Aja

semi-pinnacle of vibe-music

This appears frequently in "best of" lists due to its high quality production. I've definitely listened before and didn't think much of it, but this time much more impressed. Definietely one of those albums that can be appreciated more with active listening

HOW OLD AM I THAT I REALLY LIKE ALL THESE STEELY DAN ALBUMS. SEND HELP

Not my first listen, but Aja is always a welcome album to revisit. An impeccably produced and arranged record. These guys really did wonders within the studio. I prefer my jazz-rock to be a bit more energetic and fusion-y, but as it stands, this is great stuff, although I don’t think I can say anything about Aja that hasn’t already been said countless times. Highlights? The entirely of the title track, but I do have a soft spot for the instrumental portion in the middle of it. Plus, Peg is always fun.

Very easy to listen to. really funky and i loved the instrumentals. josie is my favorite on the first listen.

This album put me on Steely Dan. I didn't understand the band until I heard the first minute of Black Cow.

Bring back the sax in rock

I liked this more than I expected. Thought it would be bloodless muso walkers, but there are some well crafted pop tunes and real funkiness. Peg is a classic. Could do with some more memorable melodies, but deserves to be here. A middling 4.

I had heard the name Steely Dan often enough growing up to know they were a band, but I never knew anything more. Curiously, they invaded my pop culture bubble, and I can't help but wonder where the hell I heard their name so often. Aja was a delight to listen to -- from the jazzy groove to the playful feel to the incredibly delicious saxophone.. I relished in every detail! This album was top-heavy for me, but they closed it out with a great track, Josie. Listening to such cornerstone albums now is always fascinating. The sound in Aja feels familiar, maybe because I seek out music with a similar feel anyway, but it is crazy to imagine a world where this was the first of its kind.

7/10 - Not as good as Pretzel Logic in my opinion. I can see why someone would love this album but it just did not hit as hard.

Nr. 50/1001 Black Cow 4/5 Aja 3/5 Deacon Blues 3/5 Peg 4/5 Home At Last 5/5 I Got The News 4/5 Josie 4/5 Average: 3,86 Thorougly enjoyed this record. Super laid back, jazzy and funky.

Incredible playing, but in places, a little too slick. I prefer some of their other albums, but it's still a great listen.

Easy listening, great musicianship . Not an every day listen.

Not particularly exciting, but well played and produced.

Did you ever wonder what happened to all the band geeks from high school? Me neither, but I bet they own this album on vinyl.

MID.

All my life I've had people telling me how steely dan is the best ever and I've never ever gotten that feeling. Giving this three stars due to its influence on 90s hip hop

Bom album, gostei mto da descoberta dessa banda, mas o primeiro album (cant buy a thrill) é melhor. Queria que pudesse dar 2,5 estrelas, pq esse seria o rating perfeito, mas vai ter que ir pra 3. nota 5,5/10

Boring but it’s ok ig

It had a theme, it was fine, but it just sooo long for 7 songs

Okay, this is like a fluffy robe for your ears. Everything is so tight and cozy, it’s almost suspicious. Like upscale elevator music for 70's executives, or chill background music for folding laundry or drinking iced tea in linen or some shit. Spins: 2 Playlist Additions: - Black Cow - Deacon Blues - Peg

way way way better than i thought. i was prepared for the worst album of my life. had a very nice groove to it

Really talented band but not in a massive rush to hear again. Good to find out where de la soul sample comes from. Once you notice lisp it's in foreground. 6/10

Another proof that complexity and flawlessness doesn't guarantee an enjoyable listen. I mean, it's great; jazz rock fusion, incredible production, nice instrumentals... it's an easy listen. But I don't think I will come back to it. I can see why it's considered awesome, but ultimately, it felt bland as a listen.

The epitome of boomer dad rock. It's fine but safe and never takes risks.

3.1 - I can appreciate its musical complexity and technical prowess but I just don't enjoy this record. I gave it two spins. By most accounts it's a triumph - I've read critical reviews that say this sound is as \"ageless as intelligence.\" Then consider me part of the unwashed masses - I'm not a fan. That jazz-rock combo sounds sterile and smarmy as muzak.

It's a fine album with great sound, flawless production and expert musicianship. Just not the type of music that draws me in. Sometimes sounds like elevator music. 3.5 🌟

Instead of trying to teach kids an abstinence-only approach in sex-ed, teachers should play Steely Dan on repeat. It will be sure to squash any burgeoning sexual desires.

oo sterile , too much sax, too noodly and lacking in spontaneity. Only highlight was Peg - although the De La Soul version is so much better.

Most of the Steely Dan stuff is nothing that I'd listen to on purpose, and this album no exception. I find this extremely artificial, clean, polished, nearly sterile.

Polierte Edel-Langeweile.

The word that most readily springs to mind listening to this album is “tasteful”. Which isn’t exactly an exciting reason to listen. Sort of a rock/jazz/slightly funky fusion. The odd thing for me with Steely Dan is how the lyrics quite often have an edge to them but the music is unremittingly polished. Try as I might, I can’t get excited about them.

Jesus christ, how much Steely Dan does this list need? Dad rock, soft rock, doesn't hold up, bland, made me grumpy. 2*

Nothing wrong with it but just dull as dish water 2 stars

Peg is an absolute jam. I also like Deacon Blue. The rest……meh. I’ve never been a member of the cult of SD. I find them to be more like accessible white mans jazz. Some good tunes but I do not seek them out.

This is peak 70s music and that is my least favorite decade. This just is not for me.

Muy largo no me pescó solo me gusta Peg. No puede ser que tengas mas de 3 canciones que duran mas de 6 minutos.

Ok

Technically impressive but kinda boring.

I hated this so much. Music without soul. Soundtrack to many hotel lobbies and dentist waiting rooms. I’ll give it a 2 though because it’s so offensively boring that at least the push back to this sanitized suck-fest helped give birth to punk and all kinds of other music I love. Thank you Steely Dan for sucking. Rock is now better for it. I’m going to listen to Fugazi the rest of the day to make sure I can still feel something.

I'm pretty sure I enjoyed the other Steely Dan album I listened to during the project. This one was very underwhelming, boring even.

I think I just like one song by steely dan that's on a different album. This album sounded mostly the same. 4/10

I wasn't born when this came out. Released in the same month (September 1977) were The Talking Heads debut album, Iggy Pop's Lust for Life and Little Criminals by Randy Newman. If I had been alive back then I hope I would have been listening to all of those and giving this a wide berth.

Soft / elevator music

I'll say this, we had to drive home late after a long day. Aja by Steely Dan kept my thirteen year old happily asleep for most of the ride. This album is how I imagine much of the late 70s radio music scene must have felt.

Didn't really care for it

Definitely not my cup of tea going in. I’m not going to sit here and trash this though for too long, because there are redeeming qualities and Peg is a fantastic groove! The musicianship is beautiful and colorful but ultimately pretty sanitized and divorced from a real cultural center. The songwriting isn’t saying much aside from being a doomer 30-40 something in the late 70s witnessing the rise of Neo-liberal realism and the death of effective counter-culture. It’s cynical like Zappa but without the wild edge. Honestly it’s morose and depressing at times, and the length of the songs and consistent instrumentation defintely makes it feel very samey. With all that being said, the pocket is almost too good on these songs. The solos rip, the harmonies are perfection and the musical aspects of the songwriting are undeniably mature and influential. Its a bit antithetical to rock music but not devoid of meaning or quality. Aside from peg I don’t think I’d through anything into a playlist, as much as I’d like to reclaim yuppy music lol.

