted, always surrounded by immense talent. They made sure of that.

However, taking "consistent" in this case to ever mean "stylistically consistent" is about as grave a mistake as one could ever make. Steely Dan were constantly evolving, album-to-album, changing sounds. Sure, the framework remained the same, but what shined through each time was different.

Here on Countdown to Ecstasy they're still a band, but only in the loosest form of the word. There's session bassists, guitarists, vocalists and saxophonists. While on the last album background vocals were nearly all done by Hodder, Baxter, Dias, Palmer and Becker, it's now handled by almost entirely the session singers. Unsurprisingly, it wasn't long after this album's release Becker and Fa‎gen took control of the band.

And that ties into the actual music here perfectly: Becker and Fa‎gen‎ already had creative control. This album's possibly the least schizophrenic they ever made: it's similar in stylistic qualities. Very jazzy, very bluesy, very interesting. So letting the friends handle not only the songwriting (which they did on the debut) but also the personnel (something most definitely not done on Can't Buy a Thrill) was a tremendous decision. But I advise against expecting anything musically uniform: there's still odd stuff going on, it's just that there's a common thread running through them.

Side One
"Bodhisattva" (5:20)
So remember how on Can't Buy a Thrill it sometimes sounded like Steely Dan were showing off, letting everyone know who they were and how much talent they had? That's what this is, except under a Becker and Fa‎gen administration. The song is five-and-a-half minutes long, and 300 of those seconds are spent on instrumental display. It's like they all went into a room individually and just did as impressive a thing as they could with their instruments.

The lyrics are the easiest to tackle here. Unlike most of the discography they're fairly simple and consist of precisely 28 words that are heavily repeated. Don't think that means you can't analyze them, however: something simple can still be deep. A Bodhisattva is basically a high elder in Buddhism: is the song literal, a man selling away his life to become a Buddhist? Or is it a metaphor of some sort - perhaps someone pledging their full attention to a partner? I've heard a theory that Becker and Fa‎gen were professing some sort of interest in Asian culture, or their own beliefs; all speculation, but that's what makes Steely Dan's lyrical content so fun. And it speaks about the quality of the lyrics and the skill of Becker and Fa‎gen to write that such a "simple" song can entertain so many ideas and theories, sparking so much discussion and debate: it's like jumping into the kiddie pool and sinking 50 feet.

The guitars are the best piece here. The riffs are simple yet skillful, still acting as opportunities to show dexterity on the fretboard. They skip along to the riff, bounding along, carrying the song with them. There's a great pluck section each time Fa‎gen starts chatting about sparkling Japans and it really reminds me of the Gregory-Partridge guitar combo that is of heavy focus in XTC.

The solos are both tremendous; the first one features an awesome call back section with the keyboard that's indescribably brilliant. It's the highlight of the song for Fa‎gen's keyboards, which are really understated on this song: they don't play the whole time and when they do it's mostly something attention grabbing but plain. Here, though, Fa‎gen really showcases his chops.

The second solo features the most prominent drumming in the song. The whole time it's been there, playing an excellent rhythm that's heavily syncopated, but on the closing solo (which is just as brilliant as the first) it gets the spotlight for a little while. The drums also feature in the intro, playing a cool little groove for the guitars to dance over.

The bass is pretty ordinary but it fits tremendously well. For the most part it mimics the guitar, sticking to the verse riff during the solos. It deviates a few times, but overall it just does its job.

It should be a testament to the guitar lines of this song that every time I wanted to mention another one of the instruments, the guitars were the focal point of the paragraph. This is the kind of stuff Becker and Fa‎gen do: they molded this song around some excellent guitar work and it's perfect.

