Another vote for doing the whole doc. They dive into the whole album just like this, it’s super interesting.

You don't need to find more of these videos, you just need to watch the whole damn thing. This is just a small clip from the entire video about the making of the album Aja. And as far as how they sub'd out parts, sometimes they would bring in a different guitar player, or drummer, and sometimes they would swap out the whole band. They did whatever they thought they needed to do to capture the performance they had in their mind. These dudes had huge ears, they were superior writers, incredible arrangers. The title track of the album, Aja, which is the most complex song on the album, was the easiest track they recorded, in that it came together more quickly than any of the others. Donald and Michael credited that to the excellent musicians they had in the studio who were completely prepared for the session. They did talk about Wayne Shorter's sax solo. They had a little trouble talking him into doing the session. He was afraid they were going to try and tell him what they wanted him to play. This is a heavy-weight jazz dude, with many seminal solo albums out, he played with Miles and Weather Report. He finally agreed to come in and do it, and he just told them, play it down and let me listen to it, they did... and he smoked his solo's off the top of his head, they were keepers. He was golden.

Larry Graham invented slapping because the Gospel band he was playing with didn't have a drummer. But probably the first time it really became noticeable to the public was when he played "Thank You Falletinme Be Mice Elf"

They do the whole Aja album like this, great documentary

I have referred to Michael McDonald as Michael Pipes since the early '80s because of his voice on this song, and then about every song he did after this. What a magical voice.

So happy to watch two men who can appreciate these songs.

It's really refreshing to see/hear reviews by people who have studio experience. For all the band geeks!

Ain't it cool? Definitely appreciate your appreciation of the Dan and their unique process. Love watching you guys almost lose it when Michael McDonald comes on.

I love that you love Steely Dan, and you’re guys are so enthusiastic and real. Keep it up!

Steely Dan produced the best music in pop jazz and fusion they are in their own league best production values best session musicians of all time that’s it top notch !

Steely Dan was on a whole other level of production. They spent over $1 million just in the production of this album. That was a lot of money back then.

That is Rick Marotta there on the actual recording and has played with everyone. He has a stellar catalog. Bernard Purdie came in for the documentary video and played the “live” Peg version seen in the background. Purdie is on many of the SD tunes. Like they said in this section of the documentary, they would hear a musician over the years and call them to see how they would fit in a particular tune. You can hear how they used a particular player’s sound for different solos. “The Caves of Altamira” comes to mind where they used the sax player John Klemmer who had several solo albums that had a very unique sound/style and seemed to really fit that song. The later albums in the 2000’s will also blow your mind. Keith Carlock (who has played with the great sax player Chris Potter, who also toured with SD and played on Fagen and Beckers solo stuff) became the one drummer that they felt could play everything. He is a player who went to school at my alma mater, the University of North Texas, which has a phenomenal jazz program and more specifically, the One O’clock jazz lab band, which Keith was a drummer (so was Gregg Bisonette of David Lee Roth’s band). Dean Parks, who played on several SD tracks, also went to UNT and was in the One O’Clock. Lou Marini (Blue Lou in the Blues Brother’s Band and movie) also played on SD “Two Against Nature” and was in the One O’Clock. There is so much material, including both Becker and Fagen’s solo work and then the lost tracks that didn’t make albums.

The whole 'Classic Albums' series that this is from is amazing and right up your guys' alley. I own a bunch of them on DVD including this one which my girlfriend took and got autographed by Roger Nichols! Can't recommend this series enough. The Songs In The Key Life one might just be my favorite.

I mentioned in the Peg reaction video that it was my favorite song. It became my favorite song when I was 7 because I thought the guy singing backup sounded funny and I would go around mimicking him. And that's why I love Michael McDonald to this day!

This is one of the best docs ever, took my appreciation for Steely Dan to a whole new level

RIP Walter Becker and I can't imagine the wealth of musical knowledge that went with him. Also these guy's mentioned how unique the recording process was with all these musicians to chose from. In most circumstances music was not done this way because of the time and money needed and most producers and engineers probably can't draw that much talent looking for a chance to be part of their project.

Man, this is so good. It was hilarious and heartwarming to see you almost choke with delight at spotting Michel de McDonald at the mic. And then the desperation to pause the film to comment on the slap bass. Priceless stuff, cheers dear fellows. Steely Dan are the dog's bollocks.