Bumbling into a fur-upholstered cocktail party full of manicured types wearing nothing but gold medallions, manicures and animal masks: what a start to the week! This is very smooth and I am totally happy if this is your kind of gig. I can’t hear the tunes for all the smoothness.

The first Steely Dan album I've listened to in full. Sounds like a collection of '70s TV themes. Peg is fun but better when sampled by De La Soul. Seems a bit directionless

Did I just listen to a hotel’s lobby music?

There are some nice ideas on this record, but overall it comes across as a bit drab and boring to me.

very easy listening. solid introduction to yacht rock. not for me. best track - "i got the news"

#97/1001 🇺🇸 A slick sounding slice of seventies sophistication. Whilst it's an incredibly well produced record, there was far more interesting, ground breaking music coming out at this time. Best track: Peg.

My previous review of Pretzel Logic applies here. This is bad lounge rock and there aren’t enough Harvey Wallbangers in the world to make me like this.

This album was one of the most boring albums I've listened to, i was so happy when it ended. would not listen again. I don't understand the appeal.

I'm glad the Eagles bullied these nerds. That's canon, I saw it on youtube.

The only good thing about listening to this is that I now know where the sample on Eye Know by De La Soul came from.

I hated Steely Dan then and I can’t stand them now. I would yell from the back seat of our Ford Grand Torino wagon to change the radio push button as soon as these songs reared their head, and as an adult I still never got past the first measure without turning the dial. Known for taking forever to record their records while in pursuit of sonic perfection, SD ironically produced pieces of work like Aja that are simply boring as hell. I would expect my rock n roll friends to punch me in the face if they ever heard me listening to this yacht rock drivel. In 1977 there were so many more exciting bands happening from Cheap Trick to The Ramones, The Sex Pistols, Elvis Costello, The Jam, The Police. Hell…too many to name. The single one positive on this album is the bass being provided by Chuck Rainey whose list of albums and artists is also too long to name.

Dude this not…great

This is not a good record. 90% of it is filler. May be a competitor for most dad rock album of all time.

Outro clássico absoluto. Esse eu descobri pelo Ed Motta, e acabei conhecendo grande parte da discografia da banda. É o mais popular, apesar de eu preferir o Gaucho, esse aqui é mais completinho e solidifica melhor o trabalho conceitual da banda dali pra frente, com um rock jazzístico bastante refinado.

This is an automatic 5 stars for me. I already have all of the songs on this one liked on Spotify. I've listened to this album so many times it's hard to be objective. I just know and love all of the songs - and it all flows perfectly together. Lyrically - I'm not even sure exactly what all of the songs are about - it's cryptic enough to keep me wondering even after all this time. I remember having this play on repeat while playing ice hockey on a pond near my parents house - back in the old days when that pond used to actually freeze enough for people to skate on it. Yes - 12 year old me was grooving to Steely Dan while playing ice hockey. Sometimes this was at night since we were able to setup some spotlights with a really long extension cord. Good times! As a 12 year old kid I didn't think of music in terms of genres - rock, pop, soul, funk, punk, blues, jazz etc. So, it didn't even cross my mind that this was very jazzy. It just sounded good to my ears. Genres still generally annoy me and I find they can be really limiting for understanding or enjoying what an artist is doing. I guess a genre description can be a reasonable proxy for understanding the general feel of some music or artist - but it's really just a starting point that becomes irrelevant the more you listen. I thought it was funny when 30 or so years later those YouTube guys started calling this "yacht rock" and invented a whole new genre around the players on this album. It was also pretty funny when they attempted to interview Donald Fagen about "yacht rock" in the documentary he just said "Go fuck yourselves" and hung up the phone. Haha! Even on the long songs (like Aja at 8 min and Deacon Blues at 7.5 min) they don't get tiring or boring because the music changes up as the song goes on. The production also creates space to hear individual instruments - piano, guitar, sax, synthesizer, bass, drums etc. You can tell these folks are all very talented musicians. One thing I would add is Steely Dan has their own sound. You can hear basically any of their songs and identify it as Steely Dan pretty quickly. I think that is a sign of a great band - that they have their own unique sound. Anyway - great listen. Liked songs on Spotify: 7/7 (perfect album) Rating: 5/5

Top tier album -- it's no surprise that top album of all time lists often include Aja. The musicianship here is top notch. They brought in ringers to perform much of the instrumentals, and it's clear. This along with jazz influence chords and riffs make it a truly high-level listening experience. Everything on here sounds so polished and refined... which could be seen as both a strength and a weakness. It sounds great, but at the same time can sound a bit lifeless... until I remind myself that this was done in the 70s before technology could be used to perfect music. This was done solely on the skill of the musicians.

Top 5 all time

This is the GOAT album

As a dad, I simply must give it a 5

Really cool funky album. Enjoyed it. Very catchy. Well done lads

Kalkulert, men fremdeles leken. Hver detalj er perfeksjonert, uten å bli kjedelig. Vi sees på Backbeat i kveld kl 18!

Fantastically produced album.

Maybe one of the best albums of all time. No weak cuts and the title song is a masterpiece.

Love it

fusion rock from everyone's favorite true unc rock band steely dan. both band leaders wanted to really try their hand at expanding their palette of players and instruments, and this effort seemed to work for a lot of people, both back then and today. also if you're wondering, it's pronounced "asia". fusion jazz seems to be one of those niches that's gotten pretty popular around this decade, especially with the carefree japanese fusion jazz music that's often paired with palm trees and footage of city hunter. and this is very VERY similar music that's from the ol' US of A. breezy, laidback rock, dreamy vocal harmonies, pretty keyboard chords, little accents that pop up here and there... a lot of steely dan's discography tends to be great and this is probably one of the best i've ever heard from them. lately i've been listening to a lot of "summery" albums... i think this album counts as a good example of one!

Great guitar, great groove, great vocal = great album

MY GOAAAAAAAATTTT!!!! Well top 5 album of all time for me. Man what do i say about this one, this album is often used to test high quality speakers and headsets due to how crystal clear the instrumentation is and just how beautifully groovy it is. Also its an absolute masterclass on adding to the greater steely dan narrative with most tracks relating to the scandalous nights of a somewhat young american (i mean the last track is about a hooker), i guess the hypothetical protagonist is getting on in age. My number one track (Aja) is an interesting track in the discography as it suggests the desire for healing and enlightenment from the lowlife described in most other tracks, and the fact it’s not last implies that the life of lust and desire always reels him back. Because i love this album so much, i won’t do standouts, i’ll just rank the tracks from favourite to least, and honestly apart from the last two, i’d rate all these as all-time favourite songs, the number 1 might even be in my top 10 favourite songs of all time. Aja > Josie > Black Cow > Deacon Blues > Peg > Home At Last > I Got The News

Goated with the sauce. This white boy loves steely dan

Classic yacht rock and that's using the Gene Yachtski scale.

5 for peg

eye know i love peg

OH SHIT YOU ALREADY KNOW. Another Steely Dan. Another masterpiece. If I could rate it a 6 I would. Bernard Perdie. Steve Gadd. Larry Carton. Joe Sample. Chuck Rainey. Michael McDonald. Tom Scott. Wayne Shorter. Incredible arrangements. Inscrutable lyrics. Very much my shit.

