Corey Smith

Steely Dan was a band torn between serving two masters: high-brow, eloquent jazz arrangements, and energetic, intricate rock songs. While most all of the Dan's albums effortlessly combine their masters' unique demands, "The Royal Scam" was written squarely for the rock one. Whether you see it as a love-letter, or a farewell to the genre, Steely Dan had never, and would never again, release an album with an equally bombastic and energetic sound behind every lick of the guitar. Opening on "Kid Charlemagne", the album's tone is clearly defined: a rock album for the common man, and even the man lower than that. This is an album for the outcasts, the antagonists, and the try-as-you-mighters. A rock album without rock-sensibility. The only parties here are 'plaintiff' and 'defendant', the only women here are harlots, and the only booze here are 40s stuffed into paper bags. Ending on the title track, the album's message couldn't be more clear: you can break your back and play the game fair, but know that someone else is being "paid in gold just to babble". Disturbing as that may be, I take comfort in the fact that our music is undoubtedly better than theirs.

There are so many words I could use to describe "Aja", so, here's one: bliss.