They brought in the best musicians. They put together great albums. Excellent production.

You are the first guys I've seen that are as deep into this as I am. When you were watching the part where Chuck Rainey talks about the bass line with your eyes glued open--that's how I feel too. Thanks guys.

Friend of mine got to engineer a Michael McDonald session. Said the man is a big sweetheart, really humble guy.

I am so impressed with you two. Thank you for appreciating my favorite band. The Dan…

This is a brilliant vid for a great song - watched several times. Totally fascinating.

They're so tight. Amazing and brilliant. They know what they want to hear. You guys are awesome with your reactions. Keep it up. I never heard a Dan track i didn't like. EVER!

Absolutely, love you guys getting into these Steely Dan documentaries about the making of the music. Kudos to you guys! There are a bunch of these with Donald and Walter and the musicians. Love Benard Purdy and the "Purdy Shuffle."

Bernard Purdie made this drum track. He invented the Purdie Shuffle. The shuffle was mastered by Jeff Porcaro. Jeff is from the talented Porcaro family.

I'm so glad I recently found you guys! Steely Dan rarely toured, if ever, until they reunited in the mid 1990s and did a tour. Almost unthinkable for them. Alive in America album is from that tour. The photo on the cover is at sunset at The Gorge Amphitheater in Washington State where I saw them in 1996. They played Peg with, if I remember correctly, an incredible horn finish at the end of the song that's not on the studio version. It's on the live album, highly recommended. Kid Charlemagne is included, Third World Man, another favorite of mine and so many more! Seeing them live is an experience I'll never forget. Especially in the beautiful setting at the Columbia River Gorge.

SD had JAZZ guitarists like Larry Carlton! Wayne Shorter on sax for Asia! Bernard Purdie on drums- jazz all stars! Do the whole album from this doc! Great one guys!! ❤

You gents are first rate. Many thx! Would be interesting to see you delve into the world of fusion and experimental jazz

Hey guys, this video is a segment of the full "Classic Albums: Aja" documentary which I had recommended on one of your previous videos and the full documentary is available on KZfaq. It covers every song on Aja in similar fashion.

Great reaction; as studio guys it’s easy to see how much you appreciate this band. I was fortunate to be in my teens when they started getting popular, didn’t even know who Mike McDonald was yet but we knew that guy could really sing. Years later saw Steely Dan with Michael’s band opening. He was great and then he came out to play with the Dan. When Donald introduced him he talked about Mike auditioning for the Doobie Brothers; he said well I guess we’re gonna lose our back up singer. Everybody knew him after that

Do the whole documentary its great

Donald and Walter had the best ears in the business.

This is great content guys. There's a full documentary on youtube about them doing the Aja album and dedicate a few minutes to each song. In case you're looking for one of their best from the album, check out "Home At Last". That's the one that puts me at ease like nothing else.

Greatest complete band ever. Steely Dan.

When I saw them live in 2014 The members were back up singers Carolyn Leonhart, Catherine Russell, La Tanya Hall. Drummer Keith Carlock. Keyboard Jim Beard. Bass Freddie Washington. Trumpet Michael Leonhart Carolyn's brother. Tenor Sax Walt Weiskopf. Baritone Sax & Bass Clarinet Roger Rosenberg. Trombone Jim Pugh. Lead Guitar & Musical Director Jon Herington. and founding members Donald Fagan & Walter Becker. Donald Fagan came out on stage and said before he started the show These are the best musicians I have ever had. He was not lying. Man what a show! Catch Jack Of Speed live 2000 at the Beacon Theater in NYC on the tube.😁

For my money, Chuck Rainey’s bass on this is my personal favorite bass line and makes the song. He is awesome.

If you go or watch Steely Dan concert, the audience I'd full of musicians. Went with my 2 brothers in law who are guitarists, I couldn't sit still. They were loved. I think Donald Fagan is still touring.

Chuck Rainey is a fucking beast of a player. Amazing!