Incredible instrumentals. Such creativity and the drums were just 👌👌

Right my name is Jim E Brown, I've just completed a full listen of the album Aja by a bloke named Steely Dan. The sounds like it was assembled in a laboratory by men who iron their socks, and I resent how much I enjoy it. Every note is so clean and precise it makes me feel physically unwell, like I’ve wandered into a surgeon’s theatre and accidentally become the operation. It is, unfortunately, bang on—smooth to the point of spiritual emptiness, like being gently suffocated by silk......Right my name is Jim E Brown.

Love Aja; I think it's my favorite Steely Dan album but Pretzel Logic and Gaucho are both right there, too. Usually, when a band or artist removes all the rough edges of their music, it just doesn't work for me. It'll sound expensive and cheap at the same time and so often, it feels like an attempt to appeal the dullest common denominators. Steely Dan, still removed of all rough edges, are not one of those bands. While everything's been smoothed down, it's got a sleek, chrome or suede kinda feel to it. It's got some shine, for sure, but the beauty is in how asymmetrical and professional the final product is; Aja scratches every itch. Steely Dan are the real Rolex in a case full of shitty knock offs. The production quality is second to none. Lyrically, there are some more rough edges and topics visited but when those words are put to that music, it still feels nice and clean.

One of the most consistent surprises from this list. Every Steely Dan album has been great with almost all bangers. Unique vocals that meld well with the pristine instrumentals. Simply a breath of fresh air every time one of their albums pops up. 9/10

steely dan, nulla da dire, una vibe, gran bell'album

i see ya picsha... ya name in lights abubeh

ok yeah i guess these guys are good actually. i know the name but never heard their music before and kinda just assumed they were another dad rock band? im really into this bluesey funk type sound tho. type of shit that has me bobbing my head without fail. my favourite this time is "deacon blues" but it's real close. the whole album is so good it really does just come down to catchiness and this track just happened to be the one that got stuck hardest in my head. i finished my 4th listen like 3 hours ago and it's still bouncing off the walls of my skull. to dieeeeee behiiiiiind the wheel...... not the strongest 5 ive given out but it really is so solid it's hard to justify anything lower. music is pretty fuckin good sometimes.

Such a vibe

Ajed well

Good pedal work and saxophones reminded me of that phat Mr. Bungle. They come clean

So good. I didn't know Steely Dan was so jazzy.

It really is one of the best produced albums you’ll ever hear Sparkling clean and masterfully performed from start to finish Might just be their best work

FIVE FIVE FIVE FIVE FIVE STARS

Banger!

Peg is such an absolute stone-cold slammer I'm gonna be listening to that on repeat all week.

What a crazy atmosphere. Loved the instrumentals

Loved it. Top notch yacht rock

What do you want me to tell you? 5 stars, of course. Of course.

Phenomenal production and it’s just a great listen from Black Cow onwards.

The first time I got really high I was 18/19 on Cape Cod with my best friends in the world listening to this album. It’s hard for me to be unbiased but it’s a masterpiece

Buenísimo

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love this album

Second album so far that I was already familiar with. Groovy, Jazzy, Cool. My dad always told me growing up that his two favorite bands were Led Zepplin and Steely Dan. I wasn't big into music growing up but the names made me think that they were metal bands because of Lead and Steel, which I especially didn't care for. Glad I gave them a chance eventually. Review: 9.3/10 Fave songs: Black Cow, Aja, Deacon Blues, Peg, Josie

This album once again proves why it’s the best in Steely Dan’s catalog. It’s a legendary jazz-pop masterpiece with that signature cynical, smooth edge they do better than anyone. While listening I felt a strange mix of warmth and melancholy. The whole record explores themes of love, escape, freedom, and mid-life disillusionment in a very elegant and grown-up way. The storytelling is excellent throughout — each track feels like a short film with interesting, flawed narrators that pull you in. The musicianship is flawless, the grooves are addictive, and the production is immaculate. It’s sophisticated without being cold, catchy without being simple. Aja is really a gem of pop music. One of those rare albums that feels both intelligent and emotionally rich at the same time. Absolute perfection.

There is not a low point here.......or anything closely resembling it. A pure masterpiece.

Such a classic

Am I an enigma or something? I gave the Ramones first album a 5. Music that rebels against bloated perfectionist stuff like this. Which, I also give this a 5. Hmm. I am a Steely Dan fan, and own all of their 70s albums. And this is probably the crown jewel of that output. So sleek and refined sounding, while the lyrics are still as biting as ever. And every song is great. I suppose appreciating both the Ramones and Steely Dan comes down to the fact that I didn't experience the zeitgeist of the mid 70s. I grew up liking both, and still do.

Remind me of old times

vinyl day! perfect album

It took me awhile to really appreciate Steely Dan. Their songs are still pretty hit or miss for me, but I always like the subtlety of the production and arrangements. I never understood why "Deacon Blues" gets regular airplay. I don't get the hype of this album over all their others, but I love it nonetheless.

Solid chill vibes with some fusion 5/5

10 outta 10, no notes. Gotta listen to it to love it. It's so good.

5/26/26. Flawless album. Incredible production and performances by everyone on here. Perfect blend of jazz and pop that still sounds great years later! One of my all time favorites.

This is what happens when you give two obsessive weirdos access to some of the finest session musicians in the country. A collection of perfectly precise, musically complex, sophisticated songs played as pop music. There’s jazz and rock and disco and funk and soul and just the sickest grooves. Endlessly listenable and just a fantastic piece of work.

Dads🤝Yachts🤝Rock🤝Jazz🤝Me Not sure where the hate is coming from, this album is great! Good production and a smooth blend of rock and jazz that creates an enjoyable listen. Likes: Black Cow; Aja; Deacon Blues;Peg; Home At Last

Take out I Got the News and it's perfect.

F great

This is truly one of my favourite albums of all time. I’m not sure how to appropriately review such a tremendous accomplishment of musicianship and audio engineering, but I’ll give it a shot. This was the first Steely Dan record, in my mind, that veered away from the rock n roll influenced sound they released previously. Aja is a lot cooler, maybe even more relaxed in a sense? It’s as biting and intensely poetic lyrically as anything else they’ve done, but musically it’s certainly the beginning of a change in mood. If I remember correctly, this record had something like 40+ different session musicians playing on it, which is a testament to Donald Fagen and Walter Becker’s unrivalled perfectionism as much as it is to their awe inspiring insanity. It’s pretty impossible not to love this album, Fagen and Becker’s almost preternatural composing abilities, the groovy basslines that ground the tracks while also carrying you through them. The bright and funky horn sections that you can’t help but vibe to. Fagen’s piano playing is obviously a highlight of everything he’s recorded, but it’s never overbearing in the mix. There’s also some really incredible vocal work on this record, for example Michael McDonald’s backing vocals on “Peg” are really something to behold. I think that the shift I mentioned previously has lead to Walter Beckers guitar work being slightly less prominent, but every guitar solo on this record is absolutely flawless, no doubt thanks to a ridiculous number of guitar player tryouts and studio takes. From an engineering standpoint everything is spot-on. I think this may have been the peak of audio production in the pre-digital era, and even in that modern era nothing, as far as I’m concerned, has surpassed it. This is almost always the first record I put on the turntable when I set up a new hifi system, and for very good reason. I cannot personally find a single fault with this album, and I’ve spent more time than is probably reasonable listening to it. I am thankful that this one exists and I wish I could give this more than 5/5*.

One of the best albums of all time

On paper sterile jazz rock that sounds like it was made in a lab sounds like it would be an awful listen. But once you hear Michael McD singing PEG backups it's like a bearded angel calling from heaven.

