How Steely Dan finally made their perfect album
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- Опубліковано 25 вер 2024
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Aja by Steely Dan is one of my favourite albums ever. Sure, it might not generally be considered the greatest of all time - but it is perfect in a way that no other album is.
Steely Dan made records like no other band. Donald Fagen and Walter Becker would write the songs, and then to record them they'd bring in some of the world's greatest session players. Couple this with beautiful arrangements and outstanding recordings and the result is an album that allows us to hear incredible musicianship.
The perfection on this album is intentional. It's not a gift or a coincidence that this record sounds so good. It's because of thousands of hours of hard work.
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Yes! This is a perfect album! So glad I found your channel. I’ve subscribed and look forward to watching more of your videos.
Hi David I just found your channel. Can’t wait to dig in. I saw SD twice in NYC, (1 with Becker, the other, not rip). They would play 5 shows with 1 album featured each night, sprinkled with hits. Picking a night was so hard. I went to Aja night and a special combo themed night. It had a funny name but I can’t recall lol.
You were spot on. But don't let it go to your head.
How do i subscribe?
Steely Dan are a pile of Crap OK
For those of us who were listening in 1977, this album was full of hits. Peg, Josie, and Deacon Blues all cracked the top 40. These and other singles from Aja were on heavy rotation, especially on adult contemporary and AOR stations.
Deacon Blues is my favorite song by them, it changed my musical life forever.
"I cried when I wrote this song, sue me if I play too long..." That one actually made me cry, I knew what playing too long meant.
Deacon Blues was a monster hit. You could not escape it in 1977.
@@paulfreet Of course, especially after listening to Do It Again a million times and a half, Aja hit you like you never expected it.
I heard Josie while having my hair cut in 77 age 14 and i was hooked! Heard FM a year later then i bought the Aja album ! great album great musicians!
1977 was such a great year for music. We got Aja, Animals from Pink Floyd, Even In The Quietest Moments from SuperTramp, and Rumors from Fleetwood Mac. Just to name a few.
WBCN announced ahead of time that they were playing the new Steely Dan album and to get your tape recorder ready . I believe it was around 7:30 or 8:00 PM. Those are great memories from 77 !
I always say this! And list these exact albums, plus Seconds Out, a fantastic live album from Genesis. Truly the best year for music.
Even in the Quietest Moments is criminally underrated
And Elvis died
Rumours?
Steely Dan is truly one of the best bands ever imo, and there's no group I respect more. The tightrope they walk is incredible.
I was in my boat on the calm ocean the other day and I shut the motor off, went adrift, and listened to the entire Aja album. I enjoy heavenly moments in life 🙏
I'd be honored if some Steely Dan fans would take a quick listen to my live keyboard & vocal performances of HOME AT LAST and JOSIE on my YT in tribute to the Aja album. Raw acoustic with no digital enhancements. Peace and stay safe.
that’s cool. i have 2 boats tho
Well, what we have here is a young man with excellent taste in music. Great review!
Haha, thanks Bill!
I can't imagine just how many times I've listened to Aja, in entirety. Once it's started, I cannot stop listening, until the end.
From the guy who wrote "Deja Vu", David Crosby said about "Aja": “Stunning writing. Stunning production, stunning singing, outstanding playing, but songs. Unbelievable goddamn songs. It’s too good. They’re all fantastic”.
A rare intelligent comment from David Crosby, arguably the worst and most reviled sleazebag in Rock history. Stills and Young were responsible for the success of that group.
David’s quite correct, He was a fantastic writer too Imo “Deja Vu” is a hella under appreciated album considering it had a type of sound that definitely inspired bands like Steely Dan, Pink Floyd, even before darkside even inspired some postpunk type sound !
Aja is the jewel in Steely Dan's crown. Quite simply it is Dan at their finest. A never to be repeated record that is perfect.
This. Truth.
Great way of wording it Robert...AJA is easily the jewel in their crown. I'm glad I got to see them in the late 70's in NYC, that show was like sitting in the studio and watching them, that's how good it was.
Really? I'm leaning more into Gaucho now after repeated full album listens. Hey 19 alone to me is their greatest single ever. It's become my everyday scooter ride song for 3 months now..😊
@@carlheese To me it's a close second Carl, but their both master pieces in my book.
@@mr.kite0535 Yeah I think you're right. If Aja only had Hey 19 it would've been perfect.
I was a college senior when Aja was released in 1977, I bought the album and rushed home and thru it on the turntable of my new Quadrophonic Pioneer stereo and the musical perfection just blew me away. Nothing short of a musical masterpiece.
