First reaction to STEELY DAN - "AJA" (SIDE 2)
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- Опубликовано: 14 июл 2024
- This is VERDY CHANNEL. Today I react to steely dan - aja album - for the first time.
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Miss Verdy, you shine so brightly when you're enjoying the music. I'm in my 70s and do truly enjoy seeing people discover Steely Dan. I've seen this live, and it was a magnificent experience. The AjA album used 40 musicians, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker pushed Steely Dan further into Jazz fusion/Funk and R&B, always experimenting with different combinations of session players. So glad you're wearing headphones to pick up the nuance of how the instruments were placed a just the right place and time. Great reaction, as always; keep up the amazingly hard work. Love & Kindness from Florida.
I think that’s Donald Fagen playing one of his chosen instruments the Melodica, a kind of small portable keyboard with a mouth piece attached. The instrument plays a big part in Steely Dan’s compositions particularly in later years. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melodica
All the comments are old guys smiling huge smiles that a youngster is listening to this music that we all know is the best ever made.
That’s so funny because I was just thinking, “Where was this girl when I was 18?” Definitely sweetheart material with requisite taste in music.
Steely Dan has been referred as...your favorite band's, favorite band
Imagine being your age now and this is the music on the radio...while this was truly a one of a kind record, there were many awesome artists in the 70s and early 80s that blew us away. Strange thing is you only really appreciate it now, when you compare it to what is being released today. So glad you found this Verdy. There is so much more to discover
I agree completely I am envious that she is getting to listen to this for the first time
there is plenty of great music being released all the time, including right now, if you looked for it you would find it
@@xmathmanx I agree, I'm a boomer but was never stuck in one decade, I have so many favorite songs and groups from every decade. I think what he meant was the music we are inundated with these days, mostly pop with autotune voicing, but there is still so much good music to find, for me a lot in the area of indie or alternative. But you do have to admit, we did really grow up in a golden age of music.
@@douglasfrantzen3011 nope, I listen to radio 6 in the UK, you can hear great new music any day of any week, if you're not hearing great new music it's just because you're not looking for it.
😅 I just said the same thing on the first side that’s just too funny…. it was amazing wasn’t it. I remember the repeating sax part on deacon blues…. my CD would Skip and I have to go over and bang it. I just keep on waiting for that to happen when I listen to it digitally it’s so ridiculous.😂😂😂
I can hear Steely Dan over and over and never get tired of their music.🎶👍🏽😎
Best album "band" ever! Every album Great 💯 & every album is different. From Can't Buy a Thrill to Gaucho. Geniuses at work.
(Little Feat is comparable (but different) until Lowell George's death.)
Steely Dan is one of the best studio artist, their attention to detail is amazing .
These guys were music engineering geniuses. This album, to this day, is considered to be mixed/engineered so perfectly it is used to test/calibrate high end studio equipment.
Absolutely the dynamic range a benchmark AJA PEERLESS
When I turned 16 years old I went to purchase a stereo system at a Sydney Hi-Fi dealer. I took this album (on Vinyl) and used it to find equipment that had a broad enough ‘dynamic range’ to reproduce the full sound of this recording. Many amps and speakers i heard were either too low or too high sonically, most were too muddy-sounding in the mid-range. I settled on Japanese-built Sansui turntable and amp. I’ve forgotten which speakers, except they were huge and awesome! The lot took me 4 years to pay off!
Oh yes the thrill of buying your first decent audio equipment. I remember it exactly in my case but the demo music was dire straits Brothers in arms. Bought from Good Old Buzz Jensen's sound advice in Phoenix. It was my first pair of Klipsch speakers because of the live sound that they reproduced. Ended up with 19 of them at one time, and the odd number comes from having a home theater with them. Anyway thanks for spurring a memory to the surface
When it came out every stereo store played this album because it sounded great on every speaker. Every one. I don't understand how that could be, but it is true.
And yes, Brothers in Arms is right behind it for outstanding engineering, but many years later. Two of my favorites.
