Nobody listens to Peg for the first time and doesn’t recognize how great it is. It’s just universally agreed upon.

My dad passed away and did not leave me any material nor money as inheritance but he gave me music that was so rich with soul which is hard to come by nowadays. We never had a good relationship but one thing is for sure.... I used sneak his old tapes just to play Steely Dan's music which is also one of the greatest influences in my own music. Aside from the melody & beats they're also lyrical geniuses! No debate!

The saxophonist on Aja is Wayne Shorter, a legendary jazz musician who played with Miles, Herbie, Blakey, and so many more. Great video!

Prince was indeed influenced by STeely Dan, there is an account of an early performance by a band that included morris day and they did some Dan covers, he was also inspired by Deacon Blues: "I cried when I wrote this song so sue me if I play too long" -- "I was dreamin when I wrote this so sue me if it goes too fast" (1999)

The GOAT Band of all time? Quite possibly...

Steely Dan has no expiration date. The music and lyrics are genius. Layers of perfection.

Black Cow has some of my favorite chord changes ever written.

The keyboard solo on "Black Cow" by Victor Feldman is just stellar. One of my favorites in SD's canon. Also for me the Wayne Shorter solo in "Aja" has so much depth and understanding of how to organize a solo. It's just mesmerizing. My favorite horn solo in all of SD's tunes.

I believe that’s Wayne Shorter on sax on “ Aja”And Steve Gadd is on the most game changing drum solo in rock music.

The guys really allow this song to breath. After the crazy, hectic sax solo with the energetic drum fills, they give it the full four measures before resuming the lyrics. I can feel the song resting and getting it's wind back. The Dan were on a different level musically.

Love your reactions to Steely Dan. I read recently that Fagen always wanted to create songs like these on Aja, but he waited until Steely Dan was big enough and famous enough to move in the jazz/fusion direction. You also mentioned that musically Aja is on a different scope than their earlier albums. They were a band on Can't Buy a Thrill and Countdown to Ecstasy. But the later albums were created using session musicians, the best money could buy - Larry Carlton, Bernard Purdie, Steve Gadd, Chuck Rainey, etc.

Aja OMG!

Deacon Blues...that’s my jam, right there❤️🎶🎷🎶✨🎶✨🎶 What yoooo said about Prince’s, “Wanna Be Your Lover” and The Dan’s, “Peg”!!!💯💯💯🤩

Simply another Iconic band from my youth. How we took for granted that music would always be like this.

Listening to the self titled track always makes me tear up as it was my late father's favorite song. He passed in July due to colon cancer. Such a brillant song loved by a brillant man

Steely Dan influenced EVERYBODY. They are known as your favorite bands, favorite band.

I think the bass player on Peg was absolutely crushing it. Nothing ridiculous just those little things.I think it was Chuck Raney. A Cleveland guy.

Forget KZfaq, I'm sure some of us remember what it's like to hear this album for the first time on vinyl. Nice it still can blow younger generations away.

Yes, Wayne Shorter on tenor. It is mind blowing to hear him tell the story that “he just happened to be in the studio that day”. Absolutely gorgeous.

I have seen them twice, once in 93 at the roadhouse in NYC , they were playing with the name New York Knights , I remember a friend and I were trying to figure out something to do , we seen that a band with that name was playing at the Roadhouse, we know that the Roadhouse had famous artists that would play with incognito names , how nice it was . The other time was at a casino in Tahoe , they played with a 10 piece band that was 2004 . Glad you groove to one of my favorites .

The Great Michael McDonald singing BACKGROUND! AMAZING!

I think in fifty years just as many people will be hearing this for the first time and they'll know then what all of us already knew 100 years before them. Millions of music recordings will certainly fade into oblivion but Steely Dan has created something that will be around for as long as humans have ears.

Perhaps my all-time favorite Album!

The "Aja" album won a Grammy for Best Engineered and Recording-Non Classical in 1978. You can see why. Donald Fagen and Walter Becker were perfectionists in the studio. It took a year for then to complete the album. They hired about 40 of the best session musicians of the time to play on the album.

You're on it lover!

'Peg', their big single from the album, was what really got me into them in 1978 when it was released and I was 11 years old. It blew my mind then and it still does. Just an absolutely incredible album.

Watching you listening to this Album, reminds me of when I heard it for the first time on Vinyl record, 1977, Harmon Kardon amp, gigantic JVC speakers in a attic apartment, a bit of the herb.

Now you hitting one of best albums of all time !!! Not bad for a couple funky white boys

Had this on vinyl (record eventually cracked), cassette tape (wore it out) and still have it on CD as well as digital. I will never be without this music while I'm alive.

I saw them live a few years ago (RIP Walter Becker) and they played Aja front to back to start the concert. I actually had tears of joy listening and watching this epic album unfold before me. Sublime.

Thanks as always for your wonderful reactions. The harmonies on Peg are performed by Michael McDonald of early Steely Dan fame and later Doobie Brothers fame. He created a 5-part harmony with tiny gaps in the notes. He said that Becker and Fagen tortured him to exhaustion and near-insanity until he got it exactly, precisely perfect. In addition to the sheer musical enjoyment, you really get to appreciate the uncompromising dedication to craft.

