Steely Dan records, Aja in particular, are what happens when you get the best session players in the world in a studio with a huge budget and guided by a couple

Steely Dan records, Aja in particular, are what happens when you get the best session players in the world in a studio with a huge budget and guided by a couple of guys whose egos didn't get in the way. They often let the players play whatever they felt was right for the song. They understood that when you've got somebody of the caliber of Purdie at the drums, you don't really need to tell him what to play, you just get out of the way. I've always really appreciated the quality of the recording of Aja, but as an adult I've grown to love the music, too. And, yeah, I also recommend that documentary. Several of the Classic Albums series are really good. Dark Side of the Moon and Rumours come to mind. They also happen to be studio masterpieces, often listed alongside Aja as being pinnacles of recording quality. (Interesting how they're all from the same era. That sort of big album industry was a fleeting thing.)