Aja

I’ve quite liked the other Steely Dan albums on this list but I found this a bit dull if I’m honest and it missed the great songs of their other stuff But disappointed as I thought I’d become a Steely Dan fan

Somewhat overrated. Well executed but the music very much lacks feeling. It’s just “insert jazzy chord here” over and over again.

No takeaways from me, but this put Steely Dan on the map for me, I didn't realize they had so many hits. Good album overall, but one I won't revisit

Production here is amazing and I guess that alone warrants it's place on the 1001albums. It's clear that the musicianship's there too but this not my cup of tea.

I just wish it was The Royal Scam, my favourite Steely Dan album

A very well crafted album -- maybe too much so. This album, containing only seven songs, was released right at the cusp of a new age in music, where shorter songs were valued over eight-minute ego trips. Case in point: Their next album was Gaucho, another seven songs, a full three years later. Aja was released about the same time as Elvis Costello's My Aim is True. By the time Gaucho was released, Costello had released around forty songs, each a mini-masterpiece. TL/dr: Aja was well-crafted, but that's about all.

It's okay. I didn't hate it but it's not great either.

Not for me, but I understand why it is important.

Mmmmmm chill yacht rock

Groovy. Jazzy. Fun. Yeah. I liked it. Not exactly my style of rock, but I'd listen again. I would come back to this in the future

Not for me. Great musician ship and layers to songs, but nothing stood out

Ihan mukavat vibat. Musiikillisesti silleen taidokasta ja nautinnollista kuunneltavaa, mutta hieman tylsä, joten meni lähinnä taustamusiikkina.

nicht meine Musik

Hits from my youth. Radio music to me 6.0.

Its ok

Fucking critics wanting everything to be more Jazz

Decent

Decent album

Kept falling asleep, not what I expected.

For some reason people have decided that this is the DSOTM of yacht rock

I can understand why some people really likes this. It's good, but I don't think it is incredible either.

„I wrote 7 songs but they are all meh“ 🤷‍♂️ „Let’s overproduce them so nobody notices“ „Splendid!“ 🥂 „Look now they even put it on the 1001 album list“ 🙃 “We trolled them so hard!” 🤘

70’s rock

70’s rock

It was fine

Sorry Dad, I don't like it as much as you do.

Steely Dan is synonymous with yacht rock, much to Donald Fagen’s chagrin. I happen to love yacht rock, so I consider this a compliment. With that said, I don’t love Steely Dan as much as I do their counterparts. The musicianship on the album is excellent, but I’m rather ambivalent about Fagen’s voice. Certain songs like Peg sound so good with his vocals and others just fall flat for me. Michael McDonald’s backing vocals on a couple of songs definitely add dimension. I really enjoyed the various rhythms on the album and found them interesting. Some of the album sounds dated, but that’s added value in the yacht rock world. A little nostalgia goes a long way.

3/5 - fairly solid album, that's about all I can say!

Very mellow - all very pleasant. An album to have on as mood music

Steely Dan is weird to me because I think everybody knows who Steely Dan is but simultaneously nobody could tell me a single thing about them

2/1089 I don't have the attention span for 7-minute songs, and especially not an album full of essentially the same 7-minute songs over and over, but I like the drum solos, and the production is indeed crisp. 2.5

I liked a lot of the grooves on here. Not offensive to listen to, but also not extremely interesting either. I asked myself a few times why this album sounded like the intro to one of those educational TV shows you watched on vhs when the substitute teacher was in. I like Deacon Blues though.

Listenable.

Muy reputado álbum de jazz rock que no alcanzo a determinar si es el culmen de un género que recoge múltiple influencias o si es el punto de partida que ha influido a cientos de músicos posteriores. Sea como fuere, a mí me ha sonado a antigua. De mucha calidad, pero falta de punch, para mi gusto.

Good album because steely always makes good music very easy to listen but more of the same this thou its probably one of their best records

I always assumed Steely Dan was country music. Turns out it's some really smooth 70's funk-soft rock fusion kind of thing. The bass is working overtime on its interesting and groovy basslines and each song has a soulful choir of background singers. It's incredibly 70's but I did find myself enjoying the toe tapping funky melodies.

I mean it's great. Not really my taste in music tbh. A lot of the album kind of just blended into one and as a result nothing was super memorable Subject to change if I come back to it 6.8/10

Better than my last Steely Dan but still Didn’t need 2 albums by him in & days 3.5 stars

Cool sound!

First listen through the album. Didn't know much about Steely Dan. Sounds like an interesting way of creating an album!

Soft smooth soul/rock (easy listening?), with jazz elements. In places sax solos get quite jazzy indeed. Aja end with long improv section? Some latin elements again. Harmonies/chord progressions are notable, not typical sounding. Not sure I like though. Reminds me of KG's Changes or Sketches, but without so many hooks. Some instrumental bits are good but vocals are meh. Josie is good funk riff, then ruined by those ambiguous/jazz chords. Decent length album too. Best track - Home At Last, Aja, Josie 3 stars

It was pretty good, but honestly I don't really see the big deal about Steely Dan. This is another that I'd probably give three and a half stars, but this time I'm rounding down.

I'll give this one 3 stars. It's ok.

Know that the band name is inspired by William S. Burroughs' Naked Lunch changes my perspective a lot. Putting that aside, very pleasant to listen to in the background. ★★★

Nice listen. But given its cult status, I expected more.

i actually really liked this. would listen to it again.

Play that funky music white boys I guess. Enjoyable listen.

