Steely Dan - Aja (1977/2023)

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Steely Dan - Aja (1977/2023)

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Steely Dan’s 1977 classic, Aja, has been remastered for a new vinyl reissue overseen by Donald Fagen. It is the latest in a series of Steely Dan reissues, all remastered by Bernie Grundman. The new version of Aja, which comes without add-on accoutrements, is out September 29 (via Geffen/UMe).

While the new versions are remastered from analog tape copies that had not been EQed, the original tapes of Aja and Gaucho are believed lost. The main reissue will be pressed to at 33 1/3 RPM. Analogue Productions, the in-house reissue label of Acoustic Sounds, is also putting out a 45-rpm version in the Ultra High-Quality Vinyl format, as well as a Super Audio CD version.

Steely Dan hadn't been a real working band since Pretzel Logic, but with Aja, Walter Becker and Donald Fagen's obsession with sonic detail and fascination with composition reached new heights. A coolly textured and immaculately produced collection of sophisticated jazz-rock, Aja has none of the overt cynicism or self-consciously challenging music that distinguished previous Steely Dan records. Instead, it's a measured and textured album, filled with subtle melodies and accomplished, jazzy solos that blend easily into the lush instrumental backdrops. But Aja isn't just about texture, since Becker and Fagen's songs are their most complex and musically rich set of songs – even the simplest song, the sunny pop of "Peg," has layers of jazzy vocal harmonies. In fact, Steely Dan ignores rock on Aja, preferring to fuse cool jazz, blues, and pop together in a seamless, seductive fashion. It's complex music delivered with ease, and although the duo's preoccupation with clean sound and self-consciously sophisticated arrangements would eventually lead to a dead end, Aja is a shining example of jazz-rock at its finest. © Stephen Thomas Erlewine