Steely Dan Aja Hartford 8/24/2006

[ishredu]

this track is a let down screw this, the album version grinds this to shit

[tinman5680]

Kieth kicks ass!!!!!

[rrussell21]

I agree.

[doedoe1]

Man, this song makes this soldier sometimes weep... how could anything be so beautiful...... ?

[Zootysue]

luv this! Thanks

[ozbizbozzle]

hey my daughter called ava. influenced by steely dan. yes

[MMMuller]

donald fagen -> stfu in drum break please :D

[ishredu]

this guys high pitched rack tom is tuned to an actual note which happens to be out of tune with the song...never tune your drums to actual notes because it sucks when they clash

[patthedrummer85]

how do know that it's not the venue? and how do you know that that tom didn't de-tune?

[ishredu]

either way it sounds horrid.

[triondrummer]

@ishredu : Fact is that Keith never tunes the Toms to actual Notes....this is the Resonance of the Drum itself and a natural tone it produces! And I did not hear one single hit of the Tom that clashes with the harmonies or melodies of the Song.....wash your ears, do your homework and enjoy the unbelievable groove of that band!

[ishredu]

never said he intentionally tuned anything to a note it's there it's annoying no homework needed. thanks though.

[ishredu]

the bans is not in it's best form either which could be making the entire thing kinda ugly sounding to me..but$:44 on during the sax solo the ten inch tom was a bad choice and it overshadows and clashes..sorry man just a little thing called ear training getting in the way for me lol..face it this band has sounded better, pretty sloppy especially for these guys whom I actually love..just not this track..no

[patthedrummer85]

You're focusing too much on what is supposed to be as opposed to what happens. If you've had ear training then you would know that there's overtones in every pitch, and it's that overtone that's bugging you.

[ishredu]

@patthedrummer85 i dunno whatever it is it's it isn't good and I'm sick of every tom dick and harry out there who thinks they NEED a ten inch rack..why because weckle made it "fashionable? frankly this would have been fine with a twelve and a thirteen but I know..it ain't fashionable ok ok I get it now.

[themunoshful]

@ishredu your a fucking idiot!! end of stroy!

[ishredu]

@themunoshful right because anyone with a differing opinion HAS to be an idiot

yeah ok

[ishredu]

@themunoshful STROY!

[themunoshful]

Respond to this video...  pretty sure u just proved to your self and everyone that your clearly a arrogant up your own ass!! good luck with life ya loser!!

[ishredu]

@patthedrummer85 right I know it's the overtone, my point is that it's making it sound shitty and it does..there really isn't an argument about that issue is there?

[loudmusic67]

Lynn Aja Ellingson this is why you have that middle name Love Dad!

[admiralcraighill]

The song AJA is my all time song from #1 band all time. Sober over twenty years, my five spiritual experiences came as a guest of gleaning their concerts in the years 1994,2000,2003,2006 and 2007. They have tapped a force that is intrinsically hopeful,good and optimistic for mankind!

[Jay435]

Dennis Chambers also does the song proud on that live album

[skintunes]

It's keith carlock this show

[trippyfatt]

stelly dan has been a fav of mine since I was 11. there music is so tranqualizing to the brain. Its trippy! A natural euforic sensation

[Mickdog2112]

Steve Gadd owns this song.

[Blue112488]

I was named after this song

[ADD2JM]

Heck yea! ME TOO!!!..lol isnt it the best to be like.."yea i was named after this groovy little jazz tune" =)

[admiralcraighill]

Carlock is the "best of all drummers".

[Drummer1410]

Sorry, but on this tune all honours go to and stay with Steve Gadd. The studio version remains a master piece for all drummers....

[pleeezeeatme]

I definitely, absolutely, positively, agree with honouring Steve Gadd's drumming in this song. All the weird rhythms during the verse can probably be attributed to Gadd, and let's face it, the explosive drumming towards the end is what makes the song so great.

[pleeezeeatme]

I had heard somewhere that he did it in only three takes, and when I got a chance to ask him, he said he did about ten takes, and the third was probably the one they used.

I think if was anyone but him, the song would suck in comparison.

[ishredu]

one take

got it second hand.

fact!

[cbrf3redline]

I was there also - great show. Thanks for recording this important music history!

[jdredman]

That is REAL good.

[centralme]

Beautiful job! Brings back lots of fond memories from many, many years ago - and I still remember all the lyrics!

[TrevorKellum]

any one know who played sax at that show?

[mgg52ct]

Walt Weiskopf (tenor) and Roger Rosenberg (bari)

[duckoes]

Man Carlock is fantastic on the kit, U can't please everyone. He's being 100% true to the tune during the drum breaks, why copy what Gadd did....he's Keith Not Steve.

top shelf

[tonyrockandroll]

fantastic

[whoregay]

Sorry guys.. this drummer doesn't cut it. Some of you think Chambers didn't do Gadd's solo justice? Are you insane? He practically matched it drum hit for drum hit on thier live album.