As a 70s kid, this record is one of top 10 of the decade of incredible albums.
Eric McDonald,
I’ll second that.
Then, in 1982, DF gave us The Nightfly.
He hit another one out of the park.
@@Archer335Funny though, most of the musicians were on Steely Dan records. Night fly could have been another Steely Dan album.
I have Aja on both black AND red vinyl. One of my faves. Have to say……. We REALLY DID have the best music growing up in the 70’s
Wrigman,
Indeed. 👍🏽
Beyond the decade.
As a '60's kid, I agree with you. There's good, there's great, and then there's Aja.
Steely Dan has always been that one of a kind experience. I was 14 when Aja came out and I was hooked from the first time I heard it. Back then I couldn’t explain their music. All I knew was they were different, unique, and there was nothing to compare them to really. They created a whole new genre
This is so good to read. I fell for their work with the first album. The Beatles were gone and no one seemed to have the commitment to both quality and exploration into the human experience. They lifted the mantle and effected everything.
Love seeing how many people all around really like The 'Dan. I always love reading Posts like yours
@@titus2120 I never would've thought of that; but you're right, The Beatles left a huge Vacuum that Steely found
I bought it the day it came out, put it on the turntable and gave it spin. Absolutely stunning album. I immediately listened to it three more times and it got better every time. One of the GOATs.
I always loved Donald Fagan's Nightfly. Even though it could have used Walter Becker, it was still a marvelous album. New Frontier was my favorite song.
Agree!
IGY.
Nightfly is killer, but the A Side, after IGY is honestly sub par 😢
New frontier rules
I just about wore the grooves off that album. Aja came out in September 1977, my freshman year of college. I know I drove people crazy in my dorm because I played it for months. I didn’t care. I still love every song on that album.
It was more than a record. It came out when I was in high school. It turned me & my friends into jazz lovers.
I couldn’t agree more, In 1977 my high school friend Josh brought an acetate into the music room so a few of us sat and listened to it,especially the song his dad solos on ( Black Cow ). Our small group of music geeks consisted of Brian Slagel ( Metal Blade Records founder and CEO)Mark Shulman (well known Touring Drummer for PINK ) Josh Feldman (Victor Feldman’s oldest son) along with a few other still working musicians including myself. We had no idea that what we were listening to was too become a Masterpiece. Today I still think of meeting and talking with Victor about synthesizers, he would write out charts and patches for me and then he would sign them, Yes I kept them especially the ones that we both have album credits on. I love Steely Dan and listen to some almost every day. 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽
Great to hear stories and memories like this!
This is like Brian Wilson "building" the album Pet Sounds. Brian wrote the songs, the Beach Boys sang, but every instrument was played by session players (The Wrecking Crew mainly).
Well said. It's heartwarming to see someone so young truly appreciating and understanding music created long before he was born.
David - You're an excellent story-teller with a knack for clarity and style - just like the album. Keep doing what you're doing. You've got something going here. (thumbs up!)
Thanks Blair for such a kind comment!
Amen bradah 🤙🏽
I bought this album the week it came out Sept 23/1977/ and wore it! AJa is a definte statement of musical perfection! Too much ear candy for a hip 18 year old as I was!🙏😉/ God Bless You/ Clayton
In the summer of 1977 I worked part time for my father at his drug store (back then, there were privately owned drug stores, not Walgreens or CVS). He always had a big sale that required a lot of overtime work and as a reward he let me pick something from the store as a gift. I chose Aja. I listened to that album constantly for months and it became one of my favorite albums of all time. As a bass player (for an embarrassingly long time now-I’m old!) , I really loved Chuck Rainey’s work. Classic. One of the best albums of all time I think.
In 1982, a bunch of us were having a 2-day house party in the mountains in Virginia, and I found myself at about 3:00 a.m. awake and listening to this album with another guy who was a biker. We were both huge steely dan fans. And we both reverently sat there quietly listening... For the referee whistle at 3:37...
I actually WON this album when it first came out in 1977 from KLBJ in Austin TX. So I heard it as soon as the radio station got it, and then I had it on the stereo in my dorm room a few days later and wore it out. I remember being completely enthralled from the moment Black Cow started up, just like on this video. Pure magic, and definitely, as you said so well in this video, the result of tons of meticulous artistry from conception to master. Thanks for your post. :-)
Everything about Steely Dan is perfect. The lyrics are great, the vocals are equally great and rightly matching the chord, the instrumentals are mind boggling. My most favourite band ever. Like the lines in their song. Deacon Blue’, they have a name even they didn’t rise to the hall of fame the way deserved. Salute to the band, and to you for the video about their penchant for perfection 🎉
Aja is a classic, timeless album! I love Steely Dan, and this album highlighted everything that was great about them.
