Album: Aja
Artist: Steely Dan
Born: Annandale-on-Hudson, New York
Released: September 1977
Genre: Jazz Rock
Influenced: Ian Dury, Scritti Politti, Prefab Sprout, De La Soul, Everything But The Girl
As a young kid, I always associated Steely Dan with middle-class Dads. Whenever at a schoolmate's house, I never resisted the temptation to rifle through their parent's record collection, and in my mind there was a clear correlation between affluence and an increasing number of Steely Dan records. The group's seamless fusion of pop and jazz does make it the perfect dinner party accompaniment, but I don't want to sound sniffy, I too have warmed to Steely Dan as my life comes full circle. In fact, my route to Steely Dan appreciation was listening to the often-recommended Nightfly by the band's co-founder Donald Fagen and, though west coast 70s soft rock gets rightly derided, there's a real quality to the band's playing and craftmanship in this era. One factor that mitigates against Steely Dan is the immaculate production, at a time when punk primitivism was all the rage, but listening to Aja in particular I can't help getting swept up by its positivity and lush textures.
Inside Aja's gatefold sleeve there's a review by Michael Phalen – having done some digging online, there's a great deal of suspicion about whether a certain Mr Phalen actually existed. More likely is that this was Fagen and Walter Becker having some fun and writing under a music journalist pseudonym. Phalen describes Black Cow as a "disco-funk number ... propelled by an infectious, trendy beat", Aja as a "latin-tinged ... rambling eight-minute epic" and Peg as a "danceable ditty". Best of all, Josie is described as "sure to become a classic zebra in the annals of Punkadelia". There's also an essay from ABC Records President, Steve Diener (again, of dubious provenance), which is incredibly bland.
Aja wasn't the only notable jazz-fusion record to emerge from the west coast in 1977, with Heavy Weather's Weather Report also released. Birdland aside though, I've never really been a huge fan of that record. There's something more measured and elegant about Aja, and the songwriting's great. Album opener Black Cow tells the story of a jilted lover who runs out of patience, telling the other to drink their Black Cow (cocktail of kahlua, milk and coca-cola) and get out of here. Aja explores higher themes and also underlines the quality of the session musicians playing on the album, with Steve Gadd's drumming and Wayne Shorter's sax both sublime. Deacon Blues is about an ageing LA lounge lizard ("I'll rise when the sun goes down / cover every game in town") with brilliant tenor sax playing by Pete Christlieb. Peg and Josie are both highlights on side 2. Aja really is an audiophile's dream.
As a young kid, I always associated Steely Dan with middle-class Dads. Whenever at a schoolmate's house, I never resisted the temptation to rifle through their parent's record collection, and in my mind there was a clear correlation between affluence and an increasing number of Steely Dan records. The group's seamless fusion of pop and jazz does make it the perfect dinner party accompaniment, but I don't want to sound sniffy, I too have warmed to Steely Dan as my life comes full circle. In fact, my route to Steely Dan appreciation was listening to the often-recommended Nightfly by the band's co-founder Donald Fagen and, though west coast 70s soft rock gets rightly derided, there's a real quality to the band's playing and craftmanship in this era. One factor that mitigates against Steely Dan is the immaculate production, at a time when punk primitivism was all the rage, but listening to Aja in particular I can't help getting swept up by its positivity and lush textures.
Inside Aja's gatefold sleeve there's a review by Michael Phalen – having done some digging online, there's a great deal of suspicion about whether a certain Mr Phalen actually existed. More likely is that this was Fagen and Walter Becker having some fun and writing under a music journalist pseudonym. Phalen describes Black Cow as a "disco-funk number ... propelled by an infectious, trendy beat", Aja as a "latin-tinged ... rambling eight-minute epic" and Peg as a "danceable ditty". Best of all, Josie is described as "sure to become a classic zebra in the annals of Punkadelia". There's also an essay from ABC Records President, Steve Diener (again, of dubious provenance), which is incredibly bland.
Aja wasn't the only notable jazz-fusion record to emerge from the west coast in 1977, with Heavy Weather's Weather Report also released. Birdland aside though, I've never really been a huge fan of that record. There's something more measured and elegant about Aja, and the songwriting's great. Album opener Black Cow tells the story of a jilted lover who runs out of patience, telling the other to drink their Black Cow (cocktail of kahlua, milk and coca-cola) and get out of here. Aja explores higher themes and also underlines the quality of the session musicians playing on the album, with Steve Gadd's drumming and Wayne Shorter's sax both sublime. Deacon Blues is about an ageing LA lounge lizard ("I'll rise when the sun goes down / cover every game in town") with brilliant tenor sax playing by Pete Christlieb. Peg and Josie are both highlights on side 2. Aja really is an audiophile's dream.
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