Yeah, everything I've heard about Aja is accurate. This album is great and marks a significant stride forward in Steely Dan's style and quality so far in their discography. The jazziness in the rock is at it's most forefront so far and it's just fantastic; the rhythms and layers, the instrumentation, the overall composition and flow of the songs, it all just works so well and sounds effortless with how natural it feels. It's a weird way to describe it, but this is a case of it feeling less like a meticulously constructed work and more so something that just exists. I have, of course, heard the popular singles from this album many times before so that possibly has some influence in that regard, but I honestly think the album is good enough beyond just that to really earn it's status. Becker and Fagen's work and the efforts of apparently nearly 40(!) musicians brought in to contribute really shines in how polished nearly every aspect of the music is. Aja...
Stream of Consciousness: a narrative mode or method that attempts to depict the multitudinous thoughts and feelings which pass through the mind of a narrator. Music Reviews: reviews of music. All opinions shared are purely my own, except when they aren't.