Weekly Review: Steely Dan – Aja
hello folks! thanks y’all for your patience – this week we are listening to Aja, by Steely Dan!
Black Cow kicks the record off with some FUNKY bass. i can smell this bass, thats how funky it is. absolutely delightful. weirdly i think the choruses are my least fave part of the song, though dont let that imply that i dont like the choruses. neat song. Aja is an incredibly good song. lotta really subtle transitions and moments here, though the bridge/solo section is the highlight for me. Deacon Blues is a smooth as butter song about someone who wants to fail in style. at least it sounds like he’s halfway there, haha. this one was a slow build for me, but MAN did it get there. i fucking LOVE Peg. the sax line here is infectious, and the drum rhythms playing with the keys is excellent. phenomenal song. Home At Last is an incredibly interesting song, lead by the piano with heavy support from the horns and the drums, its got an odd, tense kind of reminiscing. the effect is that of being painfully caught in place. I Got the News is very funny – lotta suggestive lyrics here, haha. Josie is raucous closer, a song about a firecracker, its sexy and fun and an excellent time.
faves – Deacon Blues, Peg, Josie
dislikes –
fuck this was really good, haha. listening to Can’t Buy A Thrill was the first time id sat down and digested Steely Dan in my life despite liking what ive heard, and this is definitely a slight change of pace but no less excellent. some incredible jazz rock, through and through. lotta songs about losers and dreamers and folks finding love in weird places, with some incredible music to score those experiences. big fan of this record.
Aja – 8/10
for the next Weekly Album Review, i’ll be listening to Megadeth’s Rust In Peace, which is actually the last record in the review queue! i’ll be back on Friday, March 15th, with that review and to pick another weekly record, and in the meantime, let me know what album you’d like me to review! (i pool all suggestions in one place, and draw a person, then one pick from that person, so feel free to drop as many as you’d like! if you leave an email or username i’ll contact you when i’ve gotten through all your suggestions.)
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