Steely Dan - Aja
Written by: Moti Kupfer
Release Date - 23.09.1977
Perfectionism means pursuing something perfect and never reaching it.
The intelligent revolution created by the musical duo "Steely Dan" can be called perfectionism, with one difference: they reached a point in time when the music they made connected with the term perfect in such a natural way. That happened on 23.09.1977, when their sixth studio album, "Aja", was released.
"Steely Dan" are Walter Becker, Donald Fagen, and a long list of changing musicians. Becker and Fagen met at Bard College in New York.
At the beginning, they played together in a jazz trio with actor Chevy Chase called "Leather Canary".
After exhausting that chapter, Becker and Fagen became a songwriting duo and were members of the band "Jay and the Americans".
In 1971, the duo moved to Los Angeles, where ABC Records producer Gary Katz signed them to the label, and "Steely Dan" was on its way.
During the recording of the albums, Fagen played keyboards and sang, while Walter Becker played guitar and bass guitar and sang backing vocals.
The sound of "Steely Dan" was polished, everything in its place, with quick transitions. In an era ruled by rough rock, colorful pop, and disco slowly beginning to seep in, "Aja" offered pop and jazz with touches of rock and funk.
Their albums, and especially "Aja", became demonstration records in audio stores, used to showcase the quality of sound systems.
All this clean music was wrapped in a wonderful contradiction at the heart of "Steely Dan", a band named after a dildo from the novel Naked Lunch by writer William Burroughs.
The album consists of seven songs in which it is difficult to point to a single weak moment. These are songs written about desire, wanderlust, illusions, and the destructive effects of the American dream, performed by some of the finest players, including saxophonist Wayne Shorter and keyboardist Victor Feldman. They are joined by session professionals such as Chuck Rainey, Steve Gadd, Jim Horn, Lee Ritenour, Larry Carlton, and even Michael McDonald of "The Doobie Brothers" on backing vocals.
Becker and Fagen not only used a broad range of musicians on the album, they also refused to compromise, doing take after take after take until they achieved the picture they were aiming for.
This album arrived at a point when "Steely Dan" had already given up live performances and retreated into the studios, where they focused on the music. Perhaps that is what led to an album that won a Grammy for Best Engineered Recording, Non-Classical, placed three singles in the American Top 30, two of them in the Top 20, sold millions of copies, and is still considered one of music's foundation stones. It was an exceptional album in the musical landscape, especially in the era in which it was released.
The album cover was created by Japanese photographer Hideki Fujii, who photographed Japanese model and actress Sayoko Yamaguchi. She appears as a mysterious figure emerging from a black background, with red tones on her face and clothes.
For Listening: Spotify, Apple Music
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