For a long time, starting when it came out it was my main Lp too, we were truly blessed to be alive in such a precious time. Love your lovely descriptions, thanks.
I'm 65 now and a musician and growing up with bands like Steely Dan was a pleasure. They were truly a tight group with good tunes!
I love every Steely Dan album. All original just like the Beatles. I have a kick drum autographed by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker over the ARP 2600 in my studio as a reminder to strive for greatness.
Absolutely agree with everything you say. All their records were great but great memory of Aja. Got it on an early visit to LA in October 1977. Not yet released in the U.K. and the envy of all my friends when I brought it back home. Love it to this day. 🙋♂️🇬🇧👏👏
I wholeheartedly agree. I'm proud to say I bought this album in 1977 and still have it. Would also say that this also is the best album covet ever. Simple but perfect.
Being a drummer, I'm so glad you showed the great Steve Gadd when talking about the best studio players being brought in to play on the album. His contribution on the song "Aja" is amazing. He was brought in after the song was almost completed with 2-3 other drummers having already played on it. Fagen and Becker were not happy with what they had done, so they brought in Gadd. He listened to the song without the original drum parts, and did two takes. Gadd says he doesn't know which one they ended up using, but even if it was the 2nd one, it's unbelievable that any drummer could listen to a song like that only once and record that. The incredible drum solo, is the first of it's kind on a pop song.
Have you watched Beato’s interview with Gadd?
@@simes205 Yep - have been watching Rick for years.
In the revue he mentioned the stick click. I know that it was intentional, but many studio engineers back then would have just stopped the take.
Ajá is also one of my all time favourite.
Contrast that with what passes as music today. It warms my heart to see young people today reaching for old music to experience real artistic expression.
Thank you for your thoughtful analysis.
Beautiful. I grew up in New Jersey in the 80s and loved. Steely Dan. I joined the Air Force and moved to San Antonio were no one had ever heard of them. A few years later when I was in Japan, their stuff started paying in the clubs. I loved it.
I enjoyed your insight. I bought this album in 1977. I was 16 yrs old. It is one of the anthems of my youth. The parties, the girls. I listen to it still, and it brings me back. Amazing music during an amazing time. The 70's.
Aja is my favorite album ever and I couldn’t relate more about the “thousand of tiny little decisions done well” - the same can be said about this video :) Thank you!
Steely Dan is one of those groups that if you coincidentally hear one of their songs in passing, it'll be playing in your ear for days.
I love Aja, but I love Gaucho even more. They're both so sophisticated. Enjoyed your analysis.
They almost seem like a double album.
Gaucho can't hold a candle to Aja.
I LOVE Aja! I LOVE Gaucho. But my favorite is still The Royal Scam.
@@MrDanSchulte def can
Gaucho is the numero uno for me too. . .
It was the destination point to where Donald & Walter were always travelling.
This album came out when I was 12 and after all these years I still return to this album and am amazed at how good it is.
Deacon Blues an all time top ten favourite for me. The video of the making of the album is a treat.
That video is excellent! Can you imagine if we had a making-of video for every Steely Dan album? Would we understand the meanings of the songs better, do you think? It’s a lot of fun trying to figure them out.
It never gets old. No matter how many times you get lost in it’s pure perfection 💕
All of there albums are great Aja was special. It’s one of the best albums of all time . Aja, Hotel California, Sargent Peppers, Boston. All perfect Albums.
The Kid Charlemagne solos are first class too.
I’m a Steely Dan fan listening to their songs all throughout my entire life as a kid in high school going into college courting my girlfriend who became my wife and later being a dad to 2 kids. Today I’m still listening to their songs in my Spotify playlist and hoping to introduce this sounds to my grandchild. Yup I’m a Steely Dan grandpa fan now. Peace to everyone and always stay safe.
As a GenJones Boomer, I was in early high school when Steely Dan hit the zeitgeist, and then 20 when Aja came along. A perfect LP, and Peg is my favorite song of all time. Utterly evocative, brilliant musicianship with session players at the top of their game. Finally had the chance to see them live in 2015 a few years before the passing of Becker. Thank you for this!
Let's not forget the man that produced this album. The great Mr. Gary Katz.
good point. i think that his contribution was a massive factor
Spot on analysis, very well done. You had me at the "Steve Gadd stick click" reference; it caught me from my first listen back in '77 and no one ever mentions it. Drummer in our garage band put his own flourish on it by going 4X, as in "clickita-CLICK!"..and of course Keith Carlock has been crushing it on past tours. Aja is truly a "desert island album". Thanks so much for this!