"Razor Boy" (3:11)
One of the two songs on the album under 5 minutes and decidedly mellow in style. Fa‎gen sort of channels Palmer here: Palmer actually does some backup vocals on this album but otherwise doesn't play a role. Fa‎gen's definitely doing his best Palmer impression, though. That much is obvious. The lyrics are much more sarcastic in tone, though, much in line with Steely Dan's writing beyond these first couple of albums. The lyrics here are interesting. Fa‎gen isn't sneering and while he's sarcastic in meaning he's not sarcastic in tone. It's taunting, almost. H'e smooth like Palmer but nasty.

I haven't read too many viewpoints on the lyrical meaning to this song. My personal analyzation is that it has to do with some sort of fight over the company a woman keeps, but my personal opinion on my personal analyzation is that I'm full of shi‎t and way off the mark.

The drums get first mention because they channel the upcoming "Your Gold Teeth" which is one of the best songs on the album. You can here some quiet little snare taps mixed with some determined-yet-understated tom hits and some cymbal usage. It provides a groove that isn't really there, isn't really a part of the song, but nothing bad.

The keyboards are great. They mesh very well with the percussion in the places where they become the center of attention, and otherwise play a great line. The piano throughout the song is great, and there's a nifty solo for the keyboards in here just before the guitars start. Then there's a lead-in to the chorus again, the same sound as the previous solo (and just as cool) and there's also some synth usage which is an indication of what's to come on the album's closer "King of the World", another great song.

The guitars come in about 3/4s of the way through and do their little part. There's a very echoey, almost aquatic quality about the solo they play. It's ethereal and it's wonderful. It's not eye popping, but it shouldn't be. It should be just the way it is, peaceful and magical...just like the rest of the song.

The bass here plays the same basic part essentially the entire time. It fits nicely, just like the part on "Bodhisattva". It's peaceful and quiet but it could've been much more. Just like the song: it has a lot of potential but it only maximizes on some of it. It's the oddest sounding thing on the album, certainly: doesn't fit much of the mood at all. Has a little of bit of "Your Gold Teeth" and "King of the World" taken to odd extremes.

"The Boston Rag" (5:41)
The song opens in a bit of a melancholy tone. The guitar and keyboard blend here perfectly, and then there's some screechy little notes played to lead into the verse, which is pretty quiet and features an acoustic guitar: it's almost like a prog song here.

I love the guitar on this song. The acoustic is perfect and fits tremendously with the vocals and a little keyboard that kicks in as well. It also contributes to a kick ass chorus with some power chords tossed in - it shouldn't fit, but it does. There's an excellent guitar solo that starts very quietly, set only to a cymbal tap with a keyboard. Then it segues straight into the rockiets guitar solo Steely Dan ever did, which pretty much kicks the listener in the teeth, aided by some awesome drumming. Then all the instruments start up again and Fa‎gen sings some more about rags, drags and bringing it back.

The bass is, once again, hanging around in the background. Becker really doesn't want the spotlight here. In later Steely Dan his notes shine through every now-and-then, but here he just stays behind everything all of the time. It just blends in with all of the other instruments and doesn't try to do anything amazing.

I mentioned the keyboards earlier and they definitely hit the mark on this song, from the excellent intro to the downright five star chorus. They contribute to those power chords I mentioned (well they're sort of power chords) and it just works. It's brilliant, really. They also have some showtime during the later verses and they're pretty cool there as well.

The lyrics here are melancholy yet rebellious, and they're reminiscent of something. I've seen plenty of drugs and crime and all that, but I don't know if Steely Dan were playing on those themes this early on: yes, they're heavy on that stuff later, but we're talking about right now. I'm with those who think it's about partying during earlier times, and now everything's all down because everyone is old or gone and the party's ended. Seems much more like something Steely Dan would talk about during this time period.

Overall it's a great song, though not as great as the ones forthcoming.

