Aja

About

<b>100 Best Albums</b> In a <i>Rolling Stone</i> interview from around the time <i>Aja</i> came out, the writer Cameron Crowe—who went on to write and direct <i>Jerry Maguire</i> and <i>Almost Famous</i>, amongst a handful of other movies—marveled at how aloof the members of Steely Dan could be when it came to their own succe. They were no longer touring, and they weren’t doing a lot of pre. And their approach to recording had evolved from a fixed group of people playing a set of songs from start to finish to a piecemeal process in which co-founders Donald Fagen and Walter Becker tried out multiple players for the same part, until they found a satisfactory combination—all before breaking it down and starting all over again on the next song. (Decades later, guitarist Dean Parks diplomatically reflected that “we would work then past the perfection point until it became natural.”) Asked if he felt like he was even in a band, Becker replied, “No. But we can get a real good one together in a hurry.” .

via Apple Music

The Clerk says

Start your shelf to read the full take →