By Jeffrey Collazo
On September 3, 2017, just 20 days short of Steely Dan’s 40th anniversary of the release of their landmark recording, Aja, co-founder Walter Becker passed away, which is ironic as this album marked the pinnacle of Steely Dan’s creativity. So much ink has been spilled on the significance of this record. To understand and appreciate it, let’s delve into why this is a standout among millions of recordings.
Aja is Steely Dan’s most successful and commercially accessible album. It went as high as number three on the Billboard charts throughout 1977 through 1978, eventually selling five million copies. Three singles were released from the album (“Peg”, “Deacon Blues”, and “Josie”). The song “Peg” was a top 10 smash in 1978, landing on the number six spot on the Billboard chart. “Peg” is instantly recognizable by its opening chords, the guitar solo (played by Jay Graydon) and background vocals (sung by Michael McDonald). 2. It’s a go-to album for audiophiles. There are only a handful of music albums that audiophiles will use to test their newly purchased stereo equipment. The typical choices would be Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue, The Beatles’ Sgt. Peppers and The Dave Brubeck Band’s Time Out. Aja always lands in top 10 lists for audiophiles. Aja was a standout in the beginning stages of multi-tracked recordings. The engineer, Roger Nichols, was known for his obsessive attention to detail and his heavy employment of different microphones (he personally owned over 40 microphones). The mix was painstakingly produced over a six-month period. The vocal was front and center but not overpowering. Instrumental tracks pulled in and out when needed. The drum tracks are separated so that you can hear the toms, hi-hat and bass drum more clearly. The bass track is so precise, you can pick out when Chuck Rainey plays slap-bass on “Peg.” Even the rhythm guitar doesn’t lose its shine 3. Its inspiration was so unique. The title of the album was named for a Korean woman who married the brother of one of Donald Fagen’s high-school friends. 4. Its use of iconography was brilliant. Before his days on Saturday Night Live, Phil Hartman was a budding freelance graphic designer who designed album covers for Crosby, Stills and Nash, America and Poco. He was commissioned by Steely Dan’s management company to design the album cover. Hideki Fujii took the photography and featured Japanese model Sayoko Yamaguchi. The simple-yet heavy use of black allows for the woman’s face, red and white ribbon and her dress and the title to stand out. The less-is-more design was in stark contrast to the highly detailed music featured on the album. 5. It bucked musical trends. Aja had everything going against it. On the airwaves, punk, disco and AM-pop ruled the day. At the given time, AM radio only allowed for singles that played under 4 minutes. Since only “Peg” was the only song on the album that clocked in at under 4 minutes, the other songs would never get airplay on AM radio since its format was restrictive. Even well-established artists, such as the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin were having a hard time getting their recordings played on AM radio. What saved Aja was FM radio. On FM radio, disc jockeys were given freedom to play whatever they wanted. This would include broadcasting an album in its entirety. The full version of “Deacon Blues” could be played without threat from the record company or the radio management. 6. It was produced during the heyday of the session musician. See if you recognize any of these names: Victor Feldman, Joe Sample, Michael Omartian, Larry Carlton, Lee Ritenour, Denny Dias, Dean Parks, Steve Khan, Jay Graydon, Chuck Rainey, Steve Gadd, Bernard Purdie, Rick Marotta, Jim Keltner, Tom Scott, Wayne Shorter, Pete Christlieb, Plas Johnson, Michael McDonald, Timothy B. Schmidt. If you were a novice, you wouldn’t recognize anyone. But if you’re a musical savant, then you would know that these musicians appeared in about 75% of the recorded music created in Los Angeles in the 1970’s. These musicians appeared on everything from Frank Sinatra to movie soundtracks. Many of these musicians would even replace an entire band. In the case of Steely Dan, these musicians WERE the band. Fagen and Becker acted as bandleaders and facilitators. These musicians rotated in and out of different songs. This process would be employed heavily in the 1980’s. Because time in the studio was precious, you needed hired guns to come in execute their part in a song PERFECTLY. Much of the lead instruments on “Aja” were one-takes. Primary standouts include the following:
7. Its musical influences were diverse and stellar. In the days of jazz-rock, Aja was a standout. The band was not shy in showing their musical roots. Donald Fagen and Walter Becker were schooled in the blues from such artists as Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker. But it was their love for jazz that took center stage. Steely Dan borrowed heavily from Miles Davis, Horace Silver, John Coltrane, Duke Ellington, Dave Brubeck, Cal Tjader, Oliver Nelson and Art Blakey. Fagen and Becker not only borrowed their compositional styles, but also used space between the notes. This allowed for the music to breathe. As the group became worldlier, they also sought out other forms of musical input. Their uses of far-eastern musical motifs were noticeable, especially on the song, “Aja” 8. The Employment of the “Mu” Major chord was brilliant. The “Mu” Major chord can be heard first on early Gothic compositions from the 12th Century. The chord progression swaps out a second-degree note for a tonic note. Example: Notes C-G-D-E Steely Dan used this musical scale and squeezed out every drop of it into their music. The tracks that use this chord progression extensively can be found on “Black Cow”, “Deacon Blues” and “Josie”. 9. Its lyrical content was first rate. Gone are the days of Fagen and Becker’s collegiate longings, pessimisms and hidden drug references. On Aja, they decide to use their lyrics to tell stories. “Aja” paints the tale of a man living in the Far East. “Home at Last” draws inspiration from Homer’s “The Odyssey”. “Josie” – well, that’s self-explanatory. 10. Its controversy with hardcore Steely Dan fans arose when it became a mainstream hit. Many of the hardcore Steely Dan fans felt that Aja was a betrayal to them because it was the album was accessible to the masses and successful. Steely Dan was no longer “their” band but “everyone’s” band. The hardcore fans prefer the albums “Pretzel Logic” or “Countdown to Ecstasy” over “Aja”. It may be due to Steely Dan still having “Skunk” Baxter, Denny Dias and Jim Hodder still in the band. But the grand vision of what the band could do musically was not expressed on those two albums. Aja was the album where talent plus vision came together and solidified Steely Dan in the public’s eye. An album like Aja could never be made in the musical environment that exists today. The support system to allow artists to experiment and craft an album’s worth of songs has all but disappeared. The employment of session musicians today would frighten off any music executive’s checkbook. Bombast has replaced nuance and filler has replace substance, something that Steely Dan heavily employed. The desire to have a hit right out of the box will lessen the chance for individuals to hear songs that come straight from the heart, mind and soul of those who want to connect with an audience. Maybe one day, music fans will once again enjoy future material that will mirror the creativity of such a band as Steely Dan.
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