Steely Dan – Aja

How does this compare to the original Japanese release? Words words words

Love it!! What a Record! So soulful so good. So real!

No wonder the engineers won awards for this album. Really good quality pressing too. Super tight sounding.

How many compete Steely Dan collections have I gone through in the past 33 years?

1990: the cassettes from the 3 dollar bin.
1992- 93: the CDs, most high jacked from Columbia House.
2001: the Brooklyn LP stash, followed 8 years later by
2009: the LA LP stash. One stop shopping at a thrift store on Hollywood Blvd. Probably one dude's collection.
2017: all sold off. Made a go of mp3s. Meh.
2023: another some dude's Steely Dan collection. Smelling like smoke and cologne, at the local record shop. Lotta first US and UK presses. Nice.

I'll probably go for used copies of the direct cerebral interface too.

What else can you say about AJA? It's one of the peak records of the 70s. SD at apogee of sophistication and fidelity. This is the top of the Maslow Pyramid. So many overdubs and punch-ins, they wore the chromium oxide off the tapes. They made everybody do a million takes of each part. Except for Steve Gadd, who nailed 'Aja' in one go. William S. Burroughs and Werner Herzog were present for most sessions, just hanging, throwing a vibe.

I got a copy in the used record store. IT'S GREAT.

This one's a keeper... every version sounds great, but this is really great.

Bought it a year ago at a record store in my hometown (FNAC) for sale at cheap price . Only 8 euros !! An absolute bargain for this killer album and a stunning press ! Sounds incredibly good for a Back to Black Reissue (Wich is really rare for this label)
Grab it if you find it at a reasonnably price !

This thing sounds just spectacular, never know with clear colored variants but this one SLAPS

Odd tape issue on this pressing, you can hear the tape quickly warping down to the correct speed at the beginning of each side. Actually really good sounding otherwise, extremely bass heavy and ridiculously dynamic.

edit: okay, this release is just weird. The tape issue also happens during the title track, and also, the sound quality drastically drops after the first two tracks, like they're cut from different tapes or something. Just an odd release overall.

stellar pressing. Wide soundstage and warm sound throughout the record. I have 3 different pressings of this record, and this is my favorite.