Didn't last long before I hit another landmark album on this list. It's actually insane how amazing each song is here. The performances really contribute to the entire album's flow and memorability, in addition to the catchy-ass choruses everywhere! If I had to pick a favorite, it's probably unexpectedly the deep track "Home At Last" with its infectious rhythm and out-of-this-world smooth guitar solo. I love this band so much now.

Dikke slay

Not massive on Steely Dan but I'd be lying to myself if I didn't say this was elite.

Steely Dan seems to be an easy target among rock lovers. You've heard them all before: they're too clever for their own good, they're too technical, they haven't an inch of punk in them, and - god forbid - it's oh so *smooth*. And you know what, it's all true. But at the same time, I still think all these complaints are misdirected; but how do you explain that no, these guys are the *good* kind of intellectual, they're the *right* amount of smooth... etc. etc. I think the only way to properly explain, is to look at the actual songs themselves. You've got Black Cow with its strange, gospel-like choir; you've got Aja with a fantastic instrumental xylophone break turning into an even more fantastic fusion jam; you've got Deacon Blues with its insanely catchy yet deceptively bleak chorus which somehow hits even harder the third time; you've got one of the greatest yet most complex pop songs ever in Peg; you've got the brilliant key parts in Home At Last; you've got fun, bouncy dissonances in the scherzo-like I Got The News; and to top it off, you've got - alright, I'll admit - the perfectly alright Josie. With a line-up like that, what's a nerd like me supposed to do?

The is an amazingly beautiful record. It’s so perfectly produced. The first song Black Cow sampled by lord Tariq and Peter Tariq on Deja Vu ( Uptown Baby). Aja is such a beautiful song. I bought this album on vinyl after watching the yacht rock doc. Imagine my disappointment when I found the vinyl to be poorly produced and have numerous issues. But at least I can stream it. The use of 40 session players is crazy to me. But it worked and they found magic in the formula.

This was not on my "playlist" when it first came out. It has aged better than I have. Listening now, it is an exceptional album.

VERY GOOD LOVED THE HORNS

I know it's a little cheesy and not incredibly dynamic. But I love it anyway. It's fun.

I was genuinely excited when this popped up on a Monday morning. It's an all-timer. Everything about Steely Dan is seemingly totally hateful, but they deliver the goods. Evil geniuses.

Jazz, funk, pop, rock bliss. 5/5!!

Cooler than the other side of a pillow. Is it a bold take to say Can't Buy a Thrill is the better album?

Mellow. Bluesy. Jazzy. Is it elevator Muzak? Absolutely. Do I love itm Also absolutely.

One of the tightest, best produced albums of all time. 5/5 I even saved it to spotify

Probably the best engineered and best sounding analog recordings ever made. It was always used to audition new speakers or other equipment. Great songs too

This could probably be considered their magnum opus; the way the songs all work together, the extended song lengths and the peak of their sophistication. I’d still usually grab for Countdown to Ecstasy or The Royal Scam, but its an undeniably great album.

9/10

exceptional music

A nice, mellow album to start the week with.

I remember the day I listened to this album for the first time. I was listening to Vulfpeck's 1612, which references a Bernard Purdie interview in the Classic Albums episode covering this album. Home At Last was playing in the background and my mind was blown. I will fight anyone who does not like this album because you do not get it. You are a simpleton who refuses to understand the ethos of what makes Steely Dan a beloved group. Their Machiavellian method of producing means that this album has no mistakes. The cream of the crop studio musicians in Los Angeles were plucked out, made to perform, and culled if they did not reach expectation. If you do not understand the lyrics, you need to read more postmodernism. If you think the arrangements are bad, you require a more tempered ear to interpret the complex harmonic content. Not liking Aja is an issue of skill, not preference. That being said, I used to skip I Got the News every time. Bit of a blunder.

Hilarious when people say it has no edge groove or soul. Wtf. It has all that and more. Creativity. Originality. Chords used in a way others couldn’t dream of. And it’s catchy. And flawless. What they don’t get I get.

Buenardo

This is a proper album. Haters just lack the proper sophistication, dig? Sure it's smooth, but it's got teeth. Yeah, the instruments sound really, really good. Last time I checked that's a good thing. When I saw this pop up I knew this would be the Day of the Expanding Man. Nocturnal prowling, whiskey drenched and lachrymose. Seedy bars, rough characters and warm gin. The Dan paints pictures with their music, and when it really clicks there's nothing better. Easy 5/5 from me.

Love it!

I really like Steely Dan, but surely even the people who don’t have to admit that Peg is a straight-up banger?

Hahahaha. Okay. Nice. So, I know way too many people who just outright hate Steely Dan, but this album's actually so awesome! I tend to really hate progressive rock (as you may know if you read my recent review of Emerson, Lake, and Palmer's "Pictures at an Exhibition"), but the touches of the genre displayed here are some of the best examples of it that I've ever heard! The best way I can describe it is that it feels like looking at "decalcomania" by Magritte. It's so weird and abstract, but it still conjures up ideas and concepts in your head that make sense to you, so you don't quite notice how surreal it is. There's a quote that I found doing some research on this album that says "they wrote complex, mysterious songs disguised as catchy pop tunes," and that's exactly what happens here. It feels like you're listening to Fleetwood Mac, but when you listen closer, the aesthetic is closer to that of This Heat's self-titled, or Alvvays's. It sounds like... this is going to be a stretch but look up "Otto: a palindrama." That's what this sounds like. Weird, tropical, completely nonsensical at times, and perhaps even childlike in a way, but incredibly beautiful and weirdly potent. "Deacon Blues" especially is a good example of this trend, with its jazzy chords and long sax breaks, and that beautifully written last verse ("I cried when I wrote this song... sue me if I play too long!") and the perfection of its arrangement... the biggest ask when someone creates a super long song, which this album has two of, is this: "what meaning shall we assign to this abnormal use of your time?" And that's what this entire album is, really: it's a bunch of vaguely sentimental, surreal nonsense that's so beautiful that it demands you to assign genuine meaning to it. I assign a lot of meaning to it, and I adore it. 10/10

I liked this album. Even though they were experimenting with longer compositions for the album, it felt like it went by fast. When it was over I was like, “aw man, I could’ve gone for another song or two..” but all good things must come to an end, I guess. Just some plain old good music here. Favorite Song: Deacon Blues Least Favorite Song: Black Cow

delicioso sabor a jazz en mi cabeza

Black Cow - 4.5/5 Aja - 5/5 Deacon Blues - 4.5/5 Peg - 5/5 Home at Last - 4/5 I Got the News - 4/5 Josie - 4/5 Some may call this "overproduced" but I think this is a mastercraft work in how to utilize the studio effectively as an instrument itself. The genre here is beyond classification: a fusion of pop, jazz, rock, and all of the above come together create a no-filler, all-killer piece. Overall: 5/5 Favorites: Aja, Peg

Cleanest music ever.

black cow10-10 deacon blues15/10 aja10/10 peg8/10 home at last10/10 ABSOLUTE MASTERPIECE +99999/10

GOAT

Et av tidenes beste album. Top 3: Home At Last, Deacon Blues, Peg

One of the best-produced albums ever, famously so.

I'm a late in life Steely Dan bandwagonner but there is no better time but the present. Can't say I'm in as deep as many others are, but this album to me is their perfect sound and the one for the ages. Definitely a desert island pick.