At the young age of 7 i heard Aja being played while i walked by my older brothers room and i was blown away. Its always been my one of my favorite albums.
I was in 8th grade in 1978 at the boardwalk in Wildwood NJ and won a prize on the spinning wheel game. Had a choice of records, was between the Grease soundtrack and Aja. Needless to say I chose the right one and it's been my favorite album ever since. Deacon Blues made me want to learn guitar.
The first album I ever heard, it’s still one of my absolute favourites, along with the rest of their work. Well, almost. Great video :)
Wow what a great album to be the first you ever heard - guessing from your name what else you like haha
@@davidhartley94 haha, yes I’m very lucky. I’m only 16 but I was lucky enough to have family members (mainly my dad) who got me into Steely Dan and a plethora of other artists. I was into them before it became sort of cool again in 2020/2021. And yes, my username is indeed a reference to my 2nd favourite Steely Dan song on my 2nd favourite Steely Dan album (it used to be a Pink Floyd reference), but I enjoy nearly everything they made, as a band or as solo musicians.
I agree with everything you stated. I was 16 when Aja came out, and loved it then and still today.
My all time favourite album at 19 I bought that album in 1977 the rest is history Steely Dan - and Donald Fagen’s albums are one of the very best in the music industry ! Great review !
This is one of my very favorite albums without question.
Aja.....wore out the vinyl,wore out my cassette,my cd got all scratched up....now the album is in my laptop and ipod.
BTW Wayne Shorter's impromptu sax on the title track along with Gadd's drumming is out of this world!!!
I think all of their albums are pretty damn perfect!
The sound quality on Aja is amazing
The absolute best album of ALL time, in my opinion 😎🙏❤️👍
Pile of Crap
You are right.. but also, the lyrics are incredible, really unusual and leaves a lot to the imagination. Also, there are tons of surprises. You never know where the songs going to go form wise they’re very inventive with that. The harmonies and use of chord voicings and substitutions is insane.
are you actually jeff lorber?
Greatest album ever. Thank you for deconstructing this masterpiece.
I was 16 and this was one of my "go-to's" for many moods, but always a pick-me-up, no matter where I started.
This video was impeccably done. As someone that truly appreciates the small attention to details, Steely Dan has always stood out to me, so seeing someone make note of that collection of small decisions made correctly is something I truly appreciate. Subscribed.
My all time favorite album. You are so right about the excellence. From Steve Gadd's stick click to the whistle in Aja, the song and the album are masterpieces. I like talking about all the things in the songs. You put it much better with "perfection is lots of little things done well".
Wonderful reaction and input David. Nice to see young guys like yourself appreciating what us Steely Dan-fans have known for years. I still get goosebumps listening to this. Also, as a basement drummer, although Steve Gadd's Aja solo is the highlight, Bernard Purdie's shuffle work on Home at Last is the most interesting to me. Cheers.
My favorite playlist is just all the Steely Dan albums on random. I never get tired of it. Honestly, my top album is Pretzel Logic, but I love them all.
No one talks about Pretzel anymore , love it !
I’m so glad that somebody else noticed all of this about them. This album is flawless.
The best band in the world. Then and even now. The brilliance of their songs is only eclipsed by the stunning musicianship of the players the use.
Beatles
One of my favourite albums too! This video was really well made, thank you!
I never get tired of listening to this album. I bought it on 8 track and nearly wore it out.
Best album ever recorded. I was 30 when it came out and I was booking night club bands. I know perfection when I see it. I actually sold clubs on the idea on playing this in between band sets.
..I own the original LP and continue to be amazed at how good it sounds today even compared to recent “audiophile” releases. If the total number of formats owned over the years is a measure of where Aja ranks in my all time favorite list, Aja wins. I’ve got all the early release CDs and subsequent remasters..SACDs..hi res streaming…yes it is my favorite album and the Dan is my all time favorite band…😎
Steely Dan is the band I experienced during those "golden years" as a young single man meeting a lot of young single women. their music always brings me right back to those amazing days and nights.
A very good review & explanation of the amazing that album David. You have great insight and understanding of why this album & Steely Dan did so well. Musicians of my era (69yo) have known this for decades. I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
I think i’ll listen to it now, it’s been a fe weeks 😎
You nailed it. This is a perfect record. The space around and between each instrument is so masterfully crafted, it becomes almost as important as the notes themselves. When ever I’d get new stereo gear, or headphones or now earbuds, I’d get out Aja and put it on the turntable. It was the perfect test. Thanks for this video.