These guys are really good. They play very clean and tightly together, but I just can't find myself in their target audience. I assume this is for hippies turned yuppies? Very boomer. It is weirdly good, just not that enjoyable for me.

I really enjoyed parts of this and others not so much. Think it might grow on me though.

I feel like I only ever hear people saying they fucking love this album or it's complete ass where in actuality it's pretty good 3.5*

Ok I’m not going to lie, I did come in with some preconceived ideas about how I was gonna hate this album and I didn’t hate it! Peg and black cow do feel like the only reasons I’d come back to it but overall not too bad!

Blimey, there’s a lot of Steely Dan in this list. This album was more jazz inspired than the others, and I recognised Peg from De La Soul’s sample. Besides that not too much to note. Made a nice enough soundtrack while I made huevos con chorizo for lunch.

Solid

I don't understand why this album is so revered, I mean it's pleasant enough but that's it. It is unexciting, safe and perfectly nice. there's absolutely nothing wrong with this album, other than it felt like they were playing a 40 minute long song, the songs are so similar.

I was sort of enjoying this album but also thinking it was a bit mediocre and then, 💥out of nowhere came Peg and I was like I know this and it changed the whole album for me. I still don’t think it’s the best album I have ever heard but I did start enjoying it more.

Jazz inspired, classic Steely Dan. Fine, but not really my cup of tea.

Disco charlie

Nice jazz an easy going experience 6

50/1001 Steely Dan - Aja Heard before? ❎ Revisit? 🫳 Without a doubt an ultra polished sounding album that mixes jazz and rock. The playing and arrangements in this are great. However, it does kind of fade into the background a bit, once you've settled in to it. I imagine I'd probably only revisit it if I needed something on in the background whilst working...

Sonically impressive and captivating, but not my jam.

Trevligt! Framförallt Peg

Sådär. Inte så spännande.

Great album.

While I appreciate the pleasant technical jazz rock fusion arrangements and the excellent instrumental performances, the album itself seems rather soulless. The one thing elevating this album is the genius of Steve Gadd on drums, but even with his heroic efforts the music comes off sounding like a very expensive night at a dinner theatre in the 1970s. I love me some Yacht Rock, it just isn't Steely Dan. Other than Gadd's drumming, the shining moments for me were the fine saxophone playing of Wayne Shorter, and the patch choice of the synth played on the outro of the song "Aja". The only song that really stands out all the way through is the single "Peg". I am always a bit ambivalent about Steely Dan's efforts. There seems to be every reason for me to love the band and yet for some unknown reason I don't. I want to love the album for the excellent production, engineering, and recording, but ultimately, no matter how well recorded, I have to dig the ideas that are being laid down and I'm not sure I do. In terms of the evolution of popular music, this, along with Stevie Wonder, did certainly influence many other artists to bring more exotic and complicated jazz chords to popular music formats. So for that reason I can see why they merit inclusion, I just don't think they merit so many albums on the list. All cerebellum, no aorta. It manage to take me back to the years when my family eagerly sat down to watch episodes of CHiPs.

I get it, it's bland, mellow to the point of catatonia, arguably even dull. Steely Dan is for the technicians. For people who play instruments like an engineer. And you know, good for them, I guess. Personally, I like music based in emotion expressed a little more spontaneously. I'm impressed with the technical wizards and all, but I gotta have a little feeling in there to get properly invested. That said! Some of these songs are great - true mellow classics to kinda vibe out too. The rest are the definition of inoffensive.

M'eh

Slickly produced to within an inch of its life, even compared to earlier Steely Dan records. And I think it fits the laid back nature of the songs. The songs are mostly long and expansive, leaving room for those impeccable guitar parts, drum fills, and horns. But it still leaves me cold, and I think it's because of the songwriting. The Dan's earlier work was tighter, which allowed for more hooks and grooves. Here the grooves are looser and the hooks more spread out. While the instrumental flourishes sound great, I find myself wishing there was less space between them. "Peg" is the outlier, and the best song, as the melody continues during the verses and makes the song interesting throughout. I like parts of "Black Cow" and "Deacon Blues" too, but I find myself wishing the songs were shorter and hookier.

This is not what I expected Steely Dan to sound like. Didn’t mind it though. Actually think that’s exactly what I said for their last album. So maybe they aren’t the most memorable. Simpsons: Yes

The music was good. I probably would go seek it out, but overall I enjoyed the music. I can at least understand why it gets posted on r/vinyl on a regular basis.

как-то опять незапоминающеся и скучно( но запомнила инновации написания)

Upbeat jazz, pretty solid.

Nice chill jazz album Highlights: - Josie - Deacon Blues - Home At Last

Meh

I think this is songwriting mastery, but i hate jazz and instrumental music, which is A LOT here.

Ah, so this is what yacht rock sounds like. Impeccable musicianship, slick production, complex chords — everything polished to perfection. And yet… not much of it sticks. It’s sonically impressive, but emotionally distant. Great to admire, harder to love.

Jazzy rock. It was fine. Pleasant background music.

Before now, my brain had only an imagined idea of what Steely Dan sounded like, based solely on context clues from references to Steely Dan in other media. I thought it was something like classic arena rock, comparable to perhaps a Boston or a Kansas. Turns out, the actual Steely Dan is more of a funky, jazzy pop rock thing.

my brother bought this record for me years ago - first album on here I've had a physical copy of

This is now the 3rd Steely Dan album for me in this project. I had fond memories of Stelley Dan and was looking forward to listening to the album. Well, it was ok. I'm not enthusiastic. You can listen to it, tap your foot a little, nod your head to the beat of the music, but it doesn't inspire. Compared to my expectations, it was disappointing, but that was because of my expectations. 3/5

This was alright. Good instrumentals, but I wasn't feeling the vocal work this time around. The album has good energy but didn't feel particularly compelling.

