Quote & Music of the day -- 12/18/04
"In one of Washington's great ironies, President Bush
has passed the intelligence bill. It is kind of like
Bill Clinton passing a celibacy bill." -- Jay Leno
Ear Candy:
Steely Dan - Aja
This is the album that introduced me to the '70s rock/jazz/pop fusion outfit known as Steely Dan. While I'd say that Can't Buy A Thrill is my favorite Dan album, this album gets just as much playtime in my stereo.
What made me decide to throw this disc in earlier today is the opening number, "Black Cow", with it's prominent bass groove and delightfully laid back vibe. I guess some rappers sampled the music of this song a few years ago, which is cool, but I couldn't tell you who exactly since I'm not into mainstream rap. "Black Cow" would be my favorite song on this album if it wasn't for the title track. "Aja", with it's soft jazz to power fusion alternation, is a force to be reckoned with. The drumming of Steve Gadd is marvellous, especially in the later fusion-esque portions of the song, while contributions by Victor Feldman on the marimba and jazz great Wayne Shorter on sax are also quite enjoyable.
Those two songs alone make this album, in my opinion, although the other songs are good too.
has passed the intelligence bill. It is kind of like
Bill Clinton passing a celibacy bill." -- Jay Leno
Ear Candy:
Steely Dan - Aja
This is the album that introduced me to the '70s rock/jazz/pop fusion outfit known as Steely Dan. While I'd say that Can't Buy A Thrill is my favorite Dan album, this album gets just as much playtime in my stereo.
What made me decide to throw this disc in earlier today is the opening number, "Black Cow", with it's prominent bass groove and delightfully laid back vibe. I guess some rappers sampled the music of this song a few years ago, which is cool, but I couldn't tell you who exactly since I'm not into mainstream rap. "Black Cow" would be my favorite song on this album if it wasn't for the title track. "Aja", with it's soft jazz to power fusion alternation, is a force to be reckoned with. The drumming of Steve Gadd is marvellous, especially in the later fusion-esque portions of the song, while contributions by Victor Feldman on the marimba and jazz great Wayne Shorter on sax are also quite enjoyable.
Those two songs alone make this album, in my opinion, although the other songs are good too.
posted by freeman at 12/18/2004 11:10:00 PM
1 Comments:
The fact that AJA has been on my turntable, then CD player, pretty consistently since its release in 1977 is testament to how great I think it is. Great to see it recognized again!
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