Steely Dan – Aja (1977) [Cisco & 12-inch singles] 24-bit/192kHz Vinyl Rip

Steely Dan hadn't been a real working band since Pretzel Logic, but with Aja, Walter Becker and Donald Fagen's obsession with sonic detail and fascination with composition reached new heights. A coolly textured and immaculately produced collection of sophisticated jazz-rock, Aja has none of the overt cynicism or self-consciously challenging music that distinguished previous Steely Dan records. Instead, it's a measured and textured album, filled with subtle melodies and accomplished, jazzy solos that blend easily into the lush instrumental backdrops. But Aja isn't just about texture, since Becker and Fagen's songs are their most complex and musically rich set of songs -- even the simplest song, the sunny pop of "Peg," has layers of jazzy vocal harmonies. In fact, Steely Dan ignores rock on Aja, preferring to fuse cool jazz, blues, and pop together in a seamless, seductive fashion. It's complex music delivered with ease, and although the duo's preoccupation with clean sound and self-consciously sophisticated arrangements would eventually lead to a dead end, Aja is a shining example of jazz-rock at its finest.

Donald Fagen – synthesizer, keyboards, vocals, background vocals, whistle
Walter Becker – bass, guitar, electric guitar, vocals
Chuck Rainey – bass
Timothy B. Schmit – vocals
Paul Griffin – keyboards, electric piano, vocals, background vocals
Don Grolnick – keyboards, clavinet
Michael Omartian – piano, keyboards
Joe Sample – keyboards, electric piano, clavinet
Larry Carlton – guitar, electric guitar
Denny Dias – guitar
Jay Graydon – guitar, electric guitar
Steve Khan – guitar
Dean Parks – guitar
Lee Ritenour – guitar
Pete Christlieb – flute, tenor saxophone
Chuck Findley – horn, brass
Jim Horn – flute, saxophone
Richard "Slyde" Hyde – trombone
Plas Johnson – flute, saxophone
Jackie Kelso – flute, horn, saxophone
Lou McCreary – brass
Bill Perkins – flute, horn, saxophone
Tom Scott – conductor, flute, tenor saxophone, lyricon
Wayne Shorter – flute, tenor saxophone
Bernard Purdie – drums ("Home at Last", "Deacon Blues")
Steve Gadd – drums ("Aja")
Ed Greene – drums ("I Got the News")
Lee Price – Fire Shards
Paul Humphrey – drums ("Black Cow")
Jim Keltner – percussion, drums ("Josie")
Rick Marotta – drums ("Peg")
Gary Coleman – percussion
Victor Feldman – percussion, piano, keyboards, electric piano, vibraphone
Venetta Fields – vocals, background vocals
Clydie King – vocals, background vocals
Rebecca Louis – vocals, background vocals
Sherlie Matthews – vocals, background vocals
Michael McDonald – vocals, background vocals

Production
Executive Producer: Stephen Diener [ABC Records]
Producer: Gary Katz
Engineers: Roger Nichols, Elliot Scheiner, Al Schmitt, Bill Schnee
Assistant engineers: Joe Bellamy, Lenise Bent, Ken Klinger, Ron Pangaliman, Ed Rack, Linda Tyler
Mastering: Bernie Grundman
Production coordination: Barbara Miller
Sound consultant: Dinky Dawson
Consultant: Daniel Levitin
Horn arrangements: Tom Scott
Art direction: Vartan Reissue
Design: Geoff Westen
Photography: Walter Becker
Liner notes: Walter Becker, Donald Fagen
Reissue coordination: Beth Stempel

Recorded
January–July 1977 at Village Recorders, West LA; Producer's Workshop, Hollywood; Warner Bros. North Hollywood Recording Studios; ABC Recording Studios; Sound Labs, Hollywood; A & R Studios, New York

• Vinyl Cleaning
- Loricarft PRC4 Pro Record Cleaner
- Mint LP Cleaning Solution (cleaned twice)
- Fisher Scientific Deionized Ultra Filtered Water (rinsed twice)
• Turntable Setup
- Basis 2800 Signature with Vacuum Hold-Down
- Basis Calibrator Base with Cable Isolation System
- Basis Synchro-Wave Power Supply
- Basis Vector Model 4 Tonearm
- Dynavector DRT XV-1s cartridge
Note: Basis Turntable Setup is exactly the same as reviewed by Robert Harley.
http://www.basisaudio.com/docs/TAS_2800_review.pdf
• Phono Stage
- Dynavector P-75 mk1
- Audiomagnus Battery Power Supply
• Analog/Digital Convertion
- Tascam DV-RA1000HD
• Associated Equipment
- Stillpoints ESS equipment rack
- Star Sound Sistrum Stand
- Star Sound brass audio points
- Audio Magic Oracle power conditioner
- Basis RCA Cables (turntable to phono stage)
- Jena Labs RCA Symphony interconnects (phono stage to Tascam)
- Virtual Dynamics Genesis 1.0 power cables
• Post Processing
- Sony Sound Forge Pro 10 and Audacity 1.3 used for splitting tracks, dampening silent
transition, testing for clipping and manual removal of significant clicks/anomalies.

There seems to be two general approaches for vinyl to digital transfers . . . to make the results sound like the commercially available digital, or to make the results sound like you are listening to direct vinyl playback. My preference is the later. You will hear the needle on the record with this rip. This is essential to retain all of the vinyl’s original transients, decay and sparkle. Since noise reduction was not applied, some minor background light noise will be heard.

Presentation in 24-bit/192kHz wav to provide the downloader with the best post A-D processing and SRC options.

1. Black Cow (Cisco): DR16
2. Aja (Cisco): DR15
3. Deacon Blues (Cisco): DR15
4. Peg (Cisco): DR14
5. Home At Last (Cisco): DR16
6. I Got The News (Cisco): DR15
7. Josie (Cisco): DR14

- Black Cow 33⅓ rpm 12-inch single: DR14
- Aja 45 rpm 12-inch single: DR16
- Deacon Blues 33⅓ rpm 12-inch single: DR15
- Peg 33⅓ rpm 12-inch single: DR12
- Josie 33⅓ rpm 12-inch single: DR14

Additional Dynamic Range data and Audacity analysis included with each song’s file.