Steely Dan • Aja
Cisco Music/Geffen Records CLP-1006
33-RPM 180 g LP
Originally released in 1977, Aja is the sixth (and best selling) album released by jazz-rock band Steely Dan. In the following year, the album won the Grammy Award for the Best Engineered Non-Classical Recording. In addition to the core members of Steely Dan (Donald Fagin and Walter Becker), Aja features numerous session musicians including Steve Gadd, Lee Ritenour, and Wayne Shorter.
I must admit that I bought this album purely on its reputation for having great sound quality—a reputation that is well earned, and, given that Fagin and Becker are renown for their almost obsessive perfectionism, not surprising. I don’t know how it compares to the original, but the sound quality on Cisco’s version in fantastic! Musically, the album is still growing on me, although I recognised the opening song on side 2, Peg, once it started playing.
Given that the sound quality and packaging are first rate, a recommendation is almost mandatory, especially if jazz fusion is a genre that you like or are interested in exploring.