Loved it when I bought it back then and still love it now!! Genuine masterpiece
Absolute perfection. Not a dud track on it and the writing, musicianship and production is peerless.
Genius is a lot of little things done well.
Words to live by!
Finally, a clear and simple explanation of why Steely Dan's work was and is so remarkable.
"Josie" was popular on the radio. A bought the album and I was blown away - every song is perfection. I still listen to the album rather frequently. Thanks for this little honorary video.
well done. when i was 23 (2003) i bought aja on tape as my car only had a tape player. it got stuck in that tape player. while i still had radio i remember thinking of all the albums to get stuck this is the best possible somehow. i love zappa and the dead and am not a fan of all things "dan'' but to this day 20 years later i still call it the greatest album ever recorded. and it brings me right back to that year.
Aja came out during my senior year in high school. Your description of it as a perfect album is spot on, and one I have used many times in the past. Now, I was already very familiar with their work, but Aja made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. It was definitely a WOW moment. It, along with Weather Report's "Heavy Weather" which came out the same year, were my gateway drugs into jazz. Aja also forced me to go back and re-listen to the Dan's earlier albums with a new ear. I could then hear the jazz influences on the earlier albums more clearly, though it's generally agreed that Aja brought them right to the forefront.
I personally classify Steely Dan as part of the jazz fusion movement. While they were generally more on the rock side up until Aja, when they slid more over on to the jazz side.
One thing that shouldn't have been neglected in your video, was the incredible engineering by Roger Nichols. He won a Grammy for his work on Aja, and it was rightfully deserved. He was very much a part as to why the recording sounds as good as it does.
I bought a set of drums about four uears ago, enjoy many different styles and but always end up playing a couple steely dan songs every night. there is something really addictive about the sound-pure gold. well said and thanks for the recording tips.
There is no better than Steely Dan - Aja is a masterpiece.
Trying to think of a perfect record and journey infinity comes to mind . I’ve listened to this one a lot and it would be nice to hear it more on the radio these days.
1977;unbelievable......i was 15 and on their way!thx forpost!
One of my favorite albums of all time. I have loved this album since I was in hight school in the 80s. Such a great album with iconic sounds.
Great job on analyzing one of my favorite records! It's refreshing to know that the finished product didn't happen in just those few minutes to record the song, but many hours of takes and engineering. I should have realized this when I was first learning to play the guitar, piano and bass. I wouldn't have been so hard on myself lol. Thanks for the post!
awsome!
steely dan is an extra level of perfection and musicality.
I love them since Im a teenager
my favorite is the royal scam
I was 18 in 77...I knew this was genius back then....thank you young man for recognizing the music of my time...
Wayne Shorter's Tenor solo on the title cut still gives me goosebumps to this day.
World-class musicians, impeccable songwriting , and absolutely pristine production. I can't disagree with the premise here that this is a PERFECT album -- even though it's not necessarily my personal favorite album.
The drumming on Aja the song is sublime
Steve Gadd !
@@jackwezesa1081 Steve God more like it. Am I right?
@@lowend5566 You sure are . It should be Steve GODD
Truly a phenomenal album from start to finish. Incredible songwriting, musicians & production. It's one of my favorite albums of-all-time = Timeless Music.
Still remember where I was when wnew radio nyc played Aja track for first time on the air * before record released...I was blown away with the drum breaks and synth sounds *
I discovered this album all by myself by pure chance when I was a metalhead in my mid-twenties, and I immediately realized how amazing it was. So I listened to it nonstop for a long time. And I feel so proud of myself to have done that on my own, and later find out so many people have come to the same conclusion, but I realized it on my own, without the prompt from other listeners.
ok, ok...
I bought Aja the day it came out as well. It is as unbelievably great album. It's almost too good to be true!! I feel the same way about Joni Mitchell's Court & Spark LP. Many of same musicians were on both masterpieces!!
Truly an amazingly perfect album.
True..Aja is an absolute masterpiece. There is not an album or group who comes anywhere close.
ONE word - masterpiece. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
I've been listening to and marvelling at this album since I bought it in '77 as a 16 year old. I always thought they were under appreciated here in the UK, so to find your channel is a real treat.
What a great analysis and tribute to the 'thousands of tiny decisions' that created such perfection. I remember the first time I heard it in '77. We all could tell then that it was a special piece of work.
Flew to London I'm 78. The album was on the in flight entertainment. After 6 months in Europe, I returned home and immediately bought the album. A must listen to, to this day. Genius album.