Repeat listen

In many ways the most successful realization of the jazz fusion dream with an audio fidelity that sparkles. Probably the best sounding drums ever put to tape, and one of the best drum performances as well (Steve Gadd on the title track). I’m on record for not really liking recordings that are too clean, but somehow Aja manages to be the cleanest of them all while still crackling with electricity. The reason lies in the generationally-great performances and the meticulous construction of the songs. In terms of cleanness, this is not a Rick Rubin-style bleached asshole, it’s a presentation that needs no adornment or concealment of the musicians and songwriters on display. The clarity of the recording also allows for subtle brilliance in instrumental arrangements to shine through- the last minute of both Aja and Deacon Blues come to mind. Utter and total perfection.

18/03/2026 *1. black cow - ooo nice bass... love the backing vocals! horns are fantastic!! reaallly loved this one! *2. aja - very smooth... oooooo love the verse! love the saxaphone and the drumming!!!! *3. deacon blues - fantastic! love the instrumental sections in these songs <3 4. peg - great!!! *5. home at last - lovelovelove the piano at the start! love the bass in all of the songs!!!! love the squealing saxaphone? synth? can't tell what it is but it's great!!! *6. i got the news - very groovy... looooove the second bridge!! *7. josie - love it!!! always heard of steely dan but don't think i'd ever listened to a song of theirs before this and reaaallly loved it!!!

Amazing album. Peg is a song for the ages

Absolute banger of an album. I love every minute of it! Flows beautifully from one track to the next and each track can stand on its own. Just brilliantly done.

Steve Gadd is my absolute friggin' favorite. This record is full of legends. Chuck Rainey! Bernard Purdie! Larry Carlton! Victor Feldman, Wayne Shorter, Joe Sample, and on. Peg, this is one of the best sounding records ever. Headphones recommended. I can listen to the drum solo on Aja forever. Peg.

There aren’t many song as relistenable as Peg. You can listen to it in every scenario. At work? Peg. At the bar? Peg. Outdoors? Peg, In the shower? Peg. Maybe Peg should be played at my funeral. Just an immaculately recorded album from beginning to end with exceptional musicianship.

Perfection

I've listened to more Steely Dan this year than I have in my entire life! I think this is their most consistent album out of the 3 I've heard so far. Much like The Eagles and Hotel California, I can't see myself coming back to this album regularly as its not a genre I tend to consume but definitely one of the best of its kind.

Always a good surprise listening to Steely Dan!

A solid Steely Dan album. Jazz fusion is not everyone's cup of tea, but it's mine. Will definitely be coming back to this one.

A top 20 desert island-er for me

Steely Dan at their best.

Production, music, lyrics, all top notch.

no notes

SOOOO VERY MUCH LIKE IT

Steely Dan does it again. Another incredible album from them.

Just recording studio excellence on display. Love this album

uncgem

This album is great, so funky and groovy, but also with some interesting parts. It's very, very enjoyable. And a fun listening too. So, I've liked it a lot, and sure it will be an album I'll listen to other many times.

Superb album. Great instrumentation throughout. One that I keep coming back to and for that, it gets 5 stars

I feel like this was a god-sent recompense for having to listen to the horror show that was yesterday's album. EXACTLY what I needed for a Sunday evening. Also this is completely different to the impression the album cover gives off. I can't pinpoint what about this is so great- but I think that's its strength. Just beautifully made. I can't find a single thing I disliked about it.

I just danced and danced and danced

Great

Like it, its very chill

Not sure what draws me so much to Steely Dan but love their records, and this could be my favourite. Doesn't carry the hooks of earlier albums but the production and musicianship is phenomenal. Have listened to this endlessly. SPUN

I see absolutely nothing wrong with this. It was a very nice listen on a Thursday morning in the office. Excellent stuff!

9/10 Favorite: Peg

Nothing I love more than gettin a nice girthy helping of Steely Dan

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Var inte så taggad när jag såg att detta var dagens album. När jag försökt lyssna på Steely Dan tidigare så har jag tyckt det var steril pretty-rock. Så jag blev mycket förvånad när jag uppskattade detta riktigt mycket. Så antagligen har jag inte varit mogen eller i rätt mode när jag försökt lyssna på dem tidigare eller har jag valt fel alster. Aja är konsekvent, välproducerat, svängigt och skön touch av jazz och soul. Bara för att höja ett spår lite speciellt så väjer jag Deacon Blues. Ettt höjdar album!

Very good, totally could see myself chilling and just playing this till I pass out

very good, I'd buy this on vinyl

Perfect 10/10

MASTERPIECE Makes you wanna sip whiskey and smoke fine cigars Standouts - they aint one, but 7

An out of body experience. Didn't want to move on first listen, just tapped my foot and nodded my head. Sat mellowing in musical joy. No i'm not high, Sir. Wondrous.

Steely Damnnnn! One of the most undeniable 5’s on the list.

One of my all time favourites

It's the Dan, man!

This brother is free, I'll be what I want to be...

I was on the Steely Dan hate train for a long time because I perceived how cheesy they were (without really listening). But after being forced by a friend to give this a closer listen, I realized how goddamn wrong I was. This is undoubtedly in the yacht rock camp, but it's so much more. The jazzy licks, the rollicking bass, the crisp drums, the impeccable musicianship and absolutely pristine engineering, it's got everything. There are so many modern artists that have got to be influenced by this band (Thundercat I'm looking at you). Haters are gonna hate, and surface level this is an easy target. But I'm a happy convert to Steely Dan and especially Aja.

the dan always brings it. more should be bringing it like this

Optimal listening conditions: on a small yacht or large houseboat while “making love” to a hairy chested, heavily mustached man in 1977, stoned off my rocker.

Big-time bangers right here. Thank you to De La Soul for introducing me to Peg at a younger age. Just a couple moments to notice: the solos on the title track, the horn line during the post chorus of Deacon Blues, Michael McDonald showing up on Peg and I Got The News, how Home At Last and Josie catch you with its melody. Honestly Black Cow is my least favorite cause I don't really have anything to say about it, it's just good to me and the rest are great. The whole thing is great. (9/10, 5/5 on this scale)

STEELY DAN

caralho, que álbum BOM. nada melhor do um jazz bem feito.

LOVE

I feel like this just has to be a 5 star album. It is pretty short but every song is either a classic or an underrated gem.

At least four all-timers, feels like one long song. If you like jazz rock then its a 5, if you dont its a 2.

This album is awesome...call me a dork, I dont care. Top tier musicianship, oddly dense/clever lyrics, and just expertly constructed songs. Steely Dan may have had an ironic millennial resurgence, but to me, its not ironic. Its funny that people think this is "white people music" when the so many of the session players (notably Chuck Rainey and Bernard Purdie) were Aretha's backing band. Shoutout to my hero Wayne Shorter for the sax solo on "Aja". This is their best album...I love "Home At Last" with the Purdie shuffle, "Black Cow" is a great opener, "Josie" is a great closer (the intro sounds like Steely Dan's take on a metal riff), and "Peg" is just a staple. Those loud Michael McDonald harmonies in the chorus always kind of make me laugh....they had to know that was funny, right? 5 stars.

Really enjoyed this one. It had funky tones and didn't just feel like regular guitar music.

incr?????

Silk shirts, late nights, and immaculate vibes. Rating: 4.8/5 Short Review: This album is precision pretending to be smooth. Every note is placed like it went to finishing school. Jazz rock perfection with a soft glow and a sharp mind underneath. Favorite Track: Deacon Blues. Melancholy, cool, and quietly devastating.

Chinese music always sets me free Really enjoyed the chill listen this album provides, good songs all around

I don't think I've ever been so sad to hear an album end before. This was absolutely incredible. Finding stuff like this is exactly why I'm doing this project. 5/5 hands down.

