Show Biz Kids
Some 30 years after it was released - which is several lifetimes in pop culture - The pristine production and technically-pleasing performances on Aja continue to stand the test of time.

Walter Becker and Donald Fagan take the viewer through the long and oftentimes quite complicated creation of the classic album, which reached the lofty top five status in the U.S. and England, with the cool jazz-fusion delivering the signature numbers - Deacon Blues, Peg and Josie - while selling more 20 million copies worldwide.

Initially airing as part of the VH-1 Classic Albums series, the insight of Becker and Fagan is bolstered by interviews with producer Gary Katz and a several of the musicians who performed in the sessions.

In 1978, the album won the Grammy Award for Best Engineered Non-Classical Recording. There is no better way to find out what makes Aja so perfect.

A whole new meaning to "Fastidious"
Musically and commercially the Steely Dan story really peaked with Aja. The recording studio gave them acess to a level of perfection they could never attain on the road, and they stayed there for many years -- considering the turn some of their post-Aja material took, maybe too many.

But that obsession with perfection paid off, as the segment of multiple guitar solo takes demonstrates. The DVD is completely entertaining: Becker and Fagan are even smarter than I imagined, and it's easy to see how they command the respect of some of the biggest talents (and egos) in the world of LA session music. AJA is a masterpiece, and the DVD is a long overdue companion piece.

This is a great documentary and I give it four stars because it could easily have been an hour longer and just as good.

And if you're REALLY into it, the 33 1/3 Book is really cool.

Below Average
If you enjoy watching two aging musicians who are clearly uncomfortable being in the same room with each other plough through the master tape of one of their albums, this is the movie for you.

For the hardcore fans only.
I'd put this one in the "rent" catagory, unless you're a real hard-core Steely Dan fan. Only a small percentage of this is music, the bulk is filled with interviews and coverage of the making of the album. Not that it's a bad thing, but not great, either.

Steely Dan Doco
I enjoyed this as a documentary which provides historical information of the group, and how they put their music together but it is not something you buy for the music itself.