Steely Dan’s Grammy award winning 1977 album Aja is the latest in a string of Steely Dan reissues to be recut and re-released for physical formats, and is due out September 29 via Geffen/UMe. The reissuing series has been overseen by band member Donald Fagen and remastered by prolific sound engineer Bernie Grundman. While the original analog tapes are believed to be lost, the new edition has been remastered from non-EQ’d copies of the album to breathe new life into iconic tracks like “Black Cow,” “Deacon Blues,” and “Peg.”
Mastered specially for vinyl, Analogue Productions is pressing both a standard 33 ⅓ RPM version as well as a limited-edition double LP 45 RPM Ultra High Quality Vinyl edition. The reissuing label is also putting Aja out on Super Audio CD (SACD).
Founding member and lead singer Donald Fagen launched the multi-year archival campaign in 2022, starting with a 50th anniversary reissue of 1972’s Can’t Buy A Thrill and continuing with 1973’s Countdown To Ecstasy. Most recently, the band re-released 1974’s Pretzel Logic in July, and have plans to remaster more of their extensive discography in the coming year.
Steely Dan is also opening for The Eagles on their farewell tour this Fall, but no Philly dates have been announced thus far. In 2021 Steely Dan performed Aja in full to kick off a spectacular multi-night run at The Met.
You can preorder Aja on vinyl in its new remastered glory here.