Aja

Smooth, rich, almost silky, but never slick. This is the best of Steely Dan. A must for those brandy-in-the-snifter, feet up, after-dinner-with-friends nights. Wonderful!

An excellent remastered version of the original.I played this in my car as well as in my home theater setup and there aren,t any pops or scratchy noises as on an LP.The vocals are nice and clear.When I finally get an SACD player I have to buy the SACD version of this,an excellent value for the money.

This is rock-jazz, jazz-rock at its most sophisticated. AJA and Deacon Blues are reason enough to buy this CD. Listening to Wayne Shorter's tenor solo on AJA and Pete Christlieb's solo on Deacon Blues should be inspiration and schooling on improvisation to all tenor saxophonists. Great horn section playing and contributions from Tom Scott and Steve Gadd supplying some masterful drumming.

These guys always produce great music. I was able to see the in the early years perform, Realing in the Years, period. They were so tight, true professionals. I was suprised with Aja. So different, but well written music and expertly preformed. "Hay 19" is my feels on getting older. Wait, wrong album, but same smoooth jaz.

Steely Dan's Aja (1977), like most of the band's work, is thoughtful and sophisticated. It's also smooth, polished, and neat as a pin. The songs themselves are uniquely deceptive in the way they paint detached, sometimes sarcastic, cinematic images of life, but draw you in emotionally at the same time. The sad resignation of Black Cow with it's upscale nightlife, and the dreamer's lament Deacon Blues with it's romantic last stand poetics, are themes you just don't hear everyday in rock music. Deacon Blues has to be my favorite of all of Steely Dan's songs. It's over seven minutes long, and the music is jazzy, sleek, and melodic. It's an imaginative look into the world of a down-on-his-luck dreamer holding on for dear life...

My back to the wall
A victim of laughing chance
This is for me
The essence of true romance

The title track is eight minutes of delightful and jazzy expressions juxtaposed with smooth rock, and augmented with orchestration and rich vocal harmonies. Peg and Josie are pleasant and catchy pop tunes, and both were hit singles. The music on Aja is quite relaxing, actually. It's so orderly and comfortable that there's no real need to chase after it, and it doesn't leave you wishing it was something other than what it already is...an excellent and satisfying album of intelligent, soulful and sophisticated jazz/pop/rock. Aja is also Steely Dan at their highest peak. A classic.