Aja

***Aja*** is the sixth studio album by the band Steely Dan. Following the harder, rockier *The Royal Scam*, this is their jazziest album yet, and each album features a big band with completely different members each track. Each track is over 4 and a half minutes long, and it features their longest track - "Aja" at 8:00. The album has more complicated and sophisticated compositions - a big leap from their first album, released just 5 years earlier. *Aja* won Steely Dan their first Grammy Award in 1978 for Best Engineered Recording.

## Background

Steely Dan had been building up their jazz side for a while, and while *The Royal Scam* didn't have much jazz influence, it was still there. The album also marked their most Californian release, with multiple Californian studio musicians and breezy, coastal music. Sometime in the early 2000s, they could not find the master tapes for the songs "Black Cow" and "Aja".

## Music and Lyrics

Keyboardist and vocalist Donald Fagen is infamous for creating entirely new bands to get the right sound for a single song. This album features 7 incredibly diverse songs, from bluesy pseudo-rock to funk tunes. "Black Cow", the opener, is a 5-minute funk rock opus about a troubled relationship and features lyrics about self-worth. It features an instrumental jam that closes the piece, and moves on to the band's longest song: the title track, "Aja".

"Aja" is an 8-minute long jazz masterpiece with an extremely long instrumental middle section. It features a drum solo from Steve Gadd and a saxophone solo by Wayne Shorter. The song itself is about a tranquil, peaceful relationship with a woman. The next song, "Deacon Blues" is a 7-minute long fusion peace about an aspiring alcoholic saxophonist who wants to die a tragic, romantic death. The music is chocked full with saxophones and horns.

Side Two opens with "Peg", the most straightforward pop song Steely Dan has probably ever produced. It is a big hit, and still is played on radio today. The catchy and upbeat chorus and lyrics about supporting an aspiring actress girlfriend makes for a good contrast to the suburbanite fantasy of "Deacon Blues". "Home at Last" is a melancholic ode to Homer's *The Odyssey*.

"I Got the News" is a rockin' tune with "Djangoesque" guitar and a purposely absurd and stupid lyric. "Josie" ends the album, the biggest hit from this album, is a blues-inspired rocker that goes back to Steely Dan's roots. It still features jazz chord progressions, but uses a repetitive guitar riff and single chord in the verses.

## Packaging and Marketing

The title *Aja* is pronounced *Asia*. Fagen said the album was named after his friend's brother's wife. The cover art, featuring Japanese actress Sayoko Yamaguchi, was taken by Hideki Fujii. Unlike every other popular band in the 1970s, Steely Dan had worked without a manager, and were relatively private figures. However, in 1977, they arranged a meeting with famous manager Irving Azoff, and due to his connects in the record store industry, *Aja* became one of the hottest selling albums of that year. It swiftly became Steely Dan's "biggest hit", being helped by the success of "Deacon Blues" and "Josie".

## Track listing

1. "Black Cow" **– 5:10**
2. "Aja" **– 8:00**
3. "Deacon Blues" **– 7:37**
4. "Peg" **– 4:00**
5. "Home at Last" **– 5:36**
6. "I Got the News" **– 5:07**
7. "Josie" **– 4:31**

## Personnel

**Steely Dan**

* Donald Fagen – vocals, synthesizer, police whistle ("Aja")
* Walter Becker – bass, electric guitar

**"Black Cow"**

* Donald Fagen – vocals, synthesizer
* Larry Carlton – electric guitar
* Chuck Rainey – bass
* Victor Feldman – Fender Rhodes
* Joe Sample – electric piano
* Tom Scott – tenor saxophone
* Clydie King – backing vocals
* Sherlie Matthews – backing vocals
* Vennetta Fields – backing vocals
* Rebecca Louis – backing vocals
* Paul Humphrey – drums

**"Aja"**

* Donald Fagen – vocals, synthesizer, police whistle
* Larry Carlton – electric guitar
* Denny Dias – electric guitar
* Walter Becker – electric guitar
* Chuck Rainey – bass
* Joe Sample – electric piano
* Michael Omartian – piano
* Wayne Shorter – tenor saxophone
* Timothy B. Schmit – backing vocals
* Steve Gadd – drums
* Victor Feldman – percussion

**"Deacon Blues"**

* Donald Fagen – vocals, synthesizer
* Larry Carlton – electric guitar
* Lee Ritenour – electric guitar
* Dean Parks – acoustic guitar
* Walter Becker – bass
* Victor Feldman – electric piano
* Wayne Shorter – tenor saxophone
* Bill Perkins – saxophone
* Jackie Kelso – saxophone, flute
* Jim Horn – saxophone
* Lou McCreary – saxophone
* Pete Christlieb – saxophone
* Plas Johnson – saxophone
* Tom Scott – saxophone
* Chuck Findley – trumpet
* Slyde Hyde – trumpet
* Clydie King – backing vocals
* Sherlie Matthews – backing vocals
* Venetta Fields – backing vocals
* Bernard Purdie – drums

**"Peg"**

* Donald Fagen – lead vocals
* Jay Graydon – electric guitar
* Steve Khan – electric guitar
* Don Grolnick – Clavinet
* Paul Griffin – electric piano, backing vocals
* Chuck Rainey – bass
* Tom Scott – lyricon
* Michael McDonald – backing vocals
* Rick Marotta – drums
* Gary Coleman – percussion
* Victor Feldman – percussion

**"Home at Last"**

* Donald Fagen – vocals, synthesizer
* Walter Becker – electric guitar
* Larry Carlton – electric guitar
* Chuck Rainey – bass
* Victor Feldman – piano, vibraphone
* Timothy B. Schmit – backing vocals
* Bernard Purdie – drums

**"I Got the News"**

* Donald Fagen – vocals, synthesizer
* Walter Becker – electric guitar
* Larry Carlton – electric guitar
* Dean Parks – electric guitar
* Chuck Rainey – bass
* Victor Feldman – piano, percussion
* Clydie King – backing vocals
* Michael McDonald – backing vocals
* Rebecca Louis – backing vocals
* Sherlie Matthews – backing vocals
* Venetta Fields – backing vocals
* Ed Green – drums

**"Josie"**

* Donald Fagen – vocals, synthesizer
* Walter Becker – electric guitar
* Larry Carlton – electric guitar
* Dean Parks – electric guitar
* Chuck Rainey – bass
* Victor Feldman – electric piano
* Timothy B. Schmit – backing vocals
* Jim Keltner – drums, percussion