Aja

Seven tracks. No filler. The cleanest, smoothest, most obsessively crafted album of the ‘70s.

This week, the McGuigan Brothers drop the needle on Aja, the record that turned Steely Dan from a band into a studio machine. We’re talking Michael McDonald harmonies, Wayne Shorter solos, the Purdy Shuffle, Steve Gadd’s legendary drum break, and lyrics that read like noir poetry.

From Chevy Chase on drums in college, to ditching the tour bus forever, to making an album that still gets name-checked in every audiophile forum on the internet. We go track by track, category by category.

Plus: The Odyssey connection, Bernard Purdie’s Beatles claim, and why Aja might be the ultimate “someone had to show it to you” record.