[associate434]

i tell you what ... post a replica of this solo or better yet gadd's solo and we'll see the justice out of your bull shit comment... oh yeah i forgot .. whoregay... thats the deal... your mama forgot to label you at birth so thats all you could come up with

[therockshow2007]

This track ROCKS! ..... as you know!

Another one for our vault...

ViewYouTube.com__ The Rock Show!

(no crappy slideshows, no tribute bands,

no guitar lessons, no wannabe's, no filler..

just the Genuine Original Videos

and Live Performances!)

[clemzzz]

go stick your spam up your arse...

anyway back to AJA.. now i realise it's called AYSHA and NOT ARJAR as i have thought for 20 years.. LOL ... fine percussion a modern masterpeice of songwriting and musicianship

[TommyGadd]

Nobody can match Gadd's solo work on Aja. Not even Chambers

[jad1460]

I agree, Gadd is just amazing! How would give Bill Stewart a shot though; check him out..

[TommyGadd]

I like Bill's playing quite a bit. I was lucky enough to attend Drummer's Collective and first hand how creative and innovative Gadd was and still is. Weckl, Vinnie and Chambers brought it up a noth for sure, but Gadd started all the linear drumming and truly is one of the most recorded drummers since John Guerin. thanx

[ZELCOMPTON]

CHECK OUT THE B.DRUM

[ZELCOMPTON]

FELA KUTI SAYS HELLO

[tunnelrat1900]

Can anyont tell me if that was Walt Weiskopf playing the tenor solo?

[rogersat]

yup it is

[1234swingit]

Great! Keith Carlock on drums is heavily smoking! Whooow, what a great band!

[admiralcraighill]

3 decades post studio;Bard men blew Hartford to the ocean.

[zarconianmushroom]

After taking my 4 kids(9-15) to this show and seeing it from the lawn seats, it was great to see some of it! Thank You! Once again, a GREAT Steely Dan show. The kids have most of the catalog on their ipods.

[rogersat]

wow- cant believe how great this sounds on your camcorder! the "YO YO YO" is great, too.

i must admit i dislike many of the changed vocal phrasings fagen does live (he rushes lines a lot). however i LOVE LOVE LOVE his phrasing/pitch on the end of the line "or say they say" around 6:12. enchanting...

[Benjani7]

For me, this was the best track of the night in Liverpool.

[statis]

LOL @ the black guy who says "YO YO YO" at 1:15.

[chezt2000]

How do you know this is a black guy?

[statis]

oh just a completely random guess, i mean, it could definitely be an asian or white guy, too... hahaha

[lefthandedgenious]

I never had children, so I named my dog Aja.

[MrKite053]

I could tell right away thats not Gadd on drums,but they all sound good,there's alot goin' on musically on this track.

[boerni1976]

fuck!just a simple camera, and its fuckin amazing!

[prfsnlwannabe]

I hope the Dan is still this darned good when I (very likely) see them this summer! Been a fan of them for MANY years, and this is a very great clip of them doing this song. Sad I've still never seen them live, but I hope to see them this summer, and finally change that....

[psuro]

Well, I just saw them in Philly on May 24 - they were great. You should enjoy the show.

[DrWu2000]

wow what a great sounding recording of this, awesome, one of the Dan's best no doubt

[aja1978]

My name is Aja also! I was wondering what year you were born? Wondering if it was trendy to name your child Aja?

[babyleontyne13]

My name is Aja! I have the album on my wall! Hoorah!!

[Benjani7]

insane. see you in Liverpool...

[RaulGuereca]

amazing groove of keith carlock

[Hgclaw]

donald on the melodica!

[johngill]

So true about the detail - watch the film about the making of Aja and see how they work - amazing perfection and attention to detail

[elmerexpress]

Widdling mindlessly??? Are you kiddin'?? Fagen/Becker probably are the most detail minded music makers in the industry! They would never allow that from anyone in the band, much less themselves! Personally I think Walter becker is the master of leaning the longest off the cliff without fallin'. ;-)

[JJMMWGDuPree]

Heh. That's quite funny. On the radio they recalled that Zappa audiences were the only ones that didn't boo them... I guess that's simply how they want to remember it!

One of the guitar players, and I think it's Becker, seems to be widdling rather mindlessly on this track, but it's still a whole lot more fun than the album version.

[midlocal]

I saw them get booed in Chicago 1973 or 4 opening for Zappa. They were to "pop" for the audience. Wow. They are great songwriters who have fantastic ears for production. I still tune my EAW PA with them.

[Crunchfunky]

Melodica is a plus!

