Rating: 
Summary: Where's the music?
Review: Like the infamous old lady yelling, "where's the beef" I found myself asking where's the album? I loved the insight, but the songs are never completely presented, and while the musicians attitude is great, even the "dynamic duo" cannot agree why some of the tracks were done as they were. It would have been great to cut the talk in half, and show is the MUSIC!
Rating: 
Summary: Almost perfect....
Review: Great insights into the music, the people involved, the production of the record, the arranging of the songs, two recent in-studio live instrumental performances ("Peg," "Josie")...but no discussion whatsoever of one of the album's best pieces, "I Got the News" (though they play a snippet of it in the closing credits).One strange thing is that the guitarist sitting in for the new studio session goes uncredited! He's a fine player, though, as one would expect. This is a tremendous contribution to the world of rock documentaries and another stunning entry in the Classic Albums series (as is the recent disc on U2's *The Joshua Tree*).
Rating: 
Summary: Mostly Chatter
Review: I wrongly expected that this DVD would be mainly music along with some background. What happens is that they will begin to play a song, and then one of the players will start talking about who-knows-what about how they played the track. It is interesting for a while, but anyone wanting to hear music should pass on this one. A one-time viewing experience.
Rating: 
Summary: A true Masterpiece
Review: A must-see not only for die-hard Dan fans, but for all discerning audiophiles as well. No matter how much you dig Steely Dan - and especially this landmark album - you'll have a much deeper appreciation for both after experiencing this production. Among the many revelations, you'll be left with 2 distinct lasting impressions: 1) the utterly Masterful instrumental prowess of all the great session musicians employed by Becker and Fagen; and 2) the truly amazing musical and artistic vision of the 2 principals themselves: this is a duo - and an album - for the ages. Perhaps the highest accomplishment any artist can aspire to is the creation of a work that outlives the time in which it was created. No problem there...this album will sound incredible a hundred years from now. Kudos to the producers of the Classic Album Series; it's a wonderful concept brilliantly rendered. See also the Stevie Wonder selection in the series.
Rating:
Summary: A great DVD
Review: Steely Dan is my favorite band so I pre-ordered this DVD, and recieved it today. Of couse I had to watch it right away too! It offers alot of insight to the musical making of the Aja album, it's quite intricate. It showed me alot of things I would have never realized even though I hae been listening to the album for 20 years. I've never really seen many interviews with Donald, so this was a big treat for me. And seeing Walter is always good. Over all, this is just a must for any Steely Dan fan.
Rating:
Summary: a peek behind the curtain reveals the Wizards of DAN!
Review: Virtually all the DVDs in this series are fascinating and this title is no exception. If you are a musician as well as a fan then this will be doubly interesting as the reclusive Becker and Fagen break down the classic songs from this legendary album. From the idiosyncratic drumming of Jim Keltner..on one track to Rick Marotta on another..to Dean Parks guitar, Chuck Raineys Bass, and even Michael McDonald discussing the frighteningly detailed nuance messers Fagen and Becker required of his background vocals..a picture develops of this unique hybrid that is Steely Dan. Like the other great titles in this series it is wonderful to have classic titles like this disected by the creators of the music and the players rather than hack journalists...and it is amazing to see how ALL the participants so vividly recall the events some two decades later! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED..
Rating:
Summary: Sublime Creation in Action
Review: I have had the great fortune to see the European release of this video in advance of the USA release thanks to a viewing hosted by the Swami of Dandom, Pete Fogel and his loverly Shari. We always knew that "Aja" was pretty much perfect, but I never knew about ALL the pieces that went into this incredible album. Here Becker and Fagen disect six songs from "Aja," isolating different parts, musicians, etc, and telling how they all came to be part of the whole. If you think you appreciate 'Aja' now, you will 10 times more after you seeing this DVD. You will want to watch it over and over again and you will be constantly amazed.
