Countdown To Ecstasy

THOUGHT

THOUGHT + FEELING = ACTION   DR. G. ERIC PAGE And how. COUNTDOWN TO ECSTASY is unique amongst the Steely Dan albums in that it is the only one written and arranged for a working ensemble. For this reason, the arrangements were influenced for the better by the known instrumental textures and musical personalities of the band itself, and also for the worse by the horror and prolonged ennui of the odious weekend outings forced on us by our manager during the very recording process itself. So, for example, the period charm of Jeff Baxter's cunning Echoplex work was somewhat offset by the damaged condition of his amplifier (and nervous system) from last weekend's debacle in, say, Tucson, or maybe even Portland. And similarly the pleasing stretched out quality of some of the charts was balanced against the fact that lyrics were not written until the last moment and then by a songwriting duo who were certain they had a Hellhound On Their Trail. Public humiation of the type we were subjected to as a result of some of our appearances during this period - let's say most or even all of our appearances during this period - while in the long run perhaps a powerful character-building element in the young lives of the authors, in the short term proved disruptive and generally detrimental to the creative process. Even our all-too-infrequent rounds of Percodan Scrabble™ were increasingly useless in dispelling the unrelieved existential angst that surrounded our little excursions and the days and nights of shame and terror which preceded and followed them. It's a pity that there is no textual sign available to us now which would be the equivalent of that plangent sound which Harvey Keitel made towards the end of "The Bad Lieutenant" - because that, o loyal fandom, would go a long way towards cluing you in on how we felt about touring in those terrible days. Nonetheless, the recording process was not completely unrewarding. As a matter of fact, there is a substantial body of opinion which holds that COUNTDOWN was the best Steely Dan album, bar none. Generally speaking, the type of person who typically holds this position is not the sort of individual you want sitting across the table from you at a dinner party, especially one where alcoholic beverages are being served. Nor would you be well advised to give one of these guys your e-mail address or (gasp) your phone number. Should it happen that such a fan gets a hold of your street address or place of employment, you may as well call the police stalking squad straightway, before the situation deteriorates any further. You get, we trust, the general idea. Having established that the COUNTDOWN album is not without its adherents, perhaps we should spend a few moments wondering why. Well do we recall our chagrin, during the mastering sessions,

+ FEELING

when listening to the opening snare drum beats on "Bodhisattva" - surely Doug Sax the mastering engineer noticed, as we did, that there was a slight retard about halfway through? Did he not see, as we now did, that the backwards tape echo effect in "King of the World" was a bad idea, badly executed? What about that tape loop we used for "Show Biz Kids"? Was that the stroke of genius we originally thought it was, or just another horrible mistake? As a matter of fact, the tape loop itself, mistake or no, was quite a tricky bit of business to put into practice. We were using four inch tape in those days, running at 180 ips, and to make a thirtytwo bar loop at that tempo required the construction of a special apparatus to accomodate the 1200 plus feet of tape, which ran from one end of Studio A to the other, out the fucking door into the hall, in the door into Ed Michel's space jazz production headquarters, back out into the hall, up the stairs and into the inner sanctum of Studio B, back out into the reception area where Spooky, our favorite receptionist, was ordering grilled cheese and bacon sandwiches all around, into the shop where Ken Klinger sat hunched over his overloaded workbench, where it met up with a servostatic accelerometer mounted on a turbodiesel forklift idler wheel... All right. Two inch tape, 30 ips, four bars, 30 feet, out into the hall and back, and that's all. These notes are meant to be of a certain lenght, and interestning if possible. But it still took a bit of doing, at that. Meanwhile, we were forced to leave town for a gig in Phoenix - we had been booked into some sort of outdoor venue at an amusement park which featured a huge salt water pool with built-in waves. The ambient temperature was about 116 degrees Fahrenheit, as we recall. Some band members undertook misguided but enthusiastic attempts to stay hydrated in these harsh conditions by imbibing large quantaties of the local beer. These factors and the Fellini-esque qualities of the gig itself conspired to produce a very strange and dissatisfying performance, marked by some pervasive and unintentional quarter-tone tuning effects, as well as other anomalies. The upshot of this soul-rattling experience was that the six-man configuration inaugurated towards the end of the recording of CAN'T BUY A THRILL was deemed obsolete: the band reverted to its original five man lineup, with David Palmer departing for greener pastures without having sung a note on the actual COUNTDOWN recording. Towards the end of the project, we were working on the intro melody for "The Boston Rag". No matter how many times we punched in on the only available track, the same three notes of Denny's