This is a good album but not really my jam

I have steely dan trauma from jazz band unfortunately

Crisp and clean instrumentation and production. In a soft rock shell, the music is rich and meticulous, accessible and poppy, complex and jazzy. It has engagingly layered arrangements yet plenty of breathing room. It can be equally enjoyable for easy listening or deep study. But ultimately I respect and appreciate hearing this pop-jazz-rock perfection more than I actually enjoy it. I like Steely Dan, but prefer select songs to their full albums, Aja included.

Nice smooth jazz and blues. Felt good as background music. Elegant, easy, and well-crafted, but didn’t hit me emotionally.

3/5 easy listening yacht rock

Steely Dan has been one of my favorite discoveries from the Generator. After getting Countdown To Ecstasy and Can't Buy A Thrill, was looking forward to hearing more of them. This one was still good, but not as fun as the first two. Mostly some chill slow jams. Deacon Blues was a lot of fun though. All in all, decent album. Best song: Deacon Blues

Un peu comme écouter un album composé de génériques de téléromans des années 1980

Jazzy and nice. However, nothing really stood out to me and all the songs kind of blended together for me.

Similar to my review of different Steely Dan album; The cross into Jazz and funk is interesting, but it's not really my bag. Never really liked this era or Steely Dan for that matter. It's perfectly listenable, 3.

You've gotta get into a cruise ship state of mind before tossing this one on

3/6

3.75

Funky. Quite enjoyed it but won't be a regular feature of my listening library I reckon. Chilled, jazzy vibes. Josie is good.

C'est bon au boutte pis c'est plate à mort. 3.49 étoiles

Steely “ don’t call it yacht rock” Dan. That easy listening.

Steely Dan is know for appropriating many artists to make their crazy music that truly defines the sound of a certain part of the 70s. They are like drinking a cup of tea and being stuck in a Proust novel. Their sounds can pull memories from a rat in a cage. Plus their lyrics are as odd as my last sentence.

Immense vibes but the songs don't really do anything outstanding

steely WHO?!

This is the most I've tolerated Steely Dan on the list so far, but even so it is, at best, just a bit dull. I did like recognising the De La Soul sample though.

pretty good voice

Funky! Don't think I'd listen to the album again though

nice and chill but it doesn't connect with me

Bit bland for me

Interesting… definitely sounds like the 70s but I liked the funk

Interesting lyrics and jazzy vibes

It's jazzy, it's danceable, it's easy to listen to... Maybe too easy? Something about Steely Dan is just kind of boring, but I can't put my finger on what. It's pleasant enough though

cocaine is a hell of a drug

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Black Crow 3.6 Aja 3.4 Deacon Blues 3.7 Peg 3.5 Home at Last 3.5 I Got the News 3.3 Josie 3.4 Score: 3.485714286

Smooth rock album with a nice vibe to it.

Better than anticipated

The music was good, but I honestly couldn't remember any of the songs after I'd finished the album Became more like background noise 3 ⭐️

Train back to Hackensack with rosemary wine

I can appreciate Steely Dan on the whole, some songs I know and like, but couldn't truly connect with the songs on this album

Sounds good but also very sterile. Didn't enjoy this yacht rock as much as I expected to. 2.5

Fairly mellow kind of yacht rock vibes. I thought it was fairly cool but didn’t really get anywhere. I was listening to it with my father and he said to the song after which was Ventura Highway by America wow this album is getting somewhere. However, that was after the album had finished. Guys, that know how to play but surely they could’ve gone somewhere with it.

I'm a fan of Steely Dan, but this album falls a little flat for me.

I like the idea of Steely Dan more than I ultimately end up actually liking Steely Dan

Great for testing out your new headphones/speakers or as background music for dinner. Not much else. There's still a lot to be appreciated in regards to the musicianship and quality/engineering of the recording. Just feels very safe. Maybe too safe. I still enjoyed it.

This is sort of in the realms of super drugged out Bowie mixed with peak Bee Gees. This type of music is for guys who love to get drunk off of coolers and women who have full 80’s bush. It’s yacht rock in my opinion. Musically sound, bass heavy. It could make you dance like an idiot on purpose. It has no power against heavy hitter 5 star albums but it would last a round or two longer than expected. Oh, I hear glimpses of Supertramp in this as well. Does that help you out enough to understand what this album is about? Choice cut: Peg

Not bad. No saves

Not my favorite music, but so well recorded. Crazy.

I've always been just a hits guy if steely Dan but this is a classic of theirs, it was good, but just not my favorite, but I didn't hate it!

Peg is definitely a standout track. As for the rest of the album, it’s nice and laid-back, with a very chill vibe. It’s the kind of music that wouldn’t be out of place while you’re waiting for your name to be called at the dentist’s office.

Makes me wanna sip Bartles & Jaymes poolside with an overly tanned older woman with just a little too much plastic surgery.

This album sounds like cigarettes in a leather interior on the way to the roller rink

Bit boring

“Sue me if I play too long” and you know what? I will yOUUUUU WERE HIGH! - my mom realizing what the cousin walk was about at Christmas Here at the duuuuuude raaaaanch - the boys at the Beaver Lodge I’m such a lyrics bitch. I can appreciate a jam, but for Christ’s sake this song is 4 minutes longer than it should be. And this is coming from a Dave Matthews Band fan. Roll tide mention?