What else is interesting is you two mentioned Jimmy Page as the Lebron of rock guitarists, which is a good description. Jimmy said in an interview his favorite guitar solo was from the song Reelin in the Years by Steely Dan (coutesy of guitarist Elliot Randall)

I was living in LA from 1973 till 2000 and listened to all these Steely Dan albums as they came out. But I also listened to many groups at the time and I always loved to read the album covers to see who the "session" musicians might be on a particular album or song. And I've got to say LA was knee deep in "studio" musicians and they were all very talented. Also there were great producers at the time who knew how to cherry pick just the right musicians for any given recording session. I knew some people who worked those studio gigs at the time. One of my friends who was a drummer said once he broke into that scene he would get calls 24/7 and had to go in for every session no matter what because if he didn't there were 10 other guys who would take the gig and he might never get another gig. Musicians would have drums or amps at one studio and when they went to another studio the producers would call in a company to pick up the musician's amps or drums and ship them right to the next gig. The drummer would drive across town with just his sticks and when he got to the next gig his drum kit would be set up and ready to play. It was a fabulous time for music and studio production and many of the albums produced in LA at that time where great examples of the studio system. So Aja is kind of a high point of that whole way of making music that is long gone now. You should dig deep into the history of that studio system starting with the "Wrecking Crew". Google it dude!

This whole documentary is like this! The best music doc, ever!

There is another KZfaq video out there of the guitar player, Jay Graydon talking about and breaking down his solo on Peg. It’s a MUST watch for you guys. He’s got one of those eccentric musical genius minds.

One of my favorite videos and it's just as enjoyable, watching you enjoy just as much!! 😊

It has been so cool watching you guys get into Steely Dan. ❤❤

Steely Dan always was in a class of their own. Glad to see them being discovered by younger generations.

the whole album doc is great - they breakdown everything

Hands down these are the best produced albums ever

There is a full length documentary on the making of "Aja" which includes the making of Peg" good reaction!

It's remarkable how cohesive these musicians were with only playing together for a day. It can take years for a band to get in sync.

"Speaks for itself, really" LMFAO, Becker such a great sense of humor.

Elite 💜💜💜

BTW, those vocal harmonies in the chorus are styled after the vocal groups of the 1930s & 40s Swing Era. If you dig that sound check out groups like the Andrew Sisters who sang incredibly tight harmonies

This video is such a great revelation of how Donald Fagen and Walter Becker created the greatest music in rock/jazz history. I'm a bass player from this era, and slap bass had exceded my talents at the time. I grew up in the time of giants!

Damn man.. LMAO..! 😂 I'm dead brother..😂.💀 you seriously hit me, with the Voltron reference?💪😂👌

Thanks for a very fun video. It is great watching you guys appreciate all the nuances. That clip is from a documentary--something like The Making of Aja. It's on youtube. The whole documentary is just like your segment, for each song. I think you'd particularly enjoy the segment on Black Cow.

Steely Dan and Led Zeppelin are two different beasts. Loved your appreciation of Mike McDonald - that man was all over the place in the 70s-90s. Great video boyz. Keep 'em coming. My first watch and I'm diggin' it. Liked and subbed.

You felt as I felt seeing that for the 1st time. It IS that cool. Love you guys!

Absolutely a fantastic reaction thank you

You guys will love watching how they recorded each song. I knew that you guys were production engineers! You’ve got great ears!

you guys are killing it with these Steely Dan reactions and this is the first one who did the making of the Aja album. I would like to see you guys do the other songs on this, I just love seeing how these guys create such masterpieces.

Can tell you love music! And the artist that perfect it Great video and reaction!

Second drummer was Bernard Purdie who is an absolute legend, played with everyone from Aretha Franklin to James Brown and any number of artists in Jazz, Rock and R&B. Super influential

It's been very few weeks since 1977 I haven't listened to 'Peg'. I still get lit every time it plays; after watching this video I'll probably play it again and feel like a young, dumb teen again!

I'll be on this Steely Dan ride as far as you care to go! It's The Golden Rabbit Hole! lol

Classic Albums, I love that doc series so much. The Goodbye Yellow Brick Road volume will blow you guys away.

🥰 That was a joy to watch! 🤗 Eagerly awaiting the Royal Scam reactions! ☺️🐰

Steely Dan for Halloween. That’s hilarious.

They brought in different bands for the same song, not just a new band for each song.

I could watch you guys all day! You should have WAAAAAAYYY more subs!!!

They had big budgets, too. They spent a few mill$ making Aja.

Hey, so fun to watch. Keep it up guys!!

