The first album in our Record Roulette adventure is Aja by Steely Dan. Initially, this record caught my attention due to its minimalistic, yet mysterious album cover. Ultimately though, my mom was the one who inspired me to give it a try. She had told me how big of a fan she was and how much she enjoyed their music, so I knew it was something I might end up enjoying. And she wasn’t wrong.
Going into this album, I expected to hear more of a rock sound, but this album ignores rock almost entirely. Instead, the tracks of Aja fuse jazz, blues, and pop together in an almost seamless fashion. Throughout this album, you will hear a number of subtle melodies, complex time signatures, as well as solos that blend nicely into the jazzy instrumental background. The combination of all these sounds were enough to get me hooked and wanting more. As an album that includes grooving basslines, smooth guitar lines, and bouncy keyboard playing, Aja is a great example of jazz-rock at its finest.
To add to the already great album, the original pressing of the record came in a gatefold sleeve that includes notes of each track, which was written by Michael Phalen. These notes give the listener a more detailed description of each track, which I think was a great addition. There’s also another note included in the sleeve, which was written by the president of ABC Records, Steve Diener. In this note, he continuously praises the album and compares it to Steely Dan’s previous work. This was also a clever addition as it gives new listeners, such as myself, an insight into the band’s evolution of sound.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this album. With a length of just about 40 minutes, this album has a perfect running time that allows the band to shine without becoming redundant and boring. Tracks such as “Aja” and “Peg” reminded me of modern-day jazz-rock band, The Reign of Kindo, which was also a pleasant surprise. I recommend listening to the tracks “Black Cow” and “Home At Last,” as they both provide a smooth jazz sound that’s very enjoyable and easy to listen to. I will definitely continue to listen to this album in the future, and I encourage others to give it a listen, as it offers a style of music that isn’t commonly heard nowadays.
Record Russian Roulette 