10 Mistakes Purposefully Left In Classic Rock Songs
4. Aja - Steely Dan
By the time Steely Dan got to Aja, they were one of the most prominent production wizards in rock and roll. Almost abandoning the touring life altogether, each album from Katy Lied to The Royal Scam felt meticulously planned out down to the letter, as Walter Becker and Donald Fagen hand selected session players to get what they needed out of their material. Even so, you can't always count on the more off-hand moments in between the notes.
Right in the middle of their yacht rock opus, the title track veers off into a drum solo by Steve Gadd accompanied by saxophone. The solo itself is absolutely amazing, as Gadd goes through some of the most complex drum breaks to have ever been heard in the '70s. As opposed to some grand finale though, we do get a bit of a subtle fluke at the very end of the solo.
Once Gadd finishes circling his kit and annihilating every single drum head, you can hear the faint click of him hitting his sticks together, almost like he's so thrilled to have nailed the perfect take. Rather than pulling off another take, the drive of the final mix was too good for Fagen or Becker to pass up. Having to celebrate your own drum performance at the end of the take is one thing, but this exquisite use of one last percussion hit shows more taste than any other drum fill could have done.