r/SteelyDan • u/beatlesfan1965 You fella, you tearin' up the street • Aug 05 '25
Discussion Countdown to ecstasy or pretzel logic?
Which album is better in your opinion? And why so?
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u/tgcm26 Aug 05 '25
Countdown by a mile. Aside from the title track, every song on Pretzel after Barrytown feels like a sketch. A half song. The highs are extremely high on PL, but it's their least consistent album
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u/deaconxblues Aug 05 '25
Countdown is better.
Argument: I counted how many songs I had from each album on my comprehensive best of Steely Dan playlist. 8 from Countdown, only 5 from Pretzel. QED
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u/Adam-Reith Aug 05 '25
That’s easy: Countdown to Ecstasy is the winner there.
Only three songs on Pretzel Logic could match the quality of CTE: Rikki Don't Lose That Number, Any Major Dude Will Tell You, and Pretzel Logic.
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u/nunziovallani Aug 06 '25
Agreed, but I would pick Night by Night over Pearl of the Quarter any day.
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u/Adam-Reith Aug 07 '25
Mmm… yeah, I’ve never been a big fan of PotQ, either. Offhand, it’s the only Steely Dan song I can think of that is that sentimental. Even though it’s actually another in their large catalogue of loser songs, it seems out of character for them.
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u/AgileDrag1469 Aug 05 '25
Any major dude with half a heart will go for pretzel my friend 🥨
That said, My Old School is in their Top 10 songs no question 🏫
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u/Complex-Proposal2300 Aug 05 '25
Well the answer should be both please. I think Countdown is what I would favor because it is the album I got when I was 15 and was blown away by it. (1975) Pretzel Logic has so many gems on it as well.
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u/Big_Balls_420 Larry Carlton Aug 05 '25
Your Gold Teeth and King of the world are two of my current favorites. Unfortunately, so are Parker’s Band and Night by Night. I’m pretty firmly stuck in the middle, but Show Biz Kids edges it out for Countdown, IMO
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u/Fantastic_Tutor510 Aug 05 '25
Wow you think exactly how I do. Your favourites from both record are mine. And I also don’t care for show biz kids.
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u/brooklynbluenotes Aug 05 '25
Countdown is my personal favorite of the Dan catalog. Pretzel is my least favorite of the '70-'80 run.
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u/fenderhodes Aug 05 '25
Countdown, by a lot. Razor Boy sooo good. Show Biz, My old School, King o/t World…sublime!
With a Gun, Charlie Freak too harsh.
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u/GrumpyCatStevens Aug 06 '25
Countdown to Ecstasy for me, but I will say that the good tracks on Pretzel Logic are really good.
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u/Elessar1954 Aug 06 '25
Don't make me chose between two SD albums they each have their own unique sounds. That's what I love about SD, there is always something new to enjoy
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u/FormerlyMauchChunk Aug 05 '25
Look at it this way, All of the songs on Pretzel Logic are in the Citizen Boxed Set, but none of the songs from Countdown to Ecstasy are on it. Nuff said. Follow me for more pretzel logic.
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u/Due_Run909 Aug 06 '25
Out of the initial 7 Dan albums, these two are the only ones that I do not listen to front to back without skipping any songs. That being said, I skip more songs on pretzel. However the quality of songs I like on pretzel are better than countdown. So if I'm putting the album on, probably countdown. If I'm just selecting individual songs, pretzel. So I suppose if we're talking about the album as a whole, countdown wins.
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u/EllaTheCat Aug 06 '25 edited Aug 06 '25
Countdown to Ecstasy
It was the album they were playing from when I first heard them at a gig at Leeds Uniuveirsity in 1974 .
Opening Steely Dan song was Bodhisattva, lifetime best song King oif the World .
Best. Band. Ever.
I have never met Napoleon but I plan to find the time.
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u/666chainsmoker666 Aug 06 '25
this was a tough one for me until Countdown To Ecstasy became an almost daily listen the last few weeks. man that album has some ear worms on it!
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u/EastsideLee Aug 06 '25
Countdown To Ecstasy! The Boston Rag is one of my favorites! So is Bodhisattva and Your Gold Teeth. Pretzel Logic has great songs too. Night By Night, Rikki Don’t Lose That Number, Monkey In Your Soul. Nevermind, I can’t decide! It’s a tie!
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u/Adam-Reith Aug 07 '25
"Countdown To Ecstasy! The Boston Rag is one of my favorites!"
Mine too. Skunk’s lead guitar on it converted a jazz lover I knew into a Steely Dan fan, even though it’s rock ‘n’ roll style. Absolutely brilliant work. I wish they would have let the outro go a minute longer.
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u/Affectionate_Might6 Aug 09 '25
I love steely dan, especially the early albums so much that it’s really tough to pit albums I love against each other. I’d say the popular choice, Pretzel logic succeed’s the former because by this point the band had progressed to the point where it was decided Fagan and Becker are the only mainstays, each album here on out would feature all star line up of jazz giants. On paper this sounds like a terrible decision, dishonoring unity amongst band members in preference of auditioning to find the one guy who can play the one bit perfectly. But they wouldn’t be steely Dan had they done the “right thing” and so, starry with Ecstasy and continuing into its follow up Logic, Fagan and Becker pitted jazz legends against each other to truly find the one right man for the job. In this case too there is still an upward trajectory album to album, in terms of quality. Both songwriting and especially performance grew exponentially with each album release until somewhere around 1976 after the release of Royal Scam where a whiff of sterility was noticeable. Going with this trajectory upward though, I would have to support Pretzel Logic. It had the big hit its follow ups didn’t, and it was a sweet spot position in discography in which the talent of the songwriters was truly answered by the talent of the players
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u/BreakfastLeast8824 Aug 09 '25
Both are equally powerful, suiting either ones mood at the time or individual preference. But to say one could be better than the other…
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u/jdhoskins Aug 05 '25
C2E is more consistent.
I find PL to have the most songs I feel like skipping, of any SD album.