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Aja

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Album

Aja · For this sixth album, Steely Dan, under bandleaders Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, had themselves surrounded again and again by different session musicians: almost forty in total. The compositions grew longer and more refined. The producer was, as on all the earlier records, Gary Katz. The title piece consists of sections that had been written separately from one another, with solos by saxophonist Wayne Shorter and drummer Steve Gadd. On Home at Last, Bernard Purdie played his own Purdie Shuffle. Peg was the last track and the only one recorded in New York.

Aja was released on 23 September 1977 on ABC Records and became the group's most commercially successful album, with the hits Peg, Deacon Blues and Josie. It received a Grammy for engineering, and many critics and audiophiles praise the quality of the production. In 2010 the Library of Congress included it in the National Recording Registry.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Home at Last and notice Bernard Purdie's half-time shuffle rhythm: funky and relaxed, but different from the ordinary shuffles of that period.

Track list

  1. 1Black Cow5:10Apple Music ↗
  2. 2Aja7:58Apple Music ↗
  3. 3Deacon Blues7:35Apple Music ↗
  4. 4Peg3:57Apple Music ↗
  5. 5Home At Last5:35Apple Music ↗
  6. 6I Got The News5:08Apple Music ↗
  7. 7Josie4:34Apple Music ↗

30-second previews via Apple Music. Listen to the whole album on Apple Music ↗

Categories: Albums and songs