Steely Dan's second album to me, is a sleeping giant within their catalog of releases over the years and I feel this is where the band truly comes into their own; even though it generated into the Becker/Fagan duo from whence it originally began a few albums later, still, Countdown is a personal fav. of mine and right off, Bodhisattva starts the disc with a bebop/jazz flavor. Denny Dias owns this track as his invigorating guitar playing runs rampant throughout, driving the song into dizzying heights of musical achievement and virtuosity. Razor Boy is a mid-paced track that features pedal steel executed well by 2nd guitarist Jeff "Skunk" Baxter and Donald Fagen's eloquent piano lines mesh well with session man Victor Feldman's marimba as well as use of the vibraphone, adding alot of color and sophistication to this clever track. Boston Rag features some great guitar playing courtesy of "Skunk" and is a number that builds upon its simplistic melody line while bringing in another countermelody that makes for an intriguing piece. Your Gold Teeth and the album's closer, King of the World, show a much more fusion influence here as the chord progressions and tricky time signatures foretell the style of albums like Aja and Gaucho, respectfully.

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My Old School features a bouncy upbeat number accentuated by horns and the gritty biting lead playing of Jeff Baxter once again, creating a minor FM hit for the band. Donald Fagen trades harmonies with Royce Jones, an up and coming R&B/Soul singer whom would  tour with Steely Dan; replacing  David Palmer whom fell to the wayside during these sessions as Fagen had begun to grow a bit stronger in his singing presence within the group. Show Biz Kids features a funky R&B arrangement with a back-up vocal accompaniment and slide guitar courtesy of Rick Derringer, thus also seeing a trend of Becker and Fagan utilizing outside help if the number should call it and is another indication of their perfectionism towards the performance of their crafts. This track would also see a bit of radio play, however, Countdown as a whole, failed to live up to the commercial aspects of Thrill; yet to someone like myself, those factors don't quite signify the wealth of musical talent in performance and song arrangements realized here. This album is an acquired taste perhaps, and once you try it a few times, its quite the reward within the Dan collection.

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Rating Grade- A+