8:15 It's Always the guitarist that captures me!!! It's Always a different Dude, and It Is Always Phenomenal. I'ma guitar Nut!!! & They all Slay. Skunk, to Benny Díaz to Larry Carlton....& Walter Becker himself is an awesome guitarist and all over these tracks. So...🤣🎶🎶🎵🎶✌️

They brought in the best session players and whoever they wanted, basically, until somebody played the part like they had imagined the part being played. This is an hour long "Clasic Albums" show, I think. That music channel that wasn't MTV made them. There are some really good ones. Steely Dan were a musical collaboration and Becker & Fagen were the curators. They were only a "band" for about 3 years. Two "producer types" manufacturing magic. Becker frankly didn't do much, but think...he was not really a master instrumentalist. Fagen has that voice, that he always wanted to replace, and was a really good keyboardist to boot. They just wanted to be "in the record business". They made some treasure. Fagan is still at it. Y'all should catch a live show...

What a band. Outstanding.

you guys crack me up 🤣.. in a good way . I love the way you amicably disagree with each other

Any session man worth his salt wanted to get the gig on a Steely Dan album. They all wanted to be THE one who's playing and interpretation of what Donald and Walter wanted was the cut that was picked to go on the album. They all wanted it. But very few were chosen. And the ones that were chosen, well their performances shined brighter then the rest. Put all those performances together and you had something very special. You had Aja.

I shared your joy in seeing this :)

The Joy I'm getting, just watching you two, is beautiful. I reacted the same.

These Dudes seemed to have their pick of the most talented and sought after LA studio and session players on the planet at the time...And Changed bands not members..who does that ?.. But the results obviously speak for themselves...

Love this video a masterpiece. I think Peg is my favorite. Have you heard Cry Like A Rainy Day? Michaels voice is incredible in that song.

Jimmy Page's favorite guitar solo is on...Steely Dan's Reelin' In The Years !

Witnessing greatness is always fun .

I think this was my favorite video as well; I have always been enthralled by the back stories to the music I like; the collaborations (especially unexpected ones), the engineering, the history, all of it. Love the discovery; I've got one for you that I discovered only last year from listening to the local Jazz station; I was listening to Horace Silver's "Song for my Father" (highly recommend) and was like Holy Sh&t!! Steely Dan used it for the opening of "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" 😲 Makes absolute sense since their sound is rooted in Jazz and R&B. Dug further to find that Walter Becker was a big Horace Silver fan ❤

From 1970 to 1971 Jay and the Americans' touring band included Walter Becker and Donald Fagen (of later Steely Dan fame) on backup bass guitar and electric organ.

Bernard purdie was The other drummer but he played on a lot of songs Bernard pretty purdy you need to look him up he is the groove master

Damn, you guys really fell in the SD hole haha! Love it!

I love you guys!

Wasn't thinking about it when I watched this before, but you should find some Larry Graham interviews for the start of bass thumping. He was pretty much the one that started it.

Love this

There's a similar video from the same show where they discuss making Josie the same way, where they break down everything. One of the drum solos towards the middle was played on a garbage can lid.

Omg- the great Chuck Rainey!!!!!! Steely’s guitarists are also super loved jazz guitarists- check out some Larry Carlton. He played a lot for the Dan . Page wouldn’t be fluent in jazz voicing and chords like that. 😊 Albums came with liner notes and credits which we read over and over diligently. That’s where we got our info. No wonder they wanted Mike- he’s the greatest harmonist!❤😊 Watch the entire doc- it dies the whole album. It’s broken up in segments on YT. ❤

After their 2nd album it was all studio musicians from that point on. Steely Dan is Fagan and Becker PERIOD. Both Fagan and Becker were raised on their fathers jazz albums and Fagan and Becker took a page out of Duke Ellington's book. Duke would write music and he wanted certain musicians for his certain pieces he would write. Steely Dan did the same and what a success!!

There's a channel called Polyphonic that does detailed song breakdowns. Also Rick Beato has a 'what makes this song great' series. Both good music channels to check out, either for reviews here or your own personal enjoyment.

Most inovative production in history... BEATLES... check out some production stuff by them. Top innovations.

Chuck Rainey was the studio bassist for pretty much all the tracks for Steely Dan

Steely VOLTRON Dan

Do Hey Nineteen and Brown Cow. The Dan is amazing. RIP Walter.

So good!

Thank god Charlie added that slap back in during the chorus

Listening to Mike’s voice- phew! Fellas- that was before autotune! That pitch!!!! He is a harmony genius.