| | Steely Dan Aja CD Steely Dan Discography of CDs
 (22 Customer Reviews)
This represents the pinnacle of Steely Dan's gradual transition from rock band to their own brand of jazz-influenced white soul. Guitars were replaced by keyboards, and saxophones became more common. Walter Becker and Donald Fagen were only interested in spending time in the recording studios, while the fans pined and waited. The result set new standards in recorded excellence, and is regularly used as a hi-fi shop demonstration. The ambitious title track was deemed too difficult for radio play and only the two overtly accessible tracks `Josie' and `Peg', gave them valuable exposure.
Additional personnel includes: Larry Carlton, Lee Ritenour, Dean Parks (guitar); Tom Scott (tenor saxophone, lyricon); Wayne Shorter, Pete Christlieb (tenor saxophone); Plas Johnson (horns); Victor Feldman (keyboards, vibraphone, percussion); Joe Sample, Michael Omartian (keyboards); Chuck Rainey (bass); Paul Humphrey, Bernard Purdie, Steve Gadd (drums); Tim Schmit, Clydie King, Michael McDonald (background vocals).
All tracks have been digitally remastered.
Recorded at Village Recorders, Los Angeles, California; Producer's Workshop, Warner Brothers North Hollywood Recording Studios, ABC Recording Studios, Sound Labs, Hollywood, California; A&R Studios, New York, New York. Includes liner notes by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen.
Engineers include: Roger Nichols, Elliot Scheiner, Bill Schnee.
Steely Dan: Donald Fagen (vocals, keyboards); Walter Becker (guitar).
Rolling Stone (8/30/01, p.128) - 5 stars out of 5 - "...Exquisite...music so technically demanding its creators had to call in A-list session players to realize the sounds they heard in their heads but could not play....AJA [is the]frustration and failure at the heart of the party."
Q (6/00, p.131) - 5 stars out of 5 - "...Sleek, smart, deliciously cynical...Lyrically opaque and using the best musical back-up in the business, this was the Steely Dan album that effectively ring-fenced jazz-funk forevermore....what rich entertainment still." Aja Music | List Price | $9.95 (You save $3.60) | | Category | Rock Albums, Pop CDs, Oldies, Rock/Pop, 70's | | Label | MCA | | Orig Year | 1977 | | All Time Sales Rank |  274   | | CD Universe Part number | 1104652 | | Catalog number | 112056 | | Discs | 1 | | Release Date | Nov 23, 1999 | | Studio/Live | Studio | | Mono/Stereo | Stereo | | Producer | Gary Katz | | Recording Time | 39 minutes | | Personnel | Donald Fagen - vocals, keyboards
Walter Becker - guitar
Also: Dean Parks, Larry Carlton, Tom Scott, Steve Gadd, Victor Feldman, Michael Mcdonald, Wayne Shorter, Chuck Rainey, Joe Sample, Clydie King, Michael Omartian, Plas Johnson, Lee Ritenour, Bernard Purdie, Pete Christlieb, Paul Humphrey, Tim Schmit | | Additional Info | Remastered |
Aja Music Review Average Rating: (4.7 out of 5 stars)   List All Reviews Aja - a mysterious clasic
Aja was the first Dan album I listened to.
My CD collection is very eclectic, and initially I got it just for the collection really. I had heard a few of their songs such as "Riki Don't Lose That Number". Little did I know the masterpiece I was about to add to my collection.
Aja is obviously superb. Technically it is, in my view, one of the best contemporary albums ever. The strange thing is, I am usually a bit alienated by technically polished works such as this. I tend to find them hard to relate to on an emotional level.
Aja is certainly emotionally distant at times, but then that's a reflection of it's subject matter. Songs like "Deacon Blues" and "Black Cow" paint a landscape of alternate sadness, joy, and loneliness that have not been equalled anywhere.
Haunting and mysterious, Aja is a beautiful work.
If you don't have this album you need to get it. I am now a definite Dan fan!
Submitted by a reviewer (Brisbane, Australia)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No 2 of 2 found this helpful.
Yummy
This album was very good, enjoyed the drumming immensely. Looking forward to getting the DVD about this album
Submitted by Kevin (East Coast USA)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No 1 of 1 found this helpful. Smooth Jazz-Rock from the 70's
From the first bar of Black Cow to the last of Josie this album is perfection.With Michael Mcdonald from the Doobie's , Larry Carlton on guitar and bringing brass in to their arrangments this was a turning point with there distinctive sound.I love this album and hope Donald and Walter find the lost Masters to BLACK COW and AJA so they can reproduce the album in SACD OR DVD-Audio formats.
Submitted by whitespark (Coffs Harbour , NSW, AUSTRALIA) 
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No Classic!
It doesn't get much better then this!
Submitted by Andy (Country,PA)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No Pure jazz
If you like jazz you'll love this classic album. It belongs in everyone's collection of great music.
