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I've seen your picture


Steely Dan - Aja


LP sleeve of Aja by Steely Dan, propped up behind a turntable playing the album.

Despite me and my mate Tim having a shared (was it just us?) obsession with Donald Fagen's solo album, New Frontier in the early 80's I was only ever marginally aware of Steely Dan until a mate at work in 89/90 put Peg (and a few other bits) on a compilation tape for me, and I realised that it was the sample from Eye Know from De La Soul's 3 Feet High And Rising which I had been rinsing.

I spent a couple of days in bed with a bit of a virus this week, and spent a febrile night playing this album in my head, convinced that I had to write a meaningful critique of it. Next day I re-watched the 'making of' docco on YouTube. Fucking hell, it's good. You don't come out of it thinking Becker or Fagen are particularly blessed in the people-skills department, but, oh my, the craft!

This is the perfect album. Special mentions, though, go out to Michael McDonald's BVs on Peg and Wayne Shorter's solo on Aja.


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in reply to Tinselwig

I listened to Peg and it was great. I don't know what I thought steely dan sounded like but it wasn't that.