{"product_id":"steely-dan-aja-cd","title":"Steely Dan - Aja [CD]","description":"\u003cp\u003eAja is Steely Dan at their most immaculate, and this remastered CD edition keeps every polished detail of the 1977 album in sharp focus.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBy the time Walter Becker and Donald Fagen made their sixth album, Steely Dan had stopped being a touring band and turned into a studio laboratory. Working with producer Gary Katz, they brought in a parade of elite session players and kept recording until every part matched what they heard in their heads, folding jazz harmony into pop structures with uncanny ease.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe title track is the centrepiece, an eight-minute suite where Steve Gadd's drumming and a soaring Wayne Shorter saxophone solo push the band toward fusion. \"Deacon Blues\" is Fagen's wry, wistful anthem for a dreamer who wants to lose on his own terms, while \"Peg\" bounces along on a bright groove with a Michael McDonald backing vocal that has become instantly recognisable.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Black Cow\" opens proceedings with a slinky, horn-flecked strut, setting the tone for seven songs that reward close listening. The arrangements are dense yet never cluttered, and the lyrics are as sly and cynical as ever.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDecades later, Aja remains a benchmark for sound quality and a favourite of musicians and hi-fi obsessives alike. It's sophisticated, funny and quietly devastating, often all in the same verse.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Alliance Entertainment","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57518447624497,"sku":"008811205621","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0704\/2026\/7313\/files\/Steely_Dan-Aja_CD.jpg?v=1794678489","url":"https:\/\/vinyl.com\/products\/steely-dan-aja-cd","provider":"Vinyl.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}