Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time - Rated 63/500!
TAS Recommended! Rated a 'Best Audiophile Label Recording' in the November 2009 issue of The Absolute Sound!
Don't Even Think About Missing This One Kids! Get Your Copy Now!
All-Analog Remastering by Kevin Gray at AcousTech Mastering! Authorized by Walter Becker, Donald Fagen and Grammy Award Winning Engineer Elliot Scheiner!
Click Here for Sound Samples!
Long argued as one of the (if not THE) best rock recording ever and a permanent fixture on many a demo system in the late 70’s and 80’s, Aja was the culmination of everything Donald Fagen and Walter Becker aspired to accomplish in their storied careers. It was the first album certified platinum (eventually selling more than 5 million copies in the U.S.) by the then-new RIAA sales tracking system. It made Steely Dan super stars. It contained three ubiquitous U.S. top 40 singles, “Peg”, “Josie” and “Deacon Blues,”--though each of the seven tracks are wonderful. The tight arrangements, inspired playing by the West Coast’s best session players, and countless lyrical and musical hooks (“Drink Scotch whiskey all night long, and die behind the wheel”, “Done up in blue print blue, it sure looks good on you”) were immediately accessible yet completely cut off any personal connection to the listener.
And then there’s the “sound.” Deservedly winning the 1978 Grammy Award for non-classical engineering, Roger “The Immortal” Nichols was helped by a who’s-who of the top audio guys in the industry: Bill Schnee, Al Schmitt and Elliot Scheiner (who personally approved our tests for this project). The meticulous recording is almost fetishistic in its attention to detail. Every note of even the densest tracks can be clearly heard, with every instrument perfectly placed. Those looking for a Vanguard Records immediacy and liveliness can look elsewhere; this is a record where even the studio becomes not only part of the process, but an instrument itself. I’ve always argued that great recordings are empty, vacuous things without music worth listening to, so it’s a great thing that AJA is the very pinnacle of both.
Time to throw out that old, scratched copy youÂ’ve been hoarding for 30 years and get the best sounding, quietest pressing of this legendary record ever made.
Remastered and cut by Kevin Gray at AcousTech Mastering in conjunction with Donald Fagen, Walter Becker and original Aja engineer Elliot Scheiner from the Original Analog Master Tapes. The 30th Anniversary Edition is pressed on 180 Gram Vinyl and includes all original packaging!
One of Rolling Stone Magazine's 500 Best Albums Ever. Winner of the 1978 Grammy Award for Best Engineered Recording!
"The new Cisco reissue is vastly superior to both the original pressing (ABC AA 1006) and to Mobile Fidelity's 1/2 speed mastered reissue (Mobile Fidelity MFSL 1-0333)... Putting it more bluntly, this is a stupendous production. If it doesn't sound good on your system now, it awaits being revealed for how good it really is when your system is elevated to match the occasion." - Michael Fremer, musicangle.com Click Here to read the entire review!
"The title track reveals layers of hidden detail and dynamic nuances and layering buried on the original... This remaster exudes the kind of musical honesty you might expect when one of the original engineers and the artistic center of gravity are involved in its production. " - Michael Fremer, musicangle.com Click Here to read the entire review!
"Aja was one of their best-sounding recordings. Yet, compared with my original pressing (purchased in 1977, when the album came out), the Cisco reissue sounds better, in every way. The drums are more dynamic; the cymbals have more sizzle. ThereÂ’s more detail in the guitar work; the skylark strumming extends an octave higher and floats above the speakers. The bass is more tuneful; the original might sound deeper, but itÂ’s also muddier. ThereÂ’s a sense, or illusion, of depth; the instruments and singers in the background are way back there. And FagenÂ’s voice is clearer, more nuanced." - Fred Kaplan, Stereophile Magazine
"If you were an audiophile in the 70s, you owned Aja." - Rolling Stone, 2001
"The pinnacle of jazz-pop studio perfection..." - 5 Stars - Zagat Survey
"For me, [Aja] is the most perfect thing I ever heard in my life - it is a religion" - Gareth Jones, Producer/Engineer
"I just received Aja today. It is stupendous! I forgot how much I loved these tunes. You're right. People must not miss this LP. A big well done to Cisco and RTI." - Phil, actual Elusive Disc, Inc. customer
"This is one of the better records I have heard in many, many years. I have been collecting and listening to vinyl for 30 years now and to be honest with you, this LP is exactly as described. It beats the pants off the original and the MOFI... this new one is silky smooth and flawless... All records should sound this way."" - Ken, actual Elusive Disc, Inc. customer
"If you were an audiophile in the late Seventies, you owned Aja. Steely Dan's sixth album is easy on the ears, thanks to both its meticulous production and its songs — this was Walter Becker and Donald Fagen's no-holds-barred stab at becoming a huge, mainstream jazz-pop success. And sure enough, thanks to sweet, slippery tracks such as "Deacon Blues" and "Peg," this collegiate band with a name plucked from a William Burroughs novel and a songbook full of smart, cynical lyrics became bona fide superstars, shooting to the Top Five and selling platinum. And, yes, Aja even won a Grammy for Best Engineered album." - www.rollingstone.com
Features:
• Numbered, Limited Edition
• Remastered & Cut by Kevin Gray at AcousTech Mastering
• From the Original Analog Master Tapes
• 30th Anniversary Edition
• Remastered in conjunction with Donald Fagen, Walter Becker and Elliot Scheiner
TAS Recommended! Rated a 'Best Audiophile Label Recording' in the November 2009 issue of The Absolute Sound!
