Aja Poll

I've been on a bit of a Steely Dan kick the last couple of days, and Aja has been hitting the spot like never before. The first four albums are all long been huge favourites of mine, but I think I'd rank Aja ahead of The Royal Scam now. I still don't really rate Gaucho, even though it's very well produced and engineered (as you'd expect) - I've a little warmed to 'Babylon Sisters' (even though I find it a lesser version of 'Home at Last'), 'Hey Nineteen', the title track and 'Third World Man', but find the rest of the tracks lacking.

Pretzel Logic is the only stepchild in the SD discography for me

Really? Why d'you say that? Because it's their most concise/poppiest record?

Wayne Shorter's solo is nothing to sneeze at either. I love that one ascending part where it feels like he's reaching for the cosmos.

― Moodles, Tuesday, September 12, 2017 3:05 PM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah it's just astonishing

xpost

I would have to go look at the tracklist but it's the only one that has real lulls for me. Obv it has some immortal stuff on it.

'Any Major Dude...' is one of my all-time favourite Steely Dan tracks.

Oh definitely. Maybe top 5 for me.

i don't think there's a dud on Gaucho, the ones you didn't mention (Glamour Profession, My Rival, Time Out Of Mind) are all pretty close to the equal of the four you like!)

btw re: the title track, never knew about the Keith Jarrett lawsuit (I'm sure it's been covered here), but damn I guess he had a good case...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QNK4Pc8W2A

Yeah, I don't really like either 'My Rival' and 'Time Out Of Mind' ... 'Glamour Profession' sounds great for its first minute but then I find myself tuning out... it's probably the weariest sounding "disco" tune I've ever heard, but weary sounding disco was probably what they were going for.

yeah it definitely was, I can see how you could see that song as conceptually or intellectually interesting but not enjoyable musically. it's probably my favorite SD song, but only if i can have the demo where Fagen sings the chorus & it sounds like a C90 bounce.

That's prrrrobably my favorite SD lyric

Glamour Profession is the essence of Gaucho for me and one of the greatest things they ever did

I like the way Fagen sings "Barbados" as "Barbadeuce" ...

I totally agree with the above re: Glamour Profession. Perfect portrait of a specific type of hanger-on cretin that you'll no doubt meet in the drug world & in LA. I love the second verse so much, the last line is amazing in the context of the song: "I drove the Chrysler / watched from the darkness while they danced."

I still have a dream of making a cool house track out of Glamour Profession samples, but I haven't been able to make it work so far

brut and charisma poured from the shadow where he stood

Jack with his radar
Stalking the dread moray eel

Scam has one foot in LA / "elsewhere" but the album art is so overt with the Chrysler building reference that to me it's an NY album

They hated that cover, though, and it was originally created for an unreleased Van Morrison album.

I don't mind it, but it's still one of my least favourite Steely Dan sleeves... Can't Buy a Thrill is probably their worst.

The sleeve to Katy Lied is my favourite.

even so, it captures the atmosphere of the record perfectly... all i see is steam & grit & smog & slime... definitely a new york record

this is neat, haven't heard it in a while, don't remember the audio quality being this good

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7EkDDzpPrk

wow...very nice! sounds like Gadd on drums?
and that staccato part ~~~~~~~
whole thing almost like a sister to aja.

mp3
https://ufile.io/lt3n4

Am I the only fan of this band that doesn't care for Deacon Blues at all?

nope, same here.

come on the lyrics alone make it classic

Love it, but I actually don't care that much for Josie.

Yeah, I love the lyrics to 'Deacon Blues' ... the first two lines are such a fuckin' funny way to open a song.

I used to think that I Got The News was the only dud here, but I've learned to love the herky-jerk rhythm and Victor Feldman's piano

yup the piano makes that track

'I Got The News' rules.

aw man, when Michael McDonald comes in on that one, so good

Glamour Profession, My Rival and Time Out Of Mind are my favorite Gaucho songs. „Show me my rival, I'll match him whim for whim now“ is the quintessential Steely Dan battlecry

Yeah those three are heart of gaucho for me as well

weird, i would rate the other four tracks ahead of those

I don't dislike any of the songs on Gaucho, but side 1 is perfect.

I mean, same goes for Aja though

I used to think that I Got The News was the only dud here, but I've learned to love the herky-jerk rhythm and Victor Feldman's piano

I'm not particularly bothered by it today but I do think I see his point. The part is not in the same league as songs on the rest of the album.

Also worth noting that I believe Roger Nichols didn't have the same involvement in the engineering of this record as compared to the others, which helps explain Aja didn't *sound* quite as lush as the records before and after it (tho it is certainly every bit as smooth if not more so).

Side one of Aja takes a great steaming shit all over side one of Gaucho.

Counterpoint: no it doesn't

the real answer might be that whatever Steely Dan album out of the first 7 is your favorite, you're right (mine changes all the time.)

I agree with nomar.

xp to naive teen idol

that's really interesting. i wasn't talking about the drum performance in particular (which I agree is not the best) but the rhythm of the song in general as defined by the bassline. keeps the whole thing off-balance and makes the lyrics seem even weirder than they already are

man "Stand by the Seawall" is niiiice

Glamour Profession, My Rival and Time Out Of Mind are my favorite Gaucho songs. „Show me my rival, I'll match him whim for whim now“ is the quintessential Steely Dan battlecry

― gospodin simmel, Thursday, September 14, 2017 11:45 AM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yeah those three are heart of gaucho for me as well

― harbinger of failure (Jon not Jon), Thursday, September 14, 2017

dude "Third World Man"

Gaucho the song is the defining moment of their career for me. The perfect climax right near the very end of their first run.

Yes

Let me be clear, I consider gaucho a perfect album and I love every song on it, but those three songs I love especially madly

Whenever I put Gaucho on, which admittedly isn't often and mostly when it crops up in conversation, it's very rare that I make it to the end of side one, finding myself wanting to turn it off about a couple of minutes into 'Glamour Profession' ' if I do make it to side two, then I find myself wanting to switch it off after the title track. It's a shame that 'Third World Man' is buried at the end.

Mark Knopfler is on Gaucho, but I find Brothers in Arms a more engaging record.