45 years of the Steely Dan masterpiece ‘Aja’
Walter Becker and Donald Fagen were not satisfied. Even though they had seen some of the most talented session musicians walk through their studio doors, something just wasn’t perfect. And if something wasn’t perfect, it wouldn’t end up on a Steely Dan record. The guitar solo to ‘Peg’ wasn’t even that long – less than 30 seconds from start to finish – but Becker and Fagen still put top players like Robben Ford and Larry Carlton through the wringer before opting not to use their attempts at all.
That’s what Aja was all about. With five records already under their collective belt, Becker and Fagen were done with compromising. They had already dismissed all other permanent Steely Dan members in order to bring in the best studio players in the world. Weeks of sessions were held, but on more than one occasion, no music was recorded at all. Becker and Fagen were looking for nothing less than the best. There would be no substitute.
As two jazz nerds who came together at Bard College (the experiences which would inspire the song ‘My Old School’), Becker and Fagen were bound together through a mutual love of intricate harmony and sardonic lyrics. If they could have swung it, they would have probably played small jazz clubs or been in Ray Charles’ band. Instead, they opted to play rock music, morphed and moulded into their own uniquely cracked vision. With their friend Denny Dias, the pair recruited guitarist Jeff ‘Skunk’ Baxter and drummer Jim Hodder for what would become the first lineup of Steely Dan.
With a name borrowed from the electric dildo in William S. Burroughs’ surrealist novel Naked Lunch, Steely Dan were intellectually a cut above all other rock bands of the early 1970s. But it was the preoccupation with the losers of the world that kept them from being too pretentious. Wannabe jazz cats, broken-hearted fools, duplicitous dealers, slimy subterranean porn peddlers, and jaded middle-aged clubgoers are littered throughout their songs, just to name a few specific examples.
By the time they had reached Aja, Becker and Fagen had keyed into what made Steely Dan special: complex chord progressions, bebop-inspired solos, and caustic tales of loserdom. They were so in the zone that the members themselves didn’t even need to be involved: Walter Becker isn’t present in any form on the songs ‘Black Cow’ and ‘Peg’, but his presence still looms large. For Steely Dan, egos and personnel didn’t matter. It was all about the songs.
That’s why the pair began to obsess over sonics and high fidelity. With longtime producer Gary Katz and a litany of cutting-edge engineers, Becker and Fagen crafted crystal-clear arrangements that caught every horn squeak, bass drum hit, and slightly sharp harmony note. Because they had the best sounding equipment and recording technology, it was only logical that they demand the best possible playing in order to do their songs justice.
That’s why they opted for the best musicians: legendary drummers like Bernard Purdie and Steve Gadd rubbed elbows with jazz greats like Wayne Shorter and Plas Johnson. Doobie Brothers vocalist Michael McDonald lent his signature voice to the stacked harmonies of ‘Peg’ while future Eagles bassist Timothy B. Schmidt contributed to tracks like ‘Home at Last’ and ‘Josie’. Chuck Rainey, who incorporated funk and R&B grooves into the band’s arrangements, held down the bass on every track except ‘Deacon Blues’. It was a who’s-who of the best players at the time, collected onto one vinyl record.
There will be a debate over whether Aja is a New York or California record. The seedy underbelly and sordid tales of elite hipsterdom will always seem permanently tied to New York City, but the smooth yacht rock sound, houses on hills, and dude ranches are pure Hollywood. The jazz is NYC, the soft rock is LA, but the union is somewhere in between.
Steely Dan weren’t playing pop music, but their songs did contain enough hooks to feel strangely commercial. ‘Peg’ and ‘Josie’ were breezy and catchy enough to come off like top 40 love songs. Walter and Becker might have been impeccable in their craft, but they weren’t above a very basic rule: make it sound good. That attitude extended into everything they did, as the pair made sure that their complicated arrangements never overshadowed the earworm qualities of a great melody or the poppy appeal of a danceable groove.
The results were all filtered into Aja, the ultimate mixture of dense complexity and deft catchiness. With just seven songs, Steely Dan were able to craft a pop record that had the DNA of a jazz record and the appeal of a mainstream rock record. Every time a listener returns to the impeccable 40 minutes of Aja, they can find something new lurking just below the surface. At the same time, no other Steely Dan album is as naturally appealing or easy to listen to as Aja. It’s a masterclass in the pursuit of perfection.
In the years since its release, Aja became the de facto peak of what was to become known as “yacht rock”. But the funniest thing about the album is how easily it transcends the trappings of that label now. Aja and Steely Dan stand head and shoulders above all other smooth, soft rock wannabes because there’s nothing alienating or obvious about what they do.
Aja continuously avoids cliché at every turn because it doesn’t actually have any forefathers. It’s a one-of-one, standalone piece of art that doesn’t have to feel like anything other than a cool listening experience. It’s incredibly satisfying, even if Walter Becker and Donald Fagen never seemed like they were. It’s also peak Steely Dan, and some days, it starts to sound like peak ‘70s music.
