Reed's voice is appealingly unassuming as he compares how others deal with problems with how his nonconfrontational relationship does. At the end he suddenly shifts to an angrier tone, stunned that the problems could mean the end of his marriage. Ecstasy often compares favorably to his 1982 Blue Mask record, the first of a trilogy with Legendary Hearts and New Sensations which brought his work back from decline, by unflinchingly examining his marriage. A couple songs have Blue Mask's stark, unadorned feel. Baton Rouge, which is mostly Reed and his acoustic guitar, is a moving reflection on past romances and directions not taken prompted by his current romantic crisis.
Ecstasy is ambitiously diverse and usually works.
Even the lesser songs hold some interest. Mad is musically lazy but Reed is still compelling singing about getting caught by evidence of dalliance. The title track is less interesting than the more direct songs but strings and percussion give it a cool, restrained atmosphere. Like their work together on Set The Twilight Reeling, Rock Minuet shows that Reed and Anderson aren't the best musical partners. It's a somewhat interesting experiment but boringly arty.