| Aja | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Steely Dan | ||||
| Released | September 23, 1977[1] | |||
| Recorded | January–July 1977 at Village Recorders, West LA; Producer's Workshop, Hollywood; Warner Bros. North Hollywood Recording Studios; ABC Recording Studios; Sound Labs, Hollywood; A & R Studios, New York | |||
| Genre | Jazz rock | |||
| Length | 39:58 | |||
| Label | ABC | |||
| Producer | Gary Katz | |||
| Steely Dan chronology | ||||
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Aja ( /ˈeɪʒə/, pronounced like Asia) is the sixth album by the jazz rock band Steely Dan. Originally released in 1977 on ABC Records, 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. 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's "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list.
The album features several leading session musicians. The eight-minute-long title track features jazz-based changes and a solo by saxophonist Wayne Shorter.
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]
Contents |
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]
All songs written by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen.
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [5] |
| Robert Christgau | (B+)[6] |
| Rolling Stone | (favorable)[7] |
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 |
Grammy Awards
| Year | Winner | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Aja | Best Engineered Recording, Non Classical |
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