Don't Even Think About Missing This One Kids! Get Your Copy Now!
All-Analog Remastering by Kevin Gray at AcousTech Mastering! Authorized by Walter Becker, Donald Fagen and Grammy Award Winning Engineer Elliot Scheiner!
Click Here for Sound Samples! Long argued as one of the (if not THE) best rock recording ever and a permanent fixture on many a demo system in the late 70’s and 80’s, Aja was the culmination of everything Donald Fagen and Walter Becker aspired to accomplish in their storied careers. It was the first album certified platinum (eventually selling more than 5 million copies in the U.S.) by the then-new RIAA sales tracking system. It made Steely Dan super stars. It contained three ubiquitous U.S. top 40 singles, “Peg”, “Josie” and “Deacon Blues,”--though each of the seven tracks are wonderful. The tight arrangements, inspired playing by the West Coast’s best session players, and countless lyrical and musical hooks (“Drink Scotch whiskey all night long, and die behind the wheel”, “Done up in blue print blue, it sure looks good on you”) were immediately accessible yet completely cut off any personal connection to the listener.
And then there’s the “sound.” Deservedly winning the 1978 Grammy Award for non-classical engineering, Roger “The Immortal” Nichols was helped by a who’s-who of the top audio guys in the industry: Bill Schnee, Al Schmitt and Elliot Scheiner (who personally approved our tests for this project). The meticulous recording is almost fetishistic in its attention to detail. Every note of even the densest tracks can be clearly heard, with every instrument perfectly placed. Those looking for a Vanguard Records immediacy and liveliness can look elsewhere; this is a record where even the studio becomes not only part of the process, but an instrument itself. I’ve always argued that great recordings are empty, vacuous things without music worth listening to, so it’s a great thing that AJA is the very pinnacle of both.
Time to throw out that old, scratched copy youÂ’ve been hoarding for 30 years and get the best sounding, quietest pressing of this legendary record ever made.
Remastered and cut by Kevin Gray at AcousTech Mastering in conjunction with Donald Fagen, Walter Becker and original Aja engineer Elliot Scheiner from the Original Analog Master Tapes. The 30th Anniversary Edition is pressed on 180 Gram Vinyl and includes all original packaging!
One of Rolling Stone Magazine's 500 Best Albums Ever. Winner of the 1978 Grammy Award for Best Engineered Recording!
"The new Cisco reissue is vastly superior to both the original pressing (ABC AA 1006) and to Mobile Fidelity's 1/2 speed mastered reissue (Mobile Fidelity MFSL 1-0333)... Putting it more bluntly, this is a stupendous production. If it doesn't sound good on your system now, it awaits being revealed for how good it really is when your system is elevated to match the occasion." - Michael Fremer, musicangle.com Click Here to read the entire review!
"The title track reveals layers of hidden detail and dynamic nuances and layering buried on the original... This remaster exudes the kind of musical honesty you might expect when one of the original engineers and the artistic center of gravity are involved in its production. " - Michael Fremer, musicangle.com Click Here to read the entire review!
"Aja was one of their best-sounding recordings. Yet, compared with my original pressing (purchased in 1977, when the album came out), the Cisco reissue sounds better, in every way. The drums are more dynamic; the cymbals have more sizzle. ThereÂ’s more detail in the guitar work; the skylark strumming extends an octave higher and floats above the speakers. The bass is more tuneful; the original might sound deeper, but itÂ’s also muddier. ThereÂ’s a sense, or illusion, of depth; the instruments and singers in the background are way back there. And FagenÂ’s voice is clearer, more nuanced." - Fred Kaplan, Stereophile Magazine
"If you were an audiophile in the 70s, you owned Aja." - Rolling Stone, 2001
"The pinnacle of jazz-pop studio perfection..." - 5 Stars - Zagat Survey
"For me, [Aja] is the most perfect thing I ever heard in my life - it is a religion" - Gareth Jones, Producer/Engineer
"I just received Aja today. It is stupendous! I forgot how much I loved these tunes. You're right. People must not miss this LP. A big well done to Cisco and RTI." - Phil, actual Elusive Disc, Inc. customer
"This is one of the better records I have heard in many, many years. I have been collecting and listening to vinyl for 30 years now and to be honest with you, this LP is exactly as described. It beats the pants off the original and the MOFI... this new one is silky smooth and flawless... All records should sound this way."" - Ken, actual Elusive Disc, Inc. customer
"If you were an audiophile in the late Seventies, you owned Aja. Steely Dan's sixth album is easy on the ears, thanks to both its meticulous production and its songs — this was Walter Becker and Donald Fagen's no-holds-barred stab at becoming a huge, mainstream jazz-pop success. And sure enough, thanks to sweet, slippery tracks such as "Deacon Blues" and "Peg," this collegiate band with a name plucked from a William Burroughs novel and a songbook full of smart, cynical lyrics became bona fide superstars, shooting to the Top Five and selling platinum. And, yes, Aja even won a Grammy for Best Engineered album." - www.rollingstone.com
Features:
• Numbered, Limited Edition
• Remastered & Cut by Kevin Gray at AcousTech Mastering
• From the Original Analog Master Tapes
• 30th Anniversary Edition
• Remastered in conjunction with Donald Fagen, Walter Becker and Elliot Scheiner
 | 1. Black Cow |
| | 2. Aja |
| | 3. Deacon Blues |
| | 4. Peg |
| | 5. Home at Last |
| | 6. I Got the News |
| | 7. Josie |