Just not my thing overall. People love them, but I am just kinda meh. Dirty Work is a banger tho

The jazzy funky elements date this but I have no real complaints, it’s well put together and all the elements compliment each other. Would be a good vibe at the right venue.

Not my favorite steely dan album tbh. Low 3

Rock, Pop, Pop Rock, Jazz da jeg startede den første sang "black cow" blev jeg virkelig overrasket og troede ikke at det vil lyde som det gør. Track nr. 2 "Aja" har en virkelig fed lyd i introen. har en meget spicel lyd men det er ikke noget som der virkelig rammer mig, kan dog godt lide guitaren og keyboarden. Mega fed trommesolo i track nr. 2. track nr. 3 er faktisk meget fedt. den har en fed sax solo midt i sangen og det er bare utrolig fedt. det giver virkelig en fed stemning med de kvindelige harmonier på albummet. track nr. 4 "Peg" er utroligt fedt, og vil sige det er det bedste nummer (indtil vidre) nummeret har bare en fed energi, og der er ikke så meget mere at sige. track nr. 5 "Home At Last" starter ud med en rigtig fed lyd. nummeret swinger virkelig godt, og jeg er faktisk meget vild med det. track nr. 6 "I Got The News" har et virkelig funky beat og lyder meget fedt. track nr 7 "Josie" tracket har et meget fedt guitar riff. ville sige det er et meget fedt nummer som afslutning. ville give albummet 6/10. det var et meget fedt album, og jeg syntes de spiller meget godt.

Some fun songs but I wouldn't revisit it

eh

Steely Dan has a pretty unique sound. I had a good time. Overall, though, it doesn't have any standout songs for me. It never really bought me in, lyrically, musically, or structurally.

Good and jazzy, but not for me. A little too much of the same sound throughout the album.

3.5/5 smooth, easy listening

Good

Groovy, chill Easy to focus or let fly by Classic 'Josie'

Alright album. Titular track was good.

Liked it. Good. Want to give it 3.5 really

extremely steely dan! i thought aja was cool and deacon blues was kinda funny bc any song about a deacon is silly! it’s coincidental steely dan, but i was surprised to read that this was their most experimental album. i was going to write that i didn’t think it was as far out as Katy Lied but i guess not (according to the provided wiki entry?!?!) Home at last is perhaps my favorite song maybe

I loved Can't buy a Thrill, not sure why this didn't stick for me. Also fuck you personally for enjoying this.

Complete

þetta er eiginlega of fágað fyrir minn smekk. en fíla sumt eftir þá og fær því 3,5.

I'd never heard it before. I liked it a good deal, but was happy when it was over.

Filtered to alienation

I realised I had no exposure to Steely Dan, and in fact had them confused with Stealer's Wheel, about a minute into this. It's so smooth it's almost paste, but the quality of the playing is such that it narrowly avoids being bland. It caught me on a good day, but I liked this a lot.

Very solid album

Off to the yacht club in my socks and sandals. Horribly white jazz rock. Not bad, but only in small spurts. Favorite songs: Peg, Josie, Black Cow Least favorite songs: Aja 3/5

Good sounding album overall, though not many tracks specifically stuck out!

This is an album I'm going to have to return to later in the challenge - I could appreciate a lot of what was going on, and didn't find myself disliking any aspects of the album, but nothing about it really stuck with me.

Seems a little dated to me. Nothing wrong with anything in particular to me. Just bland as far as my tastes go.

Ik heb het idee dat je in kamp Steely Dan moet zitten, of in kamp anti-Steely Dan. Hun ietwat flauwe instelling, en cheesy en simplistische muziekstijl, verdeeld nog al. Maar dat simplisme vertaal ik vaak naar effectief, en die flauwe vibe lees ik als cool en laidback. Maar ik begrijp de kaarten die gespeeld worden tegen Steely Dan best. Ik vind het altijd voor een heel album ook een beetje te veel fabriekswerk, maar ik kan niet ontkennen dat ik een zwak heb voor de zoete samenzang (helemaal als Michael McDonald zich er mee bemoeit) en de funky, jazzy ritmes. En voor een 'gefabriceerd' en 'zielloos' stijltje is het toch altijd wel bijzonder hoe snel je aanvoelt dat het Steely Dan. Generiek doch uniek, als dat kan. 7,5/10 Highlights: Deacon Blues Peg

Those guys again, of course. It's excellently executed, smooth and cool musicians' music, but it makes you understand why punk happened, why it had to happen. There were some great bits - the last part of the title track slaps - but all in all? I can imgine myself in a setting - and time - where I could enjoy this whitest of beige music but that's not here or now.

Aja is the sixth, and most successful album from Steely Dan. Band leaders Walter Becker and Donald Fegan pushed the band's sound further into jazz experimentations for this album, utilizing a number of studio musicians to create the layered, complicated compositions. The album won the Grammy for the Best Engineered Nonclassical album, and is known among audiophiles for the remarkable recording. Aja includes some of the band's biggest hits, like "Deacon Blues" and "Peg." These are strong examples of the soft rock side of 70s pop, much of which has become known as "yacht rock."

i liked this better than the other steely dan i have gotten. which is two others which feels insane given only 14 albums have been generated so far!! home at last was my fave. 3.5 but i cant do half stars.