Your right. Lots of artist incorporate sounds that they like from other artists. No harm, no foul. Every successful musician will tell you they have done that. As a musician you need to know where that line is.

Just great to see these wonderful reactions, SD just magic sounds, geniuses 😊😄🎶👍

"They did something different every album." Yes, the sign of a true artist.

Drama nice bringing up that Prince song...I agree. Not just him but a lot of hip hop artists sampled their music

I have followed Steely Dan since 1972, immediately a huge fan. I saw my first Steely Dan concert in Sacramento in 1972. Since that time I've seen them perform live in concert at least 10 more times, including 2 especially memorable shows, one at Shoreline Amphitheater in Menlo Park in 1989 where I had vackstage passes and got to hang with Fagen and Becker after the show. Don was quiet, nervous, and reserved. Walter was so socially engaging and interesting. The other memorable show was in 2004 in San Francisco at the Masonic Auditorium where they played the complete Aja album for the first set followed by the complete Royal Scam album. In the middle of the second set some joker yelled out "Free Bird!!". Fagen stopped the whole show to berate this person high in the balcony for not only interesting the flow of the concert just to yell out an inappropriate comment as if it were funny. The crowd absolutely ROARED with approval. One common denominator for every single one of their live performances was the care and attention to the sound system and the mix. You could have sworn that it was the studio recordings, the sound was so perfect. Another thing about their concerts, upwards of 3/4 of the audience were all making the same head movement in time with the music... a kind of nodding similar to nodding "yes" That move is now known as Dan Bobbing ( like bobbing for apples)

When Ed Green cuts loose on drums in the middle of AJA is pure freedom.

Great album. One of the best. Your vids are outstanding my friend. Thanks so much

Your wonderful👏❤

Quality sound, + Steely Dan’s Aja = Early Christmas present! Thanks Michael and I appreciate your appreciation for the Dan!

Yep.. They're at the pinnacle

Jay Graydon on guitar on 'Peg', Rick Marotta on drums, Michael McDonald on backing vocals - the whole song is incredible, and what got me into this album in the first place. It was the big single on the album. There's a VH-1 special on the making of the album with interviews with everyone on the album. It's a who's who of some of the greatest session musicians of all time, and Becker and Fagen play back various tracks from the multitrack recordings and analyze and make fun of both the outtakes *and* the material that appeared on the final recording. It's fascinating and hilarious and sardonic and even a little mean at times. Fascinating and essential viewing, and listening, of course. The musicians demonstrate what they did on the record - just watch it. You'll be glad you did. It has been here on KZfaq at various times, most of the time, and is probably available now.

The don't "Aja" is one of the top musical masterpieces of the 20th century! Everyone on this one shines! Me, being a drummer, always worshipped Steve Gadd for the work he put in on this track! Absolutely amazing! A game changer for sure! The whole album is a banger!💯

Love this album. Listen to it all the time.

Never gets old!😊😊😊😊😊

Steve Gadd on drums was a very busy man! I Love it

The chord progressions can make you emotional. "My favorite is the one I'm hearing" lol

Straight up awesome. Love all around.

Deacon Blues is my favorite Steely Dan song

Walter Becker on guitar is genius!

Aja and Gaucho are my two favorite LPs.

One does not listen to Steely Dan, One feels Steely Dan in your soul 🙂

Goosebumps every single time on that Peg guitar solo. And that bass. Probably my favorite Steely Dan song as well.

„Sometimes you have to listen for what the music is telling you“. This is so true!

Musicianship at its very best.

Do you hear Michael McDonald singing background on Peg? He was with them before the Doobies.

Prepare to have your mind blown repeatedly... especially if you're in good headphones.

The floating lolloping bass line in Deacon Blues contrasts markedly with the upfront punchy lines in Peg. Always sublime awareness of what sound and what instrument should take precedence at any point in a song. Masterful impact

A local radio station used to play "album sides" one night per week at midnight. Your approach to playing an album reminds me a great deal of those times. In fact, it's the way I was first exposed to Steely Dan. Aja was simply the very best, the most perfectly arranged, and without a doubt the best musicians in the business for the time. SO GLAD you enjoyed it as much as I/we did when we were kids... Love the channel ..

It's so nice to have a different generation appreciate music from my era. You have great taste. I feel so blessed to have all the different flavors of music growing up.

Popped back in to double dip on the Aja album reactions. Sweet bliss.

Deacon Blues is my anthem.

Thank you so much....I needed to hear some Steely Dan

The audio fidelity of this recording is unmatched, even today. It has been THE album used for testing the fidelity of audio reproduction equipment ever since it was released in 1977.

Steve Gadd's drums on the title track 'Aja,' especially during the breaks, just kill me still after having first heard this album right when it came out. It literally makes me sob, it's so good. I think it's my favorite track.

My favorite group [album wise] of all time! Best song writers fagen becker of all times!

Pray for greatness as always.

Your analysis is right on the money

I don't know much about the studio musicians for Steely Dan (Fagen and Becker notwithstanding) but man they are always on fire.

HE GETS IT !