05-08-2010, 06:43 AM	#18 (permalink)
OctaneHugo Goes back & does it again Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: philadelphia Posts: 807	Countdown to Ecstasy 1973 Best Album Do not be alarmed that Steely Dan "peaked early", because that's not true. See, Steely Dan never peaked. They're about as consistent as the sunrise, so they never experienced a huge drop in quality or have a "Best String of Albums", as so many artists before them do. That string is 1972-1980, the original run, and then 2000-2003, covering the two albums released this century. Not surprising: Fa‎gen and Becker were perfectionists, recording individual parts thousands of times until they got exactly the take they wanted, always surrounded by immense talent. They made sure of that. However, taking "consistent" in this case to ever mean "stylistically consistent" is about as grave a mistake as one could ever make. Steely Dan were constantly evolving, album-to-album, changing sounds. Sure, the framework remained the same, but what shined through each time was different. Here on Countdown to Ecstasy they're still a band, but only in the loosest form of the word. There's session bassists, guitarists, vocalists and saxophonists. While on the last album background vocals were nearly all done by Hodder, Baxter, Dias, Palmer and Becker, it's now handled by almost entirely the session singers. Unsurprisingly, it wasn't long after this album's release Becker and Fa‎gen took control of the band. And that ties into the actual music here perfectly: Becker and Fa‎gen‎ already had creative control. This album's possibly the least schizophrenic they ever made: it's similar in stylistic qualities. Very jazzy, very bluesy, very interesting. So letting the friends handle not only the songwriting (which they did on the debut) but also the personnel (something most definitely not done on Can't Buy a Thrill) was a tremendous decision. But I advise against expecting anything musically uniform: there's still odd stuff going on, it's just that there's a common thread running through them. Side One "Bodhisattva" (5:20) So remember how on Can't Buy a Thrill it sometimes sounded like Steely Dan were showing off, letting everyone know who they were and how much talent they had? That's what this is, except under a Becker and Fa‎gen administration. The song is five-and-a-half minutes long, and 300 of those seconds are spent on instrumental display. It's like they all went into a room individually and just did as impressive a thing as they could with their instruments. The lyrics are the easiest to tackle here. Unlike most of the discography they're fairly simple and consist of precisely 28 words that are heavily repeated. Don't think that means you can't analyze them, however: something simple can still be deep. A Bodhisattva is basically a high elder in Buddhism: is the song literal, a man selling away his life to become a Buddhist? Or is it a metaphor of some sort - perhaps someone pledging their full attention to a partner? I've heard a theory that Becker and Fa‎gen were professing some sort of interest in Asian culture, or their own beliefs; all speculation, but that's what makes Steely Dan's lyrical content so fun. And it speaks about the quality of the lyrics and the skill of Becker and Fa‎gen to write that such a "simple" song can entertain so many ideas and theories, sparking so much discussion and debate: it's like jumping into the kiddie pool and sinking 50 feet. The guitars are the best piece here. The riffs are simple yet skillful, still acting as opportunities to show dexterity on the fretboard. They skip along to the riff, bounding along, carrying the song with them. There's a great pluck section each time Fa‎gen starts chatting about sparkling Japans and it really reminds me of the Gregory-Partridge guitar combo that is of heavy focus in XTC. The solos are both tremendous; the first one features an awesome call back section with the keyboard that's indescribably brilliant. It's the highlight of the song for Fa‎gen's keyboards, which are really understated on this song: they don't play the whole time and when they do it's mostly something attention grabbing but plain. Here, though, Fa‎gen really showcases his chops. The second solo features the most prominent drumming in the song. The whole time it's been there, playing an excellent rhythm that's heavily syncopated, but on the closing solo (which is just as brilliant as the first) it gets the spotlight for a little while. The drums also feature in the intro, playing a cool little groove for the guitars to dance over. The bass is pretty ordinary but it fits tremendously well. For the most part it mimics the guitar, sticking to the verse riff during the solos. It deviates a few times, but overall it just does its job. It should be a testament to the guitar lines of this song that every time I wanted to mention another one of the instruments, the