This is the album that produced all the Steely Dan songs I know. It was a little funky and groovy.

I have somehow never really listened to any Steely Dan considering how much music from that era I focus on. I thought there'd be a lot more rock involved. Surprisingly WAY more disco-funk than I would have ever expected. Jazz undertones (and clearly Jazz musicians I assume). Feels VERY much like a time capsule. Every song sounds a bit too much like a sitcom theme song. Not a favourite, but a fun listen.

Oh so *that’s* how it’s pronounced. I always wondered. I hope someday I get really into Steely Dan. I’m just not there yet.

3.5/5. I don’t own a yacht which might explain why I don’t like these albums as much.

I’ve sort of skirted around Steely Dan for a couple years without properly listening until now and this wasn’t really what I expected. Favourite tracks were Deacon Blues and Home At Last, but generally a bit underwhelmed.

3.5 finally warming up to them

I don't dislike it, it sounds... pleasant

I thought steely Dan was going to be more singer songwriter but the funk beats were cool to listen to. Some longer solo performances but spirited!

2.5/5 Jazzy rock, good on the back ground. Nothing too special but certainly not bad. Not much to say about other than I enjoyed it.

Enjoyed it as bg music but didn't save anything

Always loved Steely Dan 3/5 #musicsky #albumsky

Wisselend.

Aja is smooth, polished, and full of that signature Steely Dan precision — maybe too much of it. It’s technically impressive, no doubt, but it doesn’t hit the same for me as some of their other albums. That said, “Deacon Blues” is an absolute banger and easily the standout track here. The rest kind of blends together into a well-produced, jazz-tinged blur. Not bad, just not their best.

3/5

Didn’t really grab me. Had some cool sounds but not really my flavour

Funky. I like it!

not sure about the hype. nothing special some great saxophone, but not the legend of steely dan I have heard about.

Steely Dan ain’t bad

A fun listen. Cool prog rock, jam band energy.

It was fun, simple jazzy rock. Good example of yacht rock and fun to have on for a Sunday afternoon drive. Nothing overwhelmingly good though, and they all start to sound similar. Not in a bad way, just in a similar way.

The jazz-groove vibes of Steely Dan. Great musicians playing great riffs with complex song crafting in a jazzy jam sort of way. I can appreciate it for it's musicianship but the poetry of the lyrics doesn't really grab me. Peg was the only song I recognized and I didn't even know that was the name of the song. I still have no idea what he's singing about "It's your favorite foreign movie?" what? It doesn't matter cuz it's so groovy. My only criticism is that it gets kinda samesy. They don't really "break the mold" very often. But I think that's because the creativity goes into the riff writing more than raw expression.

This was very Sunday vibes—groovy 70s easy listening. Beacon Blues is a classic and my fave track on here. A song with a saxophone that talks about a saxophone! The rest was kind of forgettable, but in a pleasant way.

Just ok

Honestly a little dissapointing. Just figured there would be more tasty grooves and banging choruses. Just not quite exactly what I want out of the dan.

Enjoyed this but not especially memorable.

Fun. 3.5 pls give me .5 stars

2.5 — would never put it on for fun but the musicianship is strong throughout. Feels like some uncle’s garage jams

Steely Dan are sometimes described as jazz rock. That's reasonable, but I prefer jazz disco. That's the vibe this record gives off. And that's not a great thing. Disco is a bit cheesy, but it's fun. This also has that cheesy disco sound, but with the more mellow jazz vibe, there's less fun.

Sehr cute soft-rock-funk-pop-blues wo au sehr demit punktet dass es wider e netti abwechslig vo anderne Rock Bands isch. Ich denke s widerlosigs-potential isch jetzt ned so so so riisig aber jedes lied hani sehr gnosse. Für mich denn aber doch bizli zu Soft für es Album woni mi richtig chönt inesteigere und inegeh. Viel ih mir usglööst ussert es chliises, inners lächle passiert ned. Daher machemers eus wider eifach mit drü stäälernde Hansruedis!

de stählerni dan und sini stahlharte buchmuskle sind mir hüt nacht im traum erschine ich han mit mim krass scharfe japanische messer uf sine krass harte, mer möchtis scho fast stählern nenne, buchmuskle mis mise en place vorbereitet - zerst mal mini soffritto juliennisiert es paar chnoblizeche zerstosse und denn no mis hackfleisch selber chlighackt - und kein mucks vom Daniel D. Kruppstahl, was füren typ hey während ich mis messer umegschwunge han isch natürlich au sini mukke im hintergrund gloffe - mit de dynamische melodie hett sich mis messer scho fast vo eleige gschwunge aber woni den ufgwachet bin ischmer leider nöd viel im chopf blibe nume wos album fertig gsi isch, hettsmer en tolle thundercat track inegfätz, das mues scho was heisse mues hüt leider aber au hert blibe - so hert wie mini morgelatte nach dem schöne traum (sorry wege dene bilder fründe, chan nüt defür) drum gits für de Daniel Dani D. Steely Dan eh sterne soffritto

This is a fine album, but if you can only choose a 1001 albums to listen to before you die out of all music that has ever existed, you don't have to pick like five steely fucking Dan albums.

Kind of a jazzy/rocky album. Aja the song has a nice sax solo and bluesy section after. Deacon Blues is good. Home At Last is good too.

A soundtrack to doing lines of coke with Ryan O'Neal and David Carradine in a boat off the coast of Santa Barbara in 1979.

