AJA

We should use 5 star ratings very sparingly in our reviews. A masterpiece should be a rare thing, otherwise the term begins to lose its meaning and effectiveness. There are perhaps a dozen bands/artists listed on Progarchives which are deserving of a 5 star rating. The fact that I give two Steely Dan albums the highest honor demonstrates the high regard in which SD should be held. This introduction brings us to Aja. Aja, along with Pretzel Logic, represents the pinnacle of the Steely Dan mountain. They both get 5 stars.

I think Aja is Steely Dan at their jazziest and most progressive. There is more time dedicated to instrumentals than on just about any other SD record. This is especially true of "Aja" and "Deacon Blues", which are also the longest songs that SD ever recorded. The evidence is there in the drumming on "Aja" and the saxophone solos on "Deacon Blues".

If you forced me at gunpoint to pick a song I like less than the others, I would have to pick "I Got the News". It just doesn't strike me as much as the others do. But that's splitting extremely hairs. "Peg" and "Josie", on the other hand, are as catchy as anything Becker and Fagen have written. Pretzel Logic and Aja are essential albums, for their own reasons. Under the extremely broad progressive rock banner, it doesn't get any better than Aja.