Steely Dan hit their stride from the get-go back in 1972, but they reach a wonderful climax with Aja. It's truly their crown jewel, featuring extremely precise (and complex!) instrumentation, chords that are impossible to follow but ridiculously easy to love, and some out-of-this-world virtuosity. Steve Gadd, Wayne Shorter, Larry Carlton, Chuck Rainey, Bernard Purdie, Victor Feldman... those are just a few of the vast array of rock and jazz legends featured here. "Tasteful" is the word to describe this record, along with "precise", "perfectionist", "smooth", "eloquent", and (arguably) "perfect". It probably helped to have played Black Cow in a jazz band prior to listening to any Dan tunes, but I'm convinced that I would've become obsessed with this band in a heartbeat even if that weren't the case. And Aja is truly their crown jewel. At least, unless you ask Dan diehards who try to justify Gaucho or Two Against Nature as deserving of the #1 spot. Those two are great as well, but Aja is catchier and more timeless. Maybe an unpopular opinion, but Black Cow is the strongest track on the record. I've jumped between Peg, Aja, and Black Cow over the years, but the latter is the current frontrunner. A masterful keyboard solo, a slow, chill bassline that (for lack of a better description) caresses your heart, a great horn section, and an extended outro that'll absolutely blow your mind. Aja is, as another reviewer described it, nearly impenetrable. It's a confusing, exotic whirlwind of mu chords, clear-cut piano lines, and lyrics about Chinese music (maybe?). And man, Gadd's and Shorter's combined drum-sax solo might honestly be one of the greatest things humanity has ever recorded. Even if you don't like the title track, it's worth sitting through to get to that explosion of dynamics and emotion, those ultra-complex drum fills, the sax shredding... and so on. I've probably listened to this album close to a hundred times, and Deacon Blues has slid down to one of the lower spots. It's most focused on the chorus and the overall lyrics, the latter of which I don't tend to put stock into with music. It's a great song, though. The backing vocals are tremendously good (and memorable), and the production is obviously on point. Peg is where the album hits a "pop peak". I've heard lots of people describe Peg as the gateway drug that got them hooked on Steely Dan, and I can't really argue with them there. A peppy funk-rock tune with some great brass lines, Michael McDonald nailing the chorus backing vocal, and a warm, enthralling guitar solo. And you can't really go wrong with 12-bar blues, especially if it's the only instance of it on the record. Home At Last is a rock-solid instance of doing the Purdie Shuffle correctly. That piano line (played by, presumably, Fagen) works wonders, and the track has arguably fewer imperfections than any other. The following song, I Got The News, is best thought of as a jazz jam session, with the piano part almost verging on free jazz in terms of complexity. It's so darn tough to follow that you're almost better off pushing it out of focus. Which is, I think, a lot of the reason people consider this the album's worst track. Without appreciating the keyboard, the song only picks up the bass when the drums hit a better combination of frequencies in the middle and we get some vocal harmonies going. We end with another funk-rock piece, Josie, which has a catchy beat (thanks mostly to the bassline) and probably Fagen's best lead vocal on the album. My personal highlight is the intro guitar melody. It's so weird, and yet so, so good. And now let's take a peek at the reviews... What? People think this is boring? And that punk is more interesting? Listen, I'm no music expert, but there's a heck of a lot more to ponder over in ridiculously well thought out jazz-pop-rock fusion than in a group of five British 20-year-olds who know little to nothing about music. You can spend hours tinkering away over a guitar, piano, or set of drums trying to work out Fagen and Becker's undeniable genius, but it's generally tough to do the same with punk unless that band is fused with another genre. There's a reason the punk movement hasn't stood the test of time as well as other genres from the same era. (Well, most other genres, anyway. I'm not letting disco get away with this.) 5/5 Key tracks: all

One of his best albums! Every song a gem

Genuinely enjoyed this album!

this needs more original suggestions, great album for warm lighting and a nice rum and coke, blanket on type shit

One of my top ten albums.

As a dumb kid, I used to think Steely Dan was lame and just music for old people. Then, as I became an old person, I realized Steely Dan is for old people because most young people can’t appreciate just how good Steely Dan is. Take Aja, for instance, it was the sixth album for Steely Dan, and while you have a certain Steely Dannishness running through all the albums, the group, or more specifically, the duo kept experimenting, using different session musicians for each album. Steely Dan just liked pushing the boundaries and creating music they wanted to hear. Steely Dan was essentially Walter Becker and Donald Fagen and whatever session musicians they decided to hire for an album or a tour. On Aja, the Dan wrote longer songs with more complicated arrangements, while also writing two hit songs you still hear on the radio today in Peg and Deacon Blues. You’re also likely to hear Josie and Black Cow off this album as well. Beyond just fabulous musicianship, Steely Dan has a wry sense of humor when it comes to lyrics. For instance, Deacon Blues is about a loser who thought that the losers of the world should have a name like Alabama is called the Crimson Tide. "They’ve got a name for the winners in the world, I want a name when I lose. They call Alabama, the Crimson Tide, call me Deacon Blues." Brilliant. The Steely Dan style can be described these days as Yacht Rock, which gets a bad name with people thinking it's cheesy or campy music made to be made fun of. However, there is nothing cheesy or campy about Steely Dan. They are true musicians who make very technical, but accessible music to just chill out to, party to, make babies to, whatever you mood you're in, Steely Dan can heighten it. I can’t recommend this album enough, along with most of Steely Dan’s catalog. Listen to this immediately, if not sooner.

This was already one of my favorite albums of all time.

good old rock 9.4/10

pretty groovy good

I leaned 4 all day, but the Purdie Shuffle pushes this to the top. Classic.

My most listened to artist lol

One of my favorite albums of all time

Greatness

I'm mad at myself for not knowing who this band was before today.