No thanks 2.5 / 5

Не нравятся инструменты, но сама музыка очень интересная, экзотическая, сложнее чем поп, уходит больше в джаз, но не привычный для меня, понравилась одна песня 4/10

a lot funkier than i expected-- perfect vibe for slightly hungover grocery run. top song: black cow

Steely Dan is another one these bands where I can get they're very good, I understand they're very influential, I just don't like it. The musicianship is obviously of a very high caliber, jazzy rock. The lyrics are comically bad with corny rhymes, but who cares. It just doesn't grab my interest. Maybe I'm the problem, dunno. This is a three star, I agree that it's good and definitely belongs on this list, I just don't like listening to it.

More experimental than I expected. Or maybe I just had Big Ears on the brain. Def felt like a time capsule from a bygone era.

Unique voice and good vibes, but the songs felt a bit too long

Didn't realize how many rap samples got ripped off this album. Still a little too 80s for my taste

Unsagbar klare und gelungene Produktion. Perfekt. Die Musik ist nicht immer mein Geschmack, zu unterschiedlich die Kompositionen. Deacon Blues ist super. Mega.

This is one I really wanted to like but it just didn't do it for me. There were some interesting musical phrases but as a whole a but disjointed for me. Would like to go back and relisten though. I think the first track was most interesting.

I liked this album a lot, but I think the songs I liked and the songs I disliked were on far ends of their respective spectrums. Peg was my favorite song on here.

Not bad, kinda jazzy. Not really sure what I think of it, though. Kind of cool, kind of lame 3-4

Some nice songs and an easy listen. But there were not a lot of standouts here and I expected more. A 3.5 but on the 3 side.

As I wrote back in 2018 when I did 1 album a day and Kveim suggested this: An album that fits vorspiel, nachspiel and kleinspiel, but should’ve been used for the Mafia-part of GTA III. Deacon Blues (drunk driving galore) Josie

1. Peg 2. Josie 3. Black cow Mer fan av Can't Buy a Thrill albumet

If you like steely dan, it's steely dan. My criticisms are the same as most since its a jazz fusion album, its pacing is slow and monotonous at times. But if your down for a classic slower monotonous jazz rock fusion you would probably enjoy this album.

I enjoyed the heavy r&b and soul inspiration going on with this album, especially because it caught me off guard I was expecting another Credence Clearwater band (not a bad thing), but despite that nice suprise it did not particularly blow me away by any means, that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it because I did, it just wasn’t anything special to me. My favorite track was Deacon Blues, it was very well paced for a 7 minute song and I enjoyed the lyrics, specifically the stretch surrounding “I cried when I wrote this song” felt weirdly self-aware for lack of better words and I enjoyed it.

Groovy. Funky. Jazzy. Souly.

Growing up in the UK, as a teen I landed a job in a small computer store where the owner was an ex employee of an HMV record store. Why is this important? Well said owner turned me onto so much music that I’d definitely never heard, and probably would’ve avoided if it wasn’t for Eric’s goal of broadening my musical tastes. And so entered Steely Dan and ‘the day of the expanding man..’

Gusta su feeling, y creo que se tienen bien merecido mi nota

Alright

Rudy's mentioned in the first song. Sounds fine but kind of boring. Jazz with some singing. High 3.

First of 1001. Absolutely not my taste, but I can appreciate the instrumentation and vocal harmonies.

Not for me.

Yes, people say it is great. Not my jams but I appreciate it.

Great background music, nothing stands out as spectacular but it's very clear these guys know how to play music.

Not bad! But after a while, it starts feeling repetitive. Problem with the 70's bands on this list is that while they were unique for their time, they're nothing new by now. But for what it's worth, the smooth jazz made it chill to listen to.

It was ok. Competently played, but a bit too layd back to make a lot of lasting impact beyond the occasional moment wherein you recognize that melody.

Still don’t get Steely Dan. I like it for all the technical aspects but as a whole doesn’t move me.

Steely Dan is always kind of hit or miss for me. There great songs are really great, but they can be kind of boring sometimes. “Black Cow” and “Peg” do a lot of the work on this album. 3.5/5 Probably will listen again

Lots of good competent jazz-tinged pop rock. No real excitement

Nicht so meins, aber ganz in Ordnung.

Didn’t grow up with this, has always been something I knew of but didn’t really know. Knew about the production, the sound, etc and put on good headphones and listened carefully; it definitely sounds great. They got the best session players and it’s immaculately arranged, produced, recorded. I just don’t really like the songs. Some great moments, have had Deacon Blues stuck in my head and love the song Peg. the most important element of any music that’s new to me, though, is how it hits me, viscerally - this just didn’t do shit.

After the other two Steely Dan albums I was curious to see where this one fits. It's pretty bland really, nothing really stands out, there's one moment on Peg where I think it's going to improve but then it just returns to blandness. Overall it's a nice enough vibe so not quite a 2.

Hmmmm, this felt the most yachty of all the Steely Dan albums on the list, but all the others had one or two stand out tunes that got stuck in my head, and this one doesn't seem to. Comes across as highly polished blandness. Fave track - Eh, "Peg" maybe? That came closest.