Rating:
Summary: scattershot and kind of lacking but PRETTY DARN GREAT anyway
Review: I really don't get where some of the other reviews for this video/ DVD are coming from, saying that it's a good 'sleeping aid' or things of this nature. A big part of what makes the "Aja" album such a landmark is the way it put to use such spellbinding musicianship from a long list of different players, and the sophisticated elegance and beauty of the songs themselves--this really IS fascinating stuff, even though many fans unfortunately don't seem to give a damn, and if that's the case, I don't know why they are bothering with this DVD in the first place. Another reviewer commented that you've got to really LOVE Steely Dan to really enjoy this DVD--well you know what, people do love Steely Dan and for good reason--if you come to this DVD expecting mindless entertainment to watch while you throw back a few beers, you're out of your mind. This DVD gives you a thrilling peek into the making of the album, demonstrating some of the musical techniques that were used--the way the bass was doubled on guitar on "Josie", and the layering of Michael McDonald's background vocals on "Peg" to point out a couple examples. McDonald gives a great discussion of his performance on "Peg", and you also get great interview/ performance segments from Chuck Rainey, Rick Marotta, Dean Parks, Denny Dias, and Bernard Purdie, as well as great segments from guitarist/ arranger Larry Carlton, producer Gary Katz, engineer Roger Nichols, and of course, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker themselves. Also, the appearance of the late Ian Dury is a shock (he died right around the time this DVD was released), although not an unpleasant one--it's quite strange since he wasn't at all involved in the making of the album, nor is he even someone you associate in the slightest with the West Coast pop-rock scene of the 1970s. The interviews with Fagen and Becker and seeing them dissecting the tracks... GREAT stuff--priceless, really. Fagen & Becker for once go easy on their supreme sarcasm and are shown in great spirit, great humor, and are even movingly reflective at times--wonderfully intimate stuff from a true genius team. All that said, any TRUE Dan fan will indeed appreciate this DVD and LOVE having it in their collection. On the other side of the coin, there are some drawbacks to the DVD for sure. For one thing, it's rather scattershot--Becker mentions early in the DVD how the only other original Steely Dan member still working with them by the time of "Aja" was guitarist Denny Dias, and then, over halfway through the DVD, they get back on the topic of Dias, discussing how they hooked up with him which ultimately lead to the beginning of Steely Dan. They do basically move from one song to the next, but the sequencing could have been a lot better. However, this would have been a virtually ignorable issue had this DVD been more thorough. Quite frankly, this DVD left me hungry for more--it's painfully far off from being fully comprehensive. As other reviewers have already stated, the fact that drummer Steve Gadd's name isn't even mentioned in the DVD is a damn shame indeed, and that's just for starters. I wish there was even more interview stuff with McDonald, Nichols, Dias, etc... So, in the end, the DVD does leave me a little unsatisfied, but I'm still thrilled with the great stuff that it does offer, and I think any serious Steely Dan fan ought to feel the same.
Rating:
Summary: The Dan demystified... sort of.
Review: The decade's most notoriously quiet, rarely interviewed yet sarcastic, cryptic (and wearing sunglasses in just about every picture taken), studio musicians that didn't tour, Steely Dan came out with "Aja".
The "classic album" series managed to get Donald Fagen and Walter Becker to open up about the making of this classic. By the time of this interview, they had already been touring for years and had been active in their own website.
You learn: they know hip-hop. They were going to tour for "Aja" but conflicts came up. The more "California-sounding" songs were recorded in NY, and the earlier "NY-sounding" songs were recorded in LA. Aja used musicians from both coasts. They were perfectionists but the session musicians don't hold grudges against them. You get little backstory on the songs themselves, but you also realize that Walter Becker's the one who writes more of the lyrics and Donald Fagen more of the music... Gary Katz and Denny Dias (who was actually responsible for making Steely Dan into a band to begin with) were also as important to those sessions..
If you grew up a Dan fan, it'll be fun to actually see and hear them talk about these songs. I don't think it's something that's going to be repeated viewing, but I can see going to it every now and then...
It would have been great if they recreated the sessions with most of the original musicians and did the whole CD from beginning to end in Surround, but the discussion about this classic makes it worth watching.
Rating:
Summary: No Gadd? No Good!
Review: Most of the prior reviews will give you a good idea of the quality of this DVD and the series in general, but being a drummer there was one glaring omission.
No Gadd!
Steve Gadd is one of the most influential drummers of the last 30 years. His solo on the track Aja is one of his most respected works. There is no mention of this or even OF HIM!! His name is never uttered! I am appalled. There has got to be a political reason for this as there is no way this was just an oversight.
For me, this was a huge blow as I looked forward to getting some insights on one of the most important drum recordings I can think of.
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