Submitted by a reviewer (raleigh,n.c.)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No List All Reviews | Have you heard this album? |  |
Purchase Aja CD To buy, Click on price to add to cart | Steely Dan Can't Buy A Thrill CD (1972) Remastered
Aja
 $6.49   
This is the album that introduced Donald Fagen and Walter Becker's unique, idiosyncratic, and highly polished craftsmanship. Although CAN'T BUY A THRILL lacks the overtly jazzy tendencies that would define albums like AJA, it distinguishes itself from nearly all of the mainstream pop and rock of the era with its smooth, lounge-y feel, catchy hooks, and immaculate studio polish. They were played alongside the Doobie Brothers and the Eagles on '70s FM radio, but Steely Dan's sound was more self-conscious and sophisticated than its peers: this was postmodern R&B, dressed ...
| | Steely Dan Countdown To Ecstasy CD (1973) Remastered
Aja
$6.49
Riding high on the success of their debut CAN'T BUY A THRILL, Steely Dan put together what was, on the surface, their most commercial and straightforward album. "Bodhisattva," for example, which opens the album, works a driving, jump-blues groove that seems at odds with the band's laid-back, jazz inclinations. The heavy, bluesy stomp of "The Boston Rag" and the slinky, edgy boogie of "Show Biz Kids" may make it seem as though Steely Dan was vying for favor with their more roots-oriented pop-rock contemporaries.
Nothing could be further from the truth, however. ...
| | Steely Dan Katy Lied CD (1975) Remastered
Aja
$6.55
In 1975 after an extraordinarily successful run of releases which culminated in that "steely" masterpiece, PRETZEL LOGIC, the Dan shifted direction a bit and opened their music up on KATY LIED. The sound is warmer, the already sophisticated harmonies somewhat richer, a little bit closer to combo jazz. It's as ...
| | Steely Dan Pretzel Logic CD (1974) Remastered
Aja
$6.49
Steely Dan holds the title as one of the most quietly subversive pop bands of the 20th century. They managed--on their first two albums and, especially, on PRETZEL LOGIC--to combine breezy, ear-pleasing accessibility with an immensely sophisticated sensibility that upended most pop conventions. On PRETZEL LOGIC that combination is perfected, even as band masterminds Donald Fagen and Walter Becker moved deeper into jazz-influenced territory. "Rikki Don't Lose That Number," the album's lead off track, is a case in point. A sinuous slice of jazz-pop that merges piano ...
| | Steely Dan Royal Scam CD (1976) Remastered
Aja
$6.55
Digitally remastered by Roger Nichols (Digital Atomics, Miami, Florida).
It was the year of America's bicentennial celebration, but on 1976's THE ROYAL SCAM, Steely Dan masterminds Fagen and Becker did not share in the exultant spirit of the times. The title track--a vision of fallen America from the point of view of immigrants--has a mock-celebratory chorus: "See the glory of the Royal Scam," which typifies SCAM's heartfelt cynicism. In their next two releases (their last), Steely Dan's sound would smoothen and incorporate less rock. This is perhaps their darkest record, and for a band known for its arch mixture of L.A. cool and ennui, that's saying something.
Guitar heroes were roundly worshipped in the '70s, and two of the record's standout tracks, "Kid Charlemagne" ...
| | Steely Dan Gaucho CD (1980) Remastered
Aja
$6.49
| | Q: Are We Not Men?/Devo Live CD (1993) (Import) Import; Remastered; United Kingdom
Aja
$13.15
| | Racebannon First There Was The Emptiness CD (2005)
Aja
$12.49
| | Roman Rhodes & The Born Again Pagans Ripe CD (2006)
Aja
$17.09
"Like a flashing, shimmering silver wallJumping like lightening up a waterfall..."The compositions, words & world view of Roman Rhodes with the vivacity, virtuosity and potency of the Pagans.... "Will clear you head like a forest fire, wake your mind with the waking dreams sparking like a real live wire..." Roman Rhodes is a singer song writer with over 200 songs to his name. His songs cover a vast range of love, environmental, political, mythical and social-psychological themes in his unique blend of Country-Celtic-Roots-Rock, Lounge, 60s and satire, unified in a clear and conscious raising world view full of love, compassion, learning, wisdom and wit. Canadian born, Quebec raised, he now lives and performs in Japan/ His various experiences in work of all fields, travels, and studies of languages, the Classics and a Master's in history bring a richness to his songs with a witty, complete, conscious and compassionate world view. "Will heal your mind and heal your soul, Jump in it, drink it, it will make you whole..." Roman Rhodes from: "The Trees Once Grew High," From RIPE CD cover:The Born Again Pagans are a loose group of tight musicians from around the globe, (some of them drink a bit too). They now live in various parts of Japan and are an active part of its now thriving foreign music scene. The mix of various cultures, influences and genres spark in a creative chaos united within Rhodes' music which has brought them together, challenged them, and given their virtuosity free rein. Main Members include: Roman Rhodes: Guitar, Banjo, Vocals, Bass, Keyboards, Slide etc.Tim Wiltshire: Electric and Slide Guitars, Koto Harmonica, Banjo, Backing Vocals, etc.Atsushi Akazawa: Violin, Bazouki, Shamisen, Ukelele, Mandolin etc.Various contributing members (depending on gig)Kyoko Fukuzawa: keyboards ...
| | Big Cats On Tomorrow CD (2007)
Aja
$12.05
| | Wild Orchid CD (2007) (Import)
Aja
$27.59
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