[Lyintology]

As far as Steely Dan making efforts to "raise the bar" for pop music - it hasn't worked at all! I mean look at the bulk of todays's music and what sophistication let alone quality do you have any of them? None at all in Rap music or in any of the cloned Boy Bands or in the Divas like Mariah Carey,Britney,Celine Dion etc..Then as far as todays Rock music goes theres no one worth the price of a ticket except the old acts from the 70's and 80's!

[benvye]

That's because the music that gets produced and distributed is controlled by a small group of people, usually complete idiots, who favor looks and sex appeal over any talent.

[ricaard]

Sometimes it works, sometimes no...but why stake an artist to some recording made twenty years ago, when they want to have fun with their own creation? Do you disagree with the embellishment/improvisation scenario? Because after improv comes more creation! Would you hamper future creation to satiate your need for it to be exactly the same thing at the risk of staleness and loss of drive/spark? I'm done preaching; we'll agree to disagree...

[1jcofan]

If you consider that for years Becker and Fagen didn't want to tour most likely for that exact reason. Even John Coltrane repeated himself (quite often in fact). But there are many jazz artists that actually would prefer not to perform their most popular songs. In the case of Steelydan I think that it's great they continue their "raise the bar" approach to "pop" music. No matter how fatigued the music you can't fault quality.

[ricaard]

Of course, there are exceptions, but I'd never hold a great interpretation against the author of a song. Besides, embellishment teaches one about improvisation.

[ricaard]

The thing I like about live (when it works) is you can either or both of two things: whether they can pull it off live, or if they can embellish the original version nicely live without the constraints of having to be so faithful or, as I feel, locked to the studio version as to be a soulless jukebox. Most of my favorite artists (the Dan included) pull off both of these criteria. If I wanted it the same as the cd always, I'd stay home.

[stretch54]

I respectfully disagree. They are artists that distinguish themselves by getting the perfect groove, horn parts, guitar, vocal parts and all the NUANCE they are known for on their records. They are expert at creating songs with the right guy on each part. That changes from song to song. When you do it that well, due to all the reasons I listed above, it is impossible to reach that level with a bunch of "good" but not distinguishable musicians trying to re-create perfection.

[stretch54]

I do not think of Steely Dans records like souless jukebox songs. They were experts at using the studio and the right players to get startling recordings of their ideas. As a lifelong musician I completely understand the energy that can be generated live If you can honestly say any of their live attempts are better than their studio attempts then I will be surprised.

[ricaard]

I wasn't accusing the Dan of being without soul. I'm indicting fans, myself included, of holding our artists to such a standard that the joy of creating a satisfying live experience is lost and/or never achieved. Surprise!!

[stretch54]

Steely Dan and the Beatles...probably my two favorite bands for their overall body of work. The problem with trying to re-create the Dans songs live is that the studio versions are so perfectly worked out that the nuance is lost live. Their records are too perfect.

[sufenta]

i saw them at jones beach new york in '04 and '06 and they were great, amazing , and this song was perfect.

[TheKaoruEffect]

I was named after this song. ^.^

[deisme]

Fagen got up like a pimp....chuuch!!!

[humboldtmyche]

whoops scratch that - lol ...I had my balance on the right side. Now it's twice as good... I have a killer soundcheck boot 4 discs....great stuff too !!

[hurting]

I like the "YO YO YO" thrown in there

[huskered62]

Only other video i'd like to see someone post would be "Black Cow". Told a buddy of mine once that there's only one thing in my lifetime better than seeing Steely Dan... seeing them twice

[Crunchfunky]

Fagens voice sound ,like, a thousand times better in 2006 than it in art crimes and everything must go tour

[koosk41]

Aja Hartford..Didn't he play for Scotland?

[FatherTiresias]

That was his brother... and West Brom, Man City, Forest and famously (for Norwich fans) scored the winner in the League Cup Final in the mid 80's. Nearly went to Revie's high flying Leeds but for hole-in-the-heart scare that never came to anything. He played on until his 40's. Oh yes, and Steely Dan are fantastic!

[andrewdewey]

way better video that I got (see my clips from Mountain View, CA). audio was quite good.

[Billkal]

I was at this show in Hartford. Awesome stuff! They were awesome. Michael McDonald was awesome as well!

[hoosier12]

I was there that night. They played for two hours and Michael McDonald, who had opened for them, came back and sang several songs with them. Fantastic!

[WritingIsMyReligion]

Wow, this is a kick-ass version of the song, and the audio is very good, all things considered. Thank you heaps for posting it! :>)

[ShrinerMcbitey]

nice bootleg, audio sounds good- is that the camcorders audio?

[cattandmody]

Would have loved to see a better video but the SONG IS GREAT AND THANK YOU!