Steely Dan – *Aja* (1977) In-depth review from lyrics to legacy --- ### 1. Lyrics – Noir novellas in 8 bars or less Every song is a short-story: bored suburbanites, wannabe jazz martyrs, addicts, drifters and dreamers. - **“Deacon Blues”** – A mid-life cri-de-coeur: the narrator trades respectability for “the expiring legend of the doomed jazzman” (“I’ll learn to work the saxophone… and die behind the wheel”). The lyric is both romantic and pitiless; Becker & Fagen let the delusion glow just long enough to burn. - **“Aja”** – A name that becomes a place, a woman, a mental state. Anaphora (“Up on the hill…”) and assonance (“dime dancin’… I run to you”) turn the lyric into hypnotic mantra rather than narrative. Asia is evoked but never pinned down—orientalist fantasy as refuge from “hardware” (drugs? guns? studio gear?) . - **“Black Cow”** – A relationship ends over drugs and infidelity; the “black cow” is both a floatable soda and the dark residue of addiction. The last line (“You will walk… and I will run”) flips guilt into contempt in seven words. - **“Home at Last”** – Odysseus in L.A.: the calm *after* the storm may be the next drink. The sirens here are smooth background singers and expensive studio reverb . **Verdict**: razor-sharp character studies, laced with literary devices (alliteration, internal rhyme) that survive even the most cryptic plot lines. --- ### 2. Music – Jazz-rock that refuses to jam Harmony: 9ths, 11ths, 13ths, #11 alterations—changes more common to late-period Duke than Top-40 radio. Yet every chorus is hummable. Groove: linear funk and shuffled swing coexist; drum patterns often *imply* the backbeat instead of stating it, giving the music its floating, yacht-but-not-yacht feel. Form: through-composed intros, pre-solos, tag endings; no blues clichés. The title track is a mini-suite: Latin pop theme → Wayne Shorter tenor solo → Gadd drum feature → recap, all without a single “verse/chorus” repeat . --- ### 3. Production – The $100 000 click - 8-track analog fattened to 24-track slaves; every overdub flown in by hand. - Micro-managed but *not* mechanical: Roger Nichols’ custom “Wendel” drum-computer only *enhances* Gadd’s human feel, never replaces it. - Audiophile checklist: minimal compression, ribbon mics on horns, Neve 1073 pres, tube limiters; the album is still a hi-fi showroom standard . - **Downside**: the pursuit of flawlessness can feel airless—some call it “sterile” because the same musicians rarely played together long enough to develop bandstand ESP . --- ### 4. Themes – The Dan worldview in one LP 1. Escape vs. Entrapment – Every protagonist wants out (of marriage, of the suburbs, of linear time itself). 2. Artifice vs. Authenticity – Smooth surfaces belie rotten cores; the music *sounds* relaxed yet is mathematically rigid. 3. Death as Career Move – “Deacon Blues,” “Aja,” even “Josie” flirt with self-obliteration as the last creative act. 4. Exotic Other as Sedative – Asian, Greek, Caribbean references function like Valium: they calm the white-collar anxiety that permeates the lyrics . --- ### 5. Influence – From hip-hop to hi-fi - Sample fodder: “Peg” (De La Soul, Kanye, ATCQ), “Black Cow” (Lord Tariq & Peter Gunz). - Engineering template: Mark Ronson, Flying Lotus, even Daft Punk cite *Aja* for “how to make digital feel analog.” - Jazz gateway: Introduced a rock audience to Wayne Shorter, Steve Gadd, the Brecker Bros.; Berklee still uses “Aja” for chart-reading classes. - Yacht-rock backlash: became the punch-bag for ’80s slickness, yet that same slickness guarantees immortality on streaming playlists. --- ### Pros & Cons (quick-glance) | **Pros** | **Cons** | |----------|----------| | Harmonic sophistication that *still* gets radio play | Over-perfection can feel emotionally distant | | Lyrical short-stories richer than most novels | Cryptic enough to alienate listeners who want literal meaning | | Legendary performances (Gadd’s 32-bar drum break, Shorter’s solo) | Revolving-door session line-up sacrifices band chemistry | | Production remains a audiophile benchmark | Michael McDonald’s backing vox date-stamp some tracks with Doobie hue | | Seamless genre fusion: pop hooks + jazz voicings + funk grooves | Middle-eight modulations sometimes sound *too* calculated | --- ### Bottom line *Aja* is the sound of two sarcary intellectuals proving that meticulous can still be sexy. It is neither rock nor jazz nor soul, but a fourth thing that absorbed all three and polished them until they reflected the anxieties of late-’70s America. Forty-eight years on, the album still feels *future*—a high-gloss mirror that refuses to crack, even when the image it reflects gets darker every decade.

Favorite Track: Black Cow

Everything steely Dan does is gold

Aja is an audiophile classic for good reason. I only heard it about two years ago when I got an oldish vinyl copy included with some secondhand speakers I bought from a retired doctor. Even a brief Google search about this album will give you a solid overview of the importance of this record as an example of studio brilliance. And, oh boy, that reputation is fully earned. When I first heard this album, I liked it, but I had to think long and hard about why I liked it at all and, especially, why I liked it so much. On a surface listen, it is exceptionally smooth and well-produced soft yacht rock, not really my favorite style of music to begin with. But with deeper listens, the album reveals a deep creativity in the minutiae of the production. It's in every meticulously placed note (i.e., all of them), in the layers that blend together and then are expressed as instrument separation, in every perfectly controlled flirtation with off-key singing. And there is a lot of low-key weirdness on Aja, too. There are very unique lyrical and music phrasings, an uncanny valley between accessibility and left-field genius. The lyrics aren't heavy-handed, but they still have depth, self-awareness, and sarcasm. The Beatles were studio obsessives, but they specialized in accessibility and early pop experimentation. Pink Floyd also used the studio as an instrument, but their messages were overt: your time is running out, malevolent external forces are seeking to control you, and there is little you can do about it. Steely Dan is much more subtle on Aja. There is no obvious messaging, no gut-punch accessibility or fear. The record is clinical and cool. The artistic obsession is not worn on the sleeves; it's in the very stitching. Five stars.

One of the few that I’d heard before. Exceptional production. Musically, has a very unique vibe—probably not for everybody, and definitely not for my wife. I’m not sure if it’s because I’ve listened to a lot of crap on here recently, but it really hit today. The solo in Aja was peak.

peak quintessential 70s classic rock steely dan you’ll always be famous

This is peak Dan. Not a note wasted. Only seven songs, but what great songs they are! “Deacon Blues” is my highlighted track here. Geffen dropped a fully remastered vinyl edition last year (2014) — do yourself a favor if you own a turntable and buy it.

I bought a greatest hits Steely Dan CD in the closing sale of the Sunset Tower Records in 2008 and found it so boring. I think I had also heard Two Against One when it came in 2000 and found that extra boring. But Steely Dan finally caught up with me, and now I've elevated them to musical godz. This is my favorite of their albums and like a good middle aged semi-sophisticate, I listened to this on vinyl over the weekend and loved every moment.

CLASSIC

Classic album. Sonically sounding triumph. Best recording I have for my headphones. Great music.

5/5

Probably the best-produced album of all time. So insanely good with some super dense jazz fusion AND at least 1 top 40 hit. On top of that it is simply wonderful to listen to.

Good stuff

I confess that I was never big into Steely Dan, my tastes leaned towards more aggressive things when this album was released- but after slogging through over 300 albums on this list and being subjected to some of the most inane shit ever recorded I’ve come to appreciate bands like Steely Dan a lot more now that I’ve acquired some wisdom. A plus 1 star for not making me want to commit suicide.

Perfect album. No notes. I am so disappointed with the majority of the reviews here.

classic

Yep, that's good music.

Love this album, listened to it a 100 times, and I will a hundred more.

The absolute peak of yacht rock.

Great album as a whole, but Peg, oh my god: the forward motion, Michael Macdonald as backup singer! Fantastic!

Great

Once again, I have nothing to add. It's a great album. Becker and Fagen are brilliant writers. To me it's especially evident by how many tracks they AREN'T on. Like, Fagen is on all of them but a couple are vocals only. And Walter Becker doesn't even play on Peg!? There's so much going on with this album both behind the scenes and with the final product. It's worth the exploration.

Saturday morning. Coffee. Rain outside. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would

I really want to give this a 4 but like, it slaps

I came to this album late and had always heard how great it was. And when I finally listened, I completely agreed. A perfect album.

This was really good

An amazing record.

Need more stars.

The album where Steely Dan put it all together, as if they hadn’t done that out of the gate. There’s 5 absolute perfect songs here, 4 of them on the first half of the record. The production is immaculate, as perfect as anyone has ever made something sound in a studio. And the lyrics are so achingly awkward, stories of true losers and junkies. Fagen and Becker are at the top, and obviously couldn’t stay there. For a shining moment though they were the absolute peak of jazz fusion and for that they deserve their flowers here.

Day680 - a top one hundred album of all time with four of their best songs. its a foundation of yacht rock whether donald fagen likes it or not

Another easy, five stars for me, but I’m a huge Steely Dan fan. Love the mix of jazz and pop, each song paints a beautiful picture for me, it’s just amazing. I think everybody needs to listen to it at least once for the sound quality, even if you’re not a fan of the music itself. Home at last is my favorite underrated track.

