Steely Dan: Aja (Full Frame)

VHS, 60 minutes, RHINO

Pioneering pop/jazz band Steely Dan, formed by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker in the early '70s, had already secured five U.S Top 40 albums before the release of "Aja" in 1977. "Aja," however, would prove to be the biggest-selling album of Steely Dan's illustrious career, reaching Number 3 on the U.S. Billboard chart, spending a year on the U.S. Top 40, and also reaching number 5 in the U.K. It was also the first British Top 10 hit for Steely Dan and also the first album by Becker and Fagen as a duo. On this fascinating video, Becker and Fagen, renowned for their relentless perfectionism in the recording studio, recall the history of an album that was a year in the making but rewarded by a prestigious Grammy Award and three major hit singles, "Peg," "Deacon Blues," and "Josie." Michael McDonald of the Doobie Brothers and guest backing vocalist on "Aja," British rock performer and songwriter Ian Dury, record producer Gary Katz, and the album's legendary session musicians also contribute to this fascinating documentary. Steely Dan's "Aja" has proven to be one of the most outstanding jazz-rock albums in the history of popular music. This is a vivid portrait of a '70s record that is still fresh and as memorable more than two decades after its release?a true classic.