I've always had mixed feelings about this album, so for the sake of this list I had a really good listen of the album in its entirety, A to Z. I have now made up my mind. First, the good. Yes, as many will argue, this album is extremely well produced - the sound quality is superb. The musicians show great virtuosity. Technical perfection. Then, the bad. However technically good music is, for me it is ultimately about the intrinsic quality of the songs, the authenticity of the artist, the creativity, and more than anything else, the emotional appeal. And that's where it is totally lacking for me. Oh my, is it boring and non-engaging. It's soooo smoooooth. It's anti-punk. It's excellent for outros of cheap romcoms. It is an extremely skilfully polished turd (OK maybe I'm exaggerating a wee bit). It is mineral water served in a $1000 designer glass - I'd rather have a characterful single malt in a charity shop glass. I'll give it a generous 3 though, because I can see how, IF this is your thing, it shines "in its genre" and there are some nice jazzy chops and it is rhythmically very enjoyably tight (I enjoyed the first 20" of Josie). I just wish the album wasn't so boring. Oh is it boring.

I can see how in 1977 this album was very experimental and challenged some musical concepts from the time. Overall I think it's a good album, with 3 songs that were the focus for me: The break in the Aja track with that guitar solo is espetacular! Beacon blues has solid saxophone phrasings. Peg has great bass lines and solid drums.

The production is truly spotless and the sound crispy clear. I can tell a lot of the budget was spent here. I, also, get the part of it making “blunt” music sound better, although I wouldn’t call the album blunt or boring. This is music I would put to spice up my routine. To uplift my moud just enough so I can get through the day. I have, definately, played Facebook games in the past that had this in the background. This is November music. Far from the summer heat but not too far to reach December warmth. Something in between. I have to say that I am a huge fan of the sound of jazz so I am the furthest I can be from objectivity. My eyes have recently been opened for the importance of simplicity in music. The album does not try to do too much. Again, not “blunt” level of not too much but rather paints a picture of daily life, of getting by just fine, of having everything in order and moving on. Putting music behind the necessary evil of growing up. Spicing things up just enough! It is not a 3 but not a 4 either…

I don't mind it. Got some bop and jazzy funk, I don't hate saxs so digging those solos. Sounds standard late 70s, liked the mid tracks the most. I'd almost rather just hear the band jam for 40 mins.

3.5

Very funky. Black Cow is a banger. Found a lot of the songs kind of meandering and the lyrics a bit cheesy, but it's a great vibe.

I really tried to appreciate Steely Dan, I've listened to several of their albums at this stage and I don't get it? It's not bad much but either I'm missing something or it's a little overrated

I shoulda known this was going downhill when the first song was about a cow

I still think Fagen sucks, and I don't get the "Peg" or "Deacon Blues" love, but despite all of that, there's some obviously good stuff here. I would die to hear the title track without any vocals. 3.5/5

I wanted to connect to this more than I eventually managed to- I put it on a few times and it just seemed to white noise my brain for the most part. Aja and Deacon Blues felt a bit like music made for a 70s or 80s sitcom (Home at Last is a slightly more successful version of this), but I did enjoy the silliness of Black Cow and Josie was fun and sexy in a rollerskating down the boardwalk kind of way. Would happily play this in the background at a summer barbecue but it felt essentially sort of empty. I can’t pick out a single lyric, really, since they’re sort of halfway between non sensical and cliché- not really sure why these guys are considered to be so cool?

Oof I'm really not a jazz person and I wanted to like this but it just wasn't for meee and I'm feeling quite annoyed with myself for saying that. I did like Peg and Aja (the first 5 minutes anyway) and Josie but apart from that... meh. I'M SORRY. Maybe another Steely Dan album will do better with me but this one meh.

244/1001 🌕🌕🌗🌑🌑

I've always felt like Steely Dan is OK. This album reaffirmed this feeling. They seem to be good at what they do, but I don't love what they do.

It's a fine album, but nothing really stood out to me. I guess Peg is good.

It was ok, but not my thing mostly.

7.5 great jazz

Had this for a while. Pleasant enough. Little excitement, though. 3/5

Didn't leave much an impact.

What a weird story Steely Dan had. A band that eventually just became a duo, with a boatload of session musicians. After a lot of painstaking work, they ended up with this, thus subjecting the world (and especially jam night musicians) to Deacon Blues. Ok, I'm being purposefully mean there. There is a lot to like. It reminds me a lot of Toto's debut album, but with an infusion of jazz. I don't think anything sounded like this at the time, and if you are a keys player I think you'll glean something from it. The latter two tracks on the album drag though, and while I tend to get what they're going for with the lyrics, there's a feeling of forced esotericism that could've been avoided with a bit more heart. That's what's weird about it. I can't say it has no heart, because it's right there in the music. But just the music. Tangent: I don't think anyone could've made the line 'Drink your big black cow and get out of here' work, but especially not Steely Dan. Fave: Peg Least Fave: I Got the News Strong Bad Demerit Rating: 0

1001 Steely Dan albums to listen to before you die. Maybe the best of the mediocre lot we’ve had on the list? Highlights for me were hearing the original songs that were sampled in rap songs (peg and black cow)

2.6 Enough with the steely dan. Seriously

Good stuff

I feel very lukewarm about Steely Dan. This album didn't particularly wow me.

I liked it - clean production, beautiful harmonic language. It definitely is a timepiece for the 70s.

Classy and funky, not a bad pick !

