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Aja (album)

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Untitled

Aja (Template:Pron-en like "Asia") is the sixth album by the jazz-rock band Steely Dan. Originally released in 1977, it became the group's best-selling album. Peaking at #3 on the U.S. charts and #5 in the United Kingdom, it was the band's first platinum album, eventually selling over 5 million copies.[citation needed] In July 1978, the album won the Grammy Award for Best Engineered Non-Classical Recording. In 2003, the album was ranked number 145 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

The album is ambitious and sophisticated, and features several leading session musicians. The eight-minute-long title track features complex jazz-based changes and a solo by renowned saxophonist Wayne Shorter, as well as dextrous drumming by Steve Gadd - most notably at the end of the track.

Aja is also the subject of one of the Classic Albums series of documentaries about the making of famous albums. The documentary includes a song-by-song study of the album (the only omission being "I Got the News," which is played during the closing credits), interviews with Steely Dan co-founders Walter Becker and Donald Fagen (among others) plus new, live-in-studio versions of songs from the album. Becker and Fagen also play back several of the rejected guitar solos for "Peg," which were recorded before Jay Graydon produced the satisfactory take.

When DTS attempted to make a 5.1 version, it was discovered that the multitrack masters for both "Black Cow" and the title track were missing. For this same reason, a multichannel SACD version was cancelled by Universal Music. Donald Fagen has offered a $600 reward for the missing masters or any information that leads to their recovery.[2]

On April 6, 2011, the album was deemed by the Library of Congress to be "culturally, historically, or aesthetically important" and added to the United States National Recording Registry for the year 2010.[3]

Outtakes

The sessions for Aja garnered several outtakes, including "You Got the Bear". The song was never officially released, but would later be played live on their 2011 Shuffle Diplomacy tour.[4]

Track listing

All songs written by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen.

Side one
  1. "Black Cow" – 5:10
  2. "Aja" – 7:57
  3. "Deacon Blues" – 7:37
Side two
  2. "Peg" – 3:57
  3. "Home at Last" – 5:34
  4. "I Got the News" – 5:06
  5. "Josie" – 4:33

Personnel

Production

  • Executive Producer: Stephen Diener [ABC Records]
  • Producer: Gary Katz
  • Engineers: Roger Nichols, Elliot Scheiner, Al Schmitt, Bill Schnee
  • Assistant engineers: Joe Bellamy, Lenise Bent, Ken Klinger, Ron Pangaliman, Ed Rack, Linda Tyler
  • Mastering: Bernie Grundman
  • Production coordination: Barbara Miller
  • Sound consultant: Dinky Dawson
  • Consultant: Daniel Levitin
  • Horn arrangements: Tom Scott
  • Art direction: Vartan Reissue
  • Design: Geoff Westen
  • Photography: Walter Becker
  • Liner notes: Walter Becker, Donald Fagen
  • Reissue coordination: Beth Stempel

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[5]
Robert Christgau(B+)[6]
Rolling Stone

Charts

Album

Year Chart Position
1977 Pop Albums 3

Pop Singles

Year Single Label & number Position
1978 "Peg" (B-side: "I Got the News") ABC 12320 11
1978 "Deacon Blues" (B-side: "Home at Last") ABC 12355 19
1978 "Josie" (B-side: "Black Cow") ABC 12404 26

Awards

Grammy Awards

Year Winner Category
1977 Aja Best Engineered Recording, Non Classical
  • Rappers Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz sampled the track "Black Cow" for their 1998 hit single "Deja Vu (Uptown Baby)".
  • This is the last album Denny Dias played on.
  • Ted Kooshian recorded an instrumental version of the song "Aja" on his 2009 CD "Ted Kooshian's Standard Orbit Quartet: Underdog, and other Stories..."

References

  1. ^ ("...came out the same afternoon as the new Rolling Stones LP.") Crowe, Cameron (December 29, 1977). "Steely Dan Springs Back: The Second Coming". Rolling Stone (255). Straight Arrow Publishers, Inc.: 11.
  2. ^ "http://www.broberg.pp.se/sd_aja.htm". Retrieved 13 May 2009. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  3. ^ National Recording Preservation Board, 2010 Selections
  4. ^ http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/steely-dan-at-greek-theater-209442
  5. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Aja review allmusic.com. Retrieved on 2011-07-03.
  6. ^ Christgau, Robert. Steely Dan album reviews robertchristgau.com. Retrieved on 2011-07-03.
  7. ^ Duffy, Michael. Aja review 1977-12-01. Retrieved on 2011-07-03.
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