= ACTION

guitar line would not be record properly. Roger made a spiffy little window edit (look it up), and we were able to punch in the missing notes. For a lark we sent the little piece of defective tape back to 3M. Months later, they sent us their report. The piece of tape had a tiny blister where the oxide had bubbled up from the backing. Inside this little blister was a drop of mustard. Some clot up in Minnesota had taken his sandwich into the room in the plant where the huge sheets of mylar were coated with oxide, taken a bite and squirted a tiny drop of mustard onto the mylar on the exact spot where we were going to put Denny's guitar part. In effect, our efforts had been sabotaged in advance by a careless worker. This was to haunt us over and over in the years to come. Listening back to COUNTDOWN now (something we haven't actually done ourselves), who could know that the track "Razor Boy" originally had a reggae drum part that was replaced after all the other stuff was almost done? Or that Denny's all-night-long perfectionist mix of "King of the World" had to be scrapped because it was "too perfect"? Or that several figures were added to Dorothy White's original cover painting at the insistence of ABC president Jay Lasker, who found the discrepancy between five band members and three figures on the cover unacceptable? When the album was finally finished and mastered, a playback was arranged for the executives and promotion staff of ABC Dunhill Records. The idea was to get everybody excited about the new "product" and send the radio guys running out into the streets foaming at the mouths. Folding chairs were set up in the playing room of the little studio upstairs and the big boys filed in, Hawaiian shirts, cigars and all. They listened in silence to the playback and at the end offered up some tepid congratulations. The confusion and disappointment that filled the room was thick and nasty as a horny mother. Coming on the heels of the commercially successful first album, the company had been hoping for a second album blockbuster that would zoom to the top of the charts and stay there for weeks, months, years. Instead they found themselves with what must have sounded to them like some sort of weird German art music, or worse. Later, when they found out that we have fired our suave Daltryesque lead singer, stolen the proofs for the album cover during a dispute over the final layout, and perversely insisted on choosing for a single a tune whose lyrics contained the word "fuck," they were not surprised. They'd seen this kind of thing before. We were forced to edit out the offending line, leaving the setup line intact - a joke without a punchline. (to be continued) -DONALD FAGEN AND WALTER BECKER, 1998

Track List

Bodhisattva Bodhisattva Would You take me by the hand Bodhisattva Would You take me by the hand Can you show me The shine of your Japan The sparkle of your China Can you show me Bodhisattva Bodhisattva I'm gonna sell my house in town Bodhisattva I'm gonna sell my house in town And I'll be there To shine in your Japan To sparkle in your China Yes I'll be there Bodhisattva Bodhisattva Drums: Jim Hodder Bass: Walter Becker Guitar: Denny Dias (1st solo) Jeff Baxter (2nd solo) Piano/Synthesizer: Donald Fagen

 

Razor Boy I hear you are singing a song of the past I see no tears I know that you know that it may be the last For many years You'd gamble or give anything To be in with the better half But how many friends must I have To begin with to make you laugh [Chorus:] Will you still have a song to sing When The razor boy comes And takes your fancy things away Will you still be singing it On that cold and windy day You know that the coming is so close at hand You feel all right I guess only women in cages can stand This kind of night I guess only women in cages Can play down The things they lose You think no tomorrow will come When you lay down You can't refuse [Chorus]

 

Boston Rag Any news was good news And the feeling was bad at home I was out of my mind and you Were on the phone Lonnie was the kingpin Back in nineteen sixty-five I was singing this song When Lonnie came alive [Chorus:] Bring back the Boston Rag Tell all your buddies That it ain't no drag Bring back the Boston Rag You were Lady Bayside There was nothing that I could do So I pointed my car down Seventh Avenue Lonnie swept the playroom And he swallowed up all he found It was forty-eight hours til Lonnie came around [Chorus] [Chorus and fade]

 