Steely Dan, perennial favorite of music critics and assholes. The start of Black Cow is the sample used for Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz’s Deja Vu (Uptown Baby). That’s a better use of the music. This might be the first yacht rock album. Which band is more responsible for “adult contemporary” music, The Eagles or Steely Dan? Either way, they both suck. That’s unfair, they are definitely better than The Eagles. Aja sounds like Rikki Don’t Lose That Number in parts, I guess that’s just the “Steely Dan sound”. Deacon Blues is more of the same, but I definitely have a soft spot for it. Maybe it’s what I always assumed was a college football reference but probably wasn’t. This might be the most 70s album of all time. There are a lot of “hits” on this album. Peg is another one. If you took the lyrics away from these songs, they’d all be gold music. Is that Michael McDonald in the background of Peg? It is! That guy is good. Home At Last is the best song on the album. Donald Fagan’s voice exactly matches his appearance. Another Michael McDonald guest spot, instant improvement. I liked this album more than I thought I would which is not a very high bar to cross, but a pleasant surprise.

black cow- 6 aja- 4. why do they make the most boring songs 8 minutes deacon blues- 5 peg- a yo? 5 home at last- 5 i got the news- 5 josie- 5

It's an enjoyable album, and I liked some previous albums from Steely Dan on the list. Still, the allegedly "more sophisticated compositions and arrangements" (from the Wikipedia page) make it a bit less good than the others. I prefer something rawer for them, and I even enjoy some sophistication sometimes.

Already a fan of their debut '72 album, so let's see if they still impress 😌. Aja long ass instrumental- somehow sounds like the Beatles or The Kinks? Whole album was okay - quite soft and easy listening.

Favourite track: Deacon Blues.

Pretty good! Easy to listen to at work

Steely Dan are a bit elevator music for me. It's pleasant, I can appreciate it, but not something I feel drawn to. If I want jazz rock I'd listen to Vulfpeck who you can hear we're heavily influenced by SD. It's alright.

the pinnacle of steely dan's career: recording Peg so that De La Soul could sample it in Eye Know

Nice.

A good album to promote constant yawning. 3 stars or C-.

I do like Steely Dan. This album is playful but doesn't have much substance

Easy going listen, very inoffensive. Feel on relisten could improve however didn’t blow me away

Innocuous.

TBH I always thought of Steely Dan as more Southern/ Country rock but this was pretty groovy

eh i thought it was okay

3.5

Peg is cool, Josie is pretty good. Deacon Blues and Black Cow are okay, but this is sort of the beginning of the yacht rock era of Steely Dan that I don't really like that much. 3.5 stars.

The vibe and songs are nice, just a bit boring to me.

Epitome of 1970s grown up party music.

Kinda jazzy, little too silly though

Never been a big steely Dan fan. But I really only know reeling in the years. I recognize this song. Had no idea it was steely Dan. This is 70s easy listening. It’s great, but not my cup of tea

Made me want to listen to more Steely Dan. I like the vibe.

Not my jam, but not bad for what it was. 2.7

This would be a 5 out of 5 without the vocals. Instrumentally it is perfection and would prefer an instrumental version.

Awesome drums Nice vibe Alright album

bit weird how much he loved chinese music ??? aja = asia?

I don't get the hype for this album. It's not offensive, but it doesn't really do it for me. The best song is easily Peg, and it's a catchy tune. The rest is pretty forgettable IMO.

Classic

The first couple of times I was convinced I was listening to a masterpiece. I know that Steely Dan is a love it or hate it band but I’ve never delved into them that much. There was a lot I liked but then found it was diminishing returns the longer it went. 3.5/5

Opens up with a Soul track Black Cow which was cool. Overall solid not much filler but quite long tracks in places. Stand out tracks: - Black Cow - Decon Blues - Peg - Home at last

Good sax !

Maybe I wasn't in as much of a Steely Dan mood as I was for their last one we got, but I found this all too smooth. I liked Peg more when it was sampled by De La Soul. Low 3.

Surprisingly fun, first steely Dan album

Easy listening, good background, too genre mixed to get into. Bizarre references? Complex musical arrangements. Borders on cheesy but never quite gets there. Would def listen to while studying or working but not otherwise.

i think to appreciate more than 3/5 steely dan you had to grow up with it. its good, but feels... generic?

Did this list need two Steely Dan albums?

2,5

I still don’t get steely dan. It’s too polished.

Road, middle of.

Favourite song - deacon blues

Love me some yacht rock. Before this, if you had asked me to name a Steely Dan song I would fail. I have definitely heard most of these songs before but never knew who made them.

Nerds. I don't love the album, but I like it. I'm glad Steely Dan exists. For their songs and De La Soul too. Thank you, Walter Becker and Donald Fagen!

Best elevator music I've ever heard, bar none.

Not as good as Pretzel Logic. More soft-rock. But some good jazz vibe’s too

They are clearly good musicians. 'Peg' is a decent single. But I just cannot see the appeal of Steely Dan and I am trying. Robert Dimery clearly thinks that I need to, as there are 4 Steely Dan albums on this list. I'm really trying to approach with an open mind and listen multiple times. I got 'Pretzel Logic' a few months ago and thought "maybe if I get a more famous album, it will stand out more." The music does get a bit better after repeat exposure, but it just really doesn't blow me away. I'll give it a three because I can see that it's ambitious and well produced. I don't know hate this album, but would just rather be listening to something else. I'm clearly missing something with this band but I'm unsure how much I care.

Real quick, I was just telling the guys in the back about this piece of vinyl. It still holds up. A definite noine out of ten. Definitely on my top ten desert island albums, boff.

Too much like yacht rock for me. Deacon Blues is ok but too long. Peg is better but in general all are too long. Some great musicianship but just not my type of music.

Pretty good fusion album.Really enjoyed enjoyed deacon blues,home at last,got the news

Nothing stood out

3.5/5

Alright