Was hooked with Countdown to Ecstasy, went back to Can't Buy A Thrill and never looked back. Thank you for your honest reactions! The fact that you are open to all different types of music is so refreshing. I know very little about the different musicians involved, but I know what has been in my heart since 1973.

My absolute favorite SD song! The lyrics are brilliant, and it's just perfect musically. It was frickin awesome to watch you listening and GETTING IT. Thanks, man. 🥰✌️🤘

Peg & I Want to Be Your Lover - No question there's some influence. After Steely Dan disbanded in 1981 (until live shows in 1993), Prince took the baton on jazz/funk and ran with it.

I approve of the stank face because I myself have to scrunch up my nose every time that saxophone starts wailing also

I've been riding with Aja, the song, the album, since I used to borrow it from my mom'd collection in the late 80s, and only since I have started to watch react videos have I felt like I could relive listening to things again. Steve Gadd, on Aja. That is a piece of magick that takes you to other worlds all on its own. I know it is coming, I prepare for the trip, and I just GOOOOOOOO.

Black Cow is one of my favorites! 💖

When I first heard the record my favorites were Peg and Josie. Now I can’t stop listening to the title track, it’s truly sensational

BRILLIANT THROUGH & THROUGH! THANKS! Love seeing you enJoy as a much as I have for decades! ; o )

Just made me smile. When you said prince ! I heard it at the same time ! Good stuff Drama !💯👍🏽

My favorite Steely Dan album from “Black Cow” to “Josie”.

About the guitar solo on "Peg:" About 7-8 guitarists had given it a shot, none of which were to the satisfaction of Fagen and Becker. Then Jay Graydon came in, and did the solo you hear in one take.

AJA IS NEXT LEVEL.

I owned all their albums. I bought Aja when it first was released

Deacon Blues! Good Lord!

I cant imagine anyone with an ear for sophisticated yet catchy music not loving this the very first time like I did.

Steely Dan's songs has been sampled by so many rappers, i think lots of them grew up listening to SD.

Man, are you in for a treat, and 'Black Cow' is them just getting started...

Victor Wooten, famous funk bass player, once said "You have to play the notes for the silence in-between". Never truer words spoken! I hope you'll continue this love for The Dan and listen to a few of Donald Fagen's solo works, especially The Nightfly and Kamakiriad. Just stellar music. Thanks, and Peace!

Listening to Steely Dan always evokes such happiness and joy for me. They are awesome, and it takes me back to my childhood. I love your reactions and insight and especially your analysis and appreciation for these artists.

I'm with you: Peg is hard to beat!

The song Aja was supposed to be a tour of San Francisco. Up and down the hills through this neighborhood and that one. Donald Fagen tried to explain it once in an interview. Traffic sounds included, speed changes, background sounds besides cable car bells etc. It's the best of the album to me, and Steve Gadd just killed the drums with that "shuffle" as he called it.

Jay graydon on peg with his orange squeezer compressor through a rivera amp. Doesn't get any better

Note: Listen for Steve Gadd's drum stick "click" at 14:11 during his monster solo behind the sax -- brilliant!!

Yes you must hear the best version I have the Aja remaster from 2008 that’s another level great reaction Michael you are a pro 👍

Amazing drum solo.

This is musically on a different level than the earlier stuff. It is filled with a who's who of jazz and r&b musicians who are playing at the highest of levels. A partial list: Chuck Rainey Bernard Purdie Larry Carlton Steve Gadd Wayne Shorter Joe Sample Lee Ritenour Jim Keltner Victor Feldman Dean Parks Rick Marotta Michael McDonaldes Tom Scott Paul Griffin Jay Graydon Timothy B. Schmitt and more. Google these cats. Becker and Fagen knew who they were getting. There are some incredible resumes. Since you're a music head, this is good stuff to know and greatly helps to understand the achievement that is AJA

Donald and Walter, two absolute geniuses. Backing band not bad too. Only joking, all very brilliant musicians. Thank you America 🇺🇸, love from England 🇬🇧

The drum rhythm by Rick Marotta in 'Peg' is a swing shuffle. Non musicians often call this a cadence, which is the wrong word. It's a rhythm. When non musicians say 'cadence' to mean a rhythm what they're actually referring to is a rhythmic cadence, which is a very specific reference to a drum rhythm used in marching band music, and the cadence part of the term is extremely misleading because a rhythmic cadence is a rhythmic pattern played by a drum or drums, but a cadence is literally the end of a piece of traditional western tonal music as indicated by usually either of two chord progressions of two chords indicating the end of the piece of music: the plagal cadence, which is the the IV chord resolving to the I chord (the ending "Amen" in a hymn), or the perfect cadence, which is the V chord followed by the I chord (almost every single cadence heard - the ending of Mary Had a Little Lamb technically is a perfect cadence in terms of harmony). This is all really simple stuff, even though it sounds much more involved than it actually is. Anyone who has listened to popular music from the past 150 years at least has heard these chord progressions thousands of times. You'd definitely know it if you heard it.

You hit the nail right on the head. Thank you for your insight. Love your channel.

Aja, a rollercoaster ride through ear candy land!