Your Gold Teeth Got a feeling I've been here before Watching as you cross the killing floor You know you'll have to pay it all You'll pay today or pay tomorrow You fasten up your beaded gown Then you try to tie me down Do you work it out one by one Or played in combination. You throw out your gold teeth. Do you see how they roll I have seen your iron and your brass. Can't you see it shine behind the glass Your fortune is your roving eye Your mouth and legs Your gift for the runaround Torture is the main attraction I don't need that kind of action You don't have to dance for me I've seen your dance before Do you throw out your gold teeth Do you see how they roll Tobacco they grow in Peking In the Year of the Locust You'll see a sad thing Even Cathy Berberian knows There's one roulade she can't sing. Dumb luck my friend Won't suck me in this time. Got a feeling I've been here before Won't you let me help you find the door All you got to do is use Your silver shoes A gift for the runaround Use your knack darlin' Take one step back darlin' There ain't nothing in Chicago For a monkey woman to do Do throw out your gold teeth Do you see how they roll

 

Show Biz Kids [Chorus:] While the poor people sleepin' With the shade on the light While the poor people sleepin' All the stars come out at night While the poor people sleepin' With the shade on the light While the poor people sleepin' All the stars come out at night After closing time At the Guernsey Fair I detect the El Supremo From the room at the top of the stairs Well I've been around the world And I've been in the Washington Zoo And in all my travels As the facts unravel I've found this to be true [Chorus] They got the house on the corner With the rug inside They got the booze they need All that money can buy They got the shapely bods They got the Steely Dan T-shirt And for the coup-de-gras They're outrageous Honey let me tell you [Chorus] Show biz kids making movies Of themselves you know they Don't give a fuck about anybody else You know you go to ... Lost Wages, Lost Wages, go to Lost Wages

 

My Old School I remember the thirty-five sweet goodbyes When you put me on the Wolverine Up to Annandale It was still September When your daddy was quite surprised To find you with the working girls In the county jail I was smoking with the boys upstairs When I heard about the whole affair I said oh no William and Mary won't do [Chorus:] Well I did not think the girl Could be so cruel And I'm never going back To my old school Oleanders growing outside your door Soon they're gonna be in bloom Up in Annandale I can't stand her Doing what she did before Leaving like a gypsy queen In a fairy tale Well I hear the whistle but I can't go I'm gonna take her down to Mexico She said oh no Guadalajara won't do [Chorus] California tumbles into the sea That'll be the day I go Back to Annandale Tried to warn you About Chino and Daddy Gee But I can't seem to get to you Through the U.S. mail Well I hear the whistle but I can't go I'm gonna take her down to Mexico She said oh no Guadalajara won't do [Chorus] [Solos to fade] Drums: Jim Hodder Bass: Walter Becker Guitar: Denny Dias, Jeff Baxter (solo) Piano: Donald Fagen Backup Vocals: Sherlie Matthews, Myrna Matthews, Patricia Hall Horns: Lanny Morgan, Bill Perkins, Ernie Watts, John Rotella Horns arranged by Jimmie Haskell

 

Pearl Of The Quarter On the water down in New Orleans My baby's the pearl of the quarter She's a charmer like you never seen Singing voulez voulez voulez vous Where the sailor spends his hard earned pay Red beans and rice for a quarter You can see her almost any day Singing voulez voulez voulez vous [Chorus:] And if you hear from my Louise Won't you tell her I love her so Please make it clear When her day is done She got a place to go I walked alone down the miracle mile I met my baby by the shrine of the martyr She stole my heart with her Cajun smile Singing voulez voulez voulez vous She loved the million dollar words I say She loved the candy and the flowers that I bought her She said she loved me and was on her way Singing voulez voulez voulez vous [Chorus]

 

King Of The World Hello one and all Was it you I used to know Can't you hear me call On this old ham radio All I've got to say I'm alive and feeling fine If you come my way You can share my poison wine [Chorus:] No marigolds in the promised land There's a hole in the ground Where they used to grow Any man left on the Rio Grande Is the king of the world As far as I know I don't want your bread I don't need your helping hand I can't be no savage I can't be no highwayman Show me where you are You and I will spend this day Driving in my car Through the ruins of Santa Fe [Chorus] I'm reading last years papers Although I don't know why Assassins cons and rapers Might as well die If you come around No more pain and no regrets Watch the sun go brown Smoking cobalt cigarettes There's no need to hide Taking things the easy way If I stay inside I might live til Saturday [Chorus] Drums: Jim Hodder Bass: Walter Becker Guitar: Denny Dias, Jeff Baxter Piano: Donald Fagen

The Midi-sequense , on this page is My Old School.

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Revision of July 31, 2023 - A Lost Wages Production..

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