So good but please dont call it yacht rock. A fenomenal jazz fusion record with mindblowing production and quality.

Dudes rock

Easy money. Perfect as is. Stunningly produced. Aja and Josie are the worst songs on the album and I'm in love with both. MICHAEL MCDONALD ON I GOT THE NEWS. It's between this and Gaucho for the best Steely Dan album. Gaucho not being on this list is a travesty.

Ah yes. Steely Dan's Aja. A legendary album among audiophiles and well-deserved. Even to this day, it's a reference recording for audio system demos and evaluations. The production is nothing short of landmark. This album is just a joy to sit with, especially on a good, revealing system where you can really "see" the soundstage.

I usually think of Steely Dan as music for drinking beer in the garage, but this smooth, jazzy album is sophisticated enough for drinking brandy in the living room.

Great album

Love it

Absolute masterpiece.

great, tasty

sophisticated, sharp - and somehow this avoids the feeling of being over-worked, despite the legendary tales of the near endless quest of the recording process.

Their best

This is a great album!! I was relaxed listening to this album!!

I could listen to this album every day for the rest of my life and still enjoy it!

I love this album. It combines the best part of jazz with the best parts of disco. I don't listen to either of those albums, but it sounds like relaxing NPC music with Earth, Wind, and Fire vocals. I'll need to give this one another listen to really understand the musicality, but it was a great listen.

One of the best from a catalog of great records by Fagan and Becker.

Awesome!!

Steely Dan fucks

Easy five stars. One of the best engineered albums ever recorded. ‘Nuff said.

Yes! Finally, on my 97th album....something good! Some philistines out there describe this as elevator music. I am sure this stuff is played on elevators all the time. However, if all music on elevators was this good I would have long ago changed my name to Deacon Blues and permanently moved into the Chrysler Building.

really vibing with this

Chillest rock ever

Great album!

Behold the advent of jazzy yacht rock. The production quality on this album is insanely high, so as you're sipping your wine coolers on the deck of your 30-footer, there'll be nothing but high fidelity bouncing over the waves.

What more can be said? Perfectly engineered. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, these dudes knew what the fuck they were doing and what they wanted to achieve.

Any excuse to listen this. Every track is a groove - the best musicians, amazing lyrics, a quirky voice. I used to hate Steely Dan. When this Gaucho were released they got played up and down WXRT in Chicago and I just got sick of them, never wanted to hear them again. When it was time to purchase my first CD, before I even had a player but knew this was going to be an amazing medium for playback, I bought a copy of ‘Aja’. Haven’t looked back.

I will say this is an album I probably would've never listened to without this generator. I never thought Steely Dan would be my type of music. But I listened to the album all the way through and loved every song! Even made a new playlist to put all the song on. I love the 70's era and this album just encapsulates that era. I love the long instrumentals. I can't help but want to use the word groovy when listening to this album. While I was listening to the album I felt peace and chillness and alot of reflecting happening. All that to say I LOVE THIS ALBUM!

Eu gosto bastante de Steely Dan, acho uma banda verdadeiramente patrícia, e este disco evidencia bem o porquê. É um álbum imaculadamente produzido e tocado. Os musicistas expostos nestas canções são simplesmente fantásticos e impecáveis, e a produção por trás deles é tão aveludada que é impossível achar sequer um furo. O disco inteiro é um deleite pros ouvidos, e deve ser ouvido por todos, porque mesmo que você não tire o maior proveito das faixas, você certamente vai aprender (no mínimo) como a percussão deve soar em uma gravação popular. Só ouvir a faixa Aja pra ter uma idéia! Mas pra mim, pessoalmente, o disco vai além de suas qualidades técnicas. Eu acho a dupla incalculavelmente criativa em seus arranjos e em suas composições. Minha faixa favorita do álbum é Deacon Blues, e é o tipo de canção que fica verdadeiramente grudada na cabeça. E lembrando que este disco não é nem perto de ser meu favorito do grupo. Enfim, um álbum infálivel e imaculado merece 5 estrelas facilmente. 5/5

Perfection from start to finish. Each song a new wondrous story. No wasted lyrics and each instrument plays a part. Aja is dreamlike, deacon blues is funny and interesting which is almost impossible. Peg is the song of a thousand samples but the original has a kick like a farmyard mule. A lot of competition but this is the definitive steely dan album.

4.7

Love this album and listened to it twice today. Deacon Blues is one of my all-time favorite songs!

Very jazzy. Kinda reminds me of various Citypop / Japanese jazz fusion artists, especially Keiichi Oku with the "The Good Bad Girl" album.

Even if Steely Dan’s music isn’t your thing, Aja demands respect for its immaculate production and musicianship. The sound is pristine, every session player nails their parts with precision, and nothing feels out of place. As the pinnacle of Yacht Rock, it’s hard to imagine the genre getting any better. Personally, I find the singles from “Can’t Buy a Thrill” more enjoyable, but there’s no denying that Aja is the more flawless and fully realized vision and record.

Excellent through and through, all great songs.

One of the best sounding albums ever recorded! And I’m not just talking about the audio quality 😊

The coolest fucking album in the world. I wish I was in the studio with them doing coke and drinking whiskey. The ultimate vibe of jazz-rock-pop every one is on top form and just killing it, the drum solo in Aja is phenomenal, but that's what you get from Steve Gadd. Best Song: Peg, an absolute masterpiece, Michael McDonald on backing vocals with a voice like big hairy angel.

If you had of asked me 5 years ago how I felt about Steely Dan, I would have said mediocre at best. I thought they were cheesy and missing soul. But somehow over the last year I have discovered and developed a mini obsession with this band. I feel like after years of ignoring them something has recently clicked and now I can't get enough. They somehow combine a super tight, polished sound with infinite creativity. They blend jazz, rock, R'n'B funk and soul into music they sounds equal parts improv and tediously rehearsed. I think Aja is a perfect example of what they do well. There are little hooks and earworms between super out there guitar and horn solos somehow all coming together. I could listen to this over and over and not get bored.

I thought I knew Steely Dan, but I was not prepared for such smooth, funky, jazz rock when I first listened to this album. It really makes you want to sit back and relax on a yacht with a nice glass of whiskey. This is a really solid album front-to-back, the production and the playing are all next level. I Got the News is the track that really stood out to me; I absolutely loved the staccato, off-kilter piano line.

Love it. Own it.

I love thia akbum. Peg is too good.

Really great Jazz-Rock album, however, I understand Steely Dan is not for everyone. The engineering and production on this album is stellar which is the primary reason it is so highly regarded. It has grown on me over time and listens. It gets a 5 ⭐️ from me.

Great album and Aja is probably the style I think of when I consider Steely Dan with the heavy jazz integration. Super smooth, the accomplished production is a big plus but the songs themselves are just so easy to listen to. "Easy-listening" is a bit of a backhanded compliment but I mean that everything just sounds good. Despite some of the tracks being long it's all a pleasure, with Peg a highlight, but consistent throughout.

Soooo I loved this album. It was great for a late night drive and was just so fun!

Top notch musicians setting down iconic grooves. Fagen and Becker were rumored to be perfectionists. They lived up to the hype.

A masterclass. Fantastic album.

Aja and I go way back. After a fresh listening I still know this album is worthy of being on this list. Even if you don't love it, it's still worth hearing once. IMO this is Steely Dan's pinnacle.

Only my #3 favorite Steely Dan album but indeed the white funk prog rock masterpiece it’s known to be by those who feel it.

Incrível descobrir essa maravilha de disco!