I played this album for my girlfriend when it first came out. We've been married 42 years. It's my good luck album.
My wife hates them. You are definitely lucky.
@@theivory1 WHAT?????? Grounds for Divorce!!!!!
My wife hates them too! But we've been together for 42 years!😂
Wish I could do the same with Verdy.
Steely Dan is the perfect chill band. Lounging by the pool, driving your car anywhere, candle light dinner. Just cool vibes for days or nights on end.
In case someone else didn't comment on this already, the sax-like sound on Peg is called a Lyricon (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyricon), and that's a Clavinet playing along with the lyricon. The bass player for all those songs you like is Chuck Rainey. This album is a who's who of the top names in music at the time it was recorded. To imagine Michael McDonald singing back-up vocals on this album just blows me away. To have both Tom Scott and Wayne Shorter on one album. Larry Carlton and Lee Ritenour both played guitar on Deacon Blues. Wow! Each of them had very successful solo careers. I'm leaving out a bunch of others but you get the picture. I'm so glad you enjoyed this.
The combination of Chuck Rainey on bass and Bernard Purdie on drums in Home At Last is SO good. I think Purdie said he modified his signature shuffle beat a little for the song. Anyways, I always really enjoy that song. I think what you are hearing sometimes is synthesizer mixing in as Fagen played synths on this album. Hope you have a great week.
And those opening piano chords 😮
Now you can understand why there’s so much affection for this album and for Steely Dan in general. This is my favourite Dan album but there are no bad ones or even bad songs. I’d recommend going back to the beginning and listening to their first album “Can’t Buy a Thrill”, then working forward. You can’t lose.
Yes. Do this....
I totally agree! That is the way I did it, but then again they were all new when I first heard them!!!
I concur wholeheartedly.
Gaucho is my favorite, but agreed - NO bad albums from SD.
Another great SD album is a 1995 live compilation of their 22:57 1993-1994 tour "Alive In America", where the band's 1993/94 lineups produce awesome renditions of the songs, some even better than the original studio versions. I particularly prefer the wonderfully mad guitar solo by Georg Wadenius on "Bodhisattva" so much "better" than the old recording.
ruclips.net/video/BHETjHyMzbo/видео.html
I think I'm in love with this girl! I bought this album when I was about her age after hearing a couple of tracks on the radio and had the same reaction. Where were girls like her when I was that age? She really gets it! It just makes me smile to see her grooving on it. What a sweet soul!
Wow V., you can't fake that smile! Wish I had a daughter who appreciated these bangers! Jay Graydon was selected after several auditions for the killer guitar solo on "Peg." "Home at Last" bass is by Chuck Rainey. Bernard Purdie, known for the "Purdie Shuffle" on drums ..."I Got the News" drummer, Ed Green is sweeeet. Steely used some of the best studio musicians of the time. Can't exclude Denny Dias and the legend, Larry Carlton on guitar. Iconic album and rxn!
You almost break into tears at the sheer beauty of this music. Totally appropriate, I do too. Thanks for reviewing the whole album, not just a track or two.
I certainly would never want to offend Ms Verdy here, but it makes me smile to hear this kid/young lady enjoying music that so many of us grew up and loved... So glad you enjoy this masterpiece of an album. Don't forget to listen for Michael McDonald on back up vocals. Keep up the great reactions Ms, V.
Sounds more complimentary than offensive, Mrmiscast M. Lovely comment!
Steely Dan never did a bad song, IMHO. They have a style unlike any "rock" band ever. The studio musicians they employed were top notch, and the albums were outstandingly produced.
Choosing Michael McDonald for some of the harmonies, which they did on other albums, was a master stroke. His voice is so emotional.
Do a search for “Michael McDonald Isolated Vocals Peg”. It’s a trip.
@@MarcosElMalo2 It's a fun thing, for sure!!
Just before the pandemic lockdowns, a friend of mine went to a Steely Dan/Doobie Bros. concert - I responded "That must've been Donald & Michael Festival." to which he pretty much agreed - with dozens of musicians in support.