guitars were the focal point of the paragraph. This is the kind of stuff Becker and Fa‎gen do: they molded this song around some excellent guitar work and it's perfect. "Razor Boy" (3:11) One of the two songs on the album under 5 minutes and decidedly mellow in style. Fa‎gen sort of channels Palmer here: Palmer actually does some backup vocals on this album but otherwise doesn't play a role. Fa‎gen's definitely doing his best Palmer impression, though. That much is obvious. The lyrics are much more sarcastic in tone, though, much in line with Steely Dan's writing beyond these first couple of albums. The lyrics here are interesting. Fa‎gen isn't sneering and while he's sarcastic in meaning he's not sarcastic in tone. It's taunting, almost. H'e smooth like Palmer but nasty. I haven't read too many viewpoints on the lyrical meaning to this song. My personal analyzation is that it has to do with some sort of fight over the company a woman keeps, but my personal opinion on my personal analyzation is that I'm full of shi‎t and way off the mark. The drums get first mention because they channel the upcoming "Your Gold Teeth" which is one of the best songs on the album. You can here some quiet little snare taps mixed with some determined-yet-understated tom hits and some cymbal usage. It provides a groove that isn't really there, isn't really a part of the song, but nothing bad. The keyboards are great. They mesh very well with the percussion in the places where they become the center of attention, and otherwise play a great line. The piano throughout the song is great, and there's a nifty solo for the keyboards in here just before the guitars start. Then there's a lead-in to the chorus again, the same sound as the previous solo (and just as cool) and there's also some synth usage which is an indication of what's to come on the album's closer "King of the World", another great song. The guitars come in about 3/4s of the way through and do their little part. There's a very echoey, almost aquatic quality about the solo they play. It's ethereal and it's wonderful. It's not eye popping, but it shouldn't be. It should be just the way it is, peaceful and magical...just like the rest of the song. The bass here plays the same basic part essentially the entire time. It fits nicely, just like the part on "Bodhisattva". It's peaceful and quiet but it could've been much more. Just like the song: it has a lot of potential but it only maximizes on some of it. It's the oddest sounding thing on the album, certainly: doesn't fit much of the mood at all. Has a little of bit of "Your Gold Teeth" and "King of the World" taken to odd extremes. "The Boston Rag" (5:41) The song opens in a bit of a melancholy tone. The guitar and keyboard blend here perfectly, and then there's some screechy little notes played to lead into the verse, which is pretty quiet and features an acoustic guitar: it's almost like a prog song here. I love the guitar on this song. The acoustic is perfect and fits tremendously with the vocals and a little keyboard that kicks in as well. It also contributes to a kick ass chorus with some power chords tossed in - it shouldn't fit, but it does. There's an excellent guitar solo that starts very quietly, set only to a cymbal tap with a keyboard. Then it segues straight into the rockiets guitar solo Steely Dan ever did, which pretty much kicks the listener in the teeth, aided by some awesome drumming. Then all the instruments start up again and Fa‎gen sings some more about rags, drags and bringing it back. The bass is, once again, hanging around in the background. Becker really doesn't want the spotlight here. In later Steely Dan his notes shine through every now-and-then, but here he just stays behind everything all of the time. It just blends in with all of the other instruments and doesn't try to do anything amazing. I mentioned the keyboards earlier and they definitely hit the mark on this song, from the excellent intro to the downright five star chorus. They contribute to those power chords I mentioned (well they're sort of power chords) and it just works. It's brilliant, really. They also have some showtime during the later verses and they're pretty cool there as well. The lyrics here are melancholy yet rebellious, and they're reminiscent of something. I've seen plenty of drugs and crime and all that, but I don't know if Steely Dan were playing on those themes this early on: yes, they're heavy on that stuff later, but we're talking about right now. I'm with those who think it's about partying during earlier times, and now everything's all down because everyone is old or gone and the party's ended. Seems much more like something Steely Dan would talk about during this time period. Overall it's a great song, though not as great as the ones forthcoming. __________________ If Any Major Dude Has Yet To Tell You, Click Here Last edited by OctaneHugo; 05-08-2010 at 06:48 AM.