It's amazing how much space they create for all the instruments and voices. Even with all that's going on there's room for everything to breathe without things getting muddy.
The strange sound on peg (and also on the solo on home at last) was a lyricon, played by saxophonist and brass section arranger Tom Scott. It´s a kind of electronic saxophone.
Their debut album is also a MUST HEAR,, Steely Dan "Can't Buy A Thrill"..Once hearing this album for the first time,, You KNEW they were going to be HUGE!
I only recently found out that the album title comes from the Bob Dylan song "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, I Takes a Train to Cry".
A great, jazzy, bluesy masterpiece. When I first heard this, (late 70’s) I didn’t like anything but hard rock. This, and others help me expand my love, and appreciation for different styles of music. I’m 59 now, and still enjoy finding new music. It can be 60 yrs old, but if I’ve never heard it before, it’s new to me ! Love your reactions. Peace.
Steely Dan !!!! Side 2 !!! Yeah. Let's Go !!!
Peg has one of the best guitar solos ever. Michael McDonald from Doobie Brothers on background vocals.
Actually, he hadn't joined the Doobie Brothers yet. He was still a local LA singer doing clubs and stuff at this point.
It's nice to see a younger person enjoying one of the greatest albums ever. Steely Dan music is perfection.
You can run to all Steely Dan albums, eyes closed. What a pleasure !
That shaker sound you hear is the drummer repeatedly hitting the ride cymbal
I was 20 when this album came out. I still own every Steely Dan album in my 2500+ collection of classic music!
So I did something today: I discovered your RUclips channel. I forget where I started, but I definitely watched your Boston "Boston" album review, as well as your 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s music hits reviews. I was a professional musician: studied Horn (French Horn) in college, and played in US Army Bands for over 20 years. I just want you to know how much I appreciate experiencing music again (fresh) though your ears/mind. You are very talented and perceptive, and your thoughts, perceptions, and reviews of what you listen to bring me great pleasure! My first thought was that you're European, but it was nice to discover you're more local (French/Canadian). So happy to be here, and now to be a subscriber. You are awesome! Rock On! 😀
Next up should be ‘Countdown to ecstasy’ or ‘The royal scam’ but tbf, there are no bad Steely Dan albums
Both are great Albums i also like the songs that were not well played on radio _ with a gun and parkers band
Pretzel Logic is a must… "I have never met Napoleon, but I plan to find the time"
Pretzel Logic should be included
"Katy Lied" & "PretzelLogic" "Gaucho" are loaded with great tunes
That saxophone-ish instrument on Peg was Tom Scott playing the Lyricon. I just wikipedia'd the list of musicians on this album and it's like an All Star team of late 1970s studio and touring musicians.
Loved the Peg bass part from the moment that I heard it. I got a band audition in Boston and they said “We’ll try Peg” I’m like ‘whoa’. So I intensely learned Chuck Raney’s part in about an hour and change. Drove to Boston and I was the only one who could play the damned song. They offered the gig and I didn’t accept.
Also notable in Peg is Michael McDonalds incredible harmony singing. And of course that guitar solo from heaven.
Great reaction. It's so cool watching someone from your generation experiencing this music today for the first time. BTW Steely Dan has many other albums full of gems like the ones on Aja. People who are young and experiencing Steely Dan for the first time will later on realize what a treasure they've discovered.
This was my first time hearing the vibraphone panned right on Home At Last. Thanks for listening to such great music.
Peg was the big pop hit, but all of the songs got air play on the radio. Just a brilliant album from Steely Dan.
Classic - back when artists could play multiple instruments & craft exquisite final products after weeks or months of prep work. No auto tune. Song too short bc of pressure from radio stations.
They used the best session players in the business. They would bring in multiple players to do fills for particular songs and use the best takes.
The true genius of this album is its conception, execution, and absolutely peerless engineering.
You were blessed with a wonderful brain. So smart and adorable.
This is where it's at. Such a classic!
The recording of this album is a who's who of the studio elite in musicians of the time!
You didn't need to be an expert. You picked out the elements perfectly and articulated them to us in your own very intelligent way! Bravo! You really did appreciate and interpret this music very well and for sure, it's perfect music! All the music of Steely Dan is perfection. You will see! Great job!❤
Royal Scam 🔥🔥🔥🔥
I’ll second that!
"Smooth ass music" Well said young lady. 👍👍👍
The solo on Peg is played by Jay Graydon, a great LA-based session musician, songwriter, and producer.
He was in a band called AirPlay that had a great forgotten song ‘Nothing You Can Do About It’s
I love you - this is my favorite band I have 10000 records - Deacon Blues is my favorite song in whole world - my ever changing moods by the style council is too. SD is rad. I love hip hop death metal, big band, rock, soul, funk, all of it . Best band amazing album ❤❤❤ makes me smile like you do every time I listen to it - that’s been 25 years now . Cheers
Likewise, Deacon Blues is my favourite song and I also love The Style Council! I wonder if we’re a rare breed!
One of my closest friends for over 60 years, Jim Keltner, is the world famous drummer on “Josie”!
"I got the news" is such an amazing sounding song!
'The Royal Scam' is my favourite of their albums. Maybe you could take at look at that, or Donald Fagen's solo album 'The Night Fly ' should be on everyones list of albums you should own.
yes, from first to last song, The Nightfly is incredible
Someone your age, reacting positively to this truly fantastic band gives me hope that all is not lost.
Can't go wrong with Steely, "Gaucho" and "The Royal Scam" are wonderful musical journeys as well...🙂
Ah, this brings back memories. I was just going into my sophomore year in high school when this album came out. My band director loved Steely Dan and hurriedly had us learn Peg so we could play it during halftime at the remaining football home games of the season.
Great reaction for a truly great album. Aja, pronounced like the continent Asia.
Wore this one out back in the day, much like so much of the great albums that were released back then. It was the perfect storm of music creation where there were really no rules and the radio would play everything from Black Sabbath to the Bee Gees. We heard something we liked and we ran to the record store. Such fond memories of going to the twins' house when I was a bit younger. The twins were two gals in our group and they had more money than the rest of us and would have all the records. We would gather in the basement and just listen to music. We were all in our teens and there were boys and girls but there was never any sexual tension; we were just friends loving music.
One of the best albums ever imo. Came out when I was 14 and was floored by it. I knew of Steely Dan but this just was crazy good. Side 1 was not 3 minute simple tunes but 5 to 8 minute masterpieces. Side 2 was just a funky trip of great music. Just discovered your channel now I'm hooked ❤
I say this with the most admiration, and sincerely, you have an old soul when it comes to 70's music. Steely Dan was a marriage of poetry and music into perfection. Happy Father's Day to all fathers with a rocking daughter!
I just had to tell you how much I enjoyed listening to this with you. I've been a Dan fan most of my life (I'm 74) and let you know it was a pleasure sharing this amazing music with a young generation. I think you will be sharing it with the next generation. It's timeless.
There’s a massive difference in those that react to music for the likes and those that react because they have a passion in their bones for the soul of music, and you are the latter. You’ve got my sub! Stay going to down the Steely Dan rabbit hole, there’s not really a bad song in the entire catalog!
Facts!
“Do It Again” by the Dan is superb.
I hope you will continue with Gaucho
It is for me a breath of fresh air when I see young people discovering the music I grew up with and still enjoy as I approach my 70's.
So much to say, but I loved watching a young person discovering my favorite music for 40 years. It brought a tear to my eye.
Donald Fagan and Walter Becker, aka Steely Dan, only used the very best of the best session musicians and vocal artists, making the music technically almost perfect. I see from the comments that there are many like me that love SD😊
Just great , verdy loved your reaction , you have the pleasure of listening to their ALBUMS , you are in for a treat ,it's the feel of the music ,steely Dan do that for me, ,right from can't buy a thrill ,to Donald fagin,, SOLO ALBUMS,, just perfection
David Bowie- fame, golden years!❤
Great band that really helped jazz into the ears of pop culture.
Glad I found you channel Verdy. It’s good to see a young adult truly appreciate the effort that was made to record a masterpiece. There are many stories from musicians on this record about how demanding Donald and Walter were, often demanding several takes and in some cases several guitarists to get a piece just right. But the end result was well worth it.
This makes me so happy. This is how we listened to music. You heard a song or two on the radio and then you bought it and experienced it at home
You really do have an excellent ear to pick up on these complex musical arrangements: doubling the base and keyboards, and sometimes the base and guitar. All the little jazz inflections on the keyboards by Donald Fagan. Well done!
I’ve listened to SD from the start (I’m that old). I enjoy listening to their evolution over the years. From their first albums you can hear the Aja sound beginning to bloom. They are unique!!
Michael McDonald on the back up singing especially on Peg adds such another derp layer to their one os a kind style. His voice is unmistakable. Love that the members kept working together for years after. Been jamming to old albums all day. Thanks for the reaction to them. Would love for you to try some Derp Purple or Rainbow in future. Bob in Pennsylvania
When I turned 16 years old I went to purchase a stereo system at a Sydney Hi-Fi dealer. I took this album (on Vinyl) and used it to find equipment that had a broad enough ‘dynamic range’ to reproduce the full sound of this recording. Many amps and speakers i heard were either too low or too high sonically, most were too muddy-sounding in the mid-range. I settled on Japanese-built Sansui turntable and amp. I’ve forgotten which speakers, except they were huge and awesome! The lot took me 4 years to pay off!
That instrument on Peg that sounds like a saxophone but not quite is a lyricon played by Tom Scott. The lyricon was invented in the early 70s with the first one made in 1974. That first one was bought by Tom Scott. Same one we hear on this record? Possibly... probably... I guess.
Keep diving into the 70's. Soooo much to discover. Enjoy the journey!
Loved watching your reaction to the music…. Reminded me of myself 50 years ago… I’ve been a disciple since hearing Can’t Buy a Thrill” in 1974.
Keep up the great work and loving the music.
that's Michael McDonald on background vocals near the 14:29 mark. Vocal Master. Solo Career. Many fine duos w/Many fine lady songstresses as well as lead singer for the group 'The Doobie Brothers' for many years too !!!
Your channel is charming. Keep it up! Thanks for listening to Aja. A favorite of mine. I really enjoy your channel. 😀
What a fantastic album. I was born in 78 so I missed this stuff when it first came out, but my favorite thing to do is discover old music. I knew the Steely Dan they played on the radio from the 90s on but just last year I got into Aja and some of their other stuff. My 17 year old daughter has picked up on my musical tastes to some degree over the years and it drives her mom crazy! Definitely do more Dan!
Thank you for appreciating the great music that Steely Dan offers! They are, in my opinion, the best band ever! I enjoyed your reactions!
I used to own this album. My musical taste has moved on but listening to it again made me realize that I am still Steely Dan fan. I am putting it back on my Spotify Playlist
They're really worth being on the staylist
The “Shakers” you refer to are the drummers hi-hats - Brian Perdue’s so-called “Perdie-shuffle”. He was an amazing drummer, so tight and ‘on point’ his sound was perceived as more than what one person could create.
This is my second time watching to your channel. I think the thing I like best about it is you seem to understand the time period when these albums were made, a whole lot of us were album listeners. So, we weren't just listening to one song. We were listening to the full album. Artists like Steely Dan understood that. I like that you are listening to album sides, so there's an attention to how we vinyl listeners were experiencing the music too. I'm not sure if that was your intention, but the way you are approaching these albums is spot on. There are certain albums like, The Cars, first album, you miss a lot of the experience, if you don't experience the sequencing of the songs and how they impact each other.
Steely Dan has some of the tastiest lead guitar work. They have a very unique sound.
Between Denny Diez,Walter Becker and Larry Carlton they ha the guitar work in the pocket!
beautiful reactions...beautiful soul.
It is so cool to see younger generation enjoying this!
Nice to see you like the Great Dan. The musicians are/were THE BEST studio musicians. So much to explore with this legendary band. Gaucho, Royal Scam and many others. Between 1972-80 they released 7 albums, all great. Enjoying your reactions...
Got to be one of my favorite albums. I listen to it more often than any others.
Yes Steely Dan Jazz,funk,Latin rock best lyrics ,best guitarists,best Drummer (Steve Gad),great horn section,alto sax,tenor sax,trumpet,trombone "Aja"was their polished peak ,crescendo career album,all their albums are great ,your awesome you hear and feel the music outstanding!,check out Countdown to exstasy"Cant buy a thrill""Pretzel logic""And "the Royal scams these early albums are amazing a bit more "raw"but still jazzy and funky!and more Latin rhythms as the travel us down to South America ,the albums are amazing ,I'm a singer in a classic rock band and I know all the words and parts to all their music,You will love them!!!!Aloha !I live on Maui,surfer musician
Great pickup on the brass section of Peg. They used a Lyricon, which is an electric wind instrument shaped like a flute, but it can be transposed to sound like a number of wind instrument, including a saxophone.
Good ear, the instrument is called a Lyricon.
...Fagen and Becker are masters at this...Fagen later put out a solo album, with Becker's help, called "Kamakiriad" which is just another masterpiece...
So glad you enjoyed this as much as so many of us over the years...👍
Matt
I almost passed your channel, but Aja is one of the best and best sounding albums of all time, so I had to stay for your reaction, and I loved watching you experience it for the first time. I can see how you held back a little. Steely Dan is fantastic, and Aja is practically a perfect album.
When you were asking “what instrument is that” you were hearing the orchestration - something that not many bands did then or do now - a timbre made from two or more different instruments playing in unison. By using that technique you get sounds that aren’t one thing or another, but something else - a combination.
This is the music that all of us "outcasts" were listening to,
while everyone else was wearing their high heels and going to the Disco joints!
Fantastic music!
My favorite Steely Dan album and Peg is my favorite song! Michael McDonald is Solid Gold!
Incredibly complex and funky. Anazing bass part. And Micheal McDonald's pro vocal debut!
I haven't looked it up but it sounds like it IS actually two saxes but the very unusual combination of a soprano sax (tonally, the highest of the commonly -used saxes) and the baritone sax (tonally, the lowest of the commonly used sax). This may be the only song I've every heard with those two saxes playing a line in unison. That why is sounds unusual. Just Steely Dan being Steely Dan.
Verdy,
Just found your channel, but I’m thinking you’re probably about the same age I was when this album was originally released. I felt like you do.
Amazing!
FYI: Steve Gadd was the drummer the song ‘Aja’.
As a drummer, it’s one of the best solos I’ve ever heard.
A master class in a Bass holding a song together like gorilla glue!
Really...a masterpiece ...In my opinion, the best album from Steely Dan. Simply perfect.
You have an impeccable knack for detail which is truly impressive. You pick apart instrumentation with the finesse of a conductor building his sound for a classical piece. Very much how Donald Fagen and Walter Becker did, over and over again, for years. Thanks for the reactions. Keep it up. There is a huge amount of intense music from the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s. After that the “industry” really took over and shoved everything into genres and force fed the airwaves in a glaring example of crass consumerism which found itself distancing itself and the masses away from the artistry and toward the almighty dollar. We were extremely lucky back then.
That guitar solo on Peg was session musician Jay Graydon. I believe he was the seventh guitarist to audition for the part. I think he has said that his first take on the solo was better, but for some reason it was not recorded.
I think on Peg the brass sound is a combination of sax and a lyricon. A lyricon was an early wind synthesizer, the